I stood there, frozen.
My eyes trembled, heart pounding like a war drum.
What… what did Oliver just say?
That Alaranta, Charles Academy, and the Council—the very institutions I believed in—
They were the ones who doomed Kathízise into the Beast Territory?
My gaze drifted to the gravestones nearby. One by one, I read the etched names and dates again.
They all shared the same ending.
2024.
I clenched my fists. "You're… playing tricks on me, right?" I whispered, barely able to speak.
But Oliver didn't budge. He stayed perfectly composed, adjusting the collar of his shirt with that unnerving calm he always carried.
"Lina," he said, voice low but steady. "I'm the living proof of what the Council did. Of what they did to us. Whether you choose to believe me—or keep your eyes shut—is your choice alone."
I dropped to my knees.
The hunger… the fatigue… the wounds… His words…
Everything hit me like a tidal wave.
I was unraveling.
All the hope I stitched together in my heart—thread by desperate thread—it was tearing apart.
I thought… I finally found people who weren't like the rest. People who weren't just another Gloria. Another king with a throne built on corpses…
I looked up at him, my voice breaking.
"I… can't believe it."
Oliver raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"
I forced myself to stand. My legs trembled, my breath ragged.
"I don't want to believe it!!" I shouted. "I trusted them! I thought you were the villain—after seeing that lab, after witnessing how C.O.M. drains souls from slaves and breeds monsters!"
"It's just… it's all insanity! No side is worth trusting!"
"It's not," Oliver replied sharply.
I blinked. "Huh?"
"It's not 'both sides are wrong,' Lina. That's what they want you to think. That apathy is safer than conviction."
"You're blinded by them!" I shouted, stepping forward. "C.O.M. found you when you were broken! Of course you'd fall for their promises!"
"But I…" My voice cracked. "I still have people in Alaranta who care about me… who love me… I don't want to lose them. I can't turn my back so easily."
Silence. For a moment, he didn't say anything. He just stared at the graves, solemn.
"I had people too," he said quietly. "People I loved. People I care about. People I would have given everything to protect."
He stepped toward me, closing the distance until his face was just inches from mine. His voice, when it came, was a whisper—gentle, but piercing.
"Having someone to care about doesn't make you special, Lina. That's not what makes you different from me. We all have something to protect."
He looked me dead in the eye.
"But they destroyed my world. My home. My reason to smile."
"So yes. I sided with C.O.M.. Not because I was brainwashed. Not because I was weak."
He touched his chest.
"But because that was the only thread I had left. The only path that didn't end in madness."
I was trembling now. I didn't want to believe him… but his voice, his pain, felt too real.
"Are you telling me I should ignore it all?" he pressed, eyes burning. "That I should kneel to those who burned everything I loved?"
"No. Let me ask it simpler."
He leaned closer.
"Would you stand by their side if they destroyed your home? If they crushed the last pieces of what you held dear?"
He took a step back. "Is that your ideology?"
"Lina… I'm sorry to say this, but—"
"JUST SHUT UPPP!" I screamed, lashing out and shoving him with the last ounce of strength I had.
Oliver stumbled back a step, yet remained eerily composed. He tilted his head down slightly, hands behind his back.
"My sincerest apologies," he began softly, "if my words have caused you dis—"
"You and your freakish politeness," I snapped, cutting him off. "Just quit it already! What do you even want from me? You didn't drag me here just to recite that snow-white sob story, did you?"
He raised his head and gave a subtle nod.
"You're right. That wasn't the sole reason. What I—no, what we wanted was…"
He extended a hand toward me.
"To offer you a place among us. Join the Cult of Marloth. Bow your head before our God, and he shall answer your prayers."
His voice was calm, almost soothing. But the words? They crawled under my skin like worms.
I scoffed, wiping the exhaustion from my eyes. My body felt heavier by the second.
"Of course. That's what this was all about," I muttered bitterly. "I'm nine. Just nine. But I've seen enough to know exactly what you're doing."
If I were a few years older… if I had just a little more control over my Flow… I could've taken down someone like Chris without Mina's help.
They saw that. They knew I had potential. Killing me would've been a waste.
No—recruiting me was the smarter move.
I rubbed my temples, trying to keep my tired thoughts from spiraling.
"You keep talking about Marloth like he's some divine savior," I said, eyes narrowing. "Is he really a god to you?"
Oliver tapped his chin thoughtfully, his other hand resting on his waist. A philosopher mid-sermon.
"I understand your hesitation," he said. "Lina, tell me… isn't a god defined as a great, unseen force? One who performs miracles, watches over his people, and answers their deepest prayers?"
I didn't respond immediately. The silence between us lingered, then I gave the faintest nod.
"Well then," he said, his tone softening, "Marloth is that existence for us. He shields us from the world's cruelty. He performs miracles beyond reason. He gives us hope—and in return for our faith, he grants our desires."
Hope, huh?
Tch. He really thought that proved something?
And from him to say he wasn't brainwashed… What a joke.
He spoke like someone who'd never actually seen this so-called god. Just a bunch of blind promises and rituals. The way he clung to it—it reeked of cultism.
My lips twisted into a frown.
They didn't know Marloth. Not really. Not the way they wanted to believe. And yet here they were, worshipping him like desperate dogs begging at a stranger's feet.
Yep. Just as I thought.
A cult through and through. They didn't name themselves like that for nothing.
"Tell me one last thing," I said, my voice firm despite the tremble in my chest. "What kind of promise will Marloth make to you?"
Oliver's gaze drifted back to the gravestones, his eyes softening with a distant sorrow.
"For me," he said quietly, "it's simple. To see them again."
He paused. "Others… they have their own wishes, of course. But mine has always been the same."
A chill ran down my spine. That kind of promise… it could blind anyone. Even me.
I looked down. The strange, swirling Flow beneath the ground was still shifting like a restless spirit—Soul-like and unnatural. It gave the earth a pulse, like it was alive.
Then I took a deep breath, as deep as my battered lungs would allow, and looked him in the eyes.
"I'm not meant to follow that path," I said.
Oliver's eyes widened slightly, surprise flashing across his features.
"Setting the Marloth nonsense aside," I continued, "you stand on something solid, Oliver. Your words… your convictions… your longing to right a terrible wrong. They aren't delusions. I get that now."
Strangely, my heart felt lighter. The aching pressure in my chest, the fog clouding my thoughts—it all began to lift. My lips curled upward. A faint smile. It might've been small, but it was real.
I saw myself in him. I saw Ash Wyvern in him.
"Oliver… to me, you're not a villain," I said softly. "Now that I've heard your story, I can't even bring myself to blame you anymore."
"But…"
My voice tightened.
"When it comes to choosing a side… I don't think I can stand with C.O.M."
A stillness fell between us. Only the rustling of the trees dared to move.
And yet, in that silence, I felt something pass between us—understanding. Recognition. A brief truce of emotions.
Then, after a while, Oliver broke the stillness.
"I see," he said, a quiet sigh escaping his lips. "It's unfortunate, truly, but I won't force your hand. You've made your choice… and we'll respect it."
He turned slightly, the hem of his shirt fluttering in the wind.
"In that case," he continued, "allow me to offer you a parting gift."
My brows furrowed. Parting gift? Was this some coded message? Was he about to unleash a horde of Flow Beasts again or something?
Oliver pointed to the ground.
"You noticed it, didn't you? The Flow beneath us."
I nodded slowly, my instincts on edge. "Hard not to. It's nothing like ordinary Flow. Too vivid. Too… alive."
A flicker of amusement crossed his face. Then he reached into his pocket and produced that strange device, its surface etched with glowing symbols.
The moment he activated it, a soft hum filled the air.
"Astolf," he said into it, his voice calm. "Initiate Lina's parting gift. Include total teleportation."
I blinked.
Parting gift? Total teleportation?
This was different. This wasn't like last time.
"What… what are you planning now?" I whispered.
The ground began to glow.
"If you don't mind," Oliver said calmly, "would you turn around? It would be better for you to witness it with your own eyes."
I narrowed my eyes, suspicious. But something in his voice—almost reverent—pushed me to comply. I turned.
And my breath caught in my throat.
"What… what the hell do you think you're doing?" I asked, my voice cracking with disbelief.
He walked up beside me, unbothered, hands clasped behind his back like a teacher giving a lesson. "That Flow you saw? It's been traveling for two days now. As we speak, it's wrapped itself around all of Alaranta."
My eyes widened in horror. "What do you mean… wrapped around?"
He pointed forward. "Specifically, around the barrier."
I followed his finger.
The massive dome-shaped barrier that protected Alaranta—the very shield keeping Flow Beasts at bay—was beginning to twitch, shiver, and contort like gelatin under a flame. Its once-solid form wobbled unnaturally, its energy becoming unstable.
"It's collapsing…" I breathed.
"You're destroying it!" I cried, spinning back to face him.
He nodded, unfazed. "A gift. A parting gift, since you declined our generous invitation. I do hope you'll treasure it."
"You CRAZY BASTARDS!"
I bolted.
My legs moved before my mind could even process what I was doing. I knew I couldn't reach it in time. I knew I didn't have the strength to stop it even if I did reach it. I knew—dammit—I knew I was too broken to change anything now.
But the thought of that barrier falling…
The thought of it crumbling and leaving my parents—my family—exposed to those monsters?
Unforgivable.
"My sincerest apologies," Oliver said behind me, "but I was ordered to keep you here. We were meant to watch it together, after all."
In a blink, he flashed forward.
Then—
BOOM.
His fist sank into my gut with crushing force. My breath exploded from my lungs along with spit, and the world tilted violently as I slammed into the ground, face-first.
Pain rang through my bones. I tried to rise—
But he grabbed me by the hair and yanked my head up.
"Look at it," he said, his tone no longer gentle. "Don't you dare look away."
"No…" I choked. "Please, don't— They… They have nothing to do with this…"
"Are you sure about that?" he replied coldly.
The barrier cracked. Holes began tearing through it—tiny at first, then spreading like wildfire. Each one was a countdown to annihilation.
"I'd argue they had everything to do with it. And now that you've chosen your side, now that you turned your back on salvation…" His eyes darkened. "You tipped the cup. And now it overflows."
He tossed me to the ground like trash. I coughed, trembling, eyes wide and glassy as I looked up at him, too weak to move. My nails scraped at the dirt.
The barrier split further—jagged and screeching as energy peeled apart.
"You feel that?" he asked, tilting his head.
My tears dropped onto the earth. My lungs stung. My heart cracked.
"The Flow Beasts—they're already sprinting toward Alaranta. They've been waiting, Lina. Pacing. Starving," he said with a maddening calm. "And now, the cage is gone. They're even hungrier than before."
I couldn't speak. I could barely breathe.
"Congratulations," he said softly, kneeling beside me, his voice a whisper next to my ear. "This… is your fault now. And you'll have to live with it."
He stepped back, scraping against the cracked stone as an emerald glow surged around his body—no, around the entire tower. The air thrummed with power, vibrating in my bones.
They were leaving. Teleporting.
Just like that.
The only lead we had... was slipping away.
My breathing was ragged, every inhale scraping against my throat. I crouched, coughing, pain lancing through my chest—but I raised my head anyway.
"OLIVER!!" I screamed, voice raw and cracking.
The green light intensified, wrapping him in a cocoon of light, preparing to swallow him whole.
I didn't think.
I reacted.
However, my Aura erupted.
Darkness exploded from within me, swallowing everything in a violent pulse. The air grew colder. Thicker. Shadows writhed around me like living things—and for the first time… I saw Oliver shiver.
Unlike earlier, my Aura didn't nullify the teleportation magic. DAMN IT!
Still, I won't let him leave without marking him with my wrath.
I pointed at him, my hand trembling but firm. "I don't care where you run—be it across continents, beneath the deepest oceans, through time itself, or even to another damn PLANET."
"I. WILL. FIND. YOU."
The tower shook with my voice.
"I'll hunt you down. I will end you. I'll make you and every last one of you beg for the gates of Hell to open! I'll become the nightmare you never wanted to dream!"
My eyes burned. My aura surged.
"I—LINA LAPIS—will slay your God, and make you wish you never bowed to him!"
The light consumed him.
And then—They vanished.
Leaving behind only silence… and the echo of a promise that would shake the heavens.
"I—ASH WYVERN—WILL END YOUR PATHETIC C.O.M.!!"