After leaving Dust and Shieda to help Sen, Nivera took a stroll around the mansion. She was watching Nivel and Romeo as they thought Perrin how to catch fish although they themselves were no good at it.
'Zillah would be their age…'
Something about watching other people's happiness always brought some sadness and melancholy to those who lost their families.
She fiddled with the cross earring on her right ear and looked into the night sky. "Zillah, Shivah, your Nivera now lives only for revenge… don't worry about me. I met some interesting people and I'm growing stronger each day…soon I will come back, I will find you and take you to that place by the sea…we'll be together then…"
A tear escaped her right eyes, drawing a long trail as it caressed her cheek.
All of a sudden, a piercing feeling appeared in her heart. She was oh too familiar with this feeling. Ever since she had been saved by Sen by giving her that heart. She has been seeing a demon in her dreams. He called himself Grot and it was his heart she had in her chest.
Every night, she would find him in the sea of tears, and they would talk until she woke up. At first, she couldn't recollect what they talked about. But as days flew past, the conversations would be more vivid each time she woke up.
But this time was a bit different, the feeling did not disappear as it used to. Instead, it grew sharper and more intense.
Nivera fell top her knees, she grasped her chest and panted heavily. Grot's heart in her chest beat rapidly until her head hit the ground.
The three children saw Nivera fall with a thud. They instantly panicked and rushed to her aid. Yet, all they saw what their aunt Nivera peacefully asleep. Soft breath rhythmically escaped her lungs.
But Nivera, or her consciousness at least, was no longer in her body. Somehow, when Sen turned to Grot who was also a part of his Fanalis bloodline, Nivera, who had Grot's heart got entangled in the mix, sending her consciousness to where Sen is.
"What is happening?" Nivera murmured when she saw herself in the beautiful prairie.
But Nivera was someone who witnessed storm and rain. She quickly calmed her doubts. Wherever she was, it definitely had something to do with Grot.
Turning her head from one corner to the other, she looked for any clues that might suggest an exit from this place or a purpose for her being here. The cottage beside the lake caught her attention.
'Knock, knock!'
She walked over and knocked twice on the door.
With a squeal, a frail middle-aged man opened the door. Nivera was taken aback.
"Who is it?" the man spoke in a very hoarse voice.
"Umm…" she really had no idea what to say. So she just observed the middle-aged man. He had pale skin and was shorter than her. His thin skin was showing the outline of his bones, he was obviously malnourished. The top of his head was black and his ears were long and dropping to his neck. She was familiar with these features.
Suddenly, a bold guess that terrified her came to her mind. She stuttered, "S…Sen?"
"Yes?" the man weakly opened his eyes clearly and saw the appearance of the woman before him. "Nivera?" he joyfully called out.
"Sen? Is that really you?"
"Yes, my god, Nivera, you haven't aged a day!" he happily clasped her shoulder. "Come, come inside, we have so much to catch up on."
With that, Sen dragged her inside the house from the hand.
Thoughts swirled her mind as she analyzed the situation rapidly. Something has gone wrong with Sen's procedure! She came to this realization and set herself to fix this problem. She was here and it was her turn to save Sen!
So for now, she let the weak and frail Sen led her inside.
"Darling?"
A bell-like voice called from the room inside. Nivera turned her head and saw a beautiful woman exiting the room. She had pink hair and a stunning face. The way her skin glowed made her look almost ethereal and surreal.
"Honey, you're up? Good timing, this is an old friend of mine from years ago"
'Years?' Nivera frowned, beginning to understand something. She looked at the woman and saw her furrow her eyebrows when she met her eyes.
Meanwhile, Sen had no idea of the silent thoughts between the two women as he enthusiastically, introduced the woman to Nivera, "this is my wife, Ren."
"Your what?"
Nivera's gaze grew colder by the minute. Now everything seems to fall into place.
Normally, one would assess the situation more clearly. But Nivera always operated on the rule act first ask questions later. Once she judged this Ren woman to be the reason for Sen's current condition, she wasted no time. Quickly blinking from her spot, she appeared behind Ren.
'Boom!'
Dust flew everywhere as Nivera's power first met the ground. Ren had dodged in that split-second.
"Nivera, what are you doing?!" Sen exclaimed but the power of the impact sent him to the ground. By the looks of it, his powers were depleted to that of a normal human.
Nivera paid no attention to him. To her, that is not Sen. Either someone has taken over his body which is unlikely, or his brain had been bewitched by that woman.
"That's rude," Ren said as she patted the Dust from her shoulder.
"Who are you? What have you done to him?" Nivera coldly asked.
"Me? Didn't he say it already? I'm his wife" Ren made her way to Sen, wrapped his head with her hands and her mouth blocked his.
To others, it may seem to be a normal kiss, but Nivera could clearly see it. This woman, she was absorbing something from him.
Her guess was right as the moment she broke the kiss, Sen's body turned a bit drier.
Piecing stuff together and from what Dust had told her about the procedure of unsealing his bloodline memories. She made a guess, "you, are you his bloodline memories"
"Oho," the woman bewitchingly smiled, "flying colors my dear. I am his Fanalis memories, your right. And once I'm done with him, he shall be a full-fledged Fanalis."
"Like hell he will," Nivera said and launched again at the woman.
The woman was expecting it, so she dodged to the side. Yet, Nivera was a step ahead of her in predicting the enemy's movements. The punch hit her square in the face.
"You bitch-!" she screamed shrilly.
Nivera gave her no time to recover, energy pulled through her veins and like a snake, and she reached out and grabbed the woman by the throat and flung her to the wall of the house.
Ren steadied herself midair and landed on both her feet nimbly. Gone was the heavenly appearance. Standing in front of Nivera is…a cat.
A big, pink, and naked humanoid cat.
Nivera smirked. The thrill of the fight filled her spirit. Before when she fought the nobles and the slave shops' guards, it was really a one-sided battle. Now, a worthy opponent she found.
Ren accepted the challenge with her fists flying in a lethal tempo, targeting all of Nivera's vital spots.
In terms of speed, Ren was definitely superior to Nivera. But once the demon woman figured out Ren's pattern, it became easier for her to predict, pair and dodge.
Yet, a kick still found itself to Nivera's abdomen. She clutched her stomach as she hit the wall. The knee Ren used to hit her was imbedded with internal energy and it caused some serious damage. Not only that, but Ren's internal energy was much stronger than Nivera's.
After getting saved by Sen, Nivera wasted no time in training herself. Every day, she would wake up at dawn and train thrice as hard as Leonas and Risa. She was sure that her strength is comparable to Sen's, who by the way, never bothered to train. When she asked him, he would say that it's all embedded in his mind.
Now, she is a mid-level expert rank warrior. But sadly, she is now in a spiritual world within Sen's consciousness so her physical strength has little effect.
She realized this fact after getting up and finding that Ren's power grew only stronger each time and she wasn't able to resist her anymore. She looked at Sen, who had a dull look in his eyes.
She wasn't willing to give up. This man saved her and gave her a chance at revenge. She'll be damned before she fails to save him.
Pushing herself to the limit with a new resolve, Nivera launched herself at Ren. Her internal energy now solely concentrated on her arms and legs, meaning that all her vital points are now exposed and defenseless.
Ren smirked. The look on her face suggested that she was just toying with the demon in front of her.
Applying the technique of attacking and advancing, Nivera managed to keep Ren at a distance while occasionally landing a punch or two. But it was not enough! Her attacks now grew faster and stronger in time. Ren had to exert extra effort to block them.
"Argh!" Ren's claws pierced Nivera's abdomen like a sharp knife. There was no blood but she sure felt the pain, making her take a step back.
"Nivera?" Sen's hoarse voice called out. She looked over and saw that his eyes were now more focused.
"Sen!" she felt him beginning to regain awareness.
"Tsk"
Ren also felt it, she clicked her tongue and walked over to him. Doing something with her hand that made him go into sleep. "Not the time for you to wake my dear. Wait till I'm finished with the slippery demon here and we'll have fun together."
She turned to Nivera, "I'm done playing with you".
Nivera felt the danger. She wanted to move, yet Ren was already behind her with an outstretched claw.
'Slash!'
Ren's pink claws stabbed Nivera from the back, this time, it was a fatal injury that sent her straight to the ground, unable to muster any force or move any muscle.
"I…" despair filled her eyes.
Yet again, yet again she fails to save someone. How useless are her efforts? How laughable are her previous words? She lost a daughter, a husband, and now she shall lose a friend…
Had this been her physical body, Nivera would've already been crying by now.
Maybe…maybe it's better to die. Then she shall meet her family once more. She smiled at the thought and completely surrendered when she saw Ren moving towards Sen. "I'm sorry…Sen" she murmured and closed her eyes.
"Get up!"
As she began to succumb to the embrace of darkness, a loud voice spoke to the very core of her being.
"Get up!" the voice said again.
She opened her eyes.
"Give it to me. Your body!"
She felt a force invading her, wanting to seize control over her entire existence.
She let it!
For one reason!
The one who spoke was the one with whom she spoke every night in her dream.
It was Grot!