Chapter 136: Good-bye Anwari!

Chapter 136: Goodbye Anwari!

As Tessa listened to Anwari's story, her features softened with empathy. She could feel the weight of its pain, the deep injustice it had endured throughout its life. After losing its mother, the creature had been forced to spend a millennium locked away, treated like a criminal, deprived of any semblance of a normal life.

While her heart ached for Anwari, she couldn't shake the thought that, despite the horrors it had faced, there could be no justification for its relentless killing. I understand your pain, she reflected, but that doesn't excuse your sins. With a heavy heart, she turned to Adrian, her mind resolute.

Tessa knew she had to confront the darkness within Anwari, even as she recognized the sorrow behind its actions. It was time to find a way forward, to seek a path that acknowledged its suffering without condoning its violence. Her mind was made up to dish out her judgement.

Adrian was already locked in, the determination in his stance unmistakable as he called upon the Eternal Flames. Almost immediately, the temperature in the environment surged, a palpable heat enveloping them as if the very air were ignited. In the palms of his hands, the flames danced eagerly, flickering with a life of their own, as though they had been waiting far too long for this moment.

"Listen closely," Adrian instructed, speaking to the flames as if they were eager children awaiting direction. "We have a job to do." Without further ado, the flames leapt from his hands, swirling around him with a fierce energy, illuminating the space with a brilliant glow.

Anwari, the ancient creature resembling a Níöhöggr, felt a wave of dread wash over it as it sensed the immense power that Adrian was channeling. The heat was overwhelming, igniting an instinctual fear deep within its core. Yet, in that moment of turmoil, Anwari closed its eyes, surrendering to the inevitable, resigned to whatever fate awaited it. It had faced countless battles, and now, in the face of this formidable force, it steeled itself, ready to confront its destiny.

The fire shot forth like a ravenous wolf lunging for its prey, leaping and slamming against Anwari with a ferocity that belied the creature's immense size. The flames enveloped it, wrapping around its form as they danced hungrily, consuming the ancient being.

At first, Anwari resolved to endure the pain, a determination forged in the fires of its past. It recalled the torment of watching its mother meet her end, the searing flames of Solaris far more lethal than this. Those flames had destroyed her fragile frame in mere seconds, an all-consuming force of destruction that left no trace behind.

Yet, even though Adrian's flames lacked the sheer intensity of Solaris's inferno, Anwari understood that they were potent in their own right. This fire was a living, breathing force, capable of inflicting devastating harm.

The heat pressed in on it, igniting a primal instinct to fight back, to escape the grip of the flames. But deep down, Anwari also sensed that this moment was not just about destruction; it was a reckoning, a chance to confront the pain and memories that had haunted it for far too long. As the flames licked at its body, Anwari prepared to face whatever came next, steeling itself against the fire's bite while wrestling with its own turbulent emotions.

Try as Anwari might to endure the searing agony, it was a battle it simply couldn't win. The pain of being burned alive was unbearable, a torment that penetrated its very essence. Each tendril, once vibrant and full of life, succumbed to the flames, reduced to crisp, floating ashes that swirled around it like the remnants of forgotten dreams.

In its desperation, Anwari flailed against the fire, its instincts urging it to extinguish the flames that danced mercilessly over its body. But every attempt was futile, the flames moving with a will of their own, wrapping around it like a serpent, burning with the fierce intensity of a planetary sun.

It felt as if the fire had been imbued with a consciousness, taunting it with every flicker and crackle, a reminder of its impending doom. As the pain crescendoed, reaching a zenith that seemed to split the very fabric of its being,

Anwari's resolve shattered.

"Please forgive me... Help me... please save me.." it cried out, the sound raw and primal, echoing with the weight of centuries of sorrow and regret. In that moment, it laid bare its soul, stripped of arrogance and bravado, vulnerable before the consuming flames.

"I promise, I won't touch a single soul! I will only feed on animal blood.." The plea spilled from Anwari's lips, a desperate bargain offered in the face of annihilation.

Each word was laced with the sheer desperation of a creature cornered, consumed by a terror it had never known. The fire seared not only its body but also its spirit, igniting memories of loss and betrayal, of a mother's love extinguished by merciless flames.

Tears formed in Anwari's eyes-an ancient being reduced to such a state- each droplet a testament to its pain and longing for redemption. In that moment, it became clear that beneath the monstrous exterior lay a creature that had suffered far more than it had inflicted.

The fire raged on, but within that agony, a flicker of hope emerged, 'at least my seed will survive' it thought.

Tessa turned her face away as Anwari's anguished cries pierced the air, each note laden with pain that resonated deep within her. She had hoped to find some semblance of compassion for the creature, but the echoes of her own betrayals loomed large. Memories of James Rudbick's treachery, Ashley Duve's deceit, and Ikehara's betrayal haunted her—reminders that trust was a fragile construct, easily shattered. Time and time again, she had been taught the harsh lesson that compassion could lead to vulnerability, and vulnerability to heartbreak.

The weight of Anwari's suffering pressed heavily on her chest, but she steeled herself. If circumstances were different, perhaps she could have shown mercy, perhaps she could have understood. But in this moment, with her heart fortified by past wounds, she couldn't afford the luxury of empathy.

As she turned to leave, the remnants of Anwari's form began to drift into nothingness, the floating ashes whispering of lost potential and unfulfilled promises. "Goodbye, Anwari" she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I will make sure your seeds survive, even if it's just one." Her words hung in the air like a fragile vow, a promise woven from both sorrow and hope, symbolizing her commitment to carry on the legacy that had been thrust upon her.

It was a devotion tempered by the fires of her own experiences—a fierce determination to ensure that at least a part of Anwari would endure.

"Please—avenge my mother..." Anwari's voice cut through the air, desperate and filled with the weight of generations. The plea was a haunting echo of a life marred by loss and betrayal, a final request that lingered in the space between them.

In that moment, even Adrian, usually the picture of stoic indifference, felt his heart tremble. Though he maintained a mask of calm, deep within, he couldn't shake the sense of sadness that enveloped him. "Such a sad life," he thought, reflecting on the torment that had shaped Anwari's existence.