A heavy rainfall drowned the island at the edge of the Pargoina Empire.
Surrounded by nothing but tidal waves, the island was an abyssal place.
A place that had so much mana it created a foggy atmosphere.
A way parted through the forest, the only path that led to the center.
...But not everyone could see it.
...The pathway made with Chi could only be found by soone who knows how to use it.
And at the center lay the tomb of the being that liberated slavery from Lumina.
The man who was buried by the primordial gods themselves.
The tomb of the man that kept the island sealed along with the gates of hell.
...Moshel's Tomb.
"Haah."
A misty breath escaped a girl's mouth as she slowly walked on the pathway.
She didn't rember for how long she had been walking.
A few hours? Maybe half a day?
The ice-cold rain inundated her, drenching her golden-red dress and making her white hair stick to her face.
Her pure white eyes observed the forest, but she still didn't seem focused.
She could hear the sound of monsters echoing within the island, beings—horrors that lived here.
"Haah."
She breathed out once again, trying not to focus on the pain.
Pain that felt like daggers piercing her heart.
Her hand moved, clutching her chest to breathe properly.
Should I have seen him once again before leaving? She thought to herself, her mind filled with scenarios where she didn't run away after knowing the truth.
Coward! She scolded herself, her lips trembling at her own selfishness.
Would he have forgiven her if she had asked for it?
Forgiveness for wasting his life on her?
Would he consider forgiving her if she begged for it?
What does it matter now? Because of her hollow cowardice, gnawing within her, she left sothing precious behind.
Her body ca to a halt as if she encountered sothing.
She raised her hand in front, touching 'it.'
A ripple, like a stone thrown in the water, surged through the atmosphere.
Arianell drew in a deep breath before stepping forward.
Her body felt like it was being pushed back before the surface tension broke, and she found herself in a completely different place.
"Idiot."
She whispered softly, grabbing her own hair in frustration.
"You should have let die, you idiot!"
She yelled, ssing up her hair before coiling up her body.
"Idiot."
She whispered weakly before she tried to calm herself.
Terrified of the hurt she had caused him, she ran away, becoming her own worst enemy.
Now, guilt consus her like an unending night, haunting her because of her own selfishness.
She tiredly straightened her body.
Gazing up at the eerie atmosphere with no sun, but a crimson light still shined, illuminating the place.
She drew in a deep breath.
She already knew she was going to live with guilt, pain, and regret until her last breath.
...For being a coward who couldn't bring herself to see him again.
I wouldn't have been here if I had seen him one more ti.
...She feared that she would have abandoned everything just to live with him for the remainder of his life.
"I do not belong with him," she mumbled to herself, suppressing her emotions.
She took a step forward, her eyes looking at the place.
At the center stood a tall bronze tree that had its dried leaves scattered around the place.
Moshel's Tomb lay just below it, protected by a tree stronger than anything.
Its branches entangled with each other in such a way that they made a woman's portrait at the top.
She slowly walked forward, the water covering her knees rippling as she moved.
Her gaze moved down, finding herself surrounded by the garden of rotten lily flowers that blood softly.
"..." At last, her gaze landed on the beautiful golden throne just beside the bronze tree.
A corpse lay on the throne, touching the tree with her rotten hand.
"...Sword Maiden."
Arianell whispered softly, looking at the old corpse of the woman.
Oddly enough, she could see her own future in her.
Dying alone with no one to speak to.
Arianell took a step forward closer to the rotten corpse.
Steeling her own resolve for what she was about to go through.
"I dreamt for so long," she whispered, taking another step closer, "...To be in this place, rotting till my last breath, just like you."
Her leg hit sothing, making her glance down. Her body slowly bent to pick it up.
"I do not feel honored being your successor, nor do I want to be here," she whispered, wearing the golden gauntlet on her left hand.
"...I am only doing this so everyone could live peacefully... So he can live peacefully."
She stood in front of the throne, looking down at the corpse.
"My na is Arianell Kurai Uzu," she mumbled, taking away the golden armor from the corpse before wearing it.
"I shall take your place from now on."
Her firm voice echoed as she took the long sword from her hand.
"So rest assured."
Finally, she grabbed her winged helm.
The corpse turned into dust, moving with the winds.
Arianell turned around, wearing the helm that covered her eyes completely.
"Heed my words, oh prince of hell." She whispered softly, sitting on the throne, leaking out her mana. Her majestic voice echoed.
"From this day on, until the day I die... ...You won't see the light." The crimson light shone, damping the bronze tree within its light.
The rotten lilies blood brightly, facing towards the crimson light.
The water within the place started to boil as a hundred-foot-wide golden engraved door placed on the ground trembled.
"Hm?"
Arianell's gaze shifted to look at her side.
Even though she was within the center of the island, she could clearly feel a large influx of mana within the island.
"....How?"
She asked.
Getting up from her place.
But her steps halted.
As she rembered the mind gas she had to go through for a week.
Her gaze turned back to the first gate of hell—Saqar.
A sinister yet distinct laugh echoed within the place. ***
***
"Urgh!" Shyamal groaned in pain as she felt a throbbing headache.
The bright light that covered them now started to fade.
Drip, drip. "Huh?"
Her gaze moved up as she found herself within a heavy rain pouring down, drowning the place.
"Where is this?"
Shyamal's gaze turned to her side.
A few students—at least thirty—rose to their feet, looking around the place in confusion.
She did recognize so of them, but most of them were unfamiliar to her.
"ROOOR!" A thunderous cry of a monster echoed within the forest, making every student flinch in fear.
"Az."
Ignoring them, she whispered, looking around the place, but she couldn't find him.
"Azariah!"
Her head abruptly turned to her side as she heard soone calling him.
"Althea?"
She whispered softly, looking at the red-haired girl frantically searching the area.
Only then did she rember.
...Ethan and Ruby killed Oliver and Aaliyah.
Her mind soon filled with twisted thoughts as she dwelled on them.
Althea's eyes finally landed on her.
"Shyamal!"
She yelled, rushing toward her before grabbing her arms. "Azariah, have you seen him?"
"...No." Shyamal replied quietly, stepping away from her.
"Where are we?" Althea asked, her voice blazing with anger. "And have you seen that Ruby girl!?"
"I haven't."
Shyamal replied quietly before turning around. "...I need to find Azariah."
"I am coming with you."
Althea said urgently, to which Shyamal just nodded.
She didn't have ti for the rest of the students, so she left them on their own.
But before she could take a few steps, soone blocked her path.
"...We et again."
A man with a prosthetic hand said with a smile as he looked at Shyamal.
Shyamal tilted her head as she examined the pair while Althea stepped back.
"...What is happening?" Roen, the tall man beside him, groaned in frustration.
"Mother told us the teleportation was supposed to happen six days—"
"It doesn't matter." The man with chocolate-brown hair grinned. "...We can complete our task early."
Roen, his bodyguard, pressed his lips tightly before he whispered, "...Kill her and let us get out of this place—"
"What's the hurry?" Bradyn cut in as he rubbed his head with his prosthetic hand.
"...I can't let her die so easily. I lost my precious hand because of her."
"We will die—"
"Are you Bradyn?" His words were cut off as Shyamal asked, tilting her head.
"You know ?" Bradyn asked in confusion.
"Of course, I do." She replied with a light chuckle that soon turned into creepy laughter. "...I can't believe my luck."
Her bridal gown feathered into existence across her body. Her scythe conjured in her hand.
"Hm?"
Roen looked at her in confusion, feeling an unexplainable pressure on his body.
"Say, Bradyn." Shyamal whispered. "...How did it feel torturing Azariah?"
Bradyn smiled. "It felt amazing—"
In an instant, She reached behind Roen.
Tens of hands grabbed both of them in place.
Shyamal smiled crazily, her mind spinning with ways to torture them.
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