Meanwhile, Rio sent a telepathic message to Lia, "Hey, Wifey. I have a question for you. How would you feel if something happened to Lioness?"
Lia's icy voice sounded through Rio's thoughts, laced with coldness and concern, "What are you talking about? Don't play games with me. Helia has been by my side since childhood. She's my sister, and if anything happened to her, it would break my heart. So, why are you asking about her in this way, Husband?"
Despite her previous emotional outburst, Lia's love for Rio shone through her words, making it clear that she couldn't stay mad at him for long.
However, Rio remained silent, his focus solely on the target in front of him.
Helia was in his strong arms and held her tight against him as he sprinted towards their destination. They ran across the desolate landscape, the girl's eyes were fixed on the horizon, trying to spot any sign of the shadow.
Finally, as they got closer to the spatial rift in the east, her eyes discovered the shadowy figure that was coming towards them from the west with incredible speed, its form resembling a swarm of dark crows beating their wings in unison.
Rio abruptly stopped in his tracks, coming to a halt just ten meters away from the spatial rift portal, and carefully set Helia down on the ground.
"Take the portal and escape, before it catches us both," he urged, there was urgency in the voice.
At first, she couldn't understand what he was saying then as she looked into his eyes, seeing his unwavering stubbornness, she realized he wasn't joking, the boy was totally foolish, but she knew she couldn't let him sacrifice himself to save her.
Her eyes streamed with tears down her face as she was aware of the fact of what this boy was doing, "You're such an idiot, Why do you always have to be so damn selfless and nice to me? I can not let you die. You need to leave now and let me take care of this mess. This is all my fault,"
she said, her voice trembling with emotion as she felt the weight of guilt drowning her. She knew only one of them could escape, but leaving Rio behind felt like a betrayal.
'Ah... This girl...'
Rio was feeling a headache as he tried to reason with Helia, but she remained stubborn and refused to budge from her stance. He knew that arguing with her was futile, but he couldn't give up on her. Despite his efforts, Helia continued to resist, and Rio felt himself getting frustrated with her, she was just too stubborn to accept any of his decisions.
Just then, without warning, Helia grabbed Rio by the waist and hurled him towards the space rift portal. Rio's body was weightless as he drifted through the air, his eyes flickered with shock as he realized he was helpless to convince her.
Helia, on the other hand, was paralyzed with fear as the shadowy swarm closed in on her. Her heart beat against her chest as she watched the dark crows get closer to her.
Suddenly, a blinding light flashed and she found herself hurtling through the air, propelled by the force of the spatial portal rift.
As she fixed her gaze ahead, Helia's heart shattered at the sight of Rio standing firm against the oncoming swarm of dark crow shadows. He stood like a towering mountain, unshakable and immovable in the face of any storm.
The boy had used mystic swap skill at the very last moment when he was about to get engulfed by the spatial rift. It was the same skill that he had received from the mystic egg that Helia had given him which she got by defeating the Tyrant Alligator Beast.
<<<<
[You have acquired the Mystic Swap Technique]
[Mystic Swap]
[Grade: S]
~ It is a powerful skill that allows the user to instantly switch places with any object or living being within their line of sight. By using their space affinity, the user can initiate the swap and instantly teleport to the new location. The skill requires a high level of concentration and precision to avoid accidental swaps or unwanted consequences. However, the user must be careful not to swap with something or someone that is too heavy or too far away, or they may suffer from serious injury or exhaustion.
>>>>
Tears of hopelessness welled up in Helia's eyes as she watched Rio being consumed by the swarm of shadows, "No, Rio!" she cried out, her voice cracking with emotion.
She read his lips as he uttered his goodbye words, "Take care, Lioness."
A flood of memories from their first encounter flashed through her mind.
'Hahaha…I can understand. You just know how to oppress the weak and nothing more. But mark my word, One day you will regret and shed tears for your unreasonable action of today.'
In that heart-wrenching moment, Helia knew that she had lost the foolish boy who had once promised her that he would make her regret her actions, but now not only she was feeling guilty for that day but also found herself regretting not being able to protect him.
A sharp pain shot through her shoulder, and she looked down to see a slave tattoo etched into her skin in the shape of a cross. The mark burned like fire, a constant reminder of her past mistakes.
'I, Helia Rainheart, swear on heaven and my core that if I ever regret my action today, for making this disgusting creature in front of me, suffer in pain I will accept him as my lord.'
The heavens bore witness to her oath, and the magic of the moment manifested as a slave mark on her shoulder the instant she regretted her actions. But for Helia, the tattoo and that day were insignificant. All that mattered to her was the boy she had lost.
With tears streaming down her face, Helia passed through the spatial rift. Her last glimpse of Rio was a feeble smile as he turned to see her, only to vanish into the shadowy swarm of crows. However, she wasn't able to see the ending as the spatial rift closed as soon as she entered it.
====////====
[SnowNote]
I know you guys hate Rio for him being an idiot... But that's how he is...He is driven by his deep love and affection for his beloved Wifey. He would go to great lengths and even risk his own life to ensure her happiness.
I know his reasoning for saving Helia seems foolish now and he should've saved himself because for us readers we know Lia loves him more than Helia...
But from Rio's perspective, he believed that Lia loved Helia more...
Why not?
They were together since childhood meanwhile he just came a few months ago...
It's not fair to blame Lia for Rio's actions either, as he never asked her how she would feel if he put himself in danger.
But before passing judgment on Rio, I urge you to keep reading as the story will unfold, and Rio's actions may start to make more sense in the coming chapters.
Please vote with power stones and Golden tickets to support this book. The more, the better.
I'll add the important character images on the:
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Edited By: TheWhiteSnow
