Chapter 78

To Wil, his vision of the world condensed into Desire’s single finger, his sight narrowing until all her could see was her well-manicured and red lacquered nail pointed directly at Astrid’s heart. He was drained and useless, unable to react as he knew that Desire would follow through with her threat.

Next to him, Anwir tensed, his mana swirling around him as he prepared to dash forward. The bard didn’t know if he could be swift enough to stop Desire, the difference in Rank was akin to an ant trying to attack a giant, but he would sell his life dearly.

It was too little, too late, and Wil could see the intense pleasure that Desire was feeling as she unleashed her magic.

“Phantasmal Killer!” She shouted, her face twisting with sadistic delight at the suffering she would soon cause.

The Tier 4 illusion magic formed a matrix around her, translucent and gleaming red. From within, a shadow formed, swiftly flying forward towards Astrid.

To Wil, it was a vague, shapeless entity, devoid of features. To Astrid, it took on her worst fears. In the blink of an eye, it passed the distance between them, rushing into the space between Astrid’s eyes, entering her mind, disrupting her thoughts, and implanting fear into her psyche.

Like a puppet with her strings cut, Astrid collapsed tonelessly on the ground. Her eyes were rolled back into her head, only the whites showing, and she began to convulse. Her body suddenly tensed, and an ear-piercing scream erupted from her mouth.

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Astrid had returned to Ur, failing to pass the adventurer’s test. Her incompetence had gotten Wil killed, the young man who rescued her unable to escape the jaws of a Wyrm. She could only watch, helpless, as he died.

The Guild observers had taken her away while the Wyrm feasted on Wil’s mangled corpse. Bringing her to the Center Spring, they had gathered around her, berating her for her failures, placing the blame of Wil’s horrific death on her shoulders.

She had fled in tears, riding Marali, the white swan, back to Ur. She had expected her parents to be disappointed, possibly angry at her running away. But the look of loathing on her mother’s face when she greeted her back into the city was beyond her expectations.

Her mother had simply grabbed the bag of ‘borrowed’ items that Astrid had taken, before slapping her in the face. Her mother was a high ranking, former adventurer, and the blow knocked Astrid off her feet. The pain, mixed with the shame of what she had done, left her in tears as her mother walked away.

But as horrible as that had been, it was her father’s response that broke her heart.

“I have no daughter.” He said simply, not even sparing her a glance. She was dead to him, banished from his presence. She had lost everything, and she had no idea what to do.

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“Astrid!” Wil shouted. With effort, he crawled towards her, kneeling beside her as she continued to scream. Her convulsions worsened, her back arching until he thought she would snap in half. Helpless, he could only watch as her condition deteriorated. Whatever horrors Desire were showing her, it was breaking both her mind and body.

“It’s useless, my love. It’s showing her the things she fears the most, creating despair enough to drown her in sorrow. It’s beautiful!” Desire said, laughing as she lowered her hand.

Anwir, not willing to wait for her to turn her attention to him, charged forward, his feet almost gliding across the ground. In a flash, he was in front of her, his golden sword pointed straight for Desire’s heart. The blade was coated in mana, so sharp that it created a piercing shriek as it the plunged it forward.

“Shadow Blade.” Desire reached towards the mana gathered around her, making a grasping motion with her hand. Anwir’s attack nearly reached her heart before it was deflected with a loud ‘clang’. Desire had a midnight black sword in her right hand, with crimson lines running down the blade.

“Nice attempt, darling. But you should know your place.” Smirking, she stabbed her sword forward. The black blade pierced through Anwir’s golden sword, destroying it before impaling him through the chest. His armor did nothing to stop it, the heavy enchantments were as thin as paper to Desire.

The bard had a look of defiance on his face, before the black blade erupted in power. Mana flowed from the weapon into Anwir’s body, black lines of power that slowly ate away at his flesh. Wil thought that he would be consumed by the corruption flowing from the sword, when Anwir’s body disappeared in a flash of white light.

“A lifesaving teleportation item? Pity, I was enjoying that.” Desire said, sweeping her sword to the side and tossing the blade away. It dispersed immediately into flecks of black and red mana.

“Oh well, it’s just you and I now, my love.” A beautiful smile lit her face once more, as she turned her attention back to Wil. Next to him, Astrid finally lay silent, her breathing shallow.

“We’re going to be so happy together.”

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Astrid watched Ur burn. Her father and mother were gone, slaughtered by the monsters that had suddenly attacked the city. She had seen her father fight them, before being overwhelmed by shadowy creatures, his body ripped apart by their claws.

Her mother had tried to save him, but her attacks were useless. Every magical item she used hardly had any effect, and soon she was dead as well, her lifeless eyes staring accusingly at her daughter. Astrid had been too weak to help them, confined to her room, unable to react.

Astrid knelt in the ruined remains of her home, watching the fires consume everything she had ever loved. With nothing left, she let the flames take her.

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Wil watched Desire walk towards him, her power visible around her. At rank 18, her mana had a sensation that was familiar to Wil. He had felt it in Aachen, and again inside the Azure Lord’s inner realm. It was the feeling of corruption, of infection and taint.

Whatever power Desire was drawing on, it was clearly affecting her mentally, as well as physically. Her beautiful face and pale skin were slowly being covered in black lines, the infection spreading through her body. Her eyes were taking on a scarlet hue, and Wil could see the madness within them.

“Wilhelm, my love. When we reach our master and hand him the final shard, he will finally be free once more. We can have everything we ever wanted. Immortality! Think of it, my love. An eternity together! I’ve had a taste of it already, a gift from my master. But it isn’t true immortality! I’ve lived for hundreds of years, Wilhelm, waiting for this moment. Soon, all our dreams will come true!”

Wil struggled to stand, to raise the sword in his hand and strike. But it was useless, he had nothing left. His body would barely respond, his hand twitching on the handle of the “Dragon’s Tooth’, but unable to lift it. His mana was empty, the well of magic inside him dry.

Each moment, Desire came closer, each step she appeared to grow stronger and more unstable. The black lines covering her body were like a spider’s web, the crimson glow of her eyes matching her dress and hair.

His mind worked frantically, assessing his options, desperately searching for a way out of this.

‘Where the hell are the Guild Observers?’ Wil wondered, his eyes looking at the surroundings, expecting to see them. In the white void, standing on eerily calm, black water, nothing existed except for him, Astrid, and Desire.

‘Is this illusion keeping them away? But if that were true, how did Anwir leave? His talisman was clearly a last resort, and only able to carry himself out of danger. If it could pierce this white void and leave, then why couldn’t others enter?’ Wil’s thoughts moved quickly.

“Wondering why no one is coming to your rescue, Wilhelm?” Desire asked, noticing his frantic looks and the desperation on his face.

“My illusion is hiding us in plain sight, my love. They could be right next to us and not even know it. Wonderful, wouldn’t you agree?” She stated, not slowing down as she stepped towards him.

“Wonderful.” Wil agreed, and he knew that there would not be a rescue party to save him, not this time. There wouldn’t be Markus, with his sword to defend him, or a golden coin to send a pillar of flame at his enemies.

He was alone, and Astrid was dying beside him. Desperate, and out of options, Wil did the only thing he could think of.

Looking down at the Shard of Divinity grasped tightly in his hand, the white light shining through his fingers, he took a final look at the dying, silver haired woman next to him, before slamming the shard against his chest, right where his mana core was located.

He had the pleasure of seeing the shocked look on Desire’s face, before the world was consumed in white light.