༺ Fracture (2) ༻
It was a dizzying flow.
Time accelerated, space distorted, and their field of view extended.
Even in the midst of it all, Vera’s mind couldn’t stop thinking of what just happened a while ago.
‘Just now…’
He locked eyes with Ardain.
That wasn’t all.
He clearly intended to talk to him.
It was clearly an illusion, and he was only taking a peek into a fixed past, so how could such a thing be possible?
As his thoughts continued, the world returned to its normal pace.
“Vera!”
“Yes… It’s okay.”
Renee’s hand clutched Vera’s collar.
“What was that? What happened?”
“I’m not even sure…”
Vera’s face crumpled.
“…But what is certain is that Ardain’s intentions are included in Orgus’ actions.”
And there was one more thing.
“…It means that there’s something Ardain wants to accomplish through us.”
At Renee’s words, Vera nodded in affirmation and described the scene before them.
“A room… It’s a room. It looks like a room made with partitions under a big tent. And in the middle of the room…”
At that moment, Vera’s body jerked slightly.
It was due to the unbelievable sight that entered his vision.
Renee tilted her head in confusion at the way Vera suddenly stopped in his tracks.
“What’s wrong?”
“…There’s Alaysia.”
Alaysia was there.
She was sitting on a chair, a smile on her face.
Vera frowned and looked at where her gaze was directed to, her big stomach.
“Pregnant…?”
“What?”
“Her stomach is big. It’s so big that anyone will be convinced that she’s carrying a child.”
It was strange.
Vera knew something even though he didn’t have much knowledge about the ancient species.
The ancient species couldn’t conceive.
They were already complete beings and could not propagate their offspring.
That was also the reason why Locrion’s dragons, Nartania’s followers, Maleus’ undead, and Aedrin’s elves were born using the characteristics of natural objects or other creatures.
In other words, the view in front of them was absurd.
Vera’s expression turned grave.
“How could…?”
In the midst of his confusion, the tent was lifted, and Ardain appeared.
“Alaysia.”
“Aru!”
Alaysia got up from her seat.
The next thing she did was to walk over to Ardain and hug him.
“The child kicked.”
“Alaysia.”
“I can feel a heartbeat. I’m sure it’s a healthy child.”
“Alaysia.”
“Who will the child resemble? I hope the child looks like Aru…”
“Alaysia.”
Alaysia’s voice trailed off.
Her gaze turned to Ardain.
Immediately, her eyes folded into a crescent.
“Huh?”
Ardain’s expression didn’t look good.
It was a look of sadness, but also of pity.
“…It’s a child that will never be born. You know it.”
Renee’s breath caught in her throat.
Meanwhile, Ardain continued.
“We are the Parent’s Representatives. We shouldn’t recklessly give this power to anyone else. No, this should never have happened…”
“Aru.”
Alaysia’s expression faded.
“I don’t know what Aru is talking about.”
Ardain’s brows furrowed.
“That child shouldn’t be born.”
“A healthy child will be born.”
“We are beings that are complete as one. You are now doing something you should not be doing.”
“Our parent told me to love. When you love, you protect, right?”
“That’s not love.”
Ardain squeezed Alaysia’s wrists.
“You’re being greedy. This is not something we’re allowed to do.”
“Is it greedy to love?”
“Alaysia!”
Ardain, who had only spoken in a soft tone, let out a sharp and loud voice for the first time.
“Fulfill your duty!”
“I’m doing my duty. I’m loving with all my might.”
“What you should love is not yourself!”
“I love Aru, not myself. And this child is Aru’s child.”
“That is a child made by stealing what is mine.”
Ardain towered over her.
Leaning his head closer to Alaysia, leaving their noses inches apart, Ardain spoke.
“Do I need to say it with my own mouth? Isn’t the reason you want to give birth to that child because you covet the authority given to me?! Isn’t it because you covet my existence that is passed to that child?!”
“Can’t I?”
“…Alaysia. What you’re trying to do is creating the ‘Tenth.’ Do you even realize that?”
“Yeah, it will add another member to our family.”
Grit—
Ardain clenched his teeth.
“Don’t disappoint me.”
“Do you hate me now, Aru?”
“If I did, I wouldn’t have allowed you to exist.”
He frowned.
Ardain heaved a long sigh and then added.
“I know, indeed. I am aware of how far your transgressions and greed will go. And even the fate that awaits you at the end of it all.”
“Yes, Aru knows everything. You’re the child our parent loves most.”
“That’s right, so let’s stop it now. Alright? Now let’s get that thing in your stomach…”
“Aru knows, right?”
Thwump—!
A disgusting sound rang out.
“Cough…!”
The sound of rapid breathing and stifled groans echoed through the room.
The scene in front of him made Vera’s head turn blank.
“Aru knows I’d do this.”
A smile tugged at the corner of Alaysia’s mouth.
Ardain glared at Alaysia with a wretched look on his face. Her white arm pierced through his chest as he kept vomiting blood.
“It’s not… late…”
“It’s late.”
Snap—
Alaysia’s other hand broke Ardain’s neck.
“This is Aru’s fault. This is because Aru doesn’t love his child.”
A gruesome greed came to the surface.
An unquenchable obsession toward one goal was engraved in those eyes.
“It’s not allowed because we’re great? Because we’re one, we aren’t allowed?”
Slowly, Ardain’s body collapsed.
Alaysia caught his body, laid it on the ground, and spoke.
“…So, if we’re no longer great and one, you’ll allow it, right?”
Greed opened her mouth wide.
The corners of her mouth parted all the way to her ears, and then a long tongue stuck out.
“Then Aru will be my only Aru forever, right?”
Her head dropped down.
The long, protruding tongue coiled around the pure whiteness.
Vera crumpled his face, but the whole process was burned into his eyes.
A physically incomprehensible scene followed.
Alaysia swallowed Ardain, who was larger than her own body, like a snake devouring its prey.
Then, she licked up the blood on the floor and drank it.
It was a sickening sight. A hideous sight that disgusted Vera, who was watching it, and Renee, who was only hearing it.
Then suddenly…
“Uh…?”
Alaysia’s body swelled up.
She crouched down.
Her back heaved endlessly, and her stomach bulged.
Her body, which was throbbing so loudly as if it was about to explode, soon scattered in all directions with a bloody sound.
Splat—!
Blood, flesh, and organs swept through the tent.
All of that fell to the ground with a thudding sound.
It was a scene that made all the hair on one’s body stand.
Not long after, Alaysia’s head, which had fallen late, rolled over to the pool of blood.
“Wow…”
She exclaimed.
Where Alaysia’s gaze fell was something lying on top of the pool of blood.
It was a fetus with a grotesque and ominous shape.
It was in an unfinished form, with the eye sockets just beginning to form, but even so, it had distinctive features.
There were ten horns on the top of its head.
And the six heads sprouting all over its body were shaking.
The fetus stirred.
It gasped and twisted.
Then, with a fizz, it began to melt.
Shhh—
It happened in an instant.
Alaysia giggled at the bizarre sight of the human form dissolving into blood.
“…Aru really knows everything.”
With a popping sound, a body grew from Alaysia’s neck.
After her neck and collarbone, her chest followed, then her shoulders and stomach, her arms, pelvis, and legs sprouted.
“You prepared yourself before coming to me.”
Her body had recovered as if nothing had happened, but there was no more fullness in her belly.
Alaysia rose to her feet.
She stepped over the pool of blood, then stepped on Ardain’s rolling head that wasn’t digested.
“By the way, what else did you prepare?”
She stepped hard, but there was no answer.
This was because Ardain, falling short of his name as an ancient species, had completely become a corpse.
“Hmm…”
Splash splash—
Ardain’s white hair turned red as Alaysia stomped her feet.
“If it’s Aru, I’m sure you’ve prepared a lot, right? Let’s see… Did you tell the others in advance? Or did you prepare a blade in secret? Oh, you could have stolen the authority from our parent, right? That must be it, because I can’t feel anything from Aru right now.”
Alaysia crouched down.
Sitting on the pool of blood, she lifted Ardain’s head and hugged it in her arms.
“Were you so afraid of our child? You’re a coward, Aru.”
The words, sung with a smile on her tearful face, told Vera and Renee the truth that had remained hidden.
“Stupid Aru. Even if you tear out your soul and run away, I will find you.”
Over the red pool, Alaysia’s hair began to absorb and turn into the color of blood.
“Because I love Aru so much. I’ll keep waiting, no matter how long it takes. And then I’ll see you again.”
Alaysia’s eyes folded into crescents.
The corners of her mouth parted in a long line.
“So…”
She held up Ardain’s head.
After pulling it upright, Alaysia kissed the parted lips and spoke.
“…Be my sacrifice forever, Aru.”
With that whisper, time accelerated once more.
***
[I had to run away.]
A voice echoed in Vera’s head amidst the accelerating time.
“Ardain?”
It was his voice.
Vera turned his eyes, trying to find him despite the dizzying view, but it was impossible to find him.
[I had to stop Alaysia. I had to hide myself so that her greed wouldn’t succeed.]
Black and white lines filled his vision.
Countless voices buzzed in his ears like a roar.
[It was the only way I could think of. Even though I knew the consequences would be tragic, I couldn’t think of any other way.]
Snap—
The accelerating world stopped.
Immediately, it began to move at a speed that Vera was very familiar with.
In front of him was a gigantic citadel.
And a throne.
“Find him.”
Alaysia was there, sitting cross-legged and whispering.
Kneeling before her were countless humans.
Their eyes were filled with terror.
Boom—!
The earth shook.
The walls crumbled, letting out a rumble.
Then, beyond the fallen walls, a giant rose up.
[Alaysia!]
Terdan vented his anger.
He curled his fist and launched it toward Alaysia.
Clash—!
And once again, the world was turned upside down.
***
Pure white snowy fields.
Locrion and Nartania faced each other.
[Are you trying to stop me?]
[For the Creator did not plan for you.]
Locrion’s scales bristled.
His big mouth gaped wide open.
[Queen, thou must await thy appointed hour.]
Nartania spread out all six pairs of arms.
[That’s the problem with you. You always talk nonsense and block my path.]
The snowy field vibrated.
The fallen snow was thrown back to the sky, and two unfathomable forces began to fight.
Soon after, along with a blinding burst of light, the landscape was turned upside down again.
***
The series of consecutive scenes made Vera gasp for air.
‘What just…?’
He was confused because of the information that pounded into his brain.
His headache went beyond its limit because other scenes followed before he could process what he had just seen.
“Vera! Are you okay?!”
He heard Renee’s urgent voice.
Just as Vera was about to respond,
[…Get out of the way.]
A voice rang in the newly emerging landscape.
Vera looked up and soon recognized the owner of that voice.
It was a black beast the size of a fortress with a pure white arm extending from its spine.
There was a giant tree in front of it.
“…Friede?”
And an elf with a blank expression.
