Although the world around him was chaotic, Forus didn't let any of the distracting noises clouded his mind. Only the faint sound of his heartbeats and the cracking noise of the crumbling realm of consciousness remained within his mind. His emotionless face gave off the feeling of stability that could withstand everything.
"Don't worry. Everything is going to to be fine." Whispering into Ocelia's ear, Forus pinched her cheek for one last time before walking towards the origin of corruption.
With every step he took, the infernals would step back and made way for him. They would continually surround him, sneering at his bravery. However, they would never get close to his body, as if something inside of him had frightened their existence. If that power erupted, they were sure that they would crumble and return to the origin of all.
The pinkish mist that surrounded Forus and Ocelia began to group up. Strangely, they willingly moved away from Forus and instead gathering around Ocelia, shielding her tattered appearance from the onlookers. Faintly, the symbol of love that was on their hand dimmed down as their distance widened.
Ocelia naturally tried to move her body and grasped his hand. Nevertheless, all of her energy had depleted, and with Forus' comforting voice, tiredness began to manifest within her mind, soothing her eyelids and singing a lullaby for her to relax. As a result, her mind turned muddled and couldn't think clearly. She could not guess the decision Forus had made during their sweet moment.
Thinking about the past, Ocelia unconsciously gripped her hand and repeatedly rubbed the Ring of Recollection on her finger. Every time she did so, she could relieve herself of worry and let her submerge into the sea of happiness, thinking about their future.
After a dozen steps, Forus arrived at the edge of the crack in space, standing at the boundary between space and void. One step forwards would mean the abyss, and one step backwards would mean the dull world. Even if darkness was the only thing his vision could perceive, he could still sense the majestic yet wicked aura of the ruler of the abyss. If the suppression from the white figure was akin to the weight of a mountain, then the pressure from the entity would be the colossal earth, completely transcended that of the said white figure.
Forus could feel the vibration of every part of his body. They tensed up and trying their best to hold their ground, refused to break into fragments for the mere presence of the abyssal monster. The longer he stood there, the more his skin cracked open and the deeper the earth beneath his feet sank. Despite the ground-sinking pressure that Forus experienced, he felt that if he took a step forward, the stress would multiply by an unknown margin. Without a doubt, taking a step forwards would crush him.
The air around Forus thickened as black, filthy mist generated itself into the dull world, surrounding both Forus and the evil entity. As soon as the fog covered all front, disconnecting the outside world from peering into the inner region, it transformed into a dark energy field that destroyed everything that came into contact with it. Not even the pinkish mist could penetrate said barrier.
Ocelia began to panic as her faint connection with Forus became fainter and fainter before finally disappeared after the mist covered his figure. However, with her absolute trust in her husband, Ocelia quickly calmed her mind before holding her hand closer to her face, rubbing the ring with her cheek gently. In the end, she closed her eyes and began to pray for his safety.
As time passed, the mist inside the inner world also solidified. Finally, it covered every inch within the area. Now, Forus became utterly disconnected from the world as he could not sense anything outside of his body, even with his enhanced senses and the help of sorcery energy. His direction and depth perception turned distorted as the distance between two points shrank and expanded as time passed.
"Mortal, we meet again at last. In a short span of my attention, you have already peeked into the realm of the true sorcerer. However, in your current condition, you wouldn't be able to ascend and open the gate of truth. Pitiful indeed." The blue-robed sorcerer spoke as he descended onto the ground, staring at Forus. With his arrival, a hint of coldness penetrated the surrounding, freezing everything that touched it.
Hearing the ever so familiar voice, Forus shuddered as his mind began to scream at him the memory he wished so dearly for it to disappear. He could faintly hear his scream echoed the torture chamber as dissect blades went into his body, trying to force Death Aura out from his body. Tens of years of pain and suffering that he almost forgot bombarded him, sending him back in time to experience it once again.
"That time, you managed to foil my plan and offer a bargain with the evil being, gaining a second chance in life. However, this time, what could you do?" Sneering at him, the blue-robed sorcerer amplified the coldness of his aura, freezing Forus' the outermost layer of skin before breaking it into pieces. Although Forus felt enormous pain from the coldness, he discovered that his skin didn't break and the coldness was not real.
"Mortal should stay mortal. With your limited strength, nevermind killing me, finding my location would be impossible for you. However, do not worry. I will take care of your daughter for you. Instead, you should go accompanied your wife in the afterlife." The green-robed figure walked towards Forus. With every step he took, plants and flowers would grow from seeds into saplings. Soon, the flowers released various fragrances that lightened the atmosphere.
Like lightning, his words struck Forus deeply, opening the wound from the past. In the darkness he saw, the record of his daughter's birthday began to play inside his mind once more. However, before he could do anything, leafy vines came crushing onto him, binding his body in place. Without any way of breaking free, he could only watch as the event played out.
"Not knowing what good for your life. How dare you harm my disciple? The next time we meet shall be the end of you." The cracking sound emerged from the void as space bent out of shape and broke into a rift, creating a gateway for a female sorcerer to travel through. Behind her back stood the giant flower, rotating ever so slowly as it released a refreshing fragrance.
However, in the darkness that concealed her face, lines of tears were raining from her dull, lifeless eyes, turning bloodier every passing second. Her face only contained the hopeless and sadness as she gazed at the man in front of her.
With every passing moment, the spiritual seed deep inside his realm of consciousness began to vibrate, awaking from the resonance with its owner. Fortunately, due to the lack of commands from its owner, it instinctively tried to survive and use its roots to hold the collapsing realm together.
"Great One, this one wish to make a trade with you again." Gritting his teeth, Forus slowly kneeled on the ground and lowered his head, letting it touched the earth. With every word coming out from his mouth, more and more blood also came along with them. Although the previous pain was just an illusion, the mental stress was real and severely affected his mind.
Suddenly, a pair of hands warped around his chest like the weight of a person pressed against his back. Forus could feel the familiar, intimating warmth spread across his back, radiating into his body. As if everything was a dream, Forus felt light-headed and carefree. He could still remember the warmth of this hug, the weight of her body that pressed against his body every day in the past.
"Interesting, my dear, last time you took advantage of that mage and managed to get a second chance. However, you have nothing precious enough to trade for another chance. What could you do?" Although her manner of speech and her voice were the same as he knew them, Forus couldn't bring himself to turn around and face her. Even though he knew that she wasn't real, he still couldn't do it.
"I don't want another chance in life. All I wanted is to let Ocelia live through this." As that sentence came out, he unconsciously sighed and tightly gripped his chest. However, contrasted to the usual regret people would have, his face was full of relief and acceptance. He had already planned to bargain for this from the start.
A series of footsteps echoed as someone was running towards Forus. After the figure came to a stop in front of Forus, she pulled his cloth slightly, asking for him to give her some attention. She continued to hum her favourite song as she did so, giving Forus a faint shiver as he recognised the voice.
"Dad, you must know that everything you had is, in the end, given to you by us. Your body and your power all belong to us. What can you give us then?" The lovely voice betrayed the content of the conversation. Although her voice gave a youthful vibe, there was something that felt odd and out of place in her voice.
"Forus, you could use the ring that you gave me as a bargaining chip. Gave us the proof of your marriage and we shall ensure the survival of Ocelia for you. How is it? A fair trade, isn't it?" Ocelia smiled as she stood beside him, touching her forehead that he had just kissed repeatedly. Her giggles would occasionally land onto his ears.
"You could also give us your memory in exchange for your new love. Let us part our way and end this worthless pursuit." Meria and Matia spoke at the same time, making their voice integrated with others and sounded unnatural. The quality of temptation in their voice multiplied by an unknown margin, inviting Forus to accept the deal quickly.
Despite the gravity of the situation, Forus remained unmoving and didn't let out any sound. His lowered head stayed motionless as various thoughts ran through his head, trying to find the best way to accept the deal. He couldn't bear to let the Ring of Recollection go and also couldn't allow the memory of his past disappear too.
"My soul, take it. Use it to ensure that Ocelia would live through this calamity." Raising his head, Forus looked at the direction of the centre of the rift with his hollow eye sockets. He finally decided to sacrifice himself for Ocelia. He knew that she had paid too much for him and wished to repay her one day.
This way, Ocelia would have proof of his existence, and he would get to go accompanied his wife in the afterlife. Although he still couldn't see his daughter for one last time, he trusted that his quick-witted Matia would soar to the sky and become successful. Under this restricting circumstance, he could only do so much.
The instant Forus said his condition, the figures of those in his memory shattered into fragments of glasses, disintegrating into nothingness. The chaotic flow of black mist suddenly came to a halt as well as everything else within the inner world. Not only that, but the flow of Elements of the outer world also stopped. Followed by the freezing of time and space, everything ceased their movement as they remained motionless and unchanging.
The crumbling of Forus' realm of consciousness stopped, and the pressure from the liquified Elements also disappeared as they too also stopped in their tracks. Only Forus Ander and the mysterious entity remained aware of their surrounding under the complete blockage of the river of time.
The distorted laughter echoed the world as they penetrated every bit of space, letting every existence submerged in its wickedness and unholiness. Extending across the limitation of laws, invisible explosions rang out as the waves of laughter move upwards and downwards the river of time. Everything that existed or shall exist had heard the ominous noise, and tremble as they did so.
