Samael did not think much in that mont.
It was the first ti he had ever seen that woman in his life.If he truly were the slave… perhaps he would have hesitated.
But he wasn't.
From a young age, he had been trained for the Dream Realm.There, hesitation ant death.There, killing was a necessity—not a choice.
The screams from the stands echoed throughout the arena, too loud, too chaotic.
Irritating.
Samael tightened his grip around the sword and advanced.
When the woman saw him approaching, her eyes widened.
And then—
She dropped her sword.
The tal hit the ground with a dull clang.
Samael found it strange.
But he didn't stop.
He advanced without slowing and drove the blade into her body.
There was no resistance.
None at all.
That surprised him for an instant—and it was then that he felt sothing around him.
Arms.
The woman's arms wrapped around him.
Samael tensed, ready to resist. He thought she would try to take him down with her.
But there was no strength.
Only a weak embrace.
Desperate.
Confused, he raised his head.
Tears stread down her face. Her lips trembled as she murmured sothing so softly it almost vanished beneath the roar of the arena.
Samael tilted his head.
Leaned closer.
— It's alright, my baby… everything will be alright…
The voice was hoarse.Tired.And… impossibly gentle.
In that instant, sothing Samael had locked away shattered.
He had always believed himself empty.Cold.Incapable of feeling.
But that wasn't true.
He had rely hidden it.
And now, everything surfaced at once.
mories flooded him.
Coming ho and looking for his mother.Silence.Absence.
The letter.
A farewell written by soone exhausted of living.
At the ti, he had only stared at the paper without expression.Stayed like that for days.
Until the Spell dragged him into that hell.
Now, however, the affection of that unknown woman pierced him like an invisible blade.
It was the sa affection.
The sa warmth.
The sa quiet care his mother had given him—even when tired, even when broken.
When she took her own life, she did it far away.So he wouldn't see the body.
Her final act of love.
She didn't want him to suffer.
The pain of that loss had been so suffocating that Samael had stopped feeling it.
Until now.
Everything exploded.
Like a dam bursting.
— Kill her! soone scread from the stands.
— Be quiet… Samael whispered.
The world began to spin.
The sll of blood flooded his nostrils.
— Blood! Blood! a woman scread.
— Be quiet… he repeated, his voice trembling.
The warmth of the body in his arms began to fade.
His breathing quickened.His heartbeat went out of rhythm.Cold sweat drenched his skin.
— Kill her! Blood! Blood! children scread, laughing.
— Be quiet… Samael murmured.
The woman's body grew cold far too quickly.
The world seed to shrink around him, crushing him from all sides.
The screams of the crowd no longer ca from outside.
They echoed inside his skull.
mories of affection blended together.Faces overlapped.
The woman in his arms.His mother.
The sa warmth.
Until it vanished.
A profound cold erged.
A cold that ca from the soul.
It resonated with the chill of the body he was holding.
And it grew.
The mory cut to the mont he had found the letter.
The sa emptiness.The sa absolute cold.
Everything rged.
His mind darkened.
The last image he saw was his own mother—pierced by the sword in his hands—while an infernal chorus roared from the stands.
Then, as abruptly as it had begun…
The mory ended.
Samael slowly opened his eyes.
It was still night.
The recovered mory was still fresh—far too heavy.
He tried to move his left arm.
Nothing.
The void confird the obvious.
It was gone for good.
He rose with effort and looked around. He was still on the sa hill. The colossal body of the serpent lay nearby, motionless. Close to it, two glowing spheres rested upon the snow.
His left shoulder was wrapped in unfamiliar fabric.
Elizabeth.
— Awake? her voice ca from behind him.
When Samael turned, he noticed the tears in her clothes. Fresh wounds marked her body—signs that she had been attacked while he was unconscious.
— If the serpent hadn't had affinity with ice, you would be dead, Elizabeth said. — The cold in its mouth cauterized the wound. That's the only reason you're still alive.
She had gone through hell.
— …Thank you, Samael replied.
Silence followed.
— But you're still not safe, she added. — If you don't get proper treatnt soon, you'll die in a few days.
— Understood.
Elizabeth watched him for a few seconds.
— You're acting strange.
He was.Quieter.Hollower.
— I recovered so mories, he replied, not elaborating.
After a pause, he added:
— I got an Echo from that serpent.
Elizabeth's eyes widened.
— Really? Then you were extrely lucky.
Samael remained silent for a while before asking:
— What are these soul fragnts?
— Your share of the serpent, she answered. — I already took mine. I don't want to increase my debt.
— Makes sense.
Elizabeth pointed at the creature's corpse.
— Can you make armor?
— Never tried… but I think I can.
He didn't overthink it.His survival instinct suppressed everything trying to surface—doubts, identity, purpose, the hollow left by the mory.
— Then make it from that, she ordered.
— I will.
Samael began absorbing the Fallen-rank soul fragnts.
[Soul Core: 66]
The fragnts flowed into him.
Then he approached the serpent's body and tried to pry loose so scales—a difficult task with only one arm.
Elizabeth extended her hand.
— The sword.
Samael handed it over.
She began cutting away the scales in silence.
anwhile, Samael turned his attention to the newly obtained Echo.
[Echo Na: Albino Serpent of the Far North][Rank: Ascended][Class: Devil]
Attributes:[Tenacious][Ambient Cold][Cold Resistance][Endurance][Predator]
Description:Born from the remains of a fallen world.
User Comments
0 comments from readers