The twin-headed sword in his hand trembled, with new twigs added, Malin fell silent—this tender branch of the World Tree surely knew the Maya of this world.
Its master had died, and now only this one lover remained in front of him, perhaps awakened by Malin’s bloodline, but it bore the memories of the past, its lament.
The Black Bride turned around, and she lunged forward with afterimages once more, only to be caught by Malin as he grasped one end of the twin-headed sword and swept her, along with her sword, down onto the muddy ground.
Having received a blessing, Malin, who had once again bested the Black Bride in strength, was not joyful.
He was trying to save his sister, the little leopard girl lying on the ground was his sister, but he was also destroying his sister; the woman now struggling to rise, her whispers interspersed with sobs, was also his sister.
He wanted to save her, but he also knew she could no longer be saved; he would rather die here than live on, otherwise, he wouldn’t have chosen to give up resistance to Chaos’s transformation.
And for Malin... even if he could save her, what would it mean?
Her family was gone, her memory stuck on the day Carterburg fell, how far from today that day was, she didn’t know, Malin didn’t know; perhaps there was still resistance in the world, but Malin could not guarantee whether such resistance could still light up this sinking world.
Maybe... perhaps there was no resistance at all.
The Black Bride rose once again; she stubbornly charged at Malin with more assaults, her afterimages closing in, but this time, Malin split the twin-headed sword, his left hand with the longsword snapping hers with a slapping force, toppling her at his feet, while the longsword in his right hand had already pierced her chest.
The small twig in his left hand could no longer control its transformation; it turned into a little fairy, wailing as it threw itself onto the Black Bride’s face.
’Fio...’ Unexpectedly, the Black Bride uttered this name.
The little fairy wailed even louder.
’I had such a long... dream...’ Nailed to the earth by the World Tree’s tender branch, the Black Bride’s transformation began to fade away as she reached out her damaged hand to caress the little fairy.
’In the dream I went back... to when I was very small...’ she said, and her black bridal garment began to be ignited by the holy spiritual energy.
Amidst the flames, she turned to look at Malin, "That was the first time I met..." She closed her eyes, no longer harbouring beautiful exclamations, no longer confessing memories; the Black Bride, consumed by the holy spiritual energy, began the final Purification ritual of herself.
Malin stepped back; he found it hard to watch everything unfolding before him. His Fio dragged his new friend, and sat on Malin’s shoulder.
A whisper echoed in Malin’s ear; he turned his head but saw nothing. He wondered for a moment, as if realizing something, he bowed his head and saw the tiny... himself.
’Thank you, soul from another world’
This self as a Spiritual Body was like a flickering candle in the wind, seeming to extinguish at any moment.
Malin knelt down, kneeling on one knee before this tiny self: "You’ve had a rough time, betrayal by a friend is hard to endure."
’It’s nothing, I didn’t even realize what happened before I died, but at the last moment, I did what I was supposed to do... sorry, for showing you such an awful side of Carterburg.’ He smiled and reached out his hand.
Malin also reached out his hand, his flesh and blood hand clasping the small hand made of Spiritual Body.
’I can feel that you and your body don’t fit well together... and you have performed Purification for Margen and Maya, as a token of my gratitude... take my final thank you,’ the child said, beginning to dissipate, but Malin could feel his body undergoing transformations, he was getting smaller, and after a bout of intense pain, he finally saw himself in the natural mirror formed by the pool of rainwater.
That little self of his, which had grown somewhat taller.
’I never thought I would one day thank myself...’ After saying this, there was no more to follow, and Lorrin, unable to maintain his form any longer, turned into ash and disappeared without a trace.
Malin fell silent for a moment, unsure of what to say, or what could be said, and in the end, he could only let out a long sigh.
He turned and walked towards his sister, picking up the little leopard girl who was sound asleep, who he could once carry like a princess but now could only sit and pull the deeply sleeping girl into his embrace, then patted her face.
He casually popped the bubble at her nose, really, she was helpless.
"Eh, brother, you’re here," the girl yawned in Malin’s arms, then looked up at her brother, "I just had a dream where I grew up, she said she would bless me, but I don’t feel any blessing." As she spoke, she sat up, then noticed the wounds and tears on Malin’s face and body.
"How did you get hurt?"
"Because I came to rescue you," Malin replied, reaching out his hand to rub Maya’s little head.
The leopard girl fell silent, then looked around, the playfulness vanishing from her face as she looked up at Malin: "So... all of that was real, this is indeed Carterburg."
"Yes, this is another world, some have rung the death knell, and others... want to mend this tear in the sky," Malin said as he wiped the dust from his sister’s face. Then he took out a small whistle from his pocket and blew it; two Divine Masters could pull him and Maya out of this damned rift in time and space. This was one of the rare overlapping points of two timelines, unpredictable in when it would fracture.
It was because of the overlap that the Lillim known as Margen was summoned, and that’s why another Maya dragged her other self—Malin’s sister—into this rift.
As the fog around them began to reappear, Malin held his sister tight—he was afraid that if he let go, he would return and his sister would be left behind.
Therefore, he failed to notice the joy and shyness in his sister’s eyes, nor did he see her smile as she tucked away all her feelings back into her heart.
"What’s wrong?" He simply felt his sister call out to him and then she became mute.
"Nothing, just calling you; I’m scared all this is just a dream," he heard his sister reply.
Malin, as her brother, reached out and playfully ruffled the little leopard’s head: "If it hurts, that means you’re awake, if you don’t believe me, pinch... don’t pinch me, though."
Feeling a bit of pain on his cheek, Malin was not too happy.
This girl, where did she learn such a trick.