Reincarnated As The Villainess's Son-Chapter 519: [When Fallen Fall] [15] [Questions]

A soundless scream tore through my throat.

The emptiness felt so close, I felt like I was both nothing and everything at the same time.

Immediately, I tried to move, trying to get a hold of my brain and body.

I struggled to even lift my head, the piercing surges of pain still encompassing all of my body.

But slowly, yet surely, my vision returned.

I pried open my lips and tried to speak. "...Fuck."

A wave of relief held me in place as I blinked slowly.

The wetness of the floor, half-submerging me, became clear, and so did my condition.

[<Qais?>]

"....Inna."

I responded and immediately felt a sigh of relief from her.

[<Are you alright? You have been screaming for an hour now.>]

"...."

I remained silent for a long second, staring at the cave-like structure.

The memories that I had seen through the eyes of Azrael slowly returned.

Anastasia, Chione, the judgment, and the Goddess of Fate.

Everything rushed back like they were my own memories.

I swallowed hard, my throat burning.

"...How long," I asked quietly, "was I out?"

[<Long enough to scare me.>]

Her voice wavered, just a little.

She tried to hide it, but I knew her too well.

It should be ten days, if not more.

I pushed myself up on one elbow, and every muscle of mine protested.

"...I remember," I said.

[<Remember what?>]

I hesitated. "...Azrael’s memories."

There was silence between us for a long second.

[<...How much?>]

"...I don’t know," I mumbled, rubbing my face. "Perhaps half a month’s worth of memories."

[<...I see.>]

The slight pause in her voice made me frown.

"What did you do, Inna?" I asked, not hiding my doubts.

[<I did nothing—>]

"Inna." I cut her off. "What did you do?"

I closed my eyes, and I could clearly feel her guilt.

[<...Seeing too many memories at a time can adversely affect your mind.>]

I let out a slow breath.

[<Azrael was not a good man. I do not want you to become like him.>]

I could clearly feel her pain, disappointment, and anger in her voice.

"But I will still see his memories," I replied. "I will get back his memories, Inna."

[<Small memories at certain intervals will not have a big effect on your mind.>]

She countered firmly.

[<I will make sure of it.>]

The water around me rippled as I shifted, sitting up fully now.

My head throbbed, but as I touched it, I felt a sharp pain in my hand.

"...What?"

I turned to look at my reflection in the water.

Only to find two long white horns protruding out of my head.

But unlike before, they had grown bigger, looking more like antlers than horns.

"What the fuck did Esmeray do to me?" I grumbled, slowly standing up. "She made me a monster."

I stared at my reflection for a long moment.

The horns curved back from my temples, branching slightly, pale and smooth.

They didn’t look jagged or violent.

...They looked beautiful.

I groaned and stood fully upright, feeling strength return to my body.

"Now, how do we get—"

My words came to a sudden halt when I felt something in my hand.

I brought my hand up as I saw the glowing orb once again.

"...."

The orb that the Goddess of Fate gave to Azrael.

"...The key," I mumbled softly, finally understanding what this was.

I lowered the orb, my reflection rippling again in the water.

The antler-like horns framed my face, catching the light from the orb and reflecting it faintly.

When I shifted my focus away, the orb dissolved and melted inside my body.

When I closed my eyes, I felt an instinctive feeling that I could use the orb.

"...Fate, huh?" I mumbled, looking up at the sky.

My back stretched and my shoulder blades twisted as three pairs of wings unfolded behind me.

I flapped them once and immediately moved up.

It only took me a second to notice that my speed and control over my wings had increased tremendously.

The air rushed past me as I steadied myself mid-flight.

"...That’s new," I muttered.

It only took me half the time to reach the top compared to how long it took me to reach the bottom.

I hovered near the cave ceiling, adjusting instinctively.

A slight tilt of my wings sent me gliding sideways.

Taking a deep breath, I pushed through the ceiling without any problem.

I burst out into the same room where I had last seen Nora.

I pushed away the dust that covered the place as I looked around.

"...."

"...."

"...."

On the edge of the room, close to the window, I found two people standing close together.

One of them was my dear cousin Elijah, and the other was the princess of the mermaids... Kana.

"The hell are you two doing alone?" I asked, breaking the silence between us.

"Himmel!" Elijah said, walking toward me. "What the hell happened to you?"

His gaze shifted toward my horns.

I rubbed the back of my neck, suddenly very aware of how I looked.

Elijah stopped a few steps in front of me, staring openly now. "Damn, that’s cool."

I pushed him aside as I focused on my horns.

The horns had been with me for a long time, but the good thing about them was that they could turn into liquid.

With a thought, the horns glowed and slowly retracted back into my forehead.

I ran a hand over my forehead.

The skin was smooth again, no trace of the horns left behind, but I could still feel them.

Elijah crossed his arms. "So you just... turn parts of yourself on and off now?"

"Seems like it," I replied. "How long was I gone?"

"Ten days," Elijah replied. "Wait, did you find the key?"

"...Yeah," I replied, rubbing my temples. "What else happened?"

Kana finally stepped closer, and interestingly enough, she raised her hand.

"What?" I asked.

"My marriage," she replied. "They fixed my marriage with Killian."

I froze.

"...What?" I said again, slower this time.

"...."

She didn’t respond, so I looked at Elijah who stood beside her.

...Wait. Again, what are these two doing together?

Ten damn days, and the world didn’t wait.

"Does Killian know?" I asked.

Kana nodded. "He was informed at the same time as me."

"And?" I pressed.

Her fingers curled slightly. "He didn’t object."

"...."

I rubbed my face as I kept staring at the two of them.

No way something happened between them in just ten days.

’....Fuck my life.’

I decided to let go of this matter for now.

"Where is Aimar?" I asked, looking at Elijah.

"He should be outside," Elijah replied. "Avril just asked for him... she wanted to talk about you."

I let out a slow breath.

"Of course she did," I muttered.

I turned toward the broken doorway, already moving. "I’ll talk to him first."

"Himmel—" Elijah started.

I paused, glancing back over my shoulder. "We’ll talk later. About... everything."

I stepped out into the open air.

The sky outside was pale, stretched thin with drifting clouds.

But my mind was filled with questions.

"Inna," I mumbled, feeling a rush of anxiety. "Do you think Azrael’s plan is still at work?"

[<...I don’t know.>]

"...."

I was damn sure I was part of his plan—no, I was necessary for his plans.

How? I didn’t know.

Other than that, I felt anxious about the World Tree.

The World Tree that was altered by the Creator God was long gone.

The World Tree that I planted was completely different.

So does that mean...

’Lumina has already lost its anchor.’

The thought refused to leave my head.

"Do you know about the Outer Gods, Inna?"

[<...Yes.>]

"Inna," I whispered again. "If Lumina lost its anchor... what’s stopping them?"

There was a pause, a longer one than usual.

[<...Nothing.>]

I reached the edge of the platform. Aimar stood below, leaning against a broken pillar, arms crossed.

Avril stood beside him, yapping something.

He looked up the moment he sensed me.

"Yo," he said, raising his hand.

I dropped down beside him instead of answering right away.

"Ten days," I said. "I was gone for only ten fucking days."

Aimar studied my face. "You got the key?"

"...Yeah."

"Then let’s go home," Aimar replied, stretching his body. "I am sick of this place."

I let out a short breath that was almost a laugh.

"Home," I repeated. "Yeah... that sounds nice."

"Azariah," Avril finally spoke, arriving between us. "Where were you?"

"I don’t have time for this, Avril," I said as I turned around. "We will talk later."

She grabbed my arm before I could walk away.

Her grip was tighter than I expected.

"Don’t," she said. "Don’t walk away from your family."

Slowly, I looked down at her hand around my arm.

"You have your family," I said, removing her hand. "And I am not part of it."

She opened her mouth but stopped herself from speaking again.

I turned and walked away with Aimar walking beside me.

"She was talking about how Killian was behaving weirdly," he said. "And how it might be related to you."

"I don’t care," I said, rubbing my temples. "The Aljanah have nothing to do with me."

He didn’t respond, seemingly wanting to stay out of my family drama.

I blinked as I looked around the place.

And after that, I found a girl staring at me in silence.

Kaelia, the second daughter of Lyssa.

"What is she—"

My thoughts halted when I felt immense pressure cover the entire palace.

A pressure that was much more familiar to me now.

I turned to my side, finding an elf-like man standing there with a katana in his hand.

"...Arawn?"

He vanished from his place.

And I felt his katana close to my neck.