SPECIAL CHAPTER 07

Thousands of years have passed away, I was able to move freely in this world of void. My eyes have adjusted to the darkness, seeing everything clearly even though there were no lights in this dark and void world. I tried to entertain myself, but soon I became bored.

For thousands of years, I've been living in a Spirit form. My physical body was still recovering from the battle against the Demon Emperor and his trusted circles. But because I lost too much magic and my core was broken, the recovery of my physical body and mana was taking time. To make it worse, I split my soul in half. I was able to retain the few, but the remaining soul wandered somewhere.

I lost most of my memories. The only memory I have was the attack in Heavenly Realm and Demon Realm. But anything past those events, I have forgotten them. I don't even remember the names and faces of my parents, friends, and siblings. I forgot what I was fighting for back then. Probably something not important? Who knows. My past self only knows.

As I was left wandering in this void world, I tried to recall my memories, but none of them were resurfacing. But I gave up. I'm sure whatever I was doing back then wasn't important. I thought to myself that I would be stuck here in this void world with consciousness for eternity, a punishment for a sinner like me. But it seems fate hasn't given up on me yet.

A bright portal appeared from the middle of the void. The portal was so bright that it made me blind for the longest time. But when my eyes adjusted completely from the light that I haven't seen for five thousand years, I watched a woman fighting for her life from the other side.

As she came into her room and reunited with her daughter, four women were searching for her, screaming for her name. They kicked the door open, but before they could come in, the mother took her daughter and looked at her for the last time.

"I love you, Ashe." The mother whispered and hugged the little Ashe for the last time before pushing her into this void world. The last thing that I saw was her getting killed by her so-called friends. Then, she overran her core with too much mana, making it explode until the whole castle was destroyed from the explosion.

The portal closed, leaving me in tears. Just watching the mother's love made me remember my loving family back when I was a child. I remember now… Everything. While I was a child, I used to dream of being a member of the Angelic Rulers. Everyone doubted me, but my family and friends believed in me and supported me. Even when I was falsely accused, my loved ones were the only ones who truly believed me even though they knew that they would be executed for siding with me. They didn't care. They loved me truly.

Tears fell from my eyes nonstop as I remembered the love and pain that I long forgotten. Everything came back to me, making me cry. However, I stopped crying as I heard a little girl's voice crying loudly beside me.

The mother's daughter. If I do remember, her name was… Ashe.

Then I remember the feeling of betrayal. The feeling of losing those who I loved. The feeling of being kicked out from my beloved realm, the realm that I used to love and adore even though in my stay there they hated me because of who I was, I still forgave them and loved them as if they were my family.

Just looking at Ashe reminded me of myself.

How cruel the world is. How cruel is fate. But again, it is not us who controls it. Someone higher than all of us does. All we can do is to trust in whoever is controlling our lives.

I approached the crying little Ashe, but she rejected my comfort and begged for her mother's warmth. It's no use crying, I wanted to say to her. But I don't want to hurt her feelings. She has seen a lot and gone through a lot. She needs rest.

Instead of doing anything, I just stayed behind her and let her cry. I let little Ashe pour out all her emotions until she gets tired. After thirty minutes of crying and begging for her mother once more, she got tired and fell asleep, catching her before she fell on whatever surface we were standing at.

I kid you not… It was tiring to take care of a child.

At first, when she woke up, she started crying again. But then she stopped. She looked at me suspiciously, not trusting me because of my appearance. I know I look like a shadow monster, but I am a good person.

After many tries of trying to win her trust, in the end, she trusted me a little. But at that time she was still hurt and sad. So I did my best to make her laugh. To make her smile. In the end, I was able to break through her heart and gain her full trust. I don't know how many days or years have passed, but in this world, time didn't exist. She was still a little child, but this time, more happier.

So I kept on entertaining her. I played with her. I took care of her. I told her amazing stories that my parents would tell me when I was a kid. Then I told her my battles too. Of course, censoring the gore scenarios.

In that moment, I have gained a friend. Someone who truly understood what I had gone through.

But I don't want to hinder her in this world for too long, lest her growth might get hindered because of the lack of light and mana in this void world.

As much as I want to be with her, to keep her here with me. But I heard her mother's last wish. To become strong.

Letting someone in your life was easy, but letting them go was hard. That saying was true for Ashe. She grew so attached to me that when I told her it's time for her to go out into the world, she would rather stay with me in this dark world instead. Of course, I wanted her to stay with me, but I want her to be strong as well.

When she kept refusing to go, I had no other choice but to give her a parting gift that she will always remember. I gave her a part of my soul. Then after we made a promise to each other, I erased her memories, pushing her gently to the other side of the portal that I barely was able to make using all my magic. I don't care if it will take a long time to recover the tiny friction of my magic. As long as Ashe can grow stronger for her mother.

The portal closed.

Even though I no longer have a physical body, I felt my tears drop to the void. I love her. Even though it's short, I thought of her as my own daughter.

But I know that fate wasn't gonna stop here. Someday, fate will make it happen for the two of us to meet.

"Someday." For the first time in five thousand years of being sealed inside of this void world, I was able to mutter a word. "Someday."

And that day has happened.