Chapter 1: Prologue - Black Heart, Golden Blood
The battlefield was painted in blood and scorched earth with continuous thunder rolling across the skies.
The ground was littered with the bodies of fallen warriors... men and beasts, mortals and deities, along with burning corpses.
Smoke rose in thick cues, blotting out what little light the fractured sky allowed.
Above, the vast sky was split apart, fractured like a mirror shattered into crumbles.
Thin veins of light and darkness intertwined violently, spilling hues of gold and deep red across the battlefield.
"Haa..."
Amidst this chaos, a lone figure was still standing.
The young man’s black eyes trembled as blood seeped from a gash on his forehead, and the red droplets traced rough paths down his pale face.
The blood dripped through his eyelashes, stinging his vision, but he didn’t wipe it away.
He just couldn’t...
His left hand was missing, and the stump was bandaged with torn strips of cloth that were already soaked with his blood.
His body was battered and broken, trembling under the weight of exhaustion and pain.
Black-ish cracks ran along the surface of his skin, exposing his flesh beneath, which was marred with cuts and burns.
Each step he took sent pain through his body, yet he moved forward.
"Urghh..."
A low groan escaped his lips as he forced himself to take another step.
He gripped his palm, and dark light spilled from his trembling fingers, twisting into the form of a spear.
"Haargh..." Taking a shaky breath, he raised his head to look at the woman who was lying on the floor, and her beauty was undiminished even by the toll of battle.
Her long black hair, streaked with blood and dirt, showed a face that radiated a fragile beauty.
Her clothes were stained with blood, showing wounds and burns on her beautiful skin.
Despite her severe injuries, her chest rose and fell faintly, clinging to the last shard of her divinity.
Her fingers twitched, reaching for the man who had shielded her from countless blows and bled for her.
She wanted to touch him and feel his presence, even if only for a moment longer.
Her red lips parted and a hoarse voice escaped her lips "D-Dear.. Acolyte... Irakiel.."
Hearing her words, the man’s eyes quivered in pain and regret as he took another step, moving close to her "Mother Zrryha..."
The woman’s lips curled into a soft, pained smile as tears streaked down her cheek, leaving a faint trail amidst the dirt and blood.
"Finally... you called me by my n-name... Irakiel."
The young man slowly lowered his body, kneeling in front of her "I.. have already taken down the Lesser Divinities..."
Stretching his hand, he reached out and gently grasped her trembling fingers "C-Can you use your sixth constellation to escape from here?"
The woman shook her head gently "My... divinity and my Path of Ruined Curses are already shattered. I-"
"Urghh..." She suddenly coughed, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
The young man’s eyes trembled to see her state like this, and he moved even closer "Mother Zrryha..."
She forced a smile as blood dribbled down her lips "I-Idiot.. don’t be stubborn.. just call me by my name."
Irakiel hesitated and his jaw tightened "Zrryha..."
The sound of her name from his lips made her smile widen...
Slowly, she raised her left hand and her fingers trembled as they reached for his face.
When her fingers brushed against his blood-smeared cheek, his body stiffened and his heart ached at the tenderness of her touch.
"It... seems like we are going to die, Irakiel..."
"I can already feel my divinity depleting... and your life force too..."
His gaze lowered as he mumbled "Forgive me... I couldn’t protect you... as your Acolyte it is my duty to-"
She shook her head gently, "No... you have done what you could. I have never seen an Acolyte killing Lesser Divinities like that."
Inhaling softly, she hesitated for a second before asking "How about... your curses?"
He just looked at the dagger in his hand as blood dripped from his face "Gone..."
Hearing this, her eyes crescented and she leaned forward, letting her head rest on his bloodstained chest.
With every passing second, she felt her body getting colder and she knew she was going to take her last breath... but at least she was in his arms.
’The only regret is...’
As she raised her gaze, she looked at his face and opened her lips to speak "Actually, Irakiel... I lov-"
*sleesh*
But in the next instant, her eyes shrank in horror and the words she was about to say struck in her throat.
*splash* She saw his head blasting to pieces as a silver arrow flashed right through his skull.
His blood sprayed across Zrryha’s face and body as the warm and sticky blood painted her.
Her eyes, filled with horror, reflected the gruesome sight of his headless corpse collapsing to the ground beside her. *thud*
"Ira...kiel..." she whispered with quivering lips.
She bit her trembling lip and raised her gaze to look at the breathtaking figure descending from the skies.
The woman’s long blonde hair flowed down her shoulders as she tilted her head "As I thought... Even the Pantheon Lord of a Greater Divinity can easily one-shot an Acolyte of a Lesser Divinity like you."
"How was it? My aim?"
Zrryha gritted her teeth, forcing her voice to rise above the lump in her throat. "You damn Caladrian..."
Hearing her words, the woman chuckled "Now, now... why are you calling my whole Caladrian race..."
As she spoke, she glanced around at the littered bodies on the battlefield "I must say though, I am impressed."
Her lips curled into a smirk "That Acolyte of yours managed to take down all these Lesser Divinities and their Acolytes... What a fine seed you had, She Who Speaks Ruins."
Hearing her divinity name from the woman’s lips made Zrryha scrunch up in disgust.
Tears blurred her vision as she reached out, taking the headless body in her arms.
Seeing the intimate moment, the newly arrived woman scratched her neck "What is it? Did you love him or something? The mother of curses, a divinity loving her Acolyte. How scandulous... that would make a good story, don’t you think?"
Blood soaked Zrryha’s trembling hands as she cradled Irakiel’s lifeless body "Irakiel..."
She heard the faint pulse of his heart, which was still beating.
Suddenly, crimson red energy erupted from the dead body and began to coil around Zrryha’s body.
The woman who was floating raised her eyebrow in shock ’What is this...’
Even Zrryha herself was surprised, and then she realized ’Irakiel gave all of his life force and soul.. to me...?’
Her eyes fluttered in affection ’Irakiel.. even in death, you made a pact with ’death’ to offer your life force and soul to me... so that I can unlock my seventh constellation?’
’But this seventh constellation...’
*woosh* An enormous red ring with intricate patterns appeared around her and she closed her eyes ’No.. this constellation, I will use it for you...’
The woman who was watching finally realized after looking at the red ring manifesting around her ’I see, this bitch went and unlocked her seventh constellation...’
Zrryha raised her hand over Irakiel’s chest, ’Take my heart, my dear irakiel.’
Her fingers oozed with black energy as she hesitated for only a second before plunging her hand into his rib cage.
The Caladrian’s amusement faded and she frowned in confusion "What in the...?"
A sickening *squelch* echoed as Zrryha’s nails tore through his flesh and bone, her hand sinking deep into Irakiel’s chest, revealing his beating heart.
She quickly grabbed his heart and plucked it out of his rib cage, throwing it away on the blood-filled floor
"Urgh..." She staggered, her body trembling from exhaustion and the strain of the constellation’s awakening.
*sleesh* But in the next instant, a silver arrow shot through the air, blasting Zrryha’s head to bloody pieces.
Her headless body slumped forward, collapsing over Irakiel.
The Caladrian lowered her bow and sneered "Pathetic. All that effort... for nothing."
’No... Not yet... Irakiel...’
This was Zrryha’s last thought as she twisted her hand, her fingernails digging into her own chest.
*spleesh* Blood spurted out from her chest, revealing her black heart which was pulsing faintly.
She opened her palm and gripped her black heart ’For him... I will give everything.’
With one pull, she ripped the heart from her chest and the black blood spilled over her hands.
Huh? The woman was taken aback seeing this absurdity "What the hell is she doing?"
The black heart pulsed faintly in Zrryha’s bloody palm and she hurriedly stuffed that heart in Irakiel’s ribcage.
’Live for me... Irakiel...’
The red ring around her glowed brightly, and in the next instant, it shattered into pieces.
The Caladrian stumbled back, shielding her eyes from the blinding light "What?"
Zrryha’s body began to dissolve, breaking apart into motes of red light...
’Oh, thy Goddess of Fate, keeper of destinies untold, I beseech thee... guide this lone soul across the veil. Let it not drift into the abyss, but find a thread anew, bound to purpose and light.’
’Grant it a second dawn, where life and meaning entwine once more.’
’7th Constellation: The Curse of Resurgence.’
The Caladrian woman floated in the air for a moment longer as she watched Zrryha’s body dissolve into fading crimson motes.
The red ring of the Seventh Constellation had already shattered, losing its power.
"Foolish to the very end," she muttered, lowering her silver bow. "All that power... wasted on a dead Acolyte."
With a dismissive flick of her wrist, she turned and dashed into the sky.
*crunch*
At this moment, a woman rushed forward through the carnage and glanced around at the battlefield.
Her long white hair was streaked with blood and ash, with visible wounds all over her body as the six angelic wings behind her fluttered gently.
"What was that red light just now?"
Her gaze swept across the field of corpses until she recognized a headless corpse lying on the ground.
"I-Irakiel? IRAKIELLL???!!"
A strangled cry tore from her throat as she rushed forward, falling to her knees beside his headless corpse.
"Irakiel... no... no, no, no!"
Aeloria’s hands shook as she reached out and gently took what remained of his shoulders.
Tears spilled down her face, cutting clean trails through the dust and blood.
"Irakiel..." she sobbed, pressing her forehead against his blood-soaked chest. "You idiot... you stubborn fool..."
She loved him for so long, even before he became Zrryha’s Acolyte, but everytime she made a move, he quietly rejected her.
A bitter, tearful smile crossed her lips.
"Every time I tried to get closer... every confession and every night I stayed by your side hoping you would finally see me... you gently pushed me away."
She clutched his lifeless body tighter, "Was she truly worth it? Was serving her worth dying like this? Look at you now... all for her."
"I would have given you the world, Irakiel. I would have left the Celestial Host for you. I would have abandoned my own divinity... but you never even looked at me the way you looked at her."
"And now she’s gone too... and you’re gone... and I’m left behind again."
For a long moment, only her quiet sobs filled the battlefield.
Then, slowly, Aeloria reached out and grasped the dark spear still clutched in Irakiel’s cold fingers.
She rose to her knees and pressed the spear’s tip against her own chest, right above her heart.
"If this life has no you in it... then I don’t want it."
Without hesitation, she drove the spear forward with all her remaining strength.
Shhhk-!
The spear pierced straight through her chest, erupting out of her back in a spray of golden blood.
Her six wings spasmed violently and then began to wither.
"Urgh..." Aeloria gasped and blood bubbled from her lips, yet her expression remained strangely peaceful.
She collapsed forward, falling across Irakiel’s body.
Her warm, golden blood poured out, soaking into the gaping wound in his chest where Zrryha had placed her own black heart.
Aeloria’s fading eyes looked at his headless form with nothing but love and regret.
"If we ever get reborn... I hope I will be your first choice, Irakiel."
"Atleast in death... let me stay by your side..." she whispered with her last breath.
