Volume 4 Chapter 3
Translator: SaltyTank
Editor: Chrof
Karile mustered her strength to get back onto her feet, but she could not stand straight and had to arch her waist forward. With her temporarily disabled arm hanging on the side and her originally tied up ponytail now scattered messily onto her shoulders, Karile looked like an injured wolf.
Despite her battered appearance, the golden flames in her eyes were still burning brightly. It was at this moment Karile truly understood what it felt to be spirited in the mind but lack strength physically.
Power was simply too important. In order to defend what one wanted to protect, power was necessary. It was even more so for mortals.
Instead of Witsen, the undead attacked Karile because she stood in the way. Although the skeletons were small fries for her, it was difficult for her to fight flashily like before due to her injuries.
While Karile had to defeat a dozen undead at a time, her enemies only had to land one small cut to make a difference.
The pile of shattered bones piled up on the floor, but so did the cuts and gashes on Karile. There was no escape. In order to protect Witsen, she had already made up her mind to fight until the very last moment.
“It doesn’t have to end like this, Karile,” Loki spoke to the goddess who was engaged in the chaotic brawl.
However, she did not reply to him; she was entirely focused on the battle and could not afford to spare the strength to answer him. The undead continued to flood into the hall, only to be crushed by Karile who was almost like a bone grinder. Chunks and pieces of bones scattered across the floor, and crunching noises could be heard as the undead continued their violent dance with Karile.
The chaotic battle gradually calmed down a bit. The undead did not dare to engage their enemy, thus they encircled her with their vast numbers. It was the ideal situation for Karile to catch a breath, but she also knew this situation would not last long.
As for Witsen who was still paralysed on the ground, his soul had been guided into another realm and was now in a pitch-black space. Even so, he was able to hear the sounds of bones clattering onto the ground and Karile’s desperate gasps. He knew what was going on right now, but there was nothing he could do.
Karile’s a brave, strong girl.
He could only pray and have faith that Karile would be able to defuse the situation.
The darkness surrounding him slowly dissipated and was replaced by rays of light. Witsen then noticed that something was tangled within the light. He slowly walked over to have a good look.
Those were scenes of his past; his first cycle, and what he encountered at that time. Witsen did not know why they had appeared, but he knew they were meaningless right now. What he really wanted to do was to return to his body and fight together with Karile.
“Why show me such things?” Witsen asked the void.
He knew it was impossible to receive a reply from the void, but he still asked nonetheless.
“Ahem… ” The impossible was now happening. A voice emerged from the void. “You’re… Witsen, right?”
It was the an adult man’s voice. To put it bluntly, it sounded like an uncle.
“Yes, what’s the matter?”
“Welcome to the void, Witsen. This place holds your destiny and shall be your final destination.”
The past scenes floating in the void slowly vanished along with the light. From within the diminishing light, a person revealed himself. The person had Witsen’s appearance, but he seemed like an older version of the current Witsen.
“You’re… ” Witsen was startled. “Myself?”
“Sort of, but not really. Do you know what mirrors are? Simply put, I’m a mirror.” The man stood in front of Witsen. “In other words, I’ll look just like you regardless of how you change your appearance.”
“What's the goal of revealing yourself to me?” Witsen took the initiative to question the unknown being.
“Creatures of the void have no goals nor objectives. They merely follow their natural instincts amd attack any world that has order. They live by devouring ‘order’ itself. We all have a world which we belong to. We won’t allow our own world to be destroyed, no?”
“Not really, I don’t really care about that world. The void seems like a nice place to me.”
“Karile, do you not care about this person then? As beings with a physical body and a soul, there must be something we wish to protect, Witsen.”
“Save your sermon, it won’t work on me.”
“I know what’s going on in your world, but the danger that is truly threatening everything’s existence is not that god. You have to understand this.”
“Then why me?”
“Someone has to bear the responsibility for everything, such is destiny.”
“Destiny no longer exists. So does the one who controls it.”
“But she left behind seeds for you, is that not right?”
“She only left behind her power.”
“Is that really it?”
“It’s a fact, perhaps.”
“Have you not realised you just asked a question that even you yourself would have found retarded?”
“… Indeed”
Why me? He had asked the question that should never have been in his mind. He said he did not have a choice on what had happened so far, but that was because he was a person who was not good at making decisions.
“So, how do I get back?” Witsen asked.
“You can return any time, but I want you to understand what you should really do.”
“What I really should do is help Karile out right now.”
“Karile, huh… Witsen, it’s not always a good thing to be too emotionally devoted to someone.”
“The end has yet to come. It is not up to you to decide whether it will be a good or bad one.”
“But I’m your reflection, am I not?”
“A reflection of my future self?”
“Perhaps.”
“Then I’ll avoid becoming like you.”
“It’s destiny, there is no escape.”
“Destiny is no more.”
Their conversation was becoming a deadlock. The man who called himself a mirror also realised that Witsen had nothing more to say to him.
“Then go back and see if destiny exists or not.”
“Farewell.”
After shrugging off the his future self’s reflection, Witsen’s consciousness finally returned to his body. However, the paralysis effect was still there. He had to come up with something to regain control of his own body.
“Hah… Hah… ” Karile had fought off several waves of skeletons at this point. She desperately gasped for air, and it was obvious that her stamina was no longer able to keep up with this endless battle.
The countless cuts made her condition look even more terrible. Blood seeped out from the small, shallow wounds, further draining her strength.
Loki sat on the throne unharmed as he enjoyed Karile’s fight. He seemed rather excited about watching the goddess fight desperately like a cornered beast. However, he must not let Karile die because she still had not handed over her shard of divinity. Thus, Loki ordered the skeletons to cease attacking from time to time to give her a breather.
Torture; this was what Loki was aiming for, and was also one of his favourite and most proficient skills. If torturing a mortal was fun, then torturing a deity was almost like a godsend.
“Your highness, are you still well?” Loki asked again.
"Shut up Loki, I’m enjoying this slaughter fest.” Despite all the cuts on her body, Karile’s words were as stubborn as always.
“A slaughter fest where you’re the only one bleeding?”
“Shut up. I know you still have tricks up your sleeve, just throw them at me already!”
When she had been dealing with the endless waves of skeletons, Karile had heard rumbling noises coming from the outside. Without a doubt, it was an undead ogre. Perhaps it might be the only card that could force Karile to succumb to his demands.
"Alright then, come in. This one’s an undead general, I’m sure you’ll be satisfied with the fight."
Loki gave the order, and a huge undead squeezed through the door and entered. The floor shook every time the undead ogre took a step. At that moment, Karile felt a strong sense of deja vu. She immediately searched through her mind for a familiar scene and soon found the memory she was looking for.
As expected, it was from the time we fell off the cliff, huh… This is gonna be tough.