Aslan looked at Lewena.
Her attire was torn and tattered, giving no hint of the ordeals she had faced. The sight of the woman was incomprehensible.
Through the ragged dress, what could be seen was not only her skin but also traces of brushes with death.
And this appearance reminded Aslan of their first meeting.
Long before the main quest had even begun, during a time when there was no sign of it starting, Aslan had been in despair.
He had struggled desperately to advance the main quest, trying every possible method.
One of these methods involved searching for characters tied to the main quest.
Among them, Lewena was the most suitable candidate.
She was undoubtedly someone one could only meet right before the final quest, a high-ranking priestess of the Abyss, and a boss open to dialogue.
Unlike in the game, Lewena was both a high priestess of the Abyss and a priestess of the Dark Ram.
Aslan managed to track her down after some effort and found her on the northwest coast of the southern continent, where the Public Kingdom of Huedail stretched along the beach towards the South Empire.
It wasn’t dramatic.
The woman showed some interest in Aslan, and Aslan needed something from her.
However, their stories didn’t align, so they ended up fighting.
A fight between Aslan, who had only recently encountered Equalization, and Lewena, who regarded her opponent as inferior.
With limited means, all Aslan could do was match Lewena’s strength.
Yet despite being overpowered, he did not lose.
As the wetlands around them turned black with blood.
The fight came to an end.
Lewena proposed a truce first.
She suggested they stop the meaningless fight since they needed each other and should instead make a deal.
“I’ll give you what you need if you satisfy my curiosity.”
A simple trade. Aslan couldn’t find a reason to refuse and thus accepted her proposal, beginning their partnership.
And yet, reflecting often on that moment, Aslan wished he hadn’t agreed to that deal.
“What’s your name?”
The Lewena in his memory asked.
“Aslan.”
From that question onward, Aslan had to answer countless inquiries.
Each question was followed by travel.
Starting from the western side of the southern continent, where the Public Kingdom of Huedail bordered the sea and extended into the South Empire.
Moving eastward through the Pervere Kingdom, the Empire, the Mareza City Union, and eventually reaching the Polaina Duchy.
Aslan and Lewena traveled together.
At first, Lewena was emotionless and expressionless, but during their journey, she gradually changed.
Her face, devoid of any visible expressions, transformed as Aslan answered her questions and shared more insights.
By adding new perspectives to her worldview and coloring it with Aslan’s influence, she began to change.
She faintly smiled.
Her violet eyes now carried vitality.
She could admire the beauty of the night sky and marvel at falling snow with an enigmatic expression.
Even when tempted to commit evil acts, Aslan always intervened, making everything seem problem-free.
At least until the moment Beryl collapsed.
Aslan’s memories highlighted that instant when Beryl fell, tying up loose ends, and brought him back to reality.
Aslan recalled cutting off her head, much like how Lewena now gazed at him with her battered body.
Watching Lewena like this, Aslan felt uneasy.
Lewena was the first person Aslan changed in Gelladridion and the woman who made him realize this world was more than just a game.
Thus, looking at Lewena’s current state, Aslan painfully opened his mouth.
“Lewena.”
Lewena faintly smiled until Aslan entered the cell and the door closed behind him.
Darkness enveloped them.
Complete darkness, without a trace of light.
Lewena’s power was shadows. Shadows created by localized darkness where there is light.
Since she couldn’t control total darkness, this was the correct response.
If she could have controlled all the darkness, Liam would have fallen long ago during nighttime, and Gelladridion would have perished already.
In this sense, Aslan understood it was the right approach.
Being trapped in the darkness with Lewena.
Lewena seemed to understand Aslan’s thoughts and smiled.
“I’m not going to harm you, but you’re cautious.”
That’s good. Her whisper-like voice mixed with her breath was tantalizing.
A voice that stirred something deep within Aslan.
But Aslan did not react.
“Because I thought this was the right way to control things.”
He simply replied briefly. So, Lewena sighed in a tone suggesting boredom and nodded.
“That makes sense.”
After that, silence reigned. They were left alone in the pitch-black solitary confinement cell.
Aslan’s Qi allowed him to perceive things clearly despite the darkness.
Lewena’s body was that of a severely wounded person.
Her wounds were sealed by the Abyss, and missing parts were replaced by it to sustain her life.
Even Ereta would consider this severe. Recovery would take a long time, or abnormalities might occur in a body maintained by divine power.
While Aslan observed Lewena’s condition, Lewena spoke first.
“It’s been a while since we’ve been alone.”
Caught off guard by the unexpected comment, Aslan unconsciously turned his head, prompting Lewena to whisper from the darkness.
“With my hands and legs bound, there’s not much I can do… But if you wish, we can leave it at this.”
An offer that might have tempted Aslan if Lewena were uninjured.
However, Aslan was not shameless enough to entertain such thoughts against an injured person.
Simultaneously, he realized this was a crude joke.
As Aslan subtly revealed his discomfort, Lewena chuckled softly.
“You don’t need to worry.”
Such a conclusion. A statement implying she could provide what he wanted without concern for her condition, which Aslan chose to ignore.
Instead, he stared into the darkness and spoke.
“How did you end up like this?”
Unconsciously, his tone softened. Aslan noticed but decided it was fitting given the situation.
Perhaps because the question was justified.
Lewena’s strength was undeniable.
No one surpassed her in illusion magic among the Illusionists.
Both in output and meticulous adjustments, no one overshadowed her as an illusionist.
Most importantly, she wielded illusions naturally.
Her arrangement and deployment were at the level of innate talent, making her illusions intricate, precise, and cruel.
She could create countless transformations with a single illusion.
Coupled with her ability to manipulate the Abyss.
She herself was akin to the Abyss, so her control over it surpassed even her own limbs.
There weren’t many beings capable of reducing her to this state.
To such a legitimate question, Lewena remained silent for a while before responding.
“Hyun-woo, do you really want to know about that?”
Aslan could detect various undertones in her reproachful tone.
For instance, a scolding implying he already knew the answer.
Aslan closed his mouth.
The only entity capable of doing this to her and causing all these anomalies was one.
“The Dark Ram.”
Lewena silently acknowledged with her silence.
On the other hand, Aslan wondered.
“Why?”
So he asked, pondering.
The Dark Ram was more emotional compared to the Evil Deities. They possessed proper intellect and will, along with emotions.
However, they weren’t the type to ruin things due to their emotions.
Nor were they the kind to discard a card already in their grasp without reason.
If that were the case, another Possessor would have succeeded long ago, not Aslan.
Thus, the reason must lie with Lewena.
Aslan gazed into the darkness where Lewena was and hesitantly asked.
“Lewena…”
Her voice cut him off.
“That’s how I felt.”
It was a poor excuse, but Aslan understood well.
This was her way of hiding her embarrassment.
She was ashamed of having her intentions read and preempted by Aslan.
The reason was clear without guessing.
It was the love she often mentioned.
But truly, Aslan couldn’t comprehend why she acted this way now after enduring his suffering silently for so long.
There were several instances when she tried to kill Aslan.
Why was she helping him now?
Aslan didn’t know. However, he decided not to ask immediately, pushing all those questions aside for now.
The priority question was different.
“Why did you come?”
In response to Aslan’s question, the woman remained silent.
Silently, without even the sound of chains clinking, she paused for a long time before speaking.
“I want Hyun-woo to hurt and suffer because of me.”
A confusing answer that didn’t connect. Aslan frowned but didn’t interrupt.
“I don’t want you to suffer or be in pain because of anything else but me.”
As Aslan attentively listened, Lewena lifted her head.
“I want the wounds and scars I’ve left to pile up, so you remember me every night as you fall asleep.”
“Lewena.”
“When you eat a good meal, I want you to think of me. When you swing your sword, I want you to recall killing me. And when another woman holds your hand, I want you to instinctively pull away because you’re thinking of me.”
When both Aslan and Lewena fell silent, the woman smiled faintly.
“That’s why I came.”
It was still unclear. But Aslan vaguely understood what she was trying to convey.
“If we leave things as they are, Hyun-woo will die without knowing anything.”
Something Aslan had already suspected.
“That One is the law above laws.”
Thus, the next part was the main point.
“That One created this world and those destined to create it. Moreover, That One created me and wove my fate.”
Aslan recalled the strange occurrences since his resurrection.
It wasn’t mere coincidence.
“That One divided the flowing darkness and light in the world’s underbelly, creating day and night. However, there’s something many don’t know—That One cannot escape Their own laws.”
“Abyss.”
The woman laughed.
“Yes. That One may slightly defy the rules, but cannot greatly violate them. Because the rules are Their bones and flesh.”
The woman confirmed with a light laugh. Closing his eyes upon her affirmation, Aslan reflected.
The formless one falling and being consumed by the Abyss.
The Abyss digesting possessors it shouldn’t originally be able to handle.
All of it.
“That One can only defy the rules when someone else defies them first. Hyun-woo, your resurrection has twisted the rules.”
It was due to Lee Hyun-woo and the possessors.
When Aslan realized this and opened his eyes, his senses informed him that the woman was looking straight at him.
“From now on, the reins binding all the Evil Deities will gradually loosen. But don’t worry. If Hyun-woo doesn’t further twist the rules, That One won’t erase the world or devour you on the spot.”
Aslan listened intently with a serious expression to Lewena’s words.
A question arose as he listened.
“Why are you telling me this?”
Their eyes met, and the woman closed hers gently in the darkness.
“Lewena, you’re a priestess of the Dark Ram.”
Aslan questioned this while re-examining the woman’s body.
The intricate wounds etched onto her body.
These precise wounds would kill Ereta, but with Lewena drawing power from the Abyss, they wouldn’t be fatal—though they were extremely painful.
They were marks of torture.
A certain figure came to mind naturally. A figure with bare feet and goat horns, the daughter of the goat whose hair was wrapped around her neck like a muffler, Valerie.
Recalling the suffering she might have endured, Aslan spoke.
“Why did you…?”
“Do you know?”
Before Aslan could finish his question, the woman began speaking.
“Fate exists.”
What was she saying? Aslan stared into the darkness, and Lewena continued naturally.
“The fate woven by That One… It’s gravity. An inevitable event. Just as ancient gods inevitably perished no matter how they resisted, those born and raised on this land cannot escape this fate.”
Even the lofty transcendental beings are subject to it.
Upon hearing this mention of the Evil Deities, Aslan focused on Lewena’s words, who then chuckled lightly and continued.
“The only exception is you, Hyun-woo. And I… thought that if I became entangled with Hyun-woo, I might escape my fate.”
It was a lie.
His sharp intuition told him it was false.
But the talk of fate wasn’t a lie.
And at that moment, Aslan remembered Beryl.
Could this also be fate?
Perhaps Lewena was forced by the Dark Ram to commit killings she didn’t want to.
But he only thought about it and didn’t dare to ask.
Whatever answer he received, Aslan would be tormented.
Instead, Aslan posed another question.
“What do you want?”
He asked about the woman’s purpose.
He understood her motives and reasons but couldn’t discern what she sought to gain from this.
Even if he asked, it could wait until later.
And the woman didn’t answer.
Instead, she paused for a long time.
What Lewena desired.
Lewena imagined Aslan’s unseen expression.
She couldn’t say she wanted to be loved. Having known Aslan too well, it would feel like begging for love.
The woman was impulsive, wanting whatever she desired, and greedy.
That’s why Lewena wished for Aslan’s happiness.
An unreachable, distant goal.
“Hyun-woo’s smile.”
She didn’t want to express it outright. Saying it aloud would make it too pitiful.
She didn’t want to beg for happiness.
But Aslan understood Lewena’s inner thoughts. He knew her too well.
And because he knew her so well, his emotions surged.
Like being swept away by waves and washed ashore, Aslan’s mouth opened involuntarily.
“Was what happened in Beryl… Was that also fate? Did the Dark Ram make it happen?”
An urgent question. Lewena quietly closed her mouth, and silence filled the air.
Only Aslan’s breathing was audible in the dim, hollow space, like being inside the Abyss’s belly.
After hesitating visibly, Lewena finally spoke.
“No, that was my will.”
It was an obvious lie.
Aslan closed his eyes.
“Purity.”
The greatsword clenched behind his back blazed with pure white light, dispelling the darkness in the solitary cell and revealing the sword.
The brightly shining sword. Its radiant light formed a full moon.
Clang!
Aslan swung “Purity.”
