The Damned Demon

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Rachel and Cecilia stood frozen in place, their wide, stunned eyes locked onto Aira as if she were a ghost.

Rachel’s fingers trembled as she took a hesitant step forward, “Y-You…” Her voice cracked with emotion, anger bubbling just beneath the surface. “Why? If you were really the Oracle, how could you let Cedric die when he loved you more than anything? You were there with him, and yet… you let those monsters gang up on him and kill him?” Her eyes darkened with disappointment. “Or was your love for him never true?”

“Rachel…” Cecilia gently grasped her daughter’s arm, silently urging her to soften her tone, yet her own heart demanded the same answers.

Aira’s frail form trembled, her eyes squeezing shut as if the weight of the past was too much to bear. “I did try,” she whispered, barely above a breath. “More times than I can count… But I always failed. He was fated to die there. A fate I couldn’t change.”

Rachel clenched her fists, her expression twisting with anguish, “Fated to die? What kind of ridiculous thing are you saying?! That couldn’t have been true… If you knew he was going to die, then there were so many ways you could have prevented it! You could have warned him!”

Aira shook her head slowly, her silver-white hair falling over her shoulders, “Even if I did… I would only have hastened it. Even if I saw his fate years before it happened… it still wouldn’t have changed anything if I personally interfered.”

Rachel’s frustration reached its breaking point, “Why? Why wouldn’t it change?!” she demanded.

Aira finally lifted her head, her lifeless hazel eyes locking onto Rachel’s. There was something terrifying in them—something hollow, as if she had long since accepted a reality far worse than death.

“Because…” she murmured, her voice eerie, “something far more terrifying than anything we can imagine… controlled his fate.”

A chilling silence fell upon the room.

Rachel and Cecilia exchanged unsettled glances, their minds struggling to comprehend the weight of her words.

Somewhere deep inside, Rachel felt a gnawing dread that she didn’t yet understand.

But later, when Aira explained it, the gnawing dread they had felt earlier now seemed to envelop their very souls.

—

Meanwhile, in the shadowy and hellish lands of Zalthor, the Nightshade Kingdom rested beneath a sky blanketed in swirling crimson clouds, illuminated by the faint glow of the cursed sun.

Rowena stirred awake, her breath shallow as her eyelids fluttered open. The room she lay in was dimly lit by dark bluish mana lanterns, casting a gentle glow on the dark stone walls. As she tried to sit up, a deep soreness spread through her body, but she forced herself to move.

“Your Majesty!”

The familiar voice made her glance to the side, where Merina sat by her bedside, her tired eyes immediately lighting up with relief.

Rowena let out a slow breath, steadying herself as she tried to gather her scattered thoughts. The last thing she remembered was the battlefield… the crumbling remains of her kingdom… and then…

Luna… Drakar… The destruction.

Rowena pressed her fingertips against her temples, her mind racing to piece together everything.

“Where… Where am I?” she murmured, her voice hoarse but laced with strength.

Merina quickly moved closer to her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. “We are in the Nightshade Kingdom, Your Majesty. We are safe here, for now. The draconians are too occupied to come after us, and Luna assured me that Drakar wouldn’t dare pursue you.”

The moment those words left Merina’s lips, Rowena’s breath hitched as memories flooded back in—memories of standing in the ruins of her fallen kingdom, watching everything burn. Remembering it threatened to split her heart into two.

And then…

Isola…

Rowena’s crimson eyes flickered with urgency. “Isola.”

Merina’s expression faltered.

Rowena turned sharply to her, her voice suddenly more forceful, “Where is she? Is she alright?”

Merina lowered her head, her hands twisting in her lap, “Isola… She is in a coma, Your Majesty.”

Rowena’s entire body tensed.

“The injuries she sustained were too much,” Merina continued, her voice thick with sorrow. “But… she saved you and your unborn child.”

Rowena’s breath caught in her throat.

Slowly, almost hesitantly, her hand instinctively moved to her abdomen. A warmth—subtle but unmistakable—pulsed beneath her palm.

A pulse of life.

She should have lost it. By all means, after everything that happened, she should have lost it. But… Isola saved it.

A wave of guilt and sorrow crashed over her, her hand clenching over her stomach as she whispered, “She risked everything… for me…”

Merina remained silent, sensing the turbulent emotions swelling in her queen.

Rowena’s eyes darkened as she clenched her jaw, her voice tight with suppressed emotions. “Where is she right now? I want to see her.”

Merina hesitated before answering, “Her mother took her to the seas, Your Majesty.”

Rowena’s eyes snapped to her in surprise.

“Her mother believes there is a special herb in a deep-sea cave that could heal any injury or disease,” Merina explained. “But… the cave is surrounded by the Cursed Wraiths. So she and her people are desperately trying to find a way to get past them.”

Rowena didn’t hesitate.

Without another word, she threw back the covers and pushed herself out of bed as a wave of strength suddenly filled her body.

Merina shot up, panic flaring in her expression. “Y-Your Majesty, you must rest! King Lakhur said you need days to recover!”

Rowena didn’t even pause as she stood tall and strong.

“I can’t rest,” she said, her tone carrying the weight of unshakable resolve. A cold, fiery determination burned in her glowing crimson eyes, “I won’t rest while Isola is in this state because of me.”

She turned to Merina, her expression one of fierce, unwavering determination.

“Take me to her… please, Merina.”

Merina’s lips parted, words of protest on the tip of her tongue. It weighed on her that such a powerful queen was asking in such a desperate way, making her realize how much she was worried about Isola.

Feeling her raw emotion, a queen’s duty, and a woman’s guilt—she knew there was no stopping her.

Merina exhaled softly and gave a small nod.

“…As you command, Your Majesty.”

Rowena’s jaw tightened, her gaze shifting toward the distant horizon.

No matter the danger, no matter the cost—

She would bring Isola back.

—

The crimson sky stretched endlessly over the dark crimson seas, its ominous glow casting a foreboding shimmer upon the restless waves.

The salty wind carried whispers of the deep, the unspoken sorrow of the waters mirroring the despair in Rowena’s heart as she stood upon the rocky shore.

Merina, ever-loyal, stood beside her, hesitant but resigned. Without a word, she guided Rowena forward onto the massive black carapace of the great Kraken, Callisa, who floated motionless upon the waves.

The moment Rowena stepped upon Callisa’s hard shell, a deep, mournful rumble vibrated beneath her feet.

She could feel that this massive yet intelligent beast was grieving, reminding her of the loss of her own companion…Flaralis. It was a loss that left a void in her heart, and it pained her even more that she couldn’t afford to have the time to grieve.

Rowena’s breath hitched as her gaze finally found Isola lying still atop a soft quilt woven from dark sea plants and adorned with crushed healing herbs. The makeshift bed was surrounded by whispering umbralfiends, their solemn hums resonating with the very pulse of the ocean.

Isola’s skin was too pale, her chest rising and falling in shallow, fragile breaths. The once vibrant glow of her veins had dulled, her body eerily still, as if the sea itself had claimed her spirit before her flesh.

Rowena’s hands clenched into fists as a surge of guilt and pain twisted in her chest.

‘It should have been me…’

A sudden movement pulled her from her reverie. Narissara, regal and commanding even in the dim light, turned toward Rowena, her sapphire blue eyes flashing with surprise.

“Rowena?” Narissara’s voice was firm yet laced with concern, “You should not be here. You need rest.”

Rowena’s gaze hardened, her shoulders squaring despite the weight of exhaustion pressing upon her, “I didn’t come here to rest, Narissara. I came to help.”

Narissara frowned deeply, stepping forward, her ocean-blue robes rippling against the wind, “That is not an option. You are with child, Rowena. You shouldn’t even be standing here, let alone offering to plunge into the depths with us.”

Rowena exhaled sharply, her eyes burning with determination as she took another step closer.

“I have already lost too much,” she said, her voice raw with emotion, “My kingdom, my people, and now… I’m on the verge of losing someone I love as a sister.”

Narissara’s lips parted slightly, a flicker of hesitation breaking through her firm stance.

Rowena continued, her crimson gaze unwavering, “I won’t sit idly by while she fades away. I can’t. If there’s even the smallest chance that I can help bring back that herb, I will take it. You, of all people, should understand that.”

The wind howled softly, carrying Rowena’s words across the restless sea. The umbralfiends surrounding them briefly halted their low hymns, their dark eyes watching with quiet hope and respect.

Narissara’s jaw tightened as she studied Rowena, trying to find the words to dissuade her. But what she found instead was a woman standing unshaken, a queen who had lost everything yet refused to break.

They both shared the same feeling right now, making Narissara realize it was impossible to dissuade her.

It was also a hard truth that all the peak Soul Devourers among her people were either dead or severely injured.

Without Rowena, she wouldn’t stand any chance of getting that herb.

“Koooo….”

Callisa let out another low, mournful rumble, her massive form shifting slightly beneath them. The great Kraken’s sorrow bled into the air, as if she, too, wished for Isola to awaken.

Finally, Narissara let out a slow breath, her expression softening, though her reluctance was evident.

“Very well.”

A tense silence followed before she added, “…But stay close to me. The deeper we go, the stronger the pull of the abyss. You must not—under any circumstances—stray too far.”

Rowena gave a single, resolute nod.

Narissara turned, giving orders to the sirens to keep watch over Isola while she and Rowena descended. Then, she moved toward the edge of Callisa’s carapace, staring down at the endless abyss that awaited them below.

Rowena followed without hesitation.

The two women stood at the precipice, the dark waves churning beneath them, whispering ancient warnings to any who dared to enter.

Narissara turned her head slightly, sparing Rowena one last glance, especially since she was pregnant,

“Once we dive, there is no turning back.”

Rowena took a deep breath, her fingers brushing over her abdomen briefly before her gaze hardened.

“Then let’s not waste another second.”

And with that, they leaped into the abyss.