"Why are you doing this?" Ais asked after picking up her sword and sheathing it.
The 'Aria' on the floor went quiet and gritted her teeth, "Why...? Why won't you kill me...? Why won't you hate me...?"
Ais had already heard the first part of her sentence over and over again, but this was the first time she'd heard the second part and became even more confused.
"I killed your parents... I killed your loved ones... Why won't you hate me?" For 'Aria', this didn't make any sense. Ais' hate for her, a part of the Black Dragon, should be beyond the boiling point. But no matter how she looked at it, she didn't sense any sort of negative emotions while Ais was looking at her, 'But how? Did this space change something within her? Is it my main body interfering? But that should've been impossible with me blocking access to this place.'
But despite everything going haywire from what she initially planned, a small hope bloomed deep within her. She couldn't help but feel that she had been saved, '...Even though I don't deserve this... Why? Why is this happening?'
"...Are you... Not really my mother?" Ais suddenly asked and startled 'Aria' once again, 'At the moment she was going to die, why did she remind me of mother if she's not her?'
'Aria' became quiet and kept looking down at the ground. After some time, she answered, "...I'm not. That's the truth. All I have are her incomplete memories and personality. I was created to infiltrate this space and make a hole in it for my main body to enter easily."
Ais couldn't see her face but her instincts are telling her that she was telling the truth, "...Then why are you not attacking me? Wouldn't that be easier for you?"
'Aria' properly sat up and finally showed her face to Ais that was full of complicated expressions, along with a hint of relief, 'I know I'm just going to make it harder for her but... I don't want her to hate me... I don't want to disappear knowing that she hates me...'
The selfish thoughts that she was doing her best to suppress finally surfaced. After that first step, all of her inhibitions seemed to cease existing, and she decided to tell the truth to Ais, "Without a doubt, I'm a small part of the Black Dragon. But at some point, Aria's memories, despite it being incomplete and just there to assist me to my goal... They consumed me..."
Ais still didn't know what this entity was getting at, but she couldn't interrupt her to ask a question because of the tears that were dropping onto the grassy soil.
"Those memories consumed me." 'Aria' repeated with her eyes glazed over and uncontrolled tears overflowing, "I've watched you grow up. I've watched your struggles. I've watched you open up with your friends and family. I've watched you grow stronger. I've watched you solve your own dilemmas. Your regrets, happiness, satisfaction, excitement, hope, sadness, pain, frustration, fear, guilt, anger... I've watched all of it.
"But because of these memories, I saw you through Aria's eyes... I saw you as my own daughter." 'Aria' finally admitted it. As it stands, she doesn't know whether she could consider this a curse or a blessing. Toward her original goal, it's a curse. But for her to experience something that's normally impossible for someone like her. She was given a 'heart' and it's the greatest blessing she could have ever received in this twisted life of hers.
It was then, all the confusing things Ais saw from her clicked in her head, clearing the fog in her mind. The eyes that were looking at her were the same eyes that her mother looked at her with and she didn't know how to react to this truth.
Ais' silence placed a heavy burden on 'Aria's' heart and the tears didn't stop. After sobbing and choking for a few seconds, she finally let out her greatest wish, "Please don't hate me..."
It was both a simple and ridiculous desire and Ais didn't immediately have a reply for that.
Ais closed her eyes and the crying 'Aria' disappeared from her sight as she entered a retrospection. As if her own life flashing before her eyes, questioned herself, '...Do I hate her?'
She directly ignored her pleading because she couldn't dictate how she felt. Even then, Ais surprisingly couldn't find a reason to hate her, 'Is it because of them?... Wait... Them?'
Ais' eyes instantly shot back open as forgotten memories were unlocked, "H-how? How could I forget!?"
Because this was the deepest part of Ais' soul, the influence of Serafall and Freya's spell had a very minimal effect, and the moment she remembered what she had forgotten, it all came flooding back. However, those were not what's important but instead her current situation, '...It's because of them. Although we had forgotten them, we didn't forget what they left behind. They are the first people who didn't see others for their outward appearances, even if their origin was that of a monster born from the Dungeon. They are the reason why we could easily accept Filvis and Lysa. They are the reason why we could even talk to the Xenos as equals these days... Their identities were erased, but not their legacy.'
Using that logic, Ais figured out why she couldn't hate the entity in front of her. She'd already learned how to judge people for who they are and not what they are.
Ais then looked down at the sobbing 'monster', 'Besides... I don't think I was fooled.'
Ais bent her knees and lowered herself while reaching out for 'Aria's' upper arm.
'Aria' was alarmed by the sudden touch and nervously looked up. But out of all the bad things she was expecting, she didn't anticipate a small, gentle smile, "...A-Ais?"
Ais didn't say anything and just leaned forward before tightly hugging her.
'Aria', not knowing what was happening, panicked and asked, "A-Ais!? What's wrong!?"
She still didn't give any answer but her alarm only caused Ais to chuckle softly, '...That's right. She's a fake... A fake that embraced the illusion and became real...'
If one were to think about it again, although it's true that 'Aria' was a part of the Black Dragon, she's also a part of the real Aria by inheriting her memories, personality, and feelings. And upon acting upon those instead of her origin, she technically stood as her mother.
'Aria' finally realized Ais' intention and also timidly wrapped her arms around her. A dream came true... Nevertheless, it's a short dream.