Chapter 111: A game

(3rd Person's POV)

Kama's laughter echoed through the lunar wasteland, a twisted melody born from the suffering of the human at her feet. Titus Dusklock, a being of forbidden magic, lay bound by her flames, yet his anguish seemed to fuel her amusement. He was an anomaly, a trespasser in her domain, capable of summoning servants from beyond the stars. But more than that, he was a thorn in her side, a constant reminder of the human hatred she loathed.

However, Kama was not merely a creature of cruelty. She, too, could be erased from existence by the Moon Cell, trapped in this desolate corner of the moon where time spun faster than in the Grail War below. Yet, she had brought Titus here, to this desolate expanse, where she could torture him endlessly, venting her rage upon his flesh.

Ten times she had burned him, ten times he had regenerated, his flesh a canvas for her fiery wrath. Now, as she stood before him, his charred form barely recognizable, she noticed something strange. The command spells on his hands, the marks of his control over the servants, were gone. Had they been consumed by the flames?

"Speak, human," Kama hissed, her voice dripping with sadistic pleasure. "Beg for mercy, and I might grant you a brief respite from this inferno. Perhaps I'll even grace you with a new form of torment."

But Titus remained silent. He looked at her, not with fear, but with a curious, almost serene expression. Finally, he spoke, his voice soft yet firm.

"Lady Kama, tell me, does my suffering truly bring you joy?"

Kama froze. What kind of question was that? Did this human not understand the exquisite pleasure she derived from his pain?

Titus, however, merely smiled. He raised his hand, his fingers brushing against her cheek. "You were filled with so much pain, Lady Kama. As a sinner, I accept my punishment. Inflict upon me whatever torments your heart desires."

His words, spoken with such sincerity, struck Kama like a blow. She recoiled, her flames faltering for a moment. What was this strange game he played?

In a sudden burst of fury, she severed his hand, the air filled with the stench of burning flesh.

"AAAG!" Titus cried out, but the pain seemed only to fuel his smile.

"Yes, like that," he breathed, his voice filled with a strange, almost masochistic pleasure. "Pain brings you immense joy, does it not? Then burn me for a hundred years, a thousand years, if that is what it takes to bring you happiness."

With those words, the flames engulfed him once more, his screams echoing through the desolate landscape of hell.

But as Kama watched him writhe in agony, a strange unease settled within her. The flames, once a source of delight, now felt like a burden. Every time she burned him, his unwavering smile, his unwavering forgiveness, chipped away at her hardened heart.

"As long as you are happy," he would say, his words echoing in the silence between screams.

And with each passing year, unbeknownst to her, the scales within her shifted. Her Mara, the demon king of destruction, weakened, while Kama, the goddess of love, began to bloom.

Before she realized it, she was falling. Falling for this strange, pain-loving human, Titus Dusklock. The fire that had once consumed him now burned within her, a fire of love and longing, a fire that refused to be extinguished.

The undying flame of Titus's love had melted the ice around Kama's heart, turning the torturer into the tormented, the sadist into the lover. And in the desolate wasteland of the moon, a love story bloomed, as unexpected and enduring as the flames that danced around them.

---

Moon Cell Holy Grail.

"Fufu~! So, that's the Holy Grail? It looks rather odd, wouldn't you agree, my love?" Kama giggled, her eyes sparkling as she turned to Titus, her beloved.

His affection had transformed her. No one had ever gone to such lengths for Kama as he had, and for that, she had fallen deeply in love with him. Confessing her feelings, she'd been met with his heartfelt acceptance, and their bond had blossomed.

"Yeah, it's quite hefty," Titus chuckled, a gentle smile gracing his lips. "Almost feels like the fifth time I'm coming here."

Kama's brow furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, nothing much," he waved it off, his voice soft. "Just thinking about how, once this is over, we can return to Earth and spend our lives exploring every nook and cranny."

His words sent a blush blooming across Kama's cheeks. With a playful laugh, she swooped behind him and planted a kiss on his cheek.

"Say it again," she whispered, her voice laced with a teasing sweetness. "Tell me you love me."

Titus chuckled, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "Haven't I been saying that for the past six hundred years?" He cupped her face and leaned in, his lips meeting hers in a tender kiss.

Kama, overcome with a surge of affection, gasped and blurted out, "I can't take it anymore!" With a mischievous grin, she scooped Titus up and soared straight into the heart of the Holy Grail.

Inside the colossal cube, bathed in an ethereal glow, they found another, smaller cube floating in the center. This was the core, the wish-granting mechanism, a marvel beyond human comprehension.

"Fufu~! Titus, what are you waiting for? Let's make our wish!" Kama exclaimed, her excitement bubbling over. But as she turned, her smile vanished, replaced by a look of horror.

Titus stood before her, a crimson stain blooming on his stomach. He coughed, a bloody spray splattering onto the pristine floor. But instead of collapsing, he pushed on, tearing open his wound with a grimace.

From within the cavity, he pulled out… a hand.

Not his own, but a pale, lifeless one, adorned with three glowing Command Spells.

"Cough... you see," he rasped, each word punctuated by a painful cough, "while being burned, I realized your flames never reached my core, like my heart or stomach." He winced as he transferred the severed hand to his right arm, his grip firm despite his weakened state. A cold glint flickered in his eyes as he met Kama's gaze, a twisted smirk playing on his lips.

"So, I simply severed my hand with the Command Spells and kept it safe within. I burned two of the five Lady Morgan granted me, but I think three are enough for you."

"Why you!" Kama's eyes widened in disbelief, a scream building in her throat. Before it could erupt, she lunged towards him, but Titus raised his arm, his voice ringing out with chilling authority.

"By the power of my first Command Spell, I seal your powers!"

The world around Kama spun, her energy dissipating like smoke in the wind. She fell to her knees, powerless and helpless, as the reality she had known shattered around her.

Kama crumpled to the ground, dust swirling around her.

"Khh!" A choked gasp escaped her lips as the familiar thrum of power vanished. She was mortal now, vulnerable and exposed.

Worse, a hand tightened around her throat, pinning her to the ground. The face above her was Titus, yet utterly unlike the kind, gentle Titus she knew. His eyes, once warm, were now cold and calculating.

"Titus, why?" Kama choked out, tears stinging her eyes. "You... you said you loved me. Don't... don't betray me."

Titus threw back his head and laughed, a harsh, humorless sound. "Love? Betrayal? You, the God of Love, truly are naive." His laughter died, replaced by a chilling glare. "Did you honestly believe I could ever love you after what you did?"

"But... but I love you!" Kama pleaded, her voice trembling.

Titus spat on the ground. "Love? Don't insult me. I never loved you, and there was never any betrayal. I simply waited a thousand years for this moment."

He wasn't human, Titus realized. He was just a memory, a husk animated by resentment. He could never understand love, not truly. Even if he could, he wouldn't love Kama, not after the pain she'd inflicted. He wasn't some noble angel, some saint who could forgive such cruelty.

"You, Kamadeva, know nothing of true love, despite being its supposed god," he said, his voice dripping with contempt. "Love is not about demands and torture, not about sacrificing your loved ones for your own pleasure. You call that love? I call it madness!"

He recalled how, even after confessing her "love," Kama had continued to torment him. Four hundred years of torture, all in the name of proving some twisted affection.

"Nero Claudius and Tamamo-no-Mae," Titus continued, "they understood love. They sacrificed themselves for me, gave me purpose. I may not understand your warped version of love, but I know that it is far from what they showed me."

Four centuries later, Kama admitted her love for Titus and insisted on his reciprocation. Titus acknowledged her feelings, yet Kama pressed on, demanding a demonstration of his affection. Titus, in turn, found himself compelled to undergo further torment in the flames of hell.

Even an animal would understand that it was not love but her twisted nature.

"It's my turn to utilize you," Titus declared as he thrust his hand into Kama's chest. Kama screamed in agony, battling the pain but unable to overpower Titus. "Now, for the second command spell. I order you to sacrifice your divinity and beast form to merge with me!"

"KYAAAAA!!!!" Kama shrieked, her body trembling with agonizing fire. Her divine essence, the power of the beast she somehow carried from another world, felt like molten wax, dripping away and feeding Titus.

"Release me, you vile human! This is torture!" she screamed, lashing out with clawed hands and furious punches, but Titus remained unyielding. Tears streamed down her face. "Why? Why is everyone intent on causing me pain?! I just yearn for love..."

First it was Shiva, then Chaldea, and now Titus. He was the only human she'd allowed herself to trust after an eternity of betrayal, and even he had turned on her. No, Titus hadn't truly betrayed her. He'd played her from the very beginning.

"Kama," his voice echoed in the chamber, drawing her attention. "Before you paint yourself the victim, consider your actions."

"What actions?" she spat, eyes blazing with hurt.

"Kama, Arjuna granted you freedom after devouring the other gods. Yet you wandered to Japan, indulging in your bestial side, seeking strength in chaos."

The fallout from the Indian Lostbelt, where Arjuna assimilated the fallen gods, had amplified the slumbering Mara within Kama, pushing her towards monstrous evolution. To escape the Counter Force's watchful gaze, she sought a hiding place while her transformation unfolded.

Perhaps it was Mara, the demon king within, who pushed her towards monstrosity, but that offered no absolution for the innocent lives she'd crushed in her frenzy.

Titus held his trembling hands over Kama's glowing chest. One tear, heavy with a burden only he understood, traced a salty path down his cheek. "Now for my third and final command spell," he choked out, his voice hoarse with unshed tears. "Kamadeva, sacrifice yourself to the Grail."

With a shuddering breath, Titus pulled his hands back from the pulsing light, embracing Kama as her form began to dissolve into shimmering motes of existence.

"Useless worm," Kama hissed, her voice barely a whisper, yet dripping with venom. Even as her very being unraveled, her eyes glittered with defiance, tears burning defiant tracks down her face. "Why the affection now, in the face of my annihilation?"

Titus met her gaze, his own eyes filled with a turmoil mirrored in her own. "Kama," he said, his voice steady despite the storm raging within him, "I am no longer human. I am merely a wisp of my former self, a memory clinging to a shattered soul. I cannot feel love, nor hatred, nor any other emotion that might have broken me."

Kama's eyes widened, understanding shattering her anger. Her accusations crumpled like ashes in the face of this revelation. It was all falling into place now. Titus Dusklock, the man who had defied her flames, who had pretended to love the God of Love, was just a hollow shell, an echo of a life long gone. A mere mortal had outwitted a deity, using her own desire for affection against her.

"I have a goal. I want my soul back, and for that, I'm going to become a Beast myself and destroy this world. I'm no different from you," Titus stated, caressing Kama's soft hair.

"I should have killed you," Kama whispered.

"Yes, you should have," Titus chuckled, then looked at Kama. "Want me to kiss you for the last time?"

"I would rather die than lick those treacherous lips again," Kama smirked.

"When you meet me next time, try not to be a dick." With those words, Titus sealed Kama's lips. It was a bittersweet kiss, but nevertheless, Kama cherished that last interaction. In the end, she was unable to hate Titus and still loved him.

When Titus opened his eyes, there was no one in front of him. Silently, Titus stood from the ground, cracking his neck. His form also started to change. His brown hair turned white, his eyes turned dark, and his mouth grew wider, revealing sharp teeth of a predator.

No matter how you look at him, he was but a monster.

"Hehe... Hehehe... Hahahahah!!!" He started laughing frantically as the Moon Cell came crashing down.

[A God #Error! A Beast has been summoned.]

[Memory Fragment has ended.]

---

(Titus's POV)

"This is so messed up," I muttered, staring down at my newly broken skill.

"[Nordic Chief God's Spirit??? Z]," I exclaimed.

"The God I summoned might be Odin from a different myth," I muttered. It was the only explanation I could come up with. Perhaps it was truly Odin from a different dimension, perhaps an evil Odin, or maybe it wasn't Odin at all.

"I think I have to meet the big sister," I sighed, then dialed another red head.

===

VOTE FOR THE BONUS!

Only 800 PS and a bonus!

If you want to read in advance or support me, visit:

www.patr eon.com/J_Titan