Chapter 36

"Why are you pretending to be me?"

The whole place was engulfed in darkness from the moment she asked me that ridiculous question. Someone who claimed to be the real me was questioning my very presence here.

I wanted to answer her, but no words would come out of my mouth. I was getting confused about my existence.

"Everyone died because of you. Your ignorant behavior caused it all. Even your mother suffered the same tragic fate as your sister."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Have you not noticed it? She picked your sister over keeping the living one safe."

My eyes widened, and I saw the memories of the past through the monster's eyes. I saw my mother, and those memories came back to me.

"Why are you on the other side and not here with me?"

The whole place was wrapped in sinister fire. I could feel the rushing heat on my skin, crawling upward. "This can't be real..." I thought. Was it repeating again?

I tried to fight the monster inside my head, but every time I blinked myself out of this nightmare, I couldn't help but see my family's suffering.

"No... this can't be real."

I was shaken from what I saw, to the point that I moved backward away from the reality I was standing in. My whole body was shaking, and even my hands couldn't stop wavering.

"This is all your fault. It's because of you that your family died." My head is starting to absorb what this monster is saying.

"

"No! You think you can destroy me using those petty words?! You're wrong! You won't—"

"Euphemia!" I gasped when I heard my mother's voice. When I fixed my eyes in front of me, I saw my mother standing right in front of me with blood covering her whole face.

"M-mother?"

"Why are you still alive?!"

That hit me extremely hard. I screamed out my lungs because of the madness and lies I was seeing. I was so confused and having a breakdown.

"Euphy!" but I heard another familiar voice from behind.

"Who are you? H-how did you?!"

Someone embraced me tightly; it was so tight that I didn't even have a chance to see who it was.

"Are you hurt? Did that thing touch you?" This voice was definitely Sekki. I turned to him and I couldn't say anything. All I could do was cry as I leaned my head on his chest.

"E-euphy..." I felt something enormous, a demonic aura that I hadn't felt from him before, starting to rise.

I saw him glaring at the monster, and just seconds later, I felt the energy from him burst out of his body.

“What is this?! No!!!” My eyes widened; I was surprised that he possessed an Artes. I really thought he didn’t have one. Plus, the Artes he released contained something I hadn't seen before.

The energy absolutely contained something that wasn’t supposed to be held by a human. The Schatten disappeared the moment it touched the Artes. But that's not all; the whole place started to crumble, and from where we stood, the ground split up, separating Sekki and me.

“Sekki??”

“Euphemia!”

The ground where I stood slowly fell apart. I tried to reach him, but he was so far from me.

"EUPHEMIA!"

"SEKKI!"

I don't know what happened after that, but I lost sight of him as I also lost my consciousness.

"Zuilly! How long are you going to be pathetic like this?! Wake up, you idiot!"

Sylvie, who was fighting her brother, who was under the control of the Schatten, was panting, exhausted as she could be.

Until now, she had been struggling to free her brother.

"Haha! Don't be ridiculous. This man's heart is covered in black energy. Loneliness, despair, and negativity! I could say he was also scared of this place. All of those, you don't know anything about it!"

"Zuilly..."

Sylvie was left speechless, barely reacting to what Zuilly had suffered through. She looked at him as he walked slowly toward her.

"What do you mean, I don't know anything about your suffering? Idiot!" Sylvie's facial expression contorted; her tears fell in seconds, and just like a small child, she cried louder.

Zuilly was halted by what he saw. He didn't know, but he felt heartache when he saw her cry.

"Don't you know what I have overcome just to become powerful enough to protect you?! I sacrificed everything just to be right here with you!" she yelled angrily yet her tears were still there."Sylvie! Sylvie, please stop crying..."

Surprisingly, Zuilly turned back to his normal self. He spoke to her gently, telling her not to cry, and with a voice of someone who was worried. You could never tell if he was pretending.

"Zuilly! How long are you going to be pathetic like this?! Wake up, you idiot!" Sylvie, who was fighting her brother, who was under the control of the Schatten, was panting and exhausted. Until now, she had been struggling to free her brother.

"Haha! Don't be ridiculous. This man's heart is covered in black energy. Loneliness, despair, and negativity! I could say he was also scared of this place. All of those, you don't know anything about it!"

"Zuilly..."

Sylvie was left speechless, barely reacting to what Zuilly was suffering from. She looked at him as he walked slowly toward her.

"What do you mean I don't know anything about your suffering? Idiot!" Sylvie's facial expression contorted, her tears fell in seconds, and just like a small child, she cried louder.

Zuilly was halted from what he saw. He didn't know, but he felt heartache when he saw her cry.

"Don't you know what I have overcome just to become powerful enough to protect you?! I sacrificed everything just to be right here with you!" she yelled angrily, yet her tears were still there.

"Sylvie! Sylvie, please stop crying..." Surprisingly, Zuilly turned back to his normal self. He spoke to her gently, telling her not to cry, and with a voice of someone who was worried. You could never tell if he was pretending.

Walking towards her, he reached out both of his hands.

"Zuilly?"

"I understand now, Sylvie. The pain that is inside this chest disappears whenever I'm with you."

"It does?" As Zuilly's face returned to normal, Sylvie lowered her guard. Her brother welcomed her with open arms, and Sylvie smiled with hope, remembering their life back then and how his words were comforting.

"Yes. So come, Sylvie. I want to hug you. I want you to feel the burning feeling that I have kept all this time."

However, Sylvie felt hesitation deep inside, thinking that something was definitely wrong with how he acted.

She couldn't ignore her brother's wish, so she called his name, "Zuilly," and soon grabbed him as she embraced him tightly. Her tears couldn't be contained, and the young lady cried warmly in his embrace.Unfortunately, that short moment they had was cursed.

The brief moment to forgive each other was snatched away from them.Zuilly smiled in a sinister way and grabbed both of her shoulders tightly. "Zuilly?" Sylvie was lost in confusion, locking eyes with her brother. She saw the evil smile on his face.

"You've been a hindrance since we were children. It's time for you to let go of yourself, Sylvie."

"What!? Schatten!?"

Before Sylvie could jump away from the grip of evil Zuilly, her brother forcefully pulled off both of her arms.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Sylvie screamed hysterically in pain. Her blood splattered everywhere, including on Zuilly's face.

Her tears and blood mixed together as she fell to the hard ground after being released by her brother.

"This is boring."

"Zuilly! Why, why, why, why, why..?"

"Sylvie, you are weak. This battlefield is just not for you. If anyone will take your life away from me, it's better to be me than other people."

"Zuilly..." She cried in pain, not just from the pain she felt in her ripped arms but also from the stabbing words that were released.

"Hmm. I guess they managed to escape from my prison. Huh."

Sekki and the others suddenly appeared between Sylvie and the possessed Zuilly. But Zuilly didn't flinch. Instead of getting scared, he started laughing.

"Finally, the princess has arrived!"

"Zuilly!"