Lewena.
The woman also known as the Black Witch actually quite enjoyed cooking.
To be precise, she enjoyed the moments when she cooked for Aslan.
Although she had to borrow magic for the taste, she quite enjoyed even that process.
It was unclear whether it was because he could perceive the exact same flavors as her, or because she could monopolize all of Aslan’s senses.
However, either way, Lewena didn’t mind.
Either way, the affection Aslan held and the feelings Lewena cherished would not change.
It was, so to speak, akin to an immutable law.
For Lewena, loving Aslan was different from the stale and cursed fate-like thing.
That love was something the woman chose and finally grasped in her own hands.
Though it might not exactly be called a conquest, one could say it was, in a sense.
Lewena recalled the day she first fell in love.
Back then, during their journey with Aslan.
Lewena traveled with Aslan while harboring doubts about him.
Because she couldn’t understand why he performed such good deeds or why he thought the way he did.
Still, one thing was certain: Lewena undeniably believed that Aslan was good.
Aslan was thus a rare, if not nonexistent, figure in this world.
Even though she couldn’t understand why, she could comprehend what kind of person he was.
She could also predict his actions.
After all, she had observed Aslan during their travels together.
Lewena understood him well, given how empty she usually was. Perhaps due to her inherently hollow nature, whenever she came to her senses, she found herself only thinking about Aslan.
Why did he think this way? Why did he say those things?
Even though they weren’t necessarily important, she always pondered them.
And strangely enough, she could guess the reason.
Because Lewena was a high priestess of the Abyss.
Those who followed the Abyss lacked reason, possessing only souls stolen by its influence.
Naturally, the priests of the Abyss were incapable of human interaction.
Although Lewena had attempted human interaction before, these attempts invariably ended in tragedy.
Thus, Lewena surmised:
Because she had never engaged in such deep and prolonged interactions before.
Aslan was strong enough that he couldn’t kill her, and Lewena couldn’t kill Aslan either.
Moreover, since he was a vivid enough figure to influence her, it was natural to end up like this.
Yet questions still lingered.
Why did Lewena keep thinking only about Aslan?
While watching Aslan prepare the campsite, she said,
“I’ve been constantly thinking about you. Do you know why?”
At that question, the man paused mid-motion, stiffening.
Despite her curiosity, Lewena continued speaking,
Revealing everything she’d been reflecting on.
Always recalling your thoughts and actions.
Thinking about what you would have done here and how you would react.
Whether you’re visible or not, it’s always the same.
Always like that, leaving no time to refine my magic.
Just as she was about to ask if he knew why, Lewena stopped.
Noticing Aslan’s visibly embarrassed expression, the woman hesitated.
A sudden realization dawned upon her.
“I think I like you.”
Indeed, it was true.
The memory of that day faded into darkness.
Her vision turned black before clearing again, revealing Lewena standing alone in the dark.
Looking beyond her blurred vision, Lewena raised her head to observe her surroundings.
Despite her vision clearing, it remained dark—not because night had fallen or because the sun hadn’t risen, but because Lewena was purely within the depths of the Abyss.
Nothing was visible; the darkness obscured everything from sight.
But Lewena wasn’t alone. She knew that much.
For the entire Abyss was focused on her.
Enduring that gaze, Lewena thought.
Truly, a life bound to fate and the Abyss.
Woman, Lewena.
She was a being born from the union of a woman and the Abyss.
The woman who couldn’t become a priestess had conceived the Abyss and gave birth to it in human form—thus creating Lewena.
Though Lewena had a human body, her soul was closer to the Abyss.
Perhaps as a reaction to this, or for some other reason, the woman couldn’t empathize with human emotions.
Rather, emotions themselves were rare or almost nonexistent for her.
This made her alien.
She was aware of it herself and had tried to change it.
Repeated failures ensued.
Every attempt she made to understand humans resulted in disasters.
Every effort to mingle with humans turned into miserable situations and tragedies.
So she tried to understand herself—where her alienation stemmed from, how it originated.
Becoming the priestess of the Dark Ram was part of this context.
However, ever since becoming a priestess, Lewena often ceased to be Lewena.
Recalling those days, Lewena lifted her head and met the gaze observing her from afar.
The eyes were red.
Like a blood-red moon, those eyes emerged from the darkness.
White bare feet stepped forward, seemingly not of this world, cutting through the darkness like a streak of light.
A woman with very long braided hair draped around her neck like a muffler.
A woman adorned with four horns that didn’t belong to this world.
Valerie, daughter of the goat.
She smirked at Lewena.
Unlike the emotionless Lewena, Valerie could read her inner thoughts.
Contrasting sharply with Lewena’s inability to read Valerie.
Valerie sneered and looked at Lewena meaningfully.
“Really, do you think this is a good method?”
A sarcastic tone reserved only for those entirely bound by fate. Though Lewena didn’t tremble at the tone, she admitted to herself that she was afraid.
And within her, she thought this was the only way, whether good or bad.
“Mistakes are free.”
Valerie responded casually, and Lewena stared impassively at the woman who effortlessly read her inner thoughts.
“Don’t forget that I warned you.”
The churning Abyss seemed to take this statement as a signal, creeping toward Lewena and enveloping her.
Though it was a situation that would make anyone uneasy, Lewena remained indifferent as she scanned her surroundings.
And she reflected.
Lewena became more human only when she was with Aslan.
Only the time spent with Aslan made her more human.
Back then, Lewena believed that this transformation was due to Aslan’s divine power.
And Lewena strongly clung to Aslan, who transformed her through that divine power.
It was a human obsession, one of her few human traits.
The current Lewena was incomprehensible.
The present Lewena doesn’t understand the past Lewena. Perhaps she never will.
Valerie opened her mouth, seemingly unable to comprehend as well.
“Is such a trivial existence worth forsaking humanity?”
Lewena didn’t answer. She just blinked. It wasn’t because she deemed it unworthy of a response.
Her soul was the Abyss, her body was human.
Thus, Lewena could become human due to Aslan’s humanity.
The reason Lewena lost her emotions now was simple.
It was because she had offered her soul to fill her crumbling body.
The current Lewena was no longer human.
Merely a monster.
Through fleeting good feelings and memories, through rationalized love and facts, Lewena became a monster.
Her Abyss-infested body no longer had any sensations.
No sense of taste, no sense of touch.
No sense of smell remains either. Only hearing and sight remain.
But Lewena endured.
For this sole moment, she abandoned her humanity and chose to die as a monster.
She endured, bid farewell, and waited for this moment.
Finally, she reached this point.
The Abyss surrounding her, approaching her like a black light—her father and creator.
Simultaneously, her origin.
All her explorations of herself were not in vain.
She was the first being to understand the Abyss and its master.
The Abyss encircling her stretched out, and Lewena fixed her gaze and moved her lips.
Then Lewena’s Abyss flowed out and extended. Beyond the space stained black, darkness intertwined and danced.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The sound of collision and grinding metal, akin to screams. The noise was intense, suggesting competition.
Despite the odds against her, Lewena began to counter-invade.
Even reversing the invasion, her mutated Abyss consumed its creator.
The reason was simple.
The Abyss lacked the strength.
Weakened by diluting the self-awareness of over 4,000 powerful beings, the Abyss had exhausted all its power.
Thus, it lacked the strength to protect itself.
As a result, the Abyss slowly lost control.
Even Valerie, who watched with pity, saw Lewena quietly handling her Abyss like extensions of her sensory organs.
Now was the only opportunity.
With the high priest absent, dealing with Aslan’s traveling party individually, and the priest away battling Aslan.
With the Abyss underestimating Lewena and showing vulnerabilities.
If Lewena didn’t seize this moment, there would be no second chance.
Lewena ignited her indifferent eyes and soon saw.
The eyes of a dragon revealed as the darkness dissipated.
“…Ah.”
Within those eyes lay the forces of destruction and chaos.
The most fundamental form of the universe, the ingredients necessary for creation.
A being symbolizing destruction for creation, and additionally, the most renowned evil deity in Geladridion.
The deity of void and chaos.
When this Tyrant Dragon appeared, Lewena realized why Valerie had shown compassion.
She had fallen into a trap long ago.
Before she could react to this realization, the reborn dragon opened its maw.
Beyond the dissipating darkness, death and nothingness swirled.
Witnessing this condensed death, Lewena recalled various things.
For instance, sunlight streaming down, snow falling in the yard with Aslan.
As these fleeting memories left her grasp.
Kwaang!
An overwhelming wave of death poured forth, staining everything black.
