Chapter 153: The Prostration of Blood and the Falling of Memories Under the Shadow's Grip
The mist was turning into a wall of steel; the courtyard had become a dark prison where Diyari's wounds glowed like a faint, flickering lamp. The Grandmother, her wrinkled face lost in a demonic laugh, struck her cane with even greater force against the ground, bringing the "Mirror of a Thousand Agonies" to a stage she called "Soul Devouring." This time, it wasn't just Diyari's body that burned; the Grandmother made every insult Rina had ever hurled at Diyari in the past echo through the air in voices and visions. Rina's voice saying, "You are just an ugly beggar," rang in Diyari's mind like a rhythmic hammer.
Rina, stripped of all will and transformed into a piece of the darkness created by the Grandmother, raised her purple blade with terrifying, bloodshot eyes. This time, the blade was not merely iron; it was forged from the Grandmother's historical hatred. With a frantic speed, Rina slashed the blade across Diyari's legs. Diyari, who was struggling to stay on his feet so as not to fall before the Grandmother, felt both legs fail under the heavy blow, and he was slammed violently onto the bloody crystal floor.
The Grandmother shouted in a raspy voice: "Look! See this foolish king prostrate at your feet! Rina, do not leave a single inch of his body whole! That golden light of his is only to deceive you! That burn mark on his face is the true sign of the destructive 'ugliness' hidden within that beggar! Die, Diyari! Die so Rina never thinks of your name again!"
Diyari, with half his face pressed into blood and half into the dirt, still tried to lift his head. Every breath he took felt like his lungs were charring, for the curse had turned the very air into fire for him. His golden blood, the mark of his boundless imaginary power, was now like a mirror reflecting Rina's image. Without a single harsh word or a cry of pain escaping his lips, he only looked at the girl who was tearing his body apart. The love Diyari held was no longer just a feeling; it had become a sacred shield, preventing the Grandmother's curse from reaching the center of Rina's heart.
With a beastly scream, Rina began plunging the blade into Diyari's left shoulder, twisting it with immense force to tear flesh and bone together. The agony was so terrifying that every tree and stone around the courtyard began to turn to ash, yet Diyari only closed his eyes and smiled at Rina. That smile was a taunt to the Grandmother, as if to say, "You can kill my body, but you cannot distort the image I hold of Rina."
When the Grandmother saw Diyari's smile, she nearly exploded with rage. She pushed the "Memory Decay" spell to its limit, making Rina feel as though Diyari was the one who killed her father, the one who embittered her entire life. Haunted by these false memories, Rina was seized by an unparalleled madness. With hands stained deep red, she began clawing at Diyari's face, ripping the skin from which light still emanated.
Rina (with a voice that was not her own, but the voice of a thousand demons within the curse):
"Why do you forgive me? Why do you look at me with those 'foolish' eyes? I hate the love you think protects me! Grandmother was right... you are 'ugly'! You are the monster who imprisons me in your fantasies! Die! Just die so you no longer feel this heat burning my body!"
With the full weight of her body, Rina moved onto Diyari's chest and began to strangle him. Her delicate fingers, now like the talons of a black vulture, sank into the flesh of Diyari's neck. Diyari was suffocating; his face turned from golden to a dark purple, yet he still slowly raised his blood-soaked hands. Here, the shock and grief reach their peak—for Diyari raised his hands not to push Rina away, but to gently touch her disheveled hair. That man, even as Rina's fingers were cutting his throat, still wanted to soothe her.
From above, the Grandmother began a loud and loathsome laugh, a laugh that felt as though the whole world were being destroyed within it. She saw the golden light of Diyari's body gradually fading, replaced by the black shadows of the curse. She wanted Diyari to turn completely black; she wanted that "imaginary power" to die so she could become the sole deity of that realm.
Rina picked up the purple blade again and, with immense force, struck it across Diyari's forehead. A deep wound opened, and blood covered Diyari's eyes. Diyari could no longer see, but his "heart's eye" remained open. He could feel the child (the young Diyari) imprisoned within Rina's heart, weeping from these agonies. Amidst all the pain, Diyari only whispered a word that shook like a tremor in the earth:
"Continue, Rina... if this is the last thing you need to believe the Grandmother... I am here... I will not be the one who forgets you..."
Hearing these words, Rina grew even more violent. She placed the blade against Diyari's neck, poised to make the final cut that would sever his head from his body. At that moment, the Grandmother changed the "Mirror of a Thousand Agonies" into an "Eternal Fire," making Diyari feel as though his body were submerged in boiling oil, yet he still did not move.
Diyari, even as his entire body became a mass of burned and lacerated flesh, was still within his mind protecting the promise he gave to Rina. He knew the cost, but he had vowed not to resist until the time was right. Diyari's silence was like a great mountain that all the storms of the world could not move.
The Grandmother, with a loud shriek, said: "Rina! Do not kill him at once! Tear him apart piece by piece! Let every part of his body know the punishment for 'ugliness'! Let his golden blood become the water for my courtyard!"
With her fingernails, Rina began tearing at Diyari's shoulder, pulling out the flesh. The pain was so horrific that, for the first time, a white tear fell from Diyari's eye, yet he still did not open his mouth to scream. That silence drove the Grandmother mad. She wanted Diyari to beg; she wanted him to say "Enough," but Diyari, through his silence alone, broke all of the Grandmother's pride.
The courtyard had become a slaughterhouse of love, and Rina, like a merciless butcher, grew amidst the blood of the man who loved her more than his own soul. The Grandmother had achieved her wish; she had managed to turn love into the most brutal form of revenge.
Written by: Dlin_myth