Warning: Self Harm
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I landed on the summit and looked at Hecate who was sitting in the snow and the cold ground. She heard my footsteps and looked back. I kept my eyes on her then stopped walking.
"I know nothing about you Aunt Hecate except that...well you're a Ragnarok and you survived." I said.
She stayed silent for a bit. She then began to speak after a few seconds. "Survived..? No...I didn't survive. I am very much dead on the inside." She said then stabbed her bloody knife on the ground then stood up. She turned around and I noticed cuts on her arms and legs that were self inflicted.
I looked back up at her face and noticed her deranged smile.
"You're absolutely right. You don't know the kind of shit I've endured that the PERFECT little Reina never did! Her beauty was greater than mine, her skill in magic was greater than mine, EVERYONE LOVED HER! But ohhh...Miss Hecate was just a...just another FUCKING-" Hecate lowered her head and chuckled. "Then...he....came along...I thought I've found someone who loved me for me. We shared a kiss, we made our vows, we HAD SEX! We did it all, but the truth came out when we went on a mission together. I was always the bait that gets harmed in one way or another...and when we got home I would get TORTURED AND ABUSED! I DIDN'T SURVIVE SHIT! I...am still living his torment.."
"But he's dead now, I can help you!" I said.
"Heh...You're still young and naive. You've suffered your own of mental abuse from him with his fake emotions and learning his truth about how much of a monster he is, you've never truly been tortured..." Hecate said then pointed at me. "I'll help you understand my pain...You'll be begging for me to kill you like I have with him! On your knees...begging and begging and begging! Wishing and...and HOPING you'll be put out of your fucking misery!"
I watched Hecate and her movements began to become irregular and abnormal. Hecate laughed like a maniac and began scratching her face and drawing blood. She looked at me and licked her lips.
"Ready or not...I'm coming to kill you, Nephew!" Hecate laughed and dashed to me, picking up her knife from the ground.
She swung her knife at me, but I dodged it. She slashed horizontally and missed. I grabbed her arm and disarmed her. She groaned and scatched my face with her nails. I groaned and let her go then stumbled backwards and held my face. She picked up her knife and smirked.
"Your mother was just a fucking Mary Sue! She was so perfect with no moral flaws!" Hecate yelled and swung her knife at me. "But me, I was flawed! I WAS THE ONE WHO WAS FLAWED!"
I dodged the attack and flipped backwards, creating distance between us. I didn't want to hurt her, but I didn't know how else to calm her down. Anything I say doesn't matter to her as she's already got the belief in her head that I want to use her as a pawn and tool.
"For 14 years...I've been wronged by not only the world but my own family. You never had to experience that...your family loved you! Reina could NEVER stop loving you...hehe..." Hecate laughed and cut her arm with her knife to stop the voices in her head.
My eyes widened as she began cutting and stabbing her arm.
"Get out of my head! Get out of my head! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" She screamed and grunted when I shot the knife out of her hand with a magic bullet from my fingertips. She looked at me. "You still wanna fight..?~ I thought you were running away...like your mother..."
"I'm not leaving you alone. For the longest time it's only been me, Shira, and my mother. I don't want to kill you, but I can't allow you to kill yourself either." I said then shot her with a recovery beam, healing all of her wounds.
Hecate looked at her arms and legs, seeing her wounds healing. She looked at me and glared. "Why...why won't you just leave?!"
I walked towards her and held my hand out to her. "Please...I can actually help you! I don't want to hurt you, I want to know more about you...I know there's still a side of you in there wanting to receive my help...please.."
Hecate reached her hand out then gave a wicked smile and raised her hand in the air then a black bolt of lightning crashed down, but I was able to dodge it in the nick of time. I slid backwards and looked at Hecate.
She exhaled and hung her tongue out and laughed. She tilted her head and pressed her finger on her temple and began poking her head aggressively. "I'm not stupid! I'm not stupid! You just want to use me! That's all! There's no one out there who loves me! Not even Reina! She's never spoken to me after she moved away! No one loves me and you certainly don't!"
I watched her then balled my hands into fists.
"Why not just kill her and put her out of her misery? You can't save her." Ain said.
"Yes he can. He can mend her mental pains using my power." Minerva said.
"She's not going to allow that. She's too insane and too unstable to even think properly! Look at her! Do you see the shit she's doing to herself?!" Ain said.
"This isn't a battle, you all can fight." I said.
"Shiryo." Alethea said.
"I'll do this myself, no Crests like you. I want to do this by myself and myself only. I've relied on you all for far too long. It's time I...not hold myself back." I said then then took off my jacket. I looked Hecate then awakened my End Crest of Omega. "Aunt Hecate! I challenge you...to a RagnaBattle!"
Hecate looked at me and her eyes shined. "A RagnaBattle..? Heh...the Infamous Battle of the End also known as the End Struggle or the Omega Crusade. Hehe...You must finally want to kill me?! Is that it?! You want me to die now?!"
"No...I don't want you to die. I want you to live, but for that to happen...You need to be beaten in combat." I said then got into my battle stance. I entered my Ragnarok State and my aura surrounded my body calmly.
"I'll play with you for a little longer! Hahaha! I'll kill you after I win also!" Hecate laughed and entered her Ragnarok State but her aura was more wild and uncontrolled.
I watched Hecate and took a deep breath and exhaled. Hecate dashed to me and jumped up then twirled and went for a downward kick. I blocked her attack then grabbed her leg then pulled her down and struck her stomach. She groaned and slid backwards. I performed hand gestures and fired a massive beam of energy at her. She dodged it and fired a beam of dark energy at me.
I redirected it to the sky and she looked surprised. I stomped my foot on the ground and rock spires protruded from the ground and she jumped backwards from each one. She swiped her hand, releasing cutting waves at me. I dodged each one then used my aura to fly to her then flew behind her at high speeds. She looked surprised then groaned when I kicked her away then blasted her with a dark energy beam.
She groaned and rolled on her side then stopped. She slowly stood up and smirked. She looked at me with her crazy eyes then her eye began twitching. She roared and fired a dark energy beam from her mouth. I raised my arms then a rock wall blocked the attack, but Hecate's beam began to break through my defenses and break the wall slowly.
I palmed the rock wall and caused it to move forward. Hecate looked surprised and jumped out of the way then began to shoot purple lightning at me. I dodged each bolt and even redirected her lightning back at her. Hecate screamed in pain as she was shocked with her own lightning. The attack ended and Hecate fell to her knees.
I was winning the fight, but it really didn't feel like I was winning. I felt more sorrow than I did victory. Deep down I knew, even if I save her...she is never truly going to be saved.
"Losing against someone like him? Pathetic...This is the reason why you were nothing but a pawn. Nothing but a tool...You deserve nothing but death.." The voice said in Hecate's head.
Hecate slowly stood up and her deranged smile turned into sorrow. She had tears rolling down her face then she yelled and all I could do was watch because I didn't know what she was going to do next. She began sobbing and fell to her knees once again. She was completely breaking down. She began panting heavily and screams and fired beams from her mouth into the air then her aura surged wildly. She sobbed and kept yelling.
I grunted as the winds began picking up. I watched her stand up once more and cursed marks appeared around her body. I could tell her life force was being drained faster than ever. She dashed to me and began to wildly attack. I dodged her attack then tripped on a rock. I noticed her construct an energy sword and prepared to kill me. She slashed down and I dodged the attack then she turned around and slashed. I ducked under her attack then palmed her chest and my End Crest shined brightly. All movement from her stopped. Her energy sword disappeared and so did her aura. She fell forward, grabbing my shoulder then fell on her knees and laid on the ground.
I panted and looked at the sky. I reverted to my normal form then looked at Hecate and crouched down on one knee. I turned her body over and laid her on her back. I checked her pulse and she was still alive. I picked her up, bridal style and walked off with her in my arms. I won the battle, but Hecate lost both of hers. She lost her battle against me and her battle against her own demons, the voices in her head.
"I don't feel victorious..." I said to Hecate hoping she could still hear me. "I feel like...I still lost. I can't truly save you and I know that. All I can do...is just...watch you keep battling a trauma that seems like it will never truly end."
I looked at her and noticed her face was still sad. Even while not being awake, she could still hear his voice. The voice of Shidao still tormenting her. I want to get to know my aunt, but I know I'll never get to know her. I questioned why I still wanted to save her knowing this is only hurting the both of us.
I stopped walking and laid her down on the ground. I looked down at Hecate then constructed a pistol from my aura then looked at it. I pointed it at Hecate. I had only two choices now. Kill her and put her out of her misery, or spare her and try to help her the best I could. My hand slightly trembled as I aimed my pistol at her. I grunted and closed my eyes. I sighed and panted then lowered the pistol.
I fell to my knees then placed my hand on my face and contemplated. "Even if I did kill her...he would've won because she would be dead if I shot her. On the other side, she can't win while still being alive because she will still have those memories in her head."
I looked at Hecate then crawled over to her then gently held her hand. The Crest of Mentality slowly shined on my hand.
"If you use Mental Healing...you can save her but her memories will still be intact. If you use Mental Wipe, she will be saved...but you will also erase all of her memories. If you only Insanity Absorption, you'll only wipe out her insanity and nothing else." Minerva said.
"It's...better if she remembers nothing. Not even us. There she can completely start over. After all this is the only way she can win.." I said.
"Alright...proceed." Minerva said.
I used Mental Wipe and her entire body began shining. A white glowing ball of light exited her head. That ball of light was her memories. I even used my End Crest to shatter her End Crest. I grabbed the ball of light then used my Crest of Absence to turn it into nothing. I picked up her body and used my Crest of Magology to change her entire appearance so no one could recognize her.
"Goodbye...Aunt Hecate." I said then transformed into my Ascended Form then flew off back to the Adristian Empire.
Shira noticed we were hitting land and sensed our mother nearby. "Mom..?"
Phoenix looked up from her phone then looked at Shira. "Miss Reina is nearby?"
"King Avant! Let's make a stop!" Shira called out to Avant.
Avant nodded then stopped the ship at a harbor town. The planks were let down then Shira and the others left the ship. Shira followed the feel of our mother's aura and noticed a woman in a white cloak walking around the harbor with Blitz at her side.
"Mom!" Shira said.
The woman looked at Shira and looked surprised and relieved to see her. They hurried to each other and Shira hugged our mother tightly. Our mother hugged Shira back and tears of joy rolled down her cheeks.
"I'm so glad you're okay, sweetheart.." Mom said.
Shira nodded and smiled then let her go. "Where's Dad and Grandma?"
Mom looked down and closed her eyes. "We split up. I told him that it was better if I weren't around him anymore to cause any more pain that I already have."
"Oh..." Shira said disappointedly.
"Where's Fujo and Shiryo?" Mom asked.
"Fujo...he's...been sealed away by Shiryo and Shiryo is-"
"Right here." I said as I landed on my feet.
"Shiryo!" Shira said happily.
I walked to Shira, Mom, and Blitz. I hugged Mom and Shira then rubbed Blitz's snout. Blitz neighed happily. I let them go and they noticed my sad face.
"What's wrong?" Mom asked.
"Just...these past few events that's happened. Having to seal away Fujo using Pandora and...having to fight and erase Aunt Hecate's memories." I said.
"She's alive..?!" Mom asked in shock.
"Didn't feel like she was on the inside. Mom, tell me about her. What was she like before her insanity..?" I said. "And how did you truly meet our father?"
Shira looked at me then at Mom.
Mom closed her eyes and walked forward. "Follow me, I want to speak with the both of you in private about this."
Shira and I looked at each other then followed Mom.