"The glass finally shatters, and I feel everything…"
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During the earliest days of the war, when the supreme generals were known for being some of the most notorious criminals to walk the grounds of the old earth…
The supreme generals were deemed as the seeds of evil that set the stepping stones which guided the evil that existed in the world.
Being some of the most notorious criminals who somehow managed to reach the very pinnacle of soul essence, especially during the warring era, the anomalies in the world of sorcery often prayed to these generals for safety which never came.
Eventually as the warring era progressed, the seeds of evil sprouted more sins that plagued the world.
Asami, in her time of being one of the six supreme generals, felt her humanity slip away with each lifeless body her lightless eyes fell upon.
The cries of parents cradling their children's trembling figures, or children's wails and pleas for their parent's to wake up from their inanimate states killed her heart before she realized.
Those sights had her questioning her faith in humanity. But it didn't stop her from praying to whatever gods that were willing to listen, to make an exception for her own child.
She fought in countless battles while relying on her spiritual energy to halt her child's birth. And it wasn't until the youth's birth that Asami began to see the value of human life more clearly.
So it was no surprise that her humanity elusively left her feeling hollow and dead inside.
Sachi was Asami's only reason for living and fighting as hard as she did in the war. And the thought of being alone after her death was something that struck fear into the her already black heart…
But the thought of living her life while feeling nothing at all, scared her just as much.
So she formed a special group of sorcerers she would title, the black lotus division, which consisted of bandits who came from sections of the old earth which were ravaged by the blood war.
It was with this group that Asami would time and time again take the life of Malum's few vessels, while also allowing her comrades a chance at revenge for their loved ones who lost their lives as war casualties.
And after a few hundred years, once she assisted in selecting the third and final vessel for Hell's king, a two sparks of hope and despair ignited in her…
One from the thought of finally ending the life of her child's killer permanently, and the other with the fear of having to reach the finish line of the road which shielded her from her own fear of nothingness.
***
The sight before her eyes now was one that she dreaded the most. The effects of her soul space began to blur the lines between vessel and human.
And for a few passing moments, the silent room's only source of sound were Jason's pained breaths and Asami's hastened breaths.
The sight of Asami's wide, shaking eyes sent a force through Jason's chest that made his heart pound against his chest. She looked as a feral beast perched atop her prey, and yet hesitant to end it.
Her hands trembled against the hilt of her katana. Suddenly all strength left her arms as she crawled away from Jason.
Clutching her chest, Asami felt her skin tightening. Delayed breaths came and went as her pupils shook through the heat that rose with the sudden tears that blurred her vision.
But then, a sudden memory echoed in her mind.
A memory from a few days ago. She had just approached the sight of Malum's rampage and with dull eyes, witnessed the lifeless body of the black lotus division's senior lieutenant miller.
The sight of his pale face, and lightless eyes staring off into nothing didn't spark any emotion in her at the time, but this time was different.
Just a few hours prior to their current situation in the catacombs, Sidra had informed Asami of the words Hinari had spoke of the black lotus division.
"You once preached about justice against evildoers being the core drive for the black lotus division. and yet when two of your own had been ruthlessly killed, you didn't even spare a passing glance…"
"It's as if the black lotus division deteriorated from seekers of justice into a band of heartless killers."
What made Asami's breath hasten was not only the truth in the young woman's words, but the also the very idea of her ending more lives than saving them.
Usually sorcerers live up to thousands of years, and yet almost every member of each era's black lotus division had either been killed in action, or killed at the hands of Asami herself.
Jason watched as Asami let out ragged breaths. Unsure of what to do in the moment, he thought back to the time where he was pulled from the brink of despair with the help of his older sister.
Grunting as he rose to his feet, he then limped over to Asami's trembling figure. Hesitant, he placed a hand on her shoulder and almost immediately removed it once Asami had flinched and turned to him with a fear struck expression.
In a low voice, she looked up to him and asked:
"Are you showing me compassion after I tried to take your life?"
For a brief moment, Jason's eyes met Asami's. For him it was clear why he hadn't harbored any resentment toward her.
Ever since he became the vessel for Hell's king, his own understanding of which world between humans and demons he belonged in. And that brought along feelings of guilt towards every atrocity Malum had committed in his body.
And even those from long before…
Jason simply nodded at Asami's question. And slowly knelt before her as he spoke cautiously.
"Two years ago, my sister asked me something… she asked me if I'd push my burden onto someone else even if it meant that person would have to suffer in my place, and I didn't even hesitate to tell her that I wouldn't do that."
He paused. Trying to gauge whatever thoughts had been spiraling in Asami's mind, and then continued.
"But I won't lie and say that at that point I was saying that because I wanted to be everybody's savior…"
Asami's eyes narrowed slightly. Both with a mix of understanding behind Jason's words and confusion.
"Something about wanting to be good but not wanting to die for people that don't care about what happens to you?"
Jason slowly nodded. Once his older sister had asked him such a trivial question, he felt a sense of guilt. Both at the feeling of being a bad person because he didn't want to die for others he didn't care about, and because no matter how much times he told himself, he was not ready to die.
And Asami would be lying if she said she couldn't understand the selfishness behind his true feelings. Because she was no different during the warring era of the world.
Praying for her daughter to be a sole exception for the casualties that needless warfare brought to the world, was selfish in itself. And she knew this… yet she didn't care.
Perhaps she still doesn't.
The room fell silent once more.
The only sounds came from the pulsing eternal shrine which let out sounds of broken screams, and the undead foreigners cowering in the two darkened sides of the room.
But something had changed. Jason's eyes snapped up, noticing sudden movements from the undead.
One stuck its hand out, and moved itself toward Asami. Then one more followed, along with another.
It seemed as though they had sensed the war raging inside Asami's heart and soul. No longer sensing the bloodthirsty supreme general that had once slaughtered them centuries ago.
'Were they also affected by Miss Asami's soul space?'
Suddenly, Asami slowly rose to her feet and walked with heavy footsteps toward her fallen blood soaked katana.
"Miss Asami… what are you doing?"
For a moment, Jason's words fell on deaf ears. As Asami grasped the hilt of her blade and dropped to her knees.
With hot tears racing down her pale cheeks, she raised her blade with her two hands. The sharp end aimed to her abdomen.
But she hesitated. Closing her eyes, she spoke in a shaken breath, without turning to face the young man.
"would I have turned out this way if I hadn't given birth to Sachi?"
In almost an instant, Jason understood the deeper meaning behind her sudden question. All her life she had been known as one of the ruthless supreme war generals, and for a time that became her identity.
Going through hundreds of years in life fighting in a never ending war where she'd witness constant casualties, hear the cries and pain of families losing loved ones, and yet it was hard to imagine it ever happening to herself until the one person she loved dearly would face the same fate.
Before she had given life, she was ruthless. Barely affected by much, as she had grown numb to the thought of lives going to waste. But as she saw the value of life in her own child, so too grew her desire to preserve that very life.
But as her eyes were met with the sight of her own child's lifeless body, something in her broke. She couldn't tell what, she just knew that something changed.
Jason was conflicted on how he'd answer her question, so he simply sighed.
Asami's lips quivered as she nodded.
"I thought so."
For a second, she seemed ready to thrust the blade into her slowly beating heart. And a flashing image of sachi's scrunched face as her blade drew closer to her chest.
"Once I die, the shrines will be destroyed. And you can go save your mother."
'And I could maybe be with Sachi'
Before she could go through with it, a cold hand griped her own two.
She opened one of her eyes. Meeting the crimson eyes of her former comrade.
"Kahal."
Kahal scoffed. Just as he pulled her to her feet, he took her katana and slid it into her sheath at her waist, and said:
"I'm not one to stop you from taking your own life if you so desire to do so, but it would be more difficult to save Aaliyah if one of our heavy hitters died."
Asami glanced behind Kahal. Seeing the bloated giant body of the second dead soul, she wiped some blood off her cheek.
"You sure have a tendency for showing up at the last minute."
Kahal shrugged. And dragged the giant by its legs, bringing it closer to the shrine, as the rest of the group, though battered, entered the room.
Some of them gave passing glances to Asami. Selene gazing at her, but sighed in relief when she saw her younger brother standing alive.
***
After tossing the dead soul inside of the final shrine, the catacomb walls trembled violently, as though an earthquake had struck Hell's grounds.
It went on for a few minutes until a red doorway appeared in place of the shrine. No doubt, it was a gateway to the second circle of hell.
With the way to Hell's second circle laid before his eyes, Jason tapped Asami's shoulder.
"Miss Asami, when we go back to our world… can we, please continue our talk?"
A flicker of surprise shadowed Asami's face, and after a moment of hesitation, she simply nodded.
Kahal glanced at the rest of the group, and said in an even tone:
"The red sun's effects can reach the seven circles of hell… so I'm going in first. Once I tell you to, all of you come in once the sun goes down."
And without waiting for the group's nods, Kahal entered the doorway, and was met with a sight that narrowed his eyes.
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Continued in chapter 116: Bad Blood
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