Chapter 199 Volume IV - Chapter 44: Last Moments of Light
When Ezareth disappeared with tremendous speed, literally teleporting, I did everything I could to see her attack. Because I knew that this was her last attack, that she would make it count, and therefore she would never expect me to strike back.
It was perhaps the only chance I had.
I gave everything I had to this moment. My eyes bled, more blood poured out of my mouth and nose. I felt a moment of intense strength flooding my body, my muscles.
But then... in the middle of it all... I felt something else. Something I never wanted to happen, something I never expected.
I felt my power slowly draining from my body. My eyes widened as I realized that I could no longer feel the presence of that energy swirling inside my body as the crown on my head and the teal glow surrounding my body slowly disappeared.
Basically… I ran out of mana.
"N- No...!"
I bite my tongue, using the metallic taste and the pain as a guide to stay standing.
I will not give up, even if my mana is gone, I... I will not die here.
I shouted again as I watched slow motion Ezareth's sharp dagger slowly making its way toward my heart.
I put down my sword carelessly and met the dagger approaching my heart with the palm of my hand. I saw Ezareth's eyes widen for a moment as the sharp metal pierced through my hand like a nail and exited behind it
I quickly grabbed her shoulder with my free hand, and a sheet of ice quickly covered the ground beneath my feet. I pulled Ezareth downward as the thorns suddenly spiked upward.
Ezareth was momentarily impressed by what I had done. However, she reacted quickly.
"Nice try."
She disappeared again, literally into the shadows. Her presence, her body, everything slipped through my hands… and disappeared. Thorns of ice pierced the place where she had just stood. Time stopped in an instant as this opportunity I had gotten by pushing myself to my limits turned into nothing in front of my eyes.
I felt a warmth in my stomach, a burning sensation. Then… a slight pain.
My bloodshot, blurred eyes slowly slid down. I saw a metal, a sharp piece of metal that pierced my body, my organs, stained red with my own blood.
"A- ah..."
Really?
My mouth filled with sweet metallic blood. The metal piercing my stomach slowly slid backward and I fell to my knees, coughing.
Is that what it's like?
No... I must survive. I must not die.
I... I made a promise... I made more than one promise...
I felt tears welling up in my eyes, and even more blood came out of my mouth. I put my hands on my stomach, on my dirty clothes, which were quickly dyed red. Then I saw Ezareth looking at me with piercing eyes.
She turned back, and I watched her walk out of the door that opened outside, without looking at me once after our eyes met. In that brief moment, those few seconds I spent looking at Ezareth's back, a thousand other thoughts went through my mind.
Why...?
Then, a whispering voice answered me.
'Because you're stupid.'
How long has it been since I got my new life? Four months?
The room rattled, I had already forgotten that as I tried to resist Ezareth. I didn't care though, I kept thinking.
One mistake, really? One tiny little mistake is all it took to cost me my life?
'Yeah, I didn't call you an idiot for nothing.'
Am I... am I going to die here, in this dark room, with the exit right in front of me... like this?
Celine... Will I not be able to heal her? Will I not be able to fulfill perhaps my greatest responsibility in this life?
Sue... I... I dreamed of a future with her, I wanted her by my side in the future I wanted to achieve. I... I liked her. Was it an impossible dream?
Adrian, Alexander, Julian and so many others...
Was it all for nothing?
Clara...
As her image flashed before my eyes and her voice echoed in my ears, I felt something inside me, something trying to surface from the depths, out of reach of anyone. With this feeling, I felt myself coming alive, even if a little...
No, it shouldn't end like this...
It was a false hope. Even if it was real, it was not enough to save me. Because despite this strange thing I was feeling, my vision was blurring even more, the sounds I was hearing were becoming incomprehensible.
It was cold, I was cold. Me, as a wiera, as someone who cannot feel cold, I was cold.
My eyes watered even more. I clung to that strange feeling that suddenly emerged from the depths of my soul.
No... I don't want to die…
And yet... I hesitated for a moment, and then that feeling I had clung to... that glimmer of hope... vanished in an instant, as if it never existed at all.
Am I going to die?
It was a moment of hesitation, just a moment.
No... I mustn't die here.
In the midst of all this blur and cold, someone appeared in front of me. Someone standing as if nothing had happened, his violet eyes fixed on me. The crazy smile on his face was gone, he was serious.
Myself, the second me, my wiera side. The owner of the whispered voice who answered my thoughts.
'Did you always think you would win?'
But what I felt when I saw him was not helplessness or fear. On the contrary, another ray of hope appeared in front of me.
Yes... he can help me. He may be crazy, he may want to hurt those around me, but he can help me!
He crouched down next to me and sat down. His eyes focused on the bloody wound on my stomach. He knew what I was thinking, he tilted his head slightly to the side with an indifferent expression. Then... he leaned slowly toward me, and whispered in my ear once more.
'No, I don't want to.'
"H- h...a?"
I looked at his expression, I couldn't make out anything because of the blood and the blurriness, but I saw his lips curl up a little, then slowly widen, like the smile of an umbanth.
'I'm not going to help you, if you made a mistake you have to pay for it, Aiden.
Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?
Weren't you always helping me in the most difficult times? Weren't you always trying to drive me crazy to take over my body?
Why don't you do something now? Why are you letting this happen? Why don't you take over my body again and slaughter everyone?
Why... Just why are you taking my life away from me?
With that, his image began to fade away, slowly turning to dust. He gave a short laugh, keeping a smile on his face.
'Did you think of me as a double-edged sword, a tool, a dog that you can use at will? Hah, you are so funny that I want to die.'
I kept thinking, I thought of countless things.
Meanwhile, my wiera side put his hand on my forehead. He started stroking my hair, like a father does to his son.
'No, Aiden. It's you who is a double-edged sword, a tool, and a dog.'
Then... he turned to dust completely. Leaving me in the fading world, in the last moments of light I could see.
That's how the sketchy voice of Sith started to enter my mind again. I heard him crying, I saw him hugging me over my body, he didn't say anything, he just kept crying.
Images began to flash before my eyes, images of my old world as Ethan.
The orphanage, the friends I thought I had made, the fake smiles, the people trying to curry favor with me for my achievements, then university and The Lands of The Lunerra.
I saw the day I finished the game, the email I received, and the dark void I stayed in for who knows how long.
Then my awakening in Aiden's body. My sister, my friends, the time I spent with them... all this time. Everything, every single moment that brought me to this moment.
My coughs echoed in the room as I wheezed through my shattered lungs. I tried to raise my hand; I tried as the images slowly faded, the voices dulled and the world slowly faded into darkness.
I tried to reach out to Clara, I tried to touch her smile. That feeling deep in my soul returned, warm and bright. It was soothing.
Yet it was too late.
My eyelids slowly closed, and even though I resisted, I couldn't help it. I felt the room tremble again, this time much, much more violently. I could make out a few figures in my last moments as my vision darkened.
With that, a deep silence and absolute darkness enveloped my body with a sweet sensation. The warm and bright feeling I had felt inside me, deep in my soul, completely disappeared.
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