A soundless scream tore through my throat.
The emptiness felt so close, I felt like I was both nothing and everything at the sa ti.
Imdiately, I tried to move, trying to get a hold of my brain and body.
I struggled to even lift my head, the piercing surges of pain still encompassing all of my body.
But slowly, yet surely, my vision returned.
I pried open my lips and tried to speak. "…Fuck."
A wave of relief held in place as I blinked slowly.
The wetness of the floor, half-subrging , beca clear, and so did my condition.
[]
"….Inna."
I responded and imdiately felt a sigh of relief from her.
[]
"...."
I remained silent for a long second, staring at the cave-like structure.
The mories that I had seen through the eyes of Azrael slowly returned.
Anastasia, Chione, the judgnt, and the Goddess of Fate.
Everything rushed back like they were my own mories.
I swallowed hard, my throat burning.
"…How long," I asked quietly, "was I out?"
[]
Her voice wavered, just a little.
She tried to hide it, but I knew her too well.
It should be ten days, if not more.
I pushed myself up on one elbow, and every muscle of mine protested.
"…I rember," I said.
[]
I hesitated. "…Azrael's mories."
There was silence between us for a long second.
[]
"…I don't know," I mumbled, rubbing my face. "Perhaps half a month's worth of mories."
[]
The slight pause in her voice made frown.
"What did you do, Inna?" I asked, not hiding my doubts.
[]
"Inna." I cut her off. "What did you do?"
I closed my eyes, and I could clearly feel her guilt.
[]
I let out a slow breath.
[]
I could clearly feel her pain, disappointnt, and anger in her voice.
"But I will still see his mories," I replied. "I will get back his mories, Inna."
[]
She countered firmly.
[]
The water around rippled as I shifted, sitting up fully now.
My head throbbed, but as I touched it, I felt a sharp pain in my hand.
"…What?"
I turned to look at my reflection in the water.
Only to find two long white horns protruding out of my head.
But unlike before, they had grown bigger, looking more like antlers than horns.
"What the fuck did Esray do to ?" I grumbled, slowly standing up. "She made a monster."
I stared at my reflection for a long mont.
The horns curved back from my temples, branching slightly, pale and smooth.
They didn't look jagged or violent.
…They looked beautiful.
I groaned and stood fully upright, feeling strength return to my body.
"Now, how do we get—"
My words ca to a sudden halt when I felt sothing in my hand.
I brought my hand up as I saw the glowing orb once again.
"...."
The orb that the Goddess of Fate gave to Azrael.
"…The key," I mumbled softly, finally understanding what this was.
I lowered the orb, my reflection rippling again in the water.
The antler-like horns frad my face, catching the light from the orb and reflecting it faintly.
When I shifted my focus away, the orb dissolved and lted inside my body.
When I closed my eyes, I felt an instinctive feeling that I could use the orb.
"…Fate, huh?" I mumbled, looking up at the sky.
My back stretched and my shoulder blades twisted as three pairs of wings unfolded behind .
I flapped them once and imdiately moved up.
It only took a second to notice that my speed and control over my wings had increased trendously.
The air rushed past as I steadied myself mid-flight.
"…That's new," I muttered.
It only took half the ti to reach the top compared to how long it took to reach the bottom.
I hovered near the cave ceiling, adjusting instinctively.
A slight tilt of my wings sent gliding sideways.
Taking a deep breath, I pushed through the ceiling without any problem.
I burst out into the sa room where I had last seen Nora.
I pushed away the dust that covered the place as I looked around.
"...."
"...."
"...."
On the edge of the room, close to the window, I found two people standing close together.
One of them was my dear cousin Elijah, and the other was the princess of the rmaids… Kana.
"The hell are you two doing alone?" I asked, breaking the silence between us.
"Himl!" Elijah said, walking toward . "What the hell happened to you?"
His gaze shifted toward my horns.
I rubbed the back of my neck, suddenly very aware of how I looked.
Elijah stopped a few steps in front of , staring openly now. "Damn, that's cool."
I pushed him aside as I focused on my horns.
The horns had been with for a long ti, but the good thing about them was that they could turn into liquid.
With a thought, the horns glowed and slowly retracted back into my forehead.
I ran a hand over my forehead.
The skin was smooth again, no trace of the horns left behind, but I could still feel them.
Elijah crossed his arms. "So you just… turn parts of yourself on and off now?"
"Seems like it," I replied. "How long was I gone?"
"Ten days," Elijah replied. "Wait, did you find the key?"
"…Yeah," I replied, rubbing my temples. "What else happened?"
Kana finally stepped closer, and interestingly enough, she raised her hand.
"What?" I asked.
"My marriage," she replied. "They fixed my marriage with Killian."
I froze.
"…What?" I said again, slower this ti.
"...."
She didn't respond, so I looked at Elijah who stood beside her.
…Wait. Again, what are these two doing together?
Ten damn days, and the world didn't wait.
"Does Killian know?" I asked.
Kana nodded. "He was inford at the sa ti as ."
"And?" I pressed.
Her fingers curled slightly. "He didn't object."
"...."
I rubbed my face as I kept staring at the two of them.
No way sothing happened between them in just ten days.
'….Fuck my life.'
I decided to let go of this matter for now.
"Where is Aimar?" I asked, looking at Elijah.
"He should be outside," Elijah replied. "Avril just asked for him… she wanted to talk about you."
I let out a slow breath.
"Of course she did," I muttered.
I turned toward the broken doorway, already moving. "I'll talk to him first."
"Himl—" Elijah started.
I paused, glancing back over my shoulder. "We'll talk later. About… everything."
I stepped out into the open air.
The sky outside was pale, stretched thin with drifting clouds.
But my mind was filled with questions.
"Inna," I mumbled, feeling a rush of anxiety. "Do you think Azrael's plan is still at work?"
[
User Comments
0 comments from readers