Chapter 82: Confirming Her Decision

Looking at herself in the mirror, Serena let out a trembling sigh, her vision blurred and painful moans coming from her throat.

She was now in her room. The curtains were closed, keeping out the sunlight, and everything was illuminated by a few lighted lamps.

Raising a trembling hand to her side, she tried to do her usual movement of touching her ribs again, as she had recently had to do, she had to sink her fingers in quite a bit to touch. It hurt a little.

Having done that, Serena lowered her hand and traced it over her scars which, although they were still visible, were not so much as to stand out in bright red, they almost merged with the color of her skin.

The spots that had previously adorned her skin were also completely gone. No trace of them remaining with their departure.

Serena was no longer able to recognize the woman in the mirror.

A short while ago she had finished her most recent appointment with Opera, who had gladly told her that her treatment was now complete. She was at an ideal weight and in a stable physical condition to take the potion.

'Finally...' Wiping her eyes with her wrist, Serena got dressed again and went to her cabinet.

Opening it and seeing the altar hidden inside, she could only sigh softly.

Carefully, she took the altar out of its hiding place and placed it in the middle of her room, on top of the carpet in front of her bed.

Looking at her hands and seeing that they were trembling slightly, the woman was not very alarmed, she just closed her eyes.

Focusing her attention on emptying her mind, she did not move and her chest barely moved with her slow breathing.

Slowly opening her eyes, the black-haired woman calmly grabbed the box of matches she had placed next to the altar and, taking one out, she lit it. With this one, she lit all the red candles.

Kneeling calmly in front of the altar, Serena closed her eyes and joined her hands in front of her face.

The prayer that she had practiced so much left her lips, although she did not understand what she was saying, she knew its meaning, these were the words to warn the Monarch that she was ready to receive the potion.

"The Scarlet Monarch who burns depravity... The Calamity forgotten by time... The Stranger who comes from the unknown... blua!"

Stuttering at the end, Serena could only bite her tongue in frustration.

Despite how many times she had practiced and repeated the sentence with her new leader, she still couldn't avoid stumbling at the end... Again...

"Again..." She growled with blurred eyes, her lips tightly pressed in fury. Her tongue was crushed between her teeth.

Her tongue hurt a little but the woman didn't care in the slightest, she had experienced pain and torture much worse than this. Not only in the cave but when she was kidnapped... And who saved her from that? Adryan Kenway!!

How could she dare to make such a horrible mistake as this? There is no forgiveness!!

Unforgivable!

Her hands began to tremble and quickly became fists. Her nails dug into her palms but she didn't care. This was what she deserved for being a failure, a great and enormous failure.

'Anything less than perfection is unacceptable! If I want to be able to follow him without being left behind I have to prove my worth! I have to be perfect in everything, I can't just make a fool of myself at something as easy as this! This is unacceptable!!!

'I can't keep making mistakes like this-

Suddenly, every thought that crossed her mind was cut off when in front of her, a flash of flames came out of nowhere and completely engulfed her.

Without even having time to blink or scream, before she knew it, Serena found herself in a mysterious space filled with yellowish smoke.

"I don't have to read minds to know what you're thinking, child. Tell me, what's tormenting you at this hour?"

Freezing before the strange but powerful voice, the woman slowly turned her head to one side.

There, standing easily a head taller than her, was someone. He was a man wearing a tunic that obscured all his features except his nose and mouth. He wore armor of black and bloody rusty metal.

His body emitted a feeling of oppression that made her knees tremble and she wanted to prostrate herself before such a superior being.

Serena immediately knew who it was that was at her side.

The Scarlet Monarch!

With all her might she fought the instinct to prostrate herself, her knees trembled with the effort but she managed it - her savior had said that such formalities were unnecessary with Him so she tried to follow his advice.

However, she could not help but make a deep and exaggerated bow to the great being.

"It is a great honor to be in your presence, my Lord!"

"It is a pleasure to meet you too, Serena Williams. Adryan has told me a little about you." With a chuckle, He added, "Would you mind walking with me for a moment? There are some things we need to talk about."

'He has been talking about me to his Lord!' Feeling her heart about to burst, Serena gave a nervous nod, "I-it would be my honor, Lord."

Straightening up even more, Serena followed the calm pace of the Scarlet Monarch, always 2 to 4 steps behind, not daring to walk beside Him.

Even though she knew she shouldn't, she couldn't help but quickly look around.

The yellowish smoke seemed to cover everything. Apart from the Scarlet Monarch and herself, nothing could be seen—just an endless curtain of yellowish smoke.

She couldn't help but feel slightly confused; she remembered seeing a city when her savior showed her the sacrificial ritual.

"The City is not something I can show to normal people."

After chilling a bit, Serena turned her attention back to God, who was looking at her over His shoulder with a small smile.

"Was that because you were looking around confused?"

"... Sorry if I overstepped, Lord..." Serena murmured apologetically.

The Monarch shook His head, "It's okay. Maybe when you're stronger, I'll let you see it, but now it's impossible for you."

'Strong...' Mumbling silently, the woman only nodded slightly.

"Do you have any idea which pathway Adryan has planned for you to take?" The God asked calmly, His gaze always ahead.

Serena pressed her lips together and shook her head gently, "N-no, my Lord...

"W-which one is it?"

The Scarlet Monarch nodded, having expected that answer. "It is the path of the Secret Supplicant. A bold decision indeed."

Serena did not quite understand what the God was talking about.

Was there something strange about the path her savior chose for her?

"And why would that be, my Lord?"

"Not so long ago, it was considered the easiest pathway to lose control." The Monarch said softly, "If the situation hadn't changed with that guy, we wouldn't be talking right now. I would have told him to choose another path for you."

'That guy? I don't think He's referring to Mr Adryan so it has to be someone else. But who? And, which path was the easiest to lose control on?' Although Serena's mind was a ball of threads at the moment, she didn't let it show.

If there was one thing she couldn't fail at, it was this!

"Excuse me, Lord... You said it 'was,' so it is no longer so." Serena swallowed before continuing, "Then there should be no problem using the pathway Mr. Adryan chose for me..."

Her savior would not give her something she couldn't bear or that would risk her life, although the latter didn't matter much to her. She fully trusted that he only wanted the best for her.

"I don't know how to read or write. I'm not very intelligent or tenacious either... In that respect, Little Jerry is much better than me; she could easily be my daughter, but she is much more intelligent than I am... Hehe... Ku." Biting her lips hard, Serena refused to break down here.

So, holding herself back, she continued in a dry and painful voice.

"I know it was only because of Mr. Adryan's big heart that I'm even alive here, but I don't want it to be that way...

"My life has never made sense. And I don't think it ever will. I've grown tired of trying to give it one after so much senseless suffering... That's why I at least want to decide how I'm going to die."

Something warm ran down her cheeks, but the woman refused to let it bother her. She was strong, and she could handle this.

"I-I want to die following my hero and savior. When I take my last breath, I want it to be with peace in my soul that I was helping the most important person in my life."

The Monarch just looked at her in silence, barely had she started to speak. He had stopped to listen to her. His face showed no emotion.

After a few uncomfortable seconds of silence, He finally spoke.

"If Adryan asked you to kill yourself, would you do it?"

Unable to help it, her lips turned up in a happy smile.

"Of course! He saved my life, it's only fair that he says so too when it's over."

The God said nothing for several seconds.

Although the silence made Serena a little nervous, she wasn't afraid of having made a mistake. She hadn't told a lie after all; she had only spoken the purest of truths.

If the day came when her savior asked her to kill herself, she wouldn't hesitate for a second to plunge the knife into her chest, rip out her heart, and offer it to him, all with a smile.

Ever since he had saved her, her life was no longer her own.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity but could not have been more than 20 seconds, God finally spoke.

"Don't you appreciate your life?"

There was not much emotion behind the question, which could even be said to have been asked gently, but Serena could not help but tremble a little.

Unconsciously, the woman looked down at the yellowish ground.

A soft and gentle sigh was heard, revering her soul and wiping away the tears that had stained her cheeks.

The Monarch looked at her with great gentleness. A look that she could not help but relate to that of a loving father to his daughter.

"In the future, I will ask you the same question again. I hope that when that day comes, your answer will be different."

Without giving her time to say anything, the Monarch tapped her gently on the middle of her forehead.

"Ah!" Startled by such a sudden movement, Serena took a step back.

The last thing she saw was a small smile on the Monarch's face, followed by a blaze that engulfed her.

...

"Uh... What..." Blinking a little lost, Serena looked around, confused. Her room stared back at her.

"I will guide you in preparing the sacrificial ritual. Are you ready?" A powerful and familiar voice sounded in her mind, and she froze for a moment.

Alarmed, she jumped up and looked around, but no one was there.

A chuckle sounded in her mind again.

"How about you try again? Maybe I'm behind you? Or maybe above?"

Feeling her lips dry along with her throat, Serena swallowed.

"I'm sorry, Lord. I wasn't expecting that."

After her initial fright, she recognized the Scarlet Monarch's voice.

The God laughed a little more, and she couldn't help but imagine Him shaking His head.

"It's okay. It's a fairly common reaction. You don't have to worry.

"Are you ready to become a Beyonder?"

"Yes."

The answer didn't even take a second; this was something she had already decided as soon as her savior let her follow him.

She would dedicate every beat of her heart and every breath to that man.

"Very well, " the Monarch said calmly. "Everything is ready; all you have to do is repeat what I do."

Serena said nothing, she just nodded with burning eyes

"The Scarlet Monarch who burns depravity..."

She did not understand what the God was saying, but she could recognize the words she had said before when she prayed to Him.

"The Scarlet Monarch who burns depravity..." Serena repeated.