Ari (Child of the Beastman Goddess)

“Did you forget, my dear? Ayla’s power is reliant on yours,” she answered.

“It’s true, Arie. If not for the Stone of Oath you left with Dylan, my power should have already vanished. I wasn’t entirely restricted in the south. Our mother placed me there to reserve my remaining power until your return and to stop the calamities in the mortal land,” Ayla added.

I was surprised because I didn’t know… Or rather, I forgot that the strongest goddess was actually reliant on the power of the sun. I did remember my mother told me once about Ayla’s power, but we were both still too young to understand what it meant.

“Dylan, descendant of the water god, lend us your power and protect the world at the cost of your life,” my mother ordered.

He knelt in front of my mother with his head lowered, then answered, “I will adhere to your command.”

“Rise and skip the formalities from now on because you are already a member of our family. I appreciate your loyalty since the beginning, so I trust you the most with Arie. However, there is a more important task waiting for you,” my mother continued.

“I am ready to accept any of your demands, Queen Mother,” he replied as he stood up with a bright smile on his face.Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

I was flustered seeing his reaction. My heart fluttered remembering his smile when we first met.

“It’s good seeing you’ve grown well. Let’s head to the throne room, everyone is waiting for us,” my mother responded as she turned around and walked ahead of us-we all followed from behind. Dylan held my hand and happily smiled at me-he seemed to be in a good mood.

“I’m happy that she acknowledged me despite my race,” he whispered.

“Our mother is just and knows how to appreciate a loyal vassal. You are actually the odd one don’t you think? Mother and even Father offered you rewards, but you only accepted my Stone of Oath,” I responded.

“Because it’s the most precious reward I could ever receive. Your father was hesitant to hand it over to me when he went down to our territory. I trembled in fear due to his distressed look while handing over the stone,” he chuckled as he tightened his grip on my hand and lifted it up to kiss it passionately while glancing at me.

I was flustered and looked away. His smirk and blushing face made me recall our night together briefly before suddenly remembering about the situation as I saw the huge door of the throne room.

The door opened and all the Immortals were gathered as they tried to keep my father’s core alive and to keep the time on the mortal land in suspension. They were all ready to give up their power just to save the balance of the world of the beastman.

Dylan looked petrified as he stepped back in horror, seeing my father’s condition. My father’s core was already fading. I clenched my jaw in anxiety as I tried to stop myself from crying.

Ayla hugged me and whispered, “I’ll always be by your side.”

I hugged her tightly and cried silently for a moment before we paid respect to our father while promising to be back safely as we wore the armor of the Winged White Lion. I had to remove my necklace because it would be troublesome. Strangely, it doesn’t affect anyone.

“My dear wife, please be safe,” Dylan whispered as he helped me fix the armor.

“I’ll be back,” I whispered hesitantly.

I saw him make a gloomy expression before trying to pull a smile on his face. He pressed his lips against mine and I felt his power enter my body.

“Blessings to the fruits of light,” he whispered while gripping my hand tightly before pulling away with a gloomy and guilty expression on his face.

I was confused by his words, but chose not to clarify things. He briefly bowed down in front of me and Ayla before he pulled out all his power and joined the other Immortals. My heart ached as we left Nirvana and went to the gate of the Abyss.

Ayla held my hand and we both used our powers to open the gate. When we got inside, we saw a vast lake glistening in the darkness. There were no stars in the sky, nor moon to light it up, but the sparkling starlike light came from under the lake.

Looking closely, the lights that lit up the lake were spirits roaming in the depths of the water, waiting for their time to be reborn again.

I was mesmerized and tempted to test the water, but Ayla suddenly pulled me back.

“Arie, don’t touch the water. The shadows are lurking underneath the lake,” she warned.

I gasped and stepped back and felt my heartbeat race.

“I see. Is it safe for us to fly over?” I asked nervously.

“I’ll fly you over, your wings might attract the attention of the shadows,” she replied in a low voice.

I nodded, so she lifted me up in her arms as she spread her black wings revealing her black wolf ears and tail. Her ash-gray eyes glimmered despite the darkness. She never showed her passive – aggressive form in Nirvana because she hated her form despite how beautiful she looks, especially under the moonlight. She hugged me tightly so I wrapped my arms around her neck as she walked forward while flapping her wings until she’s no longer touching the ground, flying over the lake under a dark sky.

My heart was beating fast and felt the eerie vibe of the Abyss as Ayla tried to fly higher so that we won’t be spotted easily. Unfortunately, a horde of shadow hands appeared, crawling from the lake forming a shape of a huge hand and grabbed me from Ayla’s Arms.

“Ayla!!!” I screamed while trying to reach for her hand as I was slowly being dragged down to the lake.

“No!!!” she also screamed in horror and tried to reach me as she flew down to the lake, diving while transforming into her passive form.

I was swallowed by the lake as she did her best to swim to reach for my hand.

Our bodies glimmered through the Abyssal Lake, but were slowly being overshadowed by the darkness beneath the cold and gloomy water of the lake. The glimmering souls suddenly lost their light as they transformed into dark shadows surrounding us like leeches sucking the light from our bodies.

“Behind you!” I warned telepathically as I freed myself from the shadows’ grasp.

She turned around, but she couldn’t dodge so I pulled her into my arms and held her tightly before we got eaten by the darkness.