Clang!
Aslan furrowed his brow at the ringing sound of metal.
The weight embedded in the Abyss Blade he swung felt akin to the world itself, leading him to believe it could shatter anything. However, contrary to his expectations, that was not the case.
The Abyss Blade couldn’t break through the Abyss; it was blocked.
The Abyss Blade was halted by the impenetrable shell of the Abyss, unable to advance further.
Aslan saw this and immediately understood the cause.
If the Abyss in Aslan’s hand belonged to Lewena, then the Abyss forming this shell also belonged to Lewena.
Thus, the attempt to destroy Lewena with Lewena herself was doomed to fail.
Since both were of the same origin, one could neither erode nor consume the other.
All that remained possible was to keep striking.
Even if another tool were used, a similar outcome would occur, so Aslan silently gazed down at the Abyss.
The Abyss, resembling a dark shell.
Once the initial confusion passed, Aslan realized.
This was Lewena’s will.
Lewena was rejecting Aslan.
She was refusing to be saved.
Instinctively, perhaps faintly through her self-awareness.
Aslan guessed.
Lewena had been the shepherd of the Dark Ram.
While enduring pain, believing Aslan had killed her, she must have watched his journey all along.
Now free from the chains of fate, she must understand.
That Aslan’s most painful memory over twelve years was tied to her.
How she would process that fact was obvious.
By looking at the decision reached at the end of her emotions, it could be understood.
Lewena wanted Aslan to be happy without her.
What Aslan intuitively surmised soon turned out to be the truth.
His inhuman intuition confirmed it.
So Aslan closed his eyes and acknowledged it.
The woman’s decision was rational and factual.
For this reason, she wouldn’t appear.
Opening his eyes shortly after, Aslan looked into an endless black sea, indistinguishable whether his eyes were truly open or closed.
Darkness and shadows stretched endlessly to the horizon. The owner of all this was Lewena.
She was truly the mistress of the Abyss.
The Abyss Blade imbued with her essence was a powerful sword befitting the true ruler of the Abyss.
Even such a mighty sword couldn’t break the woman’s stubborn resolve.
Because Lewena’s desire was clear.
She wished for Aslan to escape the Abyss, complete his mission with a sword fully infused with the power of the Abyss, and eventually find happiness.
Through divine power, opposing divinity, she hoped he’d someday become happy.
Even if he couldn’t forget Lewena during this process, she still hoped he’d grow happier.
To fall in love again.
To build friendships.
To create new memories.
In such a way, she wanted him not to dwell on the scars and wounds she had left behind.
Aslan instinctively grasped all these facts and chuckled wryly.
Indeed, if he turned back here, he could see that everything would unfold exactly as described.
Aslan wasn’t a deity, nor an eternally immortal being.
Perhaps, with time, he might find happiness.
Following her wishes, he might eventually find joy and forget Lewena.
Though occasionally, he might recall her and feel sorrow, there would likely be someone beside him to console him.
However…
Aslan didn’t seek such happiness.
He didn’t want the satisfaction of giving up and settling for contentment.
Aslan was a selfish human.
He desired everything necessary for his happiness.
He wanted back what he had lost over twelve years, what had been taken from him during those years.
Thus, Aslan gripped the sword he had loosely held, ready to let go, more firmly once again.
Clang!
And he swung it.
The sword struck the Abyss, only managing to tap it before bouncing off.
Still, Aslan raised the sword again and slammed it against the ground.
Repeatedly, each time it bounced back, he struck harder.
Clang!
Every human lives to find happiness.
Living in a land where this kindness is trampled upon, malice grows, the weak bow, and the strong feast, Aslan had forgotten all this.
Hence, when Aslan first heard the monk’s words urging him to be happy, it was like being struck by a sudden shock.
He realized he had forgotten something fundamental.
Aslan too wished to be happy.
Clang, sizzle!
But he had no intention of letting go of anything for that happiness.
The Abyss Blade swung straight struck the Abyss and rebounded, prompting Aslan to wipe his forehead.
Clang!
The humans sought by the Dark Ram were all noble souls.
Aslan was one of them.
Whether he admitted it or not, it was because of this nature that he had been drawn here.
Thus, Aslan’s starting point lay there.
Reaching out a hand for those in peril, choosing to save people rather than averting their gaze from impending tragedies.
Diving in without hesitation, believing that if he were in such a dire situation, he would wish for someone to rescue him.
Even while pursuing happiness now, Aslan still wanted to change Geladridion.
To stop the tragedy and bring peace to the world.
It was an impossible path.
A distant road that couldn’t even be glimpsed unless countless miracles stacked together.
Thus, if he turned back merely because it was deemed impossible…
If he abandoned the woman he loved just to find happiness…
He would never reach such an impossible path.
Aslan thought.
That his happiness required Lewena.
That he no longer wanted to lose her.
That he would no longer lose her.
That he would turn the impossible into the possible.
That this was the way to survive the Evil Deity.
Thus, even as the sword he swung continued to bounce back helplessly, Aslan kept swinging.
The clanging sound echoed like a heartbeat, and sparks flew, illuminating the darkened earth.
Blood flowed from his arms, the metallic smell emanated from his clenched teeth, and his body screamed in agony for him to stop—just as Aslan began to see cracks spreading across the surface of the Abyss.
So Aslan did not stop.
Aslan, wielding the Abyss Blade.
The true mistress of the Abyss earnestly desired it, and finally, the Abyss bowed its head.
Part of Lewena willingly surrendered to save the man she loved.
For the sake of her beloved master.
Crack, crack.
The cracked egg. The sword Aslan repeatedly struck against the shell.
Raising the sword high above it, Aslan cried out.
“Lewena!”
With the cry of her name, the blade plunged into the ground.
Together with it, the shell of the egg shattered, and Aslan’s body tilted.
What was once the floor became a wall, and what was emptiness became the floor under Aslan’s standard.
Standing on this new floor, placing his hand on the surface of the egg to steady himself, Aslan entered inside.
Despite the blood flowing profusely from the joint of his left arm, Aslan observed the interior.
Inside was a strange presence.
A humanoid figure crafted entirely like a shadow, devoid of features, hair, or any detail, visible only as a black silhouette.
Had it not been Aslan standing there, taking a defensive stance against such a bizarre entity would have been reasonable.
There was little to discern about it.
Rather, nothing at all.
There was no way to know just by looking.
Yet Aslan recognized it as Lewena.
Recognizing it, Aslan spoke with a weary face.
“I’ve come to take you.”
The black silhouette stared at Aslan’s words and actions in confusion.
As though not recognizing Aslan, it hesitated and stepped back.
As Aslan entered further inside and approached, it retreated further.
Watching the retreating black silhouette, Aslan stopped and spoke.
It mattered little whether his words reached her or not.
“If I do exactly as you wished… someday, I might find happiness.”
It was almost like Aslan’s personal confession.
“Perhaps the scars you left will only occasionally resurface. Maybe I’ll meet a better woman, or perhaps I’ll build a happier family.”
The black silhouette stopped and looked at Aslan, who continued speaking while facing Lewena, whose expressionless eyes met his.
“While living with you might sometimes be painful, exhausting, insecure, or even dangerous, but…”
Looking at the listening woman who lacked ears, Aslan smiled softly.
“It’s the life I chose.”
As if declaring his freedom from destiny, Aslan spoke.
“A life rolling along according to someone else’s will, following someone else’s plans… a fated life. That kind of life, I reject now.”
The black silhouette no longer retreated as Aslan took steps closer.
Instead, it looked at Aslan’s outstretched hand.
“By fate, I killed you, and by fate, we met again, and by fate, we faced each other. But no longer. From now on, I part ways with fate.”
The extended hand. Slowly raising her own hand, the Abyss gently overlapped hers with his.
“My life and happiness, I will achieve by my own will.”
The clasped hands. Though lacking warmth and pulse, Aslan did not let go of the Abyss’s hand.
“I’ve chosen you.”
The black silhouette lifted her head.
“I’ve come to save you, Lewena.”
No words reached the black silhouette.
The silhouette had no idea who this man was.
Being only an incomplete fragment of Lewena, it couldn’t comprehend the situation.
But Lewena’s instincts pushed her forward.
Lewena firmly grasped the extended hand of Aslan.
Aslan raised his left hand.
The Abyss Blade rose high.
The sword, responding to its master’s will, trembled slightly.
The vessel imbued with the spirit of white steel and the Warrior God, containing the Abyss within.
The gate, key, and core that connected to the Abyss.
The Abyss Blade.
Aslan declared to the sword.
“I am the true master of the Abyss!”
The restless Abyss stilled.
“I hold you in my grasp.”
The shell of Abyss surrounding Aslan and Lewena began to crack.
“I have subdued you!”
The Abyss stretching to the horizon ceased its writhing in the colors of the universe and condensed.
“You belong to me!”
As if affirming the truth of the declaration, it gathered toward Aslan.
“So from now on, you shall be…”
The gathered Abyss. Facing the singular world before him, Aslan named it.
“Lewena.”
He bestowed a name upon the Abyss.
The name was the most essential part of divine power in Geladridion.
Power dwelled within the given name, shaping its identity.
Thus, the Abyss submitted to the name Aslan gave.
It swirled in response.
Memories, emotions, thoughts—all fitting the name “Lewena”—surfaced.
The Abyss was shaped according to the name “Lewena.”
At its center stood the black silhouette, the largest fragment of Lewena.
Flowing through the Abyss Blade, the Abyss surged into the black silhouette.
All the gates of the Abyss opened across the land and closed, as the Abyss surrounding the black silhouette formed a precise shape.
Where once the Abyss possessed only survival instincts and hunger, now it had a self.
The Abyss would call itself Lewena.
Where the swirling Abyss settled, there stood Lewena.
Lewena, her white skin speckled with patches of black Abyss.
Lewena, lightly collapsing into Aslan’s embrace.
Aslan caught her, and the black-haired woman who had her eyes peacefully closed opened them only after Aslan embraced her.
Her violet eyes immediately locked onto Aslan’s emerald ones as she opened her mouth to speak.
“Why did you do it?”
Aslan silently stared. The woman continued.
“Being with me will make you unhappy. Definitely. So…”
Aslan barely shook his head. The woman paused and then asked again in a tone devoid of emotion.
“Why did you do that?”
Hearing her emotionless voice, Aslan recalled the Lewena he first met.
The difference now was that the woman was barely suppressing her emotions.
Aslan’s answer was already decided.
“Because I love you.”
Lewena closed her mouth.
Faced with the perfect answer, the woman found no words to respond.
