Ayeka ran. Her loud footsteps echoed through the cave, chased by the uneven rhythm of another—faster, relentless. The walls seemed to close in, twisting and shifting like a living thing.
"Crazy bastard! Where the hell are you going?!"
No response. Just the sound of his steps—steady, mindless. As if he wasn't even aware she was there. He wasn't sprinting, yet somehow, his jogging still outpaced her desperate dash.
What the hell is he…?
But that wasn't the important part.
The cave reeked. Thick, suffocating, wrong. A stench that clung to her throat, burning her lungs with every breath.
Mana Residue.
At first, she ignored the headache, chalking it up to him being annoying as usual. She didn't use her Spiritual Sense. But now, as she forced herself to focus, activating her skill…
Oh, she had been so, so wrong.
It was everywhere. The walls pulsed with it. The ground radiated it. Even the air was warped, thick with something that shouldn't exist.
The water dripping from the ceiling wasn't water.
It was pure, concentrated mana residue.
Her stomach twisted. She wanted to vomit.
Is this why Bread, the demon… was acting so cringe?
Then why wasn't it affecting her?
Nothing—nothing—should leak this much residue unless it was a Mythical-tier spell or a Terranian Kythos-Grahham-type artifact.
Both were bad.
Both meant death.
'Where the hell did that crazy bastard bring me?'
More importantly—where the hell was he going?!
"YOU F*CKING BASTARD! COME BACK HERE! I'M BEING SERIOUS!!!"
She forced more spirit essence into her legs, pushing past her limit. Wind lashed against her face, her hair whipping into her eyes, but she didn't care. She should have caught up by now. She should have been faster.
Yet she wasn't.
This rat-like bastard.
From the moment he brushed past her minutes ago, she'd known.
Something was wrong.
His eyes had been emptier than usual—glassy, hollow. He hadn't even glanced at her when she'd tried to grab him. Not a word. Not a smirk. Nothing.
And now, he was getting away.
Leaving her alone in this death trap of a cave.
Her scowl deepened as she pushed herself harder.
'I should have just killed him.'
The cold, frustrated thought echoed in her mind.
'Why didn't I kill him?'
Her fingers twitched—itching to grab a blade, to tear, to end.
Ayeka clenched her teeth.
'I'm so stupid. So naive. I could have revived her. I should just die.'
The artifact secured under her cloak pulsed.
The only thing that could bring her back.
Ayeka. Her best friend. The person her name made her.
She wasn't Ayeka. No. Not Ayeka. That name belonged to someone else. She was Zenbu.
The sociopathic b*tch.
The one whose awakening burned down everything she loved.
The one who still couldn't mourn the dead.
The one who didn't care about anyone but…
Ayeka.
Zenbu Keshite clenched her fists as she ran, her red hair flying in the wind, dashing around jagged stone corners. This time, she would kill him. Feed the artifact. Revive Ayeka.
She couldn't fail now.
Sure, that meant erasing herself. Erasing everything.
But it had to be done.
She should've killed him the moment they met.
The only reason she shook his hand… She was afraid. Afraid of not existing anymore.
She hesitated.
She was frustrated that she hesitated. She hated herself for it. She hated him for it.
But now, she knew. Now… she wasn't even sure she'd have a chance.
"CRAZY BASTARD! COME BACK! F*CKING RAT!!!!"
She turned the corner, into an opening-
His boots were disappearing down a stone path to the right.
But to the left was a pile of collapsed rocks blocking a path.
Different from the rest. Standing out. Freshly collapsed.
The recently swallowed souls in her veins pulled her toward it.
The exit.
She slowed down.
She could leave now. Use her spirit magic to open the entrance. Abandon the crazy demon and run.
Away from all of this.
She wasn't even sure she'd be able to find her way back if she followed him.
The chances of finding another demon to kill were low—but not zero.
And yet… She couldn't bring herself to move.
His footsteps were fading.
She had to choose.
A memory flashed in her mind.
A burning house.
A charred corpse.
A burnt hand.
A smile.
And a flower necklace.
"...F*ck me."
Without thinking, she pushed forward.
More Miasma. More spirit energy.
Black mist pooled out of her eyes and mouth as the electrifying power coursed through her blackened veins.
She could feel the souls inside her burning, being turned into fuel, as she blasted off through the cave hallway Crazy went down in, following the traces of his heavy demonic aura, not looking back at the exit.
Memories flashed in her head.
The suffering of the souls.
Lost familly. Isolation. Coldness. Despair.
The feeling of death.
But She had already grown used to it.
She had to revive her. Kill the demon... And erase herself for someone else. She knew it was important. So why was she hesitating?
The Mana Residue in the cave was slowly becoming even more suffocating.
She didn't look back.
The Mana Residue grew thicker.
So did her thoughts.
The suffocating cave walls spoke to her.
'Faster. Kill him. She must live.'
He saved her from the other gravediggers.
'That was just your plot. You would've killed them anyway.'
He killed the false deity of forgotten rain. He saved her.
'He's distracted. Backstab him. He didn't save you. He saved himself. He tried to kill you.'
I don't want to be erased.
'It's your only choice. You don't deserve your life. Only Ayeka does.'
The whispers were getting louder. She could feel the hatred of the souls inside her. The burning Miasma in her veins.
The static in her vision.
And yet... She ran.
She didn't even know why.
She would cease to be Zenbu.
But become Ayeka instead.
…That's what she would've wanted.