A/N: This is the longest chapter I have uploaded so far. My initial thought was to divide it into two, but considering that I am uploading only once a week, I decided against it. Hope everyone will enjoy the read.
“What? Surprised?” The little girl asked.
Her half-taunting and half-teasing sneer was a raw provocation from her end, and her boldness was daring to say the least. Confronted with the blood-curdling visage of Aklis’s maggot-infected stitched face, she stood upright and unbothered. Even a blind dog could tell that the other’s intention of manipulating her dream into this specific memory was nothing but an act born by malice. But, still, she had the gall to scorn the other.
“Tsk, tsk. Really, they say never judge a book by its cover, but here I find such an exception. Aklis, it’s plausible for one to be ugly, but it’s one heck of a talent for you to have such a rotten heart and nasty mind to match your revolting appearance.” The little girl reproached.
Her words, though veracious, were unforgiving as well as infuriating. However, to the recipient, her nasty comments seemed to inflict nothing greater than a prickle as the baleful figure let out a smile. When his tightly stitched lips stretched wide, the stitches moved along the movement of his lips, very much resembling a crawling centipede.
A little beast with a loud mouth, a hoarse scratching voice sounded inside Seraphina’s head as Aklis’s fingerless bloody hand reached out to the grand duke, who was still frozen stiff along with Reagan and their beasts. Initially, his outstretched hand was only a finger width away from Amaris’s pale shapely lips, and thus, with a little to no effort, his hollow skeletal palm, thick with rotten blood, touched the other’s lowered chin.
The action was enraging. Previously, before Seraphina tore off her pretense, this move would have been nothing more than a replica of a memory that haunted and tormented her. Now, despite realizing Seraphina's awareness, for him to touch the grand duke’s face in this manner was a vile insult, disparagement, and a declaration of what he did and was capable of doing again. It was a reminder that this place was his creation, and the end of this nightmare could only be dictated by himself.
A flame engulfed everything. Like a valiant spirit, it exploded within the air, tearing off the other’s death-reeking black flesh and bone from the man’s fine face. Various hues of blues of the flame burned down the surroundings, breathtaking but, at the same time, fatal, and the dream, which Aklis created with Seraphina’s most vulnerable memory, was shattered into ashes. Two men, one whom Seraphina loved with her dearest and the other whom she loathed to her gut, and a young woman whom she felt most disappointed with, were all burned away like a thin paper along with the shadow beast and ice dragon. A moment later, only the little girl and the horrid creature stood remaining.
To Aklis, a blinded fallen angel, with his eyeballs dug out and upper and lower lids stitched shut, only the pain was evident. He could not see the beauty of the blazing blue flames, but the torment of his burning soul was indisputable. The moment the hungry flames licked his skin, he immediately withdrew his hand, thoroughly confounded as to where that soul-scorching burning sensation came from. As his originally mutilated and now charred hand pulled back, the flame also dispersed instantaneously. He slowly raised his head towards the little girl, who adorned her slight smirk, serene but haughty.
“Now it all makes sense,” her knowing mockery echoed through the night.
You… how did you, the other’s hair-raising scratchy hoarse voice once again fell inside Seraphina’s head.
“I thought you would be accustomed to pain, but it seems that is not the case. You knew I was an ancient divine beast, specifically a nine-tailed fox. Yet, daring to pull such a prank on me and repeatedly test my patience, was this not what you sought?” Her lovely chirping voice fell, accompanied by a sweet chuckle.
The thick frigid frost nesting inside the little girl’s stirring golden irises was missed.
But you are still a cub. You should not be able to summon the heavenly blue flame. Aklis voiced his befuddlement, the scorching pain still lingering and tormenting his heart.
“For that, you have my thanks. Your dream manipulation ability is truly one of a kind, unconstrained to time and reality, worthy of a former guardian angel of the goddess of dreams.”
The grim voice fell silent as if contemplating hard about something, and Seraphina did not rush him in the slightest. On the contrary, her eyes twinkled with amusement as if pleased that her conversation partner’s brain was still intact and functioning well.
Little beast, you knew I would come, didn’t you? He questioned after a long time.
“Thank goodness, your brain is not hollowed by those maggots,” Seraphina affirmed his question cheerfully.
How much do you know?
“Well, that depends on how much you are referring to. Besides, I have entertained you till the end, don’t you think I deserve your hospitality, Aklis? One or two answers to my questions would do.” Her mischievous voice advised righteously, as if the one who burned the other’s hand into charred bones a moment ago was not herself.
The situation now was the first for the fallen angel. As an immortal, though forsaken, the pride which had long penetrated and seeped into his marrow still brewed vigorously. Due to his notoriety, humans were fearful and showed utmost respect when summoning him. Till the day, as a guardian angel and a fallen one, he has never been ridiculed and threatened by human descent. However, the little girl in front of him not only mocked but even dared to threaten him with her flames.
You are only able to use the heavenly flames because it is a dream I created. This place is not constrained to time and reality, and you knew this from the beginning, thus using the power of an adult ancient beast. But you should understand that I can and will destroy this place without moving a finger.
“You don’t have a finger, Aklis. Moreover, why are you getting so defensive, huh?” Seraphina questioned lightheartedly.
“Let me remind you in my kind intentions, do not test my patience, lest we end up committing irreversible mistakes.”
Irreversible mistakes? He repeated, finding her conclusion interesting.
“Yes, irreversible mistakes. I would kill you, and you would be sent back to hell, not as a fallen one, but as a mortal soul.” Aklis’s heart tightened, hearing the little girl’s nonsensical words.
What do you mean, he found himself asking despite the realization that it was one of the little fox’s smart provocations.
“Ah, don’t get your hopes up. As I said, it would be a mistake. Considering the countless people you have cursed so far, even if you manage to endure the nine floors of torture in hell, will your gods and goddesses grant you a reincarnation? Your soul will be tormented in hell for who knows how long before dissipating into nonexistence. Tell me, am I wrong?”
She was indeed not wrong. In fact, what she said was the truth that Aklis had long known deep inside his heart. However, knowing and accepting were separate. After all, even a forlorn walking corpse needed a glimmer of hope to continue walking.
You are not wrong. However, is that not what you desire, little beast? I killed your father, but how come killing me is a mistake to you?
The little girl chuckled aloud.
“It seems my words have hit the place. In regard to what you have done, I still hate you. How can I not? But, Aklis, you were only the method. My head is not flooded with revenge to the point of idiocy. If you are to bear nine floors of torture of hell, only to scatter into dust, what about me, the unfilial and foolish daughter who gave a curse of death to my father?”
Aklis did not know how to answer the little girl. He, without a doubt, heard her carefree laughter and cheery chuckles, but the underlying sadness in her voice still caught his ears. After a while, he asked,
Then why are you here? You realized it was a dream which I created, then why bother withstanding the pain I brought you? You could very well have burned everything from the start.
“Hmph, you are asking me why I am here. Did I enter this place on my own? You should tell me why I am here.” The little girl regained her haughty and naughty mood.
“Let me guess. You wanted to prank me to get your little lover justice?” Seraphina’s words caused him to jolt in fright.
“Ah, it seems I am right. Aklis, the notorious, the fallen one, the carrier of the deadliest death curse, was embarrassed to admit that he wanted to avenge his little lover for losing in a children’s fight. Tsk, you are utterly petty, Aklis,” Seraphina criticized mercilessly.
Hmph, how was that children’s fight? You had your brother’s shadow wolf beast to back you. That is bullying, little beast.
“Stop calling me a little beast, I have my name. Besides, me using my brother’s strength to straighten people is bullying, then how come her depending on her brother to hit and humiliate her elder sister is not bullying?”
How is that thing the same as your brother?
“Agreed,” the little girl consented.
Do tell, how did you recognize her? He finally asked the question.
“When I met Wyvern inside the old man’s forest, she permeated a rotten stench from her body, a very similar one emitting from you. No one seemed to smell that, and even she herself was oblivious. When beastmen mark their mates, their scents get mixed. I knew she was the sacrifice Reagan offered when summoning you in my previous life, so I instantly thought of you. However, I was not sure whether angels, specifically fallen ones, put a mark on others with the same meaning as beastmen. Then, I woke up here. At first, it was no different from the nightmares that haunt me, but when I passed the magnolia black tulips, a faint fragrance wafted from them. My dreams were always visual, so the fragrance became my awakening call. Initially, I intended to wait for you to finish your performance to understand your purpose, but, as you know, I could not. As for how my confusion found clarity, it was the heavenly blue flames. When my flames burned your flesh, they also did so to your soul. I am not a pervert who peeps into other’s memories, unlike a certain someone, so I immediately withdrew my flames. Still, that short moment allowed me to get a glimpse of a woman’s shadow. Your feelings for her seeped through the flames,” Seraphina’s sweet voice spoke with a soothing composure and a calm even tone.
I see… It seems you already got the answers you need. As for the mark, it does not hold the same meaning as the beastmen’s. It was my desperate measure to hold onto her. When I realized that the time was turning back, I marked her soul as a sacrifice just so that I can find her again when her current life ended.
“Indeed, I got the answers I needed, but the ones I want remain a mystery.”
What more do you want?
“The reason for your exile. It was never clearly mentioned in ancient books. They only stated that you sinned your goddess and, thus, got punished and banished to hell.”
If refusing to bed your goddess is considered a sin, then it is I who sinned… Gods and goddesses are not always fair and just. They have their own desires, such as love, greed, and lust. I was a guardian angel of the goddess of dreams, and she wanted me to become her lover. But I could not because I fell in love with a human girl. We loved each other but knew we could not be together as she was a mortal, and I was not. And a lifetime has passed. My love passed away, and I promised to find her in her next reincarnation as a mortal, be it a human or beastman. So when she reincarnated to her next life, I asked to be freed from my goddess and abandon my immortality. However, as you can see, I could not keep my promise. My goddess labeled me as a sinner and exiled me to a torture of eternity, and she cursed my lover to never have a fulfilling life. Centuries passed, but her curse was powerful. Each time I was summoned into the mortal world, I would try to find her soul, but it was always futile. That was until Reagan Crevaria summoned me. When I received her soul, I recognized her at once. We promised to meet each other as equals in the mortal world and spend a lifetime together as lovers, but we met in hell as a fallen angel and a sacrifice. Aklis unfolded his misfortunate and tragic love story.
Seraphina took her time digesting his story. She knew Wyvern and never liked her as the other was overbearing, selfish, and above all, foolish. However, she herself was a selfish and foolish woman in the past, so did she have the right to judge the other? Most importantly, though she still disliked the other, it was also the truth that she sincerely pitied the woman. To be offered as a sacrifice to a death curse by her loved ones was a fate difficult for anyone to bear. But Wyvern still had bore it.
“It seems I am not the only one who gained from this life,” the little girl chirped lightly.
She has indeed been liberated from hell thanks to you, but her life will still end in tragedy. After all, she was born to a wicked mother, an unloving father, and a cruel brother. Moreover, I’m afraid of your vengeful heart. Her family sinned yours greatly, and you will undoubtedly collect those debts.
“Her debt will not equivalent to her life. Besides, she still has half-siblings. Those children are not heartless enough to trample her for simply being bitchy. At least not the two sisters,” the little girl stated matter-of-factly before continuing,
“The last question, why do you curse people?”
Because it is my punishment. Each time the curse befalls someone, my soul will bear its’ sin. What you see from my appearance is the consequence. Aklis said lifelessly before turning away.
“Are you going to leave just like that?” Seraphina asked.
Her simple short question was enough to cause the rotting man to turn his pile of bones body back to her in a startle. He could not see, but he knew what he was facing at that moment was not a delicate little human girl but a majestic royal ancient divine beast.
What is your meaning? His voice could not conceal the panic.
“I take back my words. Your brain is full of holes. Don’t you get why I asked those questions?” A magnetic voice with a hint of allure and seduction asked the panicked man.
Seeing the other’s taken aback and fretting state, Seraphina’s beguiling laughter fell, and her soft pointy furry white ears with maroon ends twitched from her movements.
“Do you fear me to burn you to death? But, what to do, that’s exactly what I am going to do.” She teased, her awe-inspiring nine tails gently swaying and curling around her glamorous body.
Her willowy waist bent slightly from her laughter, and her full round breasts shook from the impact. The blazing crimson wavy locks were long and silky, contrasting her pale ivory skin and the lustrous snow-white tails. Her delicate face was devoid of baby fat, doe eyes upturned at the ends, golden irises shimmering with mischief, and lips plump and juicy. She was bewitchingly exquisite, a ravishing goddess.
A pity, the other had no eyes to see.
“Aklis, before your gods and goddesses descended into this land, the beasts ruled the world. They did not worship any gods because they simply did not need them. In fact, they already had their gods with them.”
Ancient divine beasts, the fallen angel’s disbelieving voice fell.
“Precisely. Your goddess had the power to bless humans and also give them the curse of lifetimes. We beasts do not curse others, but that does not mean our power lies beneath your gods. Dragons, the supreme ancient divine beasts, could also give blessings to humans. So, what makes you think that I, an ancient divine nine-tailed fox, am unable to undo your goddess’s curse?”
You, do you mean… do you mean that…
“Aklis, when my flames touched your hand, what did you feel?” The little girl directly cut the stuttering man’s words.
My hand did not feel the pain, but my core, my soul, felt the burning sensation. His voice fell with a silent but desperate hope.
“Precisely. My flames are named heavenly blue flames, not because they are blue but because they have the power to purify. However, you also know that only within this dream that you have created, I will possess the power of an adult beast. So, in the end, it all depends on your willpower, Aklis. You have felt the pain the heavenly blue flame brought you, and if you wish to obtain the life of a mortal, you have to bear the pain a thousand times greater while protecting this dream with your every bit of power. Can you do it?”
I can. I have to… She is waiting for me.
“Well then, don’t disappoint me, Aklis, the fallen one. Also, remember that there is always a price to grace. As for you, a lifetime of loyalty is the one. I will become your salvation, and since an ancient divine beast is purifying your soul, you will find a reincarnation as a beastman. Find your reincarnation, and as soon as you learn how to crawl, come find me and recognize me as your master.”
A/N: This is the longest chapter I have uploaded so far. My initial thought was to divide it into two, but considering that I am uploading only once a week, I decided against it. Hope everyone will enjoy the read.
“What? Surprised?” The little girl asked.
Her half-taunting and half-teasing sneer was a raw provocation from her end, and her boldness was daring to say the least. Confronted with the blood-curdling visage of Aklis’s maggot-infected stitched face, she stood upright and unbothered. Even a blind dog could tell that the other’s intention of manipulating her dream into this specific memory was nothing but an act born by malice. But, still, she had the gall to scorn the other.
“Tsk, tsk. Really, they say never judge a book by its cover, but here I find such an exception. Aklis, it’s plausible for one to be ugly, but it’s one heck of a talent for you to have such a rotten heart and nasty mind to match your revolting appearance.” The little girl reproached.
Her words, though veracious, were unforgiving as well as infuriating. However, to the recipient, her nasty comments seemed to inflict nothing greater than a prickle as the baleful figure let out a smile. When his tightly stitched lips stretched wide, the stitches moved along the movement of his lips, very much resembling a crawling centipede.
A little beast with a loud mouth, a hoarse scratching voice sounded inside Seraphina’s head as Aklis’s fingerless bloody hand reached out to the grand duke, who was still frozen stiff along with Reagan and their beasts. Initially, his outstretched hand was only a finger width away from Amaris’s pale shapely lips, and thus, with a little to no effort, his hollow skeletal palm, thick with rotten blood, touched the other’s lowered chin.
The action was enraging. Previously, before Seraphina tore off her pretense, this move would have been nothing more than a replica of a memory that haunted and tormented her. Now, despite realizing Seraphina's awareness, for him to touch the grand duke’s face in this manner was a vile insult, disparagement, and a declaration of what he did and was capable of doing again. It was a reminder that this place was his creation, and the end of this nightmare could only be dictated by himself.
A flame engulfed everything. Like a valiant spirit, it exploded within the air, tearing off the other’s death-reeking black flesh and bone from the man’s fine face. Various hues of blues of the flame burned down the surroundings, breathtaking but, at the same time, fatal, and the dream, which Aklis created with Seraphina’s most vulnerable memory, was shattered into ashes. Two men, one whom Seraphina loved with her dearest and the other whom she loathed to her gut, and a young woman whom she felt most disappointed with, were all burned away like a thin paper along with the shadow beast and ice dragon. A moment later, only the little girl and the horrid creature stood remaining.
To Aklis, a blinded fallen angel, with his eyeballs dug out and upper and lower lids stitched shut, only the pain was evident. He could not see the beauty of the blazing blue flames, but the torment of his burning soul was indisputable. The moment the hungry flames licked his skin, he immediately withdrew his hand, thoroughly confounded as to where that soul-scorching burning sensation came from. As his originally mutilated and now charred hand pulled back, the flame also dispersed instantaneously. He slowly raised his head towards the little girl, who adorned her slight smirk, serene but haughty.
“Now it all makes sense,” her knowing mockery echoed through the night.
You… how did you, the other’s hair-raising scratchy hoarse voice once again fell inside Seraphina’s head.
“I thought you would be accustomed to pain, but it seems that is not the case. You knew I was an ancient divine beast, specifically a nine-tailed fox. Yet, daring to pull such a prank on me and repeatedly test my patience, was this not what you sought?” Her lovely chirping voice fell, accompanied by a sweet chuckle.
The thick frigid frost nesting inside the little girl’s stirring golden irises was missed.
But you are still a cub. You should not be able to summon the heavenly blue flame. Aklis voiced his befuddlement, the scorching pain still lingering and tormenting his heart.
“For that, you have my thanks. Your dream manipulation ability is truly one of a kind, unconstrained to time and reality, worthy of a former guardian angel of the goddess of dreams.”
The grim voice fell silent as if contemplating hard about something, and Seraphina did not rush him in the slightest. On the contrary, her eyes twinkled with amusement as if pleased that her conversation partner’s brain was still intact and functioning well.
Little beast, you knew I would come, didn’t you? He questioned after a long time.
“Thank goodness, your brain is not hollowed by those maggots,” Seraphina affirmed his question cheerfully.
How much do you know?
“Well, that depends on how much you are referring to. Besides, I have entertained you till the end, don’t you think I deserve your hospitality, Aklis? One or two answers to my questions would do.” Her mischievous voice advised righteously, as if the one who burned the other’s hand into charred bones a moment ago was not herself.
The situation now was the first for the fallen angel. As an immortal, though forsaken, the pride which had long penetrated and seeped into his marrow still brewed vigorously. Due to his notoriety, humans were fearful and showed utmost respect when summoning him. Till the day, as a guardian angel and a fallen one, he has never been ridiculed and threatened by human descent. However, the little girl in front of him not only mocked but even dared to threaten him with her flames.
You are only able to use the heavenly flames because it is a dream I created. This place is not constrained to time and reality, and you knew this from the beginning, thus using the power of an adult ancient beast. But you should understand that I can and will destroy this place without moving a finger.
“You don’t have a finger, Aklis. Moreover, why are you getting so defensive, huh?” Seraphina questioned lightheartedly.
“Let me remind you in my kind intentions, do not test my patience, lest we end up committing irreversible mistakes.”
Irreversible mistakes? He repeated, finding her conclusion interesting.
“Yes, irreversible mistakes. I would kill you, and you would be sent back to hell, not as a fallen one, but as a mortal soul.” Aklis’s heart tightened, hearing the little girl’s nonsensical words.
What do you mean, he found himself asking despite the realization that it was one of the little fox’s smart provocations.
“Ah, don’t get your hopes up. As I said, it would be a mistake. Considering the countless people you have cursed so far, even if you manage to endure the nine floors of torture in hell, will your gods and goddesses grant you a reincarnation? Your soul will be tormented in hell for who knows how long before dissipating into nonexistence. Tell me, am I wrong?”
She was indeed not wrong. In fact, what she said was the truth that Aklis had long known deep inside his heart. However, knowing and accepting were separate. After all, even a forlorn walking corpse needed a glimmer of hope to continue walking.
You are not wrong. However, is that not what you desire, little beast? I killed your father, but how come killing me is a mistake to you?
The little girl chuckled aloud.
“It seems my words have hit the place. In regard to what you have done, I still hate you. How can I not? But, Aklis, you were only the method. My head is not flooded with revenge to the point of idiocy. If you are to bear nine floors of torture of hell, only to scatter into dust, what about me, the unfilial and foolish daughter who gave a curse of death to my father?”
Aklis did not know how to answer the little girl. He, without a doubt, heard her carefree laughter and cheery chuckles, but the underlying sadness in her voice still caught his ears. After a while, he asked,
Then why are you here? You realized it was a dream which I created, then why bother withstanding the pain I brought you? You could very well have burned everything from the start.
“Hmph, you are asking me why I am here. Did I enter this place on my own? You should tell me why I am here.” The little girl regained her haughty and naughty mood.
“Let me guess. You wanted to prank me to get your little lover justice?” Seraphina’s words caused him to jolt in fright.
“Ah, it seems I am right. Aklis, the notorious, the fallen one, the carrier of the deadliest death curse, was embarrassed to admit that he wanted to avenge his little lover for losing in a children’s fight. Tsk, you are utterly petty, Aklis,” Seraphina criticized mercilessly.
Hmph, how was that children’s fight? You had your brother’s shadow wolf beast to back you. That is bullying, little beast.
“Stop calling me a little beast, I have my name. Besides, me using my brother’s strength to straighten people is bullying, then how come her depending on her brother to hit and humiliate her elder sister is not bullying?”
How is that thing the same as your brother?
“Agreed,” the little girl consented.
Do tell, how did you recognize her? He finally asked the question.
“When I met Wyvern inside the old man’s forest, she permeated a rotten stench from her body, a very similar one emitting from you. No one seemed to smell that, and even she herself was oblivious. When beastmen mark their mates, their scents get mixed. I knew she was the sacrifice Reagan offered when summoning you in my previous life, so I instantly thought of you. However, I was not sure whether angels, specifically fallen ones, put a mark on others with the same meaning as beastmen. Then, I woke up here. At first, it was no different from the nightmares that haunt me, but when I passed the magnolia black tulips, a faint fragrance wafted from them. My dreams were always visual, so the fragrance became my awakening call. Initially, I intended to wait for you to finish your performance to understand your purpose, but, as you know, I could not. As for how my confusion found clarity, it was the heavenly blue flames. When my flames burned your flesh, they also did so to your soul. I am not a pervert who peeps into other’s memories, unlike a certain someone, so I immediately withdrew my flames. Still, that short moment allowed me to get a glimpse of a woman’s shadow. Your feelings for her seeped through the flames,” Seraphina’s sweet voice spoke with a soothing composure and a calm even tone.
I see… It seems you already got the answers you need. As for the mark, it does not hold the same meaning as the beastmen’s. It was my desperate measure to hold onto her. When I realized that the time was turning back, I marked her soul as a sacrifice just so that I can find her again when her current life ended.
“Indeed, I got the answers I needed, but the ones I want remain a mystery.”
What more do you want?
“The reason for your exile. It was never clearly mentioned in ancient books. They only stated that you sinned your goddess and, thus, got punished and banished to hell.”
If refusing to bed your goddess is considered a sin, then it is I who sinned… Gods and goddesses are not always fair and just. They have their own desires, such as love, greed, and lust. I was a guardian angel of the goddess of dreams, and she wanted me to become her lover. But I could not because I fell in love with a human girl. We loved each other but knew we could not be together as she was a mortal, and I was not. And a lifetime has passed. My love passed away, and I promised to find her in her next reincarnation as a mortal, be it a human or beastman. So when she reincarnated to her next life, I asked to be freed from my goddess and abandon my immortality. However, as you can see, I could not keep my promise. My goddess labeled me as a sinner and exiled me to a torture of eternity, and she cursed my lover to never have a fulfilling life. Centuries passed, but her curse was powerful. Each time I was summoned into the mortal world, I would try to find her soul, but it was always futile. That was until Reagan Crevaria summoned me. When I received her soul, I recognized her at once. We promised to meet each other as equals in the mortal world and spend a lifetime together as lovers, but we met in hell as a fallen angel and a sacrifice. Aklis unfolded his misfortunate and tragic love story.
Seraphina took her time digesting his story. She knew Wyvern and never liked her as the other was overbearing, selfish, and above all, foolish. However, she herself was a selfish and foolish woman in the past, so did she have the right to judge the other? Most importantly, though she still disliked the other, it was also the truth that she sincerely pitied the woman. To be offered as a sacrifice to a death curse by her loved ones was a fate difficult for anyone to bear. But Wyvern still had bore it.
“It seems I am not the only one who gained from this life,” the little girl chirped lightly.
She has indeed been liberated from hell thanks to you, but her life will still end in tragedy. After all, she was born to a wicked mother, an unloving father, and a cruel brother. Moreover, I’m afraid of your vengeful heart. Her family sinned yours greatly, and you will undoubtedly collect those debts.
“Her debt will not equivalent to her life. Besides, she still has half-siblings. Those children are not heartless enough to trample her for simply being bitchy. At least not the two sisters,” the little girl stated matter-of-factly before continuing,
“The last question, why do you curse people?”
Because it is my punishment. Each time the curse befalls someone, my soul will bear its’ sin. What you see from my appearance is the consequence. Aklis said lifelessly before turning away.
“Are you going to leave just like that?” Seraphina asked.
Her simple short question was enough to cause the rotting man to turn his pile of bones body back to her in a startle. He could not see, but he knew what he was facing at that moment was not a delicate little human girl but a majestic royal ancient divine beast.
What is your meaning? His voice could not conceal the panic.
“I take back my words. Your brain is full of holes. Don’t you get why I asked those questions?” A magnetic voice with a hint of allure and seduction asked the panicked man.
Seeing the other’s taken aback and fretting state, Seraphina’s beguiling laughter fell, and her soft pointy furry white ears with maroon ends twitched from her movements.
“Do you fear me to burn you to death? But, what to do, that’s exactly what I am going to do.” She teased, her awe-inspiring nine tails gently swaying and curling around her glamorous body.
Her willowy waist bent slightly from her laughter, and her full round breasts shook from the impact. The blazing crimson wavy locks were long and silky, contrasting her pale ivory skin and the lustrous snow-white tails. Her delicate face was devoid of baby fat, doe eyes upturned at the ends, golden irises shimmering with mischief, and lips plump and juicy. She was bewitchingly exquisite, a ravishing goddess.
A pity, the other had no eyes to see.
“Aklis, before your gods and goddesses descended into this land, the beasts ruled the world. They did not worship any gods because they simply did not need them. In fact, they already had their gods with them.”
Ancient divine beasts, the fallen angel’s disbelieving voice fell.
“Precisely. Your goddess had the power to bless humans and also give them the curse of lifetimes. We beasts do not curse others, but that does not mean our power lies beneath your gods. Dragons, the supreme ancient divine beasts, could also give blessings to humans. So, what makes you think that I, an ancient divine nine-tailed fox, am unable to undo your goddess’s curse?”
You, do you mean… do you mean that…
“Aklis, when my flames touched your hand, what did you feel?” The little girl directly cut the stuttering man’s words.
My hand did not feel the pain, but my core, my soul, felt the burning sensation. His voice fell with a silent but desperate hope.
“Precisely. My flames are named heavenly blue flames, not because they are blue but because they have the power to purify. However, you also know that only within this dream that you have created, I will possess the power of an adult beast. So, in the end, it all depends on your willpower, Aklis. You have felt the pain the heavenly blue flame brought you, and if you wish to obtain the life of a mortal, you have to bear the pain a thousand times greater while protecting this dream with your every bit of power. Can you do it?”
I can. I have to… She is waiting for me.
“Well then, don’t disappoint me, Aklis, the fallen one. Also, remember that there is always a price to grace. As for you, a lifetime of loyalty is the one. I will become your salvation, and since an ancient divine beast is purifying your soul, you will find a reincarnation as a beastman. Find your reincarnation, and as soon as you learn how to crawl, come find me and recognize me as your master.”
