Chucck!
Chucckk!
Raven’s body was riddled with deep, jagged sword wounds as Noirix continued stabbing her relentlessly with the broken blade.
But Raven didn’t even flinch. She didn’t try to resist Noirix, her mind lost in a storm of emotions, spiraling deeper into an…. identity crisis.
She had stolen her younger sister’s identity… but why? For what reason?
So that she wouldn’t be consumed by the crushing loneliness in this world, nothing more and nothing less!
And yet, when she looked into her sister’s accusing eyes, saw the hatred and sorrow there, and heard her say she’d taken not only her identity but also her very soul… Raven understood. She realized, painfully, that she had never once considered how it felt for her sister.
All she’d thought of was escaping her own emptiness. She hadn’t considered her sister, who clung desperately to her own identity, unwilling to be anyone else.
Noirix’s cold voice cut through her thoughts, mocking her. “Come on, big sister… do something. At least try. You just lying there is boring me.” She wore a wicked smile, her eyes glinting as she kept stabbing Raven, enjoying every second.
Raven’s vision blurred, but she managed to focus on Noirix’s face.
After so long, she was seeing her sister up close, her face just as she remembered. A pang of warmth fluttered in her chest, a strange, twisted happiness. ‘M-Maybe… maybe it’s not so terrible, after all… Seeing her like this one last time,’ she thought, just as her strength began to fade and she felt herself slipping into unconsciousness.
But then…
“Oh? Are you really hoping that your beloved Aether will swoop in and save you?” Noirix’s voice broke through again, her words mocking, dripping with sarcasm. “Do you think he’ll come for you like a knight rescuing some helpless damsel in distress? Face it, Raven—wake up! No one is coming! Not Thalia, and certainly not that man you put so much hope in. No one’s coming to save you at the last moment!”
That name… Aether… Something sparked in her mind, an intense surge of clarity. ‘Aether… Ah,’ she thought, a bitter truth settling within her.
She knew he wasn’t coming.
This wasn’t a fairytale, and she wasn’t some helpless princess waiting to be saved.
No, that wasn’t it at all!!
She wasn’t desperate for rescue—what she wanted, what she truly wanted, was to feel her family around her again, even if she had to face the consequences of her choices.
Even if it meant her sister’s hatred.
Aether had once promised her happiness, promised her something beautiful. She was grateful… but did she truly deserve it?
No, she didn’t.
She had never deserved the love of another, not Thalia’s, not Aether’s. Not when she was so selfish, so ruthlessly focused on her own needs. She had been using them—Thalia as an anchor and Aether as a fragile hope.
Nothing more!
‘I don’t deserve them,’ she thought to herself. Blood poured from her mouth as she let out a weak, broken smile. “I… I’m sorry… truly sorry…”
Noirix’s eyes widened slightly, her expression shifting from amusement to intrigue. “Well, well… It looks like you’ve finally given up, big sis. About time, don’t you think? Now then… let’s end this, once and for all.” Noirix’s voice held a note of satisfaction as she raised the sword above Raven’s heart, ready to drive it down, as Raven watched it descend in a torturously slow, agonizing arc.
And then…. a wave of familiarity washed over her.
This moment… It felt hauntingly familiar, as if she’d already been here once before, at this exact point in time.
“Arrgh!” she gasped as a strange sensation flooded her mind, fragments of memories flashing before her eyes.
Something was unlocking within her… Her crimson eye flickered with a faint glow, her phoenix bloodline stirring, and… her surroundings shifted, transforming into a battlefield where monsters clashed all around her.
“W-What’s happening?” she murmured, her voice breathless, disoriented. But then, as if answering her unspoken question, she saw him.
Aether, his face set in fierce, unrestrained fury, glaring at her with an intensity that made her heart pound. “A-Aether?” she whispered, stunned.
But this Aether was not the man she remembered. His face twisted with anger, his eyes ablaze, as he raised his sword and plunged it into her stomach over and over, his expression a mask of anguish as tears streamed down his face.
“What…?” she gasped, confusion and shock flooding her. She was lost, wondering what this vision meant, but then, she remembered how Aether had once knelt before her, kissing her stomach with a mixture of guilt and love…
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“I’ll never leave you, Raven. Believe me”
“You are not alone…. You are Raven—the only Raven I love”
The echo of his words filled her heart, warming her from within, and the vision around her faded, returning to reality just as the sword descended, ready to pierce her heart.
Chucck!
Raven lifted her hand to meet the blade, allowing it to pierce through her palm but stopping it from reaching her heart.
Noirix’s eyes went wide, caught off guard.
Through gritted teeth, Raven spoke, her voice low but unwavering. “I am Raven… Pyra Raven. I am my own person…”
Noirix halted, her face shifting from surprise to a twisted smile as she tilted her head. “Yes, you are the one and only Pyra Raven,” she murmured, her voice darkly approving. Suddenly, a brilliant red light flared, blocking Raven’s vision.
In the next moment, her body, covered in gaping cuts and deep wounds, began to heal. Her arms and legs, which had been broken, returned to their natural, unharmed state… Raven felt her strength returning.
Raven blinked in astonishment. ‘Was all of this… just an illusion?’ she wondered, looking up, only to notice a small piece of paper drifting in the air above her.
…..
…
The woman who had been hugging Helena held her long, curved axe mere centimeters from piercing Helena’s back. Her eyes widened in shock as she abruptly pushed Helena from her embrace.
Helena stumbled backward, clutching a knife that dripped with fresh blood, her face streaked with tears. “I-I’m… I’m sorry…” she whispered, her voice choked as she sniffled, struggling to hold back sobs.
The woman looked down, her eyes falling to the growing red stain on her stomach, where Helena’s knife had pierced her. “W-Why?” she stammered, her expression one of wounded disbelief.
Helena’s eyes filled with tears as she met the woman’s gaze. “B-Because… you’re not my mother,” she said, her voice wavering but resolute.
She knew her mother had disappeared long ago, never to return. Yes, she missed her deeply, longed for her mother’s warmth and love… but that didn’t mean she would accept just anyone as a replacement.
She was young and innocent, but not foolish!
Helena let out a shaky breath. All she had wanted was a single embrace—a fleeting moment of comfort, even if it was from an illusion, even if it wasn’t real.
The woman’s face softened momentarily as she gazed at Helena, but then she began to fade, her form dissolving into a blinding, red light that forced Helena to shield her eyes.
As the light dimmed, a small piece of paper fluttered to the ground.
Taking a deep breath, Helena wiped her tears and managed a fragile smile. “One day… I’ll find my real mother, for sure.” She picked up the piece of paper, clutching it tightly, and began walking back toward the place where everyone had been separated.
….
…..
“Looks like we’ve all been through some kind of nightmare,” Thalia muttered as she saw Raven and Helena approaching. She held up a piece of paper, her face weary but intrigued.
Helena’s eyes widened as she noticed the paper. “You too?” she asked, pulling out her own piece to show Thalia.
Raven stepped closer, lifting a matching fragment of paper in her hand. “I wonder… what these pieces are supposed to mean,” she murmured, the three of them exchanging glances as they examined each slip of paper.
They noticed that each piece bore a small section of a drawing along the edges.
“It… looks like a puzzle,” Helena said, her eyes brightening with curiosity. She knelt on the ground, carefully arranging each piece as Raven and Thalia leaned in to help.
“I think this one goes here,” Thalia suggested, adjusting a piece to match another. Enjoy exclusive adventures from My Virtual Library Empire
“And this part here,” Helena added, frowning in concentration as she fit two pieces together.
“No, wait—over here. See how the edge lines up?” Raven pointed, repositioning one fragment.
As they worked together, Helena mumbled to herself, “Shattered Heart…?”
Both Raven and Thalia glanced at her, then down at the nearly completed puzzle, realization dawning. “So… this is the heart we’re supposed to find?” they echoed, staring at the drawing, which appeared to be a rough sketch of a heart, ‘❤️’ though incomplete—it was only three-quarters whole, the final piece missing.
“This… this is the trial? Broken hearts, fragmented pieces?” Thalia asked, her face contorted in a mixture of surprise and disbelief.
Raven nodded slowly, her gaze lingering on the childlike drawing. “It seems that way,” she said thoughtfully. The heart image looked strangely uneven, like a child’s attempt at art, its lines messy and edges torn, making it hard to discern as a heart at all.
Helena managed a small smile, “Looks like we only need to find the last piece!”
Thalia grinned, nodding as she stood up. “Yeah, let’s go and look for—”
But Raven raised a hand, interrupting her. “There’s no need.”
Thalia frowned, glancing at Raven, confused. “What do you mean?”
Without responding, Raven simply looked in a certain direction, her eyes narrowing.
Helena and Thalia turned to follow Raven’s gaze, and there they saw her… Aqualina Naiadia.
“Give. Me. That,” Aqualina demanded, her voice as cold as steel, an air of indifference masking any emotion. Behind her, thousands upon thousands of thin, shimmering blue swords appeared, each one floating ominously, their razor-sharp edges glinting as they pointed directly at the trio.