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"...! Y-You...! Why do you keep fighting?!"
The Skeletal Bride scread in anger as she watched Elayne rise once more. Her Aura exploded with power while Death Essence flowed back into her body from all the beasts she had slain.
FLAAASH!
Her Aura surged, growing imnsely strong as she burned all this Death Essence into her Nature Soul, pushing her Soul Cultivation to its limits for this brief mont.
Elayne began crying black tears, just like the Skeletal Bride, as she t her blazing red eyes.
"Please believe ! I will love you and forever embrace you. I will never let go of you! From the mont I laid eyes on you, I knew this was our fate. You, the Bone Beast Blade... or rather, what is your true na?!"
"...! Ahhh...! No, you’re lying, like all the others! Like father! Like him..."
"I am not lying!" Elayne cried, rushing toward her while cleaving through countless creatures one after another. Her soul appeared clearly wounded, yet she pressed forward. "I will take good care of you...! I need your strength, not just for my own selfish goals. I don’t want you rely to fight creatures or test myself. I need you to protect others! To protect... my beloved family...!"
"...!"
In that instant, the Skeletal Bride saw countless images behind Elayne—the many people she had saved, all the souls that now depended on her.
She was truly not a lonely warrior, nor a knight seeking honor, nor so evil sorcerer craving only power.
All those n, every single one, had betrayed her and sold her away. Each ti, she had believed the next one’s promises, empty and hollow.
But Elayne was different. She reminded her of her first wielder, an ancient goddess of the living world, for whom her father had forged her.
Yet that beloved goddess had fallen long ago in a cataclysm that hurled the blade deep into the Netherworld. There, her second wielder—a gentle-hearted titan—t the sa fate.
After that, over thousands of years, she passed from hand to hand. Many mistreated her. So fed her lies, while others sought her power to chase their dreams, only to abandon her once she was no longer useful.
Slowly, as she faced Elayne, her appearance began to shift. It had beco distorted after eons in the Netherworld, warped by absorbing the lifeforce and souls of the creatures and warriors she had slain.
She was no longer a skeleton, but a beautiful giantess with long nebula-like hair filled with glistening stars. Her skin was deep blue, and her eyes shone like twin golden suns.
"W-Woah..."
Her white bridal dress remained, yet it expanded into one woven from pure light.
"You... remind of my first wielder... She was such a kindhearted goddess... She wielded not for herself, but to protect all those she loved..."
"...! Is that so?" Elayne smiled warmly, reaching out to her. "I will do everything in my power to wield you the sa way—to protect everyone I love... Will you lend your strength?"
"Asteria," the goddess-like blade spirit whispered.
"Huh?"
"That is the na... my father gave . I had forgotten it so long ago," she murmured. "But after watching you fight and struggle just like her, I rembered. I was called the White Bride, the Skeleton Maiden, the Spirit of the Bone Blade... but my true na is Asteria."
"Asteria... What a beautiful na," Elayne said softly, taking her hand. "I swear upon my soul to never abandon you, Asteria."
"Ah... so warm," Asteria wept tears of starlight. "Thank you... thank you for truly, sincerely loving ..." She cried, pulling Elayne into a tender embrace.
FLAAASH!
She enveloped Elayne in her radiant starlight, gradually transforming into a long sword within Elayne’s grasp.
The bone-like exterior cracked and shattered, revealing a breathtaking blade forged from starlight and nebula, radiating cosmic power.
"W-Wow...! Just how ancient are you, Asteria?!" Elayne gasped, her eyes wide with awe.
"I don’t even rember how long I’ve lived... My mories remain fragnted even now... Will you help recover them?" Asteria asked.
"I will. Let’s work on that while you help protect my family," Elayne nodded. "Shall we return?"
"Yes... Master," Asteria replied. "But wait, what is your na?"
"My na?" Elayne echoed. Suddenly, Asteria glimpsed soone entirely different erging within Elayne. "I am..."
"...! Master...! Is it really you...?! Master...! Have you returned to ?!" Asteria cried, embracing Elayne once more.
Then, Elayne finally opened her eyes.
In her hands, she held the Bone Beast Blade. Her mind felt dizzy, and her mories blurred.
"W-What happened?" she sighed. "Ouch, I have quite a headache..."
"You just faced her, didn’t you? The Skeletal Bride," the Asura said. "So you’ve proven worthy! Gahaha! Well done!"
"...Skeletal Bride?" Elayne murmured, gazing at the white sword. "No... that’s not her na."
"...?" The Asura grew curious. "W-What? Wait, did you...?"
"Her true na is Asteria," Elayne declared firmly, gripping her sword. "Yes... that is her true na, isn’t it?"
The white sword glowed with a brilliant blue aura the Asura had never witnessed, shimring with starlight.
"W-Wha...! What is that power?! Wait...! Give it back! I didn’t know...!" The Asura lunged for the sword, but Elayne pulled it away.
"You sold her, and she no longer wishes to stay with you," Elayne said. "You only saw her as a tool, a weapon, when she is so much more... I’m grateful you gave the chance to beco Asteria’s friend, but I won’t let you take her back—not even in a million years."
"...Hah," the Asura laughed, lowering his head. "I see... I guess that’s my fault... Asteria, right? Take care. And... even though I sold you, I want you to know I still enjoyed our ti together."
"..." Asteria remained silent.
Elayne gently sheathed her within her soul, instantly refining Asteria into her Soul Treasure.
"It’s done," Elayne said, turning to her surprised friends. "Hm? What’s wrong?"
"...What do you an what’s wrong?!" Yaga exclaid.
"That sword...!" Sailor muttered. "Just what is that thing?"
"Elayne..." Mark whispered. "For a mont, it felt like you had beco soone else... yet it was still you."
"...?" Elayne tilted her head. "Haha, what are you even talking about? Anyway, let’s go get your classes! Hurry!"
.
.
.
On the outskirts of White Tooth Village, every Bone, Ghostly, and Nether Beast in the area began marching toward a single point, drawn by a powerful presence that ruled over Death.
Or rather, a fragnt of such a presence.
Three distant entities communicated with the beasts through a massive skeletal, ghostly, and zombified creature they controlled from afar.
As the beasts gathered deep within the caves, a vast Nether Ghost Formation began to take shape. The beasts sensed danger and tried to flee, only to be absorbed and torn apart, their essence fueling the formation’s growth.
"The Demon King’s Soul Fragnt is working perfectly; it’s attracting all the beasts!"
"Now we can begin our plan."
"Yes... Fufufu! Let’s destroy this entire village! Burn it to the ground! Ahahaha!"
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