Even when I appeared, walking into the crater without bothering to hide my footsteps—my boots crunching loudly on loose stones and cracked earth—she remained completely still, alone, her gaze fixed on that dark, smoke-choked sky above.
She didn’t turn her head, and she didn’t react at all to my presence.
Really, it was sad in a way I hadn’t expected.
She was utterly alone now, without any of her siblings around her.
Those grotesque numbered Borns that had loved her so fiercely they flew into a rage the mont D’Lion first hurt her.
Now there was nothing left of them—just drifting ash and faint traces of grey mist carried away on the hot wind.
I took another slow step deeper into the crater, the ground still warm beneath my feet, small pebbles shifting and rolling away as I moved closer.
The air here felt thicker, heavier with the scent of scorched stone and lingering ozone from the massive detonation.
My heart beat a little harder in my chest as I watched her fidget weakly, one grey hand twitching slightly at her side while her golden eyes remained locked on the empty sky.
She now felt so small and isolated against the vast destruction surrounding us.
The way her chest now rose and fell in shallow, unnecessary breaths—since she had never truly needed to breathe—made the whole scene feel even more pathetic.
I stopped a few paces away, my shadow falling across her still form as the hot wind tugged at my clothes and stirred faint clouds of black dust around my ankles.
I wonder if this thing is capable of feeling anything at all...
If sowhere deep inside that strange, shifting form of hers there is any spark of real emotion.
Is she feeling guilty right now, perhaps replaying the destruction she caused in her mind?
Is she wondering if she could have done things better, chosen different actions during the frenzy of battle that brought us both to this ruined place?
Is she sad that her siblings—all those grotesque numbered Borns who had fought so fiercely beside her—had died while she alone remained, the only one left living in this scorched and broken wasteland?
...Or is she perhaps praying for a miracle in her own silent, wordless way, desperately hoping that death would not find her just yet?
Maybe she just doesn’t want to die.
After all, she was born only hours ago, suddenly thrust into existence in the middle of all this madness and violence.
By the way, Power Stones aren’t anything that massive or complicated, despite the way Tesa had described them earlier with such awe and seriousness in her voice.
Heck, she had even ford one seamlessly, as if it were the simplest thing in the world, while casually noting that mortals wouldn’t be able to pull it off so easily or naturally.
It was essentially this: feel your own substance and essence flowing steadily and warmly inside your vessel, then carefully channel every bit of it into one single crystallized form.
It could even take the shape of a "Power Arrow" if needed, or a "Power Bullet," depending entirely on what the situation demanded in that exact mont.
Well, I won’t lie to myself; it sure was hard to maintain the thing properly once it had been created.
I had to share the heavy burden with Sys, which felt crazy considering Sys normally handled all my calculations and complex processes without ever breaking a sweat or complaining.
[Sys, set up a solid barrier around this entire area right now. I don’t want any of the fairies jumping in unexpectedly and seeing do this act.]
{Understood... Initiating [Imaginary Barrier]. None shall pass the non-existent do that has been laid... But Master, if I may ask... Is Master certain about this?}
[What are you talking about all this while, Sys? I see. You do not want to dirty my hands with this?]
{...I do not particularly care about the life of anyone besides Master... But I understand Master is but a pure individual at heart; would slaying Master’s own not put Master in a position of deep and lasting depression?}
Hahaha... Sys says "Master’s own" as if the titans were ACTUALLY my children, and not just things like waste taken form and made sentient through so twisted, unintended accident.
Nevertheless, I assured her that I would be fine, pushing every lingering doubt firmly aside as best I could.
I raised my hand slowly, feeling the faint tremor in my fingers, then pointed my open palm directly at the Eldest Born where she lay trembling weakly in the smaller crater.
The titan had finally realized that I had arrived.
As she slowly turned her head to face , still shaking as if this imnsely hot environnt around us was actually the coldest place in the entire world, I felt a heavy wave of guilt and sadness creep into my chest, settling there like a cold stone I couldn’t easily shake off.
But I shrugged it off as firmly as I could and began to make my Power Stone.
The rough-surfaced, fist-sized ball started to materialize and hover steadily beneath my outstretched hand, its blue glow pulsing with contained, humming energy that I could feel vibrating lightly against my skin.
If it hit her cleanly and without rcy, nothing at all would remain to register that she had ever existed.
Such a short life. A slife, like my hero once said.
But it genuinely hurt deep inside to think about extinguishing it like this, ending sothing that had barely begun.
But I had to do it...
However, as the seconds stretched into long, dragging minutes, I could not bring myself to release the shot.
The ball simply hovered there, glowing softly blue and pulsing in slow, steady rhythm with my growing hesitation, refusing to obey the command my mind kept trying to give.
Suddenly, killing a mad Titan set on nothing but destruction started to feel like... killing a person who was just trying to survive in the only way she knew how, fighting desperately for every extra mont of life.
"Pa..."
Hm?
She was trying to say sothing.
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