The mana that bled from the fallen goddess, born of her unbridled wrath, flooded what remained of the deities' ruins, reducing them to nothing beneath an unrelenting, searing pressure.
Her sinister presence lingered in the air like a miasma, suffocating all traces of life in its wake—an unequivocal testament to the shame that consumed her. To have been outwitted by a mortal—the very creatures she loathed—had cast her, in her own eyes, into the lowest mire of existence. Kneeling, she bore the full weight of that infamy.
Yet even such boundless rage found interruption. A recompense had revealed itself—one upon which she could unleash, without restraint, the festering frustration gnawing at her core.
All non-mages who had trespassed upon the Tower of Affliction had been dealt with. Yet one stray prey, long beyond her notice, had at last stirred her still-unsated hunger. Eros' nose twitched as her senses sharpened, seizing upon the scent of her next meal.
A thin trail of saliva slipped from her lips as she rose, casting aside the indignity Leir had forced upon her.
"Ah… what is this aroma?" she murmured, her eyes rolling back in perverse delight.
***
Outside the Tower of Affliction. (Vast chamber)
The fallen princess lay unconscious, still, untouched by the horrors that had unfolded. By all reason, she should have awakened long ago. Haltor had been measured in his blow, careful not to strike with excessive force.
Yet Victoria's circumstances told another tale. Her body, long subjected to deliberate hunger, thirst, and exhaustion, had yielded to a deeper instinct—that of survival, had retreated unto itself, deliberately claiming rest. Thus, amid a chaos no ordinary soul would endure, she slept soundly, like a newborn in its beloved mother's embrace.
Aphonia reigned within the cold chamber of affliction. But a faint defiance stirred—footsteps.
They belonged to the fallen goddess.
She emerged from the Tower of Affliction, drawn by the feast that had awakened her appetite. Though the scent had promised something exquisite, the sight before her was underwhelming.
Even so, her interest did not wane. Her divine senses had never erred.
She advanced, intent on confirming what she had foreseen—yet the attempt was denied.
The instant her foot crossed the magic circle encircling the tower, a strange vapour hissed forth and seared her flesh.
She withdrew at once.
"A triune binding barrier…" she mused, a trace of admiration flickering as her burned flesh restored itself. "They have been meticulous in their preparations. Yet it changes nothing."
Extending her hand toward Victoria, she summoned an unseen force and drew the unconscious princess toward her. With effortless ease, she seized her by the neck.
Her gaze swept over the girl, from head to toe.
A doubt stirred. Had her senses truly led her to this?
Even at such proximity, the girl seemed… utterly insignificant.
"What sets this broken thing apart from the rest? What drew me to her?" Eros wondered, her appetite already beginning to subside.
Seeking confirmation—and mindful of the binding laws of her pact—she traced a shallow cut along Victoria's neck with the razor edge of her fingernail, careful not to claim her life. From the wound, a few droplets of crimson ichor welled forth.
She tasted it.
In that instant, Eros was seized by a sensation she had not known for years—euphoria.
The flavour was unlike anything she had ever known. It unfolded upon her senses as a vision of paradise no god had beheld since the dawn of creation.
Radiant beings gathered about her, their presence suffused with serenity, their voices rising in a harmony capable of soothing even the most tormented soul. Ethereal melodies followed—soft, lilting, as though carried by unseen hands, each note capturing a beauty beyond mortal comprehension.
Though her eyes remained sealed, tears slipped unbidden down her cheeks.
"What… is this?" she breathed in quiet awe, her sealed gaze lifting as though to meet the infinite.
Moved, she drew Victoria into a careful embrace—gentle, almost reverent, as though the slightest misstep might shatter her. With equal care, she restored the wound she had inflicted.
Then, bearing her prize, Eros ascended and drifted back toward the Tower of Affliction, the silent statues of mercy standing witness.
As they crossed its threshold, she brushed Victoria's hair with a tenderness foreign to her nature and drew her close against her chest.
"Tonight," she whispered, "you shall grant me freedom."
***
In a skyless world where the firmament above mirrored the desolation below, the fallen goddess wandered alone, solitude her only companion, amidst a field strewn with countless skulls of different species. Each step across that blighted expanse was as grievous as the last.
"How long have I been confined here? Years… decades…? No… perhaps centuries." Her voice echoed faintly in the void. "Even a being such as I has been bound to this wretched fate. A vessel—that is all I require. Yet only a paradoxical existence may withstand my divinity."
The laws of harmonic balance were absolute—unyielding, without exception. As one of the four primordial forces that shaped the genesis of the cosmos, her incarnation within a mortal vessel was bound by strict decree. To transgress such a law with an unworthy host would invite collapse.
In Eros' case, the requirement was singular, yet near unattainable: a being embodying both purity and corruption—light and darkness entwined. To seek such a vessel was to pursue perfection within imperfection.
Thus had her eternal dilemma been forged—one that condemned her to remain a prisoner of the Tower of Affliction.
Yet upon tasting Victoria, that impenetrable darkness within her had known illumination.
The girl's body, untouched by man and unstained by atrocity, bore the mark of purity. Yet her heart—sunken deep in resentment and wrath—had long since been tainted beyond measure, a testament to profound impurity.
Like opposing forces held in perfect tension, her existence stood as a union of chaos and harmony.
A flawless vessel.
Even so, Eros remained bound by the strictures of her pact. The host must bear no seed of rebellion.
***
The clouds hung heavy—and wept.
Beneath them stretched an ocean without horizon, dark and boundless. Upon its surface, Victoria drifted, a droplet of rain striking her face and stirring her from her slumber.
"What… is this place?" she murmured faintly. "I feel… weightless. It is cold… yet soothing. Yes… Perhaps I should rest a while longer."
Then, as if guided by unseen hands, a hymn unfurled through the air—soft and delicate—rising and falling with the rhythm of the rain as it kissed the sombre sea.
It was a siren's song. Gentle. Lulling.
It stirred within her the memory of a lullaby she had never known—the one her mother had never lived to sing.
Overcome by a quiet fullness that dulled her will, Victoria surrendered what little strength remained and sank beneath the waters.
As the abyss claimed her, fragments of her past flickered through the deep:
A fleeting moment beneath the cypress tree with Helios.
Her father's death. Benedict's sacrifice. And Helios' betrayal.
Above, untouched by the pull of the waters, Eros hovered in silence, bearing witness to it all—even the flow of those memories. The rain fell upon her as well, tracing her form like cold tears.
"Yes… relinquish it all," she spoke softly, her voice laced with a melancholic calm. "You are already broken—an empty vessel. Let my presence fill you. Surrender the rest and find repose in eternity. I shall amend the faults of creation… for in truth, nothing remains worth loving."
Below, though fully submerged, Victoria wept—silent sorrow escaping her lips in trembling streams of air.
"So… in the end, my vengeance was but empty words… dust scattered to the wind," she lamented within the depths.
"The time is nigh." With her four arms, Eros wove intricate seals and began her incantation.
"Harmony… Chaos—" She halted. A glow.
From the ocean's deepest reaches, an azure radiance began to shimmer.
"What… is this?" The fallen goddess muttered, questioning herself. This expanse was her own vital space, a domain forged entirely by her mana. Such a scene—so alien—was impossible… yet here it was. Eros' divine perception pierced all veils, revealing everything within her focus, near or far.
Through that unparalleled sight, she discerned the source of the glow.
From the cold ocean depths emerged figures—countless, radiant beyond recognition. Their warmth cut through the darkness. With hands outstretched, they lifted Victoria, guiding her to the surface until she broke through the water and was propelled into the open air.
Eros' visage shifted through three distinct phases as she stared: confusion, frustration… then wrath.
"Why will you not yield?" she roared, dashing through the air, seizing the unconscious Victoria by the neck.
"You can achieve nothing! Your world has forsaken you! The one you cherished cursed your love, and all whom you held dear are no more! What profit lies in life now? Be no burden… surrender!"
With a violent motion, she hurled Victoria back into the dark sea.
Victoria jolted, lungs gasping as life returned to her limbs. One of the luminous beings pressed a hand to her chest. Immediately, her panic eased. To her astonishment, the figure bore Benedict's likeness, smiling with tender nostalgia.
"Rise, and fight, Queen of Auronis!" he intoned, warmly with a gentle smile.
A shockwave erupted from the ocean, rending the fallen goddess's senses. The air shattered. Reality itself seemed to crack as if carved from glass, splintering under the force of the ocean's upheaval.
Fragments of Eros' domain fell away, dissolving into nothingness. When the storm of destruction subsided, mortal and goddess stood facing one another within a vast, ethereal void—held apart by a measured distance.
Victoria panted, clutching her chest. The fallen princess needed a moment to catch her breath.
As she slowly lifted her head, her eyes fell upon a being the natives of her world had long considered nothing more than folklore.
Eros' imposing form came into view, motes of mana drifting just above her skin.
"What is this thing? The goddess of love? It's terrifying… Why do I have this strange feeling that she wants to take my body?" Victoria's thoughts raced in confusion.
On the other side, though she did not let it show, Eros was impressed by Victoria's resilience.
"The Radiant Ones are no longer by her side. Perhaps they were manifestations of her will… Mental fortitude grants remarkable advantages to those who possess it. It was the same with the mortal who escaped my grasp. But I will not make the same mistake twice." Her gaze sharpened.
"If she truly is who I think she is… then I cannot afford cowardice. It's not as though I expected this sky to be painted in pink anyway. Besides… she may be my salvation."
Drawing in a slow, steady breath, Victoria steadied herself.
Then, against all odds, Victoria stepped forward, closing the distance between mortal and goddess until she stood before Eros.
For a brief moment, the fallen goddess was caught off guard by such audacity. But the surprise quickly gave way to a low, disbelieving laugh, which settled into a strained smile as her prey drew close enough for their breaths to mingle.
"I concede you this. Mortals of this age are indeed audacious."
The fallen princess met the fallen goddess's gaze. Though her body trembled with fear, her eyes reflected something else entirely—courage and determination.