A strange chill coursed through Alister’s fading consciousness, and his entire being trembled. His thoughts, already hazy with pain, seemed to distort as the voice reverberated in his mind. ‘This voice… It’s… Familiar…’ he thought, a fleeting sense of recognition sparking within him. The system immediately began to react.
[Warning! Breach detected! An unknown entity is attempting to invade the player’s consciousness!]
Alister, struggling to maintain any semblance of awareness, felt the intrusion deepen.
His mind, already strained, recoiled against it. But the voice continued, growing more distinct, more assured, as though it belonged there.
‘Of course you would find me familiar.’
The voice purred, a mocking laugh following right after.
‘We’ve spent eons together, after all. Don’t tell me your memory is getting faulty, brother.’
Alister’s breath hitched, his vision a swirl of darkened lights.
‘Brother…’
The word echoed in his thoughts, but it didn’t quite make sense.
‘Who..? Who are you?’
His mind tried to recall why he had heard this voice before in the past, but the pain and chaos clouded his mind.
The voice chuckled again and then said,
‘Who am I? Such cold words, brother… Do you truly not remember?’
‘Did you discard the notion of me ever returning?’
‘Never expected to hear my voice again, did you? Well, it simply means you broke your promise to never be consumed by negative emotions.’
Alister’s heart raced, an unbearable pressure building in his chest as the voice continued, growing colder, more dominant.
‘I can practically feel it radiating off you.’
‘Such rage… Such despair…’
‘See? I told you, you need me, brother.’
The words sank into Alister’s very core.
His connection to this voice, to whatever it was, felt ancient, undeniable. He tried to fight against it, but a part of him… the part he could barely understand… felt a strange comfort in its presence.
Before Alister could even respond to the voice in his head, Ju’Nero snapped. With a snarl, he grabbed Alister by the neck again, lifting him effortlessly off the ground.
“Give me the relic, boy!” Ju’Nero yelled, shaking him like a rag doll.
Alister’s head lolled to the side, his battered body too weak to resist. His gaze, however, drifted to Cinder in the distance. Unlike the others who had begun to fade away after sustaining a serious injury, Cinder just lay there against the sands of the battlefield… Bleeding.
Her body was still, but the pool of blood beneath her… That had already been soaked up by the sands, turning them crimson.
She wasn’t fading…
Seeing her like that made Alister realize.
‘If I don’t stop her bleeding… she’ll actually die.’
The thought alone was far more painful than the pain wracking his body, the anger boiling within him. He had to do something. He needed to do something.
Ju’Nero, perceptive as he was, noticed the shift in Alister’s gaze. His lips curled into a cruel smile as his sharp eyes flicked to Cinder.
“Ah… worried about her, are you?” Ju’Nero asked mockingly. He paused, savoring the moment as Alister’s breath hitched. “Good.”
With a sadistic grin, Ju’Nero released his grip, letting Alister’s bruised and bleeding body crumple to the desert floor.
Alister landed with a dull thud, too weak to stand, his vision swimming. The taste of iron filled his mouth as he coughed up blood.
Ju’Nero crouched slightly, his eyes gleaming as he gazed at Alister’s battered body. The look on Alister’s face confirmed his thoughts.
“I’m sure if I put her through hell…” Ju’Nero thought aloud.
“You’ll hand over the relic…”
“Won’t you?”
“D-Don’t you dare,” Alister rasped, his voice raw with fury and desperation. He gritted his teeth, forcing himself to speak through the pain. His breath was ragged, his strength nearly
gone.
Ju’Nero turned his head slightly, casting a smug glance back at Alister. The cruel smile that spread across his face made Alister’s blood boil.
“So… you do speak after all,” Ju’Nero said in an amused tone, as if savoring every second of Alister’s torment.
“Good. That makes me even more sure this will work.”
He straightened up, turning his attention to Cinder in the distance, his expression darkening as he began to approach her.
Alister’s thoughts raced with desperation. He couldn’t let this happen. He couldn’t let Cinder die… not like this. His battered body refused to respond, each step Ju’Nero took sending waves of fear through him, his body was in agony, but his mind screamed louder than the
pain.
‘I-I have to save her…’ he thought, his heart pounding in his chest.
And then, like a serpent slithering into his consciousness, that voice from earlier echoed
again.
‘Is this how you want things to play out… Brother?’
‘To fail… again? Just like you always have?’
The words struck a nerve, deep and raw, causing his breath to hitch. Memories from his past lives… fragmented, distant, and haunting… flashed through his mind.
Moments of failure, of loss, of broken promises. He gritted his teeth, trying to push the voice away, but it only grew louder, more insistent.
‘You want to save her, don’t you?’
‘Of course you do. You always try so hard, don’t you? And yet…’
It laughed, a chilling sound that made Alister’s blood run cold.
‘You never succeed. Tell me, brother… do you really think this time will be any different?’
The voice paused for a moment, letting its words sink in, before continuing with a sharper
edge.
‘But I’m sure you wish to save her… no?’
‘I know of a way, brother, so save her… To heal all her wounds, to get rid of that dog you let stomp all
over the pride of our race…’
Alister’s heart pounded louder in his chest, a war raging within him. His fists clenched weakly,
his nails biting into his palms.
He forced his eyes open, his gaze locking on Cinder’s bleeding stump.
Alister’s breath hitched as he asked.
“How…?” he rasped, his voice barely audible over the sounds of his own heartbeat.
The voice then responded.
‘It’s simple… Really.’
‘Simply… Let me out, brother.’
‘Let me take over.’