Salomé remained petrified, her eyes wide open, the words of the silhouette still ringing inside her like thunderclaps.
— Tsss... You dare say I never had the strength to change the future?
She clenched her fists, rage mixed with despair. — Yet... we've already succeeded once!
The silhouette sneered, a cruel smile stretching its lips.
— And thanks to whom, again? Her voice became a venomous whisper. — To Sakolomé, not you. That day, you were pulverized in one blow by Shushu... don't you remember?
A chilling shiver ran down Salomé's spine. She had tried to bury that memory, but it returned with all its brutality: her overwhelming weakness, her powerless body reduced to nothing.
The silhouette went on, each word sinking like a blade:
— Deep down, you and I know that you never had the slightest chance to change anything. Even you don't really believe it. You pretend, you convince yourself you're moving forward... but in the end, you always lose.
She tilted her head, a reptilian glint of malice in her eyes. — And you constantly depend on your big brothers. Tell me, when will you finally break that nature? The truth is, you know it: the level gap between them and you is abyssal. And you will never bridge it.
— No! Salomé burst out, her gaze blazing with indignation. — That's false! I'm advancing, I'm training, I'm getting stronger! One day, I'll make it. As long as I can keep progressing, I have no right to complain about who I am!
The silhouette laughed, a dry and chilling laugh.
— Oh, poor naive one... You never understood. What you should have done, from the start, was precisely to lament what you are.
Salomé blinked, bewildered.
— What?
— You strive to catch up with your brothers, to copy their strength and techniques. You believe your efforts will suffice. She tilted her head, her smile becoming predatory. — But your nature... your true nature... is very different from what you believe.
— Different? Salomé repeated, her throat tightening.
The silhouette sighed, an almost compassionate gleam flashing in her reptilian gaze.
— Poor you... Anyway, it's already too late.
Beneath their feet, the void began to crack, first with a subtle crackling, then into a luminous spiderweb. Fragments of the abyss tore off and fell into the chasm.
— Wh... what's happening? Salomé cried out, panic rising within her.
— I told you, replied the silhouette in an unrelenting tone. — We are caught in a death dilemma. And with your too weak nature... we won't survive it. This time, our brothers won't be able to save us.
— No! Salomé instinctively stepped back, searching for an escape, but the ground crumbled under her feet. She tried to run, breathlessly, but even the horizon tore apart, devoured by a red and voracious light.
One last cracking, then everything gave way. Salomé and her draconic version were swallowed in an endless fall. Around them, a red domain unfolded, infinite, saturated with suffocating heat and overwhelming energy that seemed to consume reality.
— No, no, I don't want to die! Salomé screamed, tears rising to her eyes as her cries were lost in the immensity.
The other, suspended beside her in the fall, gazed at her with an odd softness, almost amused.
— You have a fierce will, Salomeh... but without the power to fulfill your desires, your will is just a flame in the storm.
Her smile darkened. — And here, that flame risks being extinguished forever.
Salomé kept falling, her cry vanishing into the glowing infinity. Then, suddenly, the sensation of falling ceased. She found herself standing, gasping, on a stretch without ground or sky, a frozen red sea where each step caused ripples spreading endlessly. Around her, absolute silence: no breath, no echo, only the sensation of being watched.
Before her, a gigantic silhouette formed, rising like a mirage until standing above her. It was herself... but very different. A titanic Salomé, draped in white light streaked with scarlet scales, her face remaining blurred, unreadable. Each heartbeat echoed like thunder in this place.
— Wh... who are you? Salomé whispered, her throat dry.
The giant slowly lowered her head, her immense eyes opening like two pale suns. Her voice was not a sound, but a vibration resonating directly in her mind:
— I am what you could become. The possibility that you free yourself from the chains that bind you.
She raised a hand, palm open. — Let me enter... and you will know your true nature.
Salomé instinctively stepped back.
— Enter? What does that mean?
The draconic Salomé, silent until then, sneered, her purple scales trembling.
— It's simple: she wants to merge with you, but your body... your poor body still tied to the causal fabric... won't withstand what she is.
— Why? Salomé asked, her breath caught.
— Because you're not ready, answered the giant, her voice sounding like a truth. — Your essence tries to break free, but the shell that imprisons you will crack under the pressure.
Salomé clenched her fists. A visceral fear flooded her.
— And if I refuse?
The giant tilted her head, her blurred expression seeming almost disappointed.
— Then you will remain here, frozen, until your identity dissolves completely.
A tremor shook the red sea. Salomé felt the ground crack beneath her, each crack reminding her that time was pressing. She swallowed, her gaze oscillating between her draconic version and this colossal entity.
— You have no choice, the draconic version breathed with a carnivorous smile. — So... try then. Show me if you can even bear that.
The giant lowered her hand, and a wave of white light overwhelmed Salomé. An agonizing pain pierced her: her skin cracked like porcelain under titanic pressure, shards of light escaping from the fissures. She screamed, her hands clutching her chest as every fragment of her being threatened to disintegrate.
— No... I'm going to... I'm going to shatter! she cried.
— You're cracking because you still refuse to let go, thundered the giant. — Your bonds, your fears, your dependence... all tear you apart.
Salomé's body broke further: pieces of her being detached, suspended in the red light. Each fragment seemed to be a memory: her moments of weakness, fragile victories, her brothers' smiles, her deepest fears. She fell to her knees, pain drawing tears from her eyes.
— I... I can't... she gasped.
— You refuse to let me in because you don't believe in yourself, murmured the giant, her voice losing resonance to become almost human. — Yet, you yearn to become more than what you are.
The draconic Salomé stepped forward, her reptilian eyes burning with intensity.
— You see? You're breaking because you never wanted to choose. You carry your will like a burden without ever owning it. She placed a clawed hand on Salomé's cracked shoulder, causing a new creak. — Accept it or die here.
Despair overwhelmed Salomé. Each breath was a struggle, each heartbeat an explosion of pain. She wanted to scream, run away, wake up... but no escape existed.
Then, amid this chaos, a clear thought crossed her mind: "If I can still walk, then I can still hope."
She had uttered these words not long before, with all the determination she had left. And suddenly, something changed. The red light surrounding her seemed to vibrate, responding to that spark within her.
— Hope... even while breaking? the giant asked, her voice becoming a cosmic vibration again.
— Yes... Salomé breathed, gritting her teeth, the pain still unbearable. — Even if I break a thousand times... as long as I can keep walking... I will continue!
The white light retreated slightly, the cracks on her body ceasing to spread. The giant fixed her with gaze, her blurred outlines sharpening briefly, revealing a face almost identical to hers, but older, more resolute.
— Then start to see, she said simply.
The red of the domain began to ripple, and Salomé glimpsed fleetingly black and white threads crossing around her: causal fabrics. Some crumbled, others broke, but all converged on her cracked body. For the first time, she discerned the ties still binding her to her current state... and understood that this pain was that of the chains yielding.
The draconic version burst out a dry laugh.
— Hehe... you're beginning to understand. You haven't managed it yet... but you finally see what you must break.
Salomé looked up at the giant, panting, the cracks still yawning on her body, but a new clarity in her gaze. She was not saved, not yet. But for the first time, she felt that an answer existed.
The giant extended her hand again:
— When you're ready... you will let me in. And then... you will be free.
The light withdrew, and silence returned to the red domain, leaving Salomé alone with her pain, but also with this new vision: a path to follow, a thin thread toward freedom.
Outside, Sakolomé watched his sister with growing concern. Salomé was breathing heavily, each breath sounding like a painful rattle. Her forehead was drenched with sweat, and streaks of blood escaped from her eyes and nose.
— What's happening? he whispered, his voice trembling.
He rushed to her side, calling her name:
— Salomé! Hey, answer me!
No reaction. She seemed trapped in a nightmare. Her hands trembled reflexively, her fingers clutching the sheets as if struggling against an invisible force.
Sakolomé quickly rummaged through an old bag, took out a towel. He warmed it with a faint glow of energy, then gently pressed it against her burning forehead.
— Hold on... I'm here... he murmured, delicately wiping the flowing blood.
Each gesture was measured, almost sacred; he felt that one false move could break her.
Within the red domain, Salomé fixed her giant version, her breath echoing in the infinite expanse. Her body was still cracked, the burning pain coursing through every fragment of her being. Yet, amid this chaos, a thought lit up: All of this... is just me.
She lowered her eyes, observing the red sea beneath her feet. Each wave carried reflections of her memories, her fears, her hopes. Then she raised her gaze to the draconic Salomé, whose scales vibrated with animal power, then to the colossal silhouette crushing her with its presence.
The red domain, my draconic form, and even this giant entity... They are not enemies. They are not external tests... all of this is me.
A revelation surged through her, deep and obvious: if she wanted to evolve, she could not settle for accepting only one part of herself. She had to embrace all.
The draconic Salomé then gave an unusually gentle smile, her reptilian eyes softening.
— You finally understand, she said in a low but vibrant voice.
— Everything you see here, including me, this domain, and even her — she pointed to the giant — are facets of the same being: you.
She stepped toward Salomé, and the cracks in her own body lit up with a red and golden glow.
— If you want to survive, you must absorb everything, tear yourself away from this domain where death can still reach you. That means taking me inside you, taking this red sea, and even that colossal form. Only then will you break the last chains binding you to causality.
The giant Salomé slowly inclined her head, her blurred face revealing a smile tinged with gravity.
— But know this: once you have integrated us, you will undergo a divine transcendence... and the pain will be beyond anything you can imagine.
Salomé felt a cold shiver run down her spine.
— And... if I fail?
The draconic one answered, her voice turning sharp again:
— Then we all die. Your identity will be erased, and there will be nothing left.
Salomé clenched her fists. Fear was still there, crushing, but something had changed in her gaze: a spark of nascent determination. She took a step toward her two other versions.
The giant lowered a huge hand:
— Choose. Remain prisoner to these threads tearing you apart... or absorb us and become other.
Salomé closed her eyes, breathing deeply. I can no longer run...
She raised her hands, directing them toward the red sea, feeling its surface vibrate at the touch of her will. The whole domain began to tremble, and a deep roar, a mix of pain and rebirth, resonated in her mind. The cracks on her body widened, the light intensifying, ready to consume her.
The draconic one placed a clawed hand on her chest:
— Prepare yourself. Transcendence offers no respite.
One last exchange of glances among the three of them: fear, determination, and acceptance. Then Salomé launched herself, her hands plunging into the red sea. The domain, the draconic, and the giant converged towards her in a torrent of energy, each fragment merging with unbearable pain.
Inside the domain, the pain exploded. Salomé felt her own flesh tearing from within as she absorbed the draconic Salomé, the giant, and even the red domain itself. Each of these parts screamed, not from terror, but primordial pain, hers. The fusion was slow, each second a torment: her bones cracked, her skin burst, and silent screams echoed in an incandescent void.
Outside, Sakolomé saw his sister shaken by violent convulsions. Her body trembled as if struck by lightning, her nails digging into the ground, and blood streaked from her eyes, nose, and even her ears.
— Salomé! Hold on!
He tried to immobilize her, wrapping her in his arms, infusing a protective heat into her body, but each wave of spasms threatened to push him away. He gritted his teeth, powerless before this suffering he could not share.
Inside, Salomé felt the red domain extinguish, its color slowly turning pure white, a blinding glare that consumed everything. The silent scream stretched to the unbearable then... everything froze. The void returned to stillness.
Salomé fell to her knees, gasping, her hands trembling, tears rolling down her cheeks.
— I... did I succeed? she murmured, her voice almost inaudible.
Lowering her eyes, she noticed a reflection on the smooth surface of the void: another herself, calm, serene, haloed with a gentle, almost divine light. Surprised, Salomé stepped back, her heart pounding wildly. The reflection slowly detached from her shadow and took physical form: a woman identical to her, clad in a luminescent white cloak, radiating supernatural peace.
— Wh... who are you? Salomé breathed, her throat tight.
The other Salomé smiled gently and advanced unhurriedly. She placed her hands on Salomé's head and pressed her forehead against hers.
— We have become Deviants. Our true body... can no longer exist in the causal domain. It could destroy everything by its mere presence. We need an avatar to continue living here.
Salomé's eyes widened.
— I... have become a Deviant?
— Yes, answered her double in a soothing tone. You and I are now one. When our union is complete, we will be like gods. Our avatars will be able to walk in causality, but our true essence has transcended these places. If we tried to return fully, the very fabric of causality and giant dimensions would collapse.
Panic gave way to a strange warmth: a new, profound serenity that Salomé had never known. The light between their foreheads intensified, filling the void with a blinding gleam. Salomé closed her eyes, feeling her being rewritten in this contact.
Then everything plunged into white.