Even while unconscious, Lily's mind remained active. When she regained awareness, she found herself in a dark, cold space. The only source of light was a dim glow above her head. She looked up, only to see a terrifying vastness. A discomforting feeling began to grow in her core, as if numerous eyes were watching her.
In a one-woman show.
"Is someone there?" she spoke cautiously. No one replied.
"Please, is someone there?" Her voice started to break into sobs.
The deafening silence seemed to toy with her already fragile psyche.
A thought crossed her mind. The last thing she remembered was having her heart ripped out by that demonic man. When she looked down, her breath — though nonexistent —stilled.
There was a huge hole in her chest. Moreover, her hands looked smaller, and her voice sounded more youthful.
"What… what is happening…?" Lily began to hyperventilate. Soon, her unsteady breathing turned to sobs, and those sobs escalated into cries.
"Ah… Ah… Ah…" Why was this happening to her? What had she done to deserve this?
…
The girl, who appeared to be 17 or 18 years old, awoke to the sound of muffled yet nearby cries. She looked up, but her long white hair blocked her view. Shaking her head to clear her sight, she glimpsed a focal point of light. There stood a girl, the owner of those cries.
Her thoughts were still forming, and her identity remained a blur. Yet, from the moment she became aware, she knew her sole purpose lay there — with the weeping girl.
Protect, protect, protect.
A voice repeated in her mind. Unknowingly, she began to walk toward the little girl, step by step. When she reached her, she instinctively knew what to do. She crouched down and embraced Lily. The girl, who had just come into existence, began to hum a lullaby that felt deeply familiar to Lily.
It was the lullaby her mother used to sing. Instantly, Lily let her guard down and allowed herself to relax.
Tap, tap, tap.
The sound of footsteps startled them both.
The girl turned and asked, "Who's are you?!"
The man looked at her with indifference and didn't respond, continuing to approach. He grabbed her face forcefully and questioned,
"I wonder the same. You are not her." He looked at Lily, who was cradled in the girl's arms.
His face lit up: "Oh! The mind of this girl has shattered into several parts!"
"And I'm one of them too?" He kept speaking to himself, seeming amused by his current condition.
Soon, his expression returned to extreme apathy, and his red pupils betrayed all the emotions that had crossed the girl's face.
"It's a shame… because I only need one."
The girl was extremely confused by all of this. Who was this man? What did he want? However, she had no time to think about it. Like a reflex, she grabbed Lily's hand and started to run.
The sea of darkness threatened to drown her, but she didn't give up on escaping. Finally, in the distance, she saw a door. When they reached it, she shut the door behind them and found herself in a small room.
"It's going to be okay…" she whispered to Lily, kissing her head. Lily kept crying.
Then she looked around. Even in the darkness, she could see the bed, a table, and family photos hanging on the wall. It seemed… to be the family of the little girl in her arms. And she wasn't in any of those photos.
The girl's face lost all expression.
Then, who was she?
BAM!
The door was shattered with a single kick. Thrown to the ground, both looked up at the culprit.
He was whispering, seeming in no rush: "Celestine, Celestine… So that's my name."
He pointed at Lily, saying, "And you are called Lily…"
Then, to the girl: "As for you, you're nothing but an soul fragment with no identity."
The girl was breathless with anger, cursing herself for being weak and only able to run in front of Celestine.
Celestine, on the other hand, seemed quite pleased with the situation. He approached and unceremoniously pulled Lily away, then pinned the girl to the wall with a black tar-like substance. "Stay there while I decide what to do with you."
Lily was shocked to the point that her tears stopped flowing. When she looked into Celestine's scarlet pupils, she fainted.
…
Caelus had already resolved to abandon his body in exchange for salvation. To him, in its current state, it was nothing but a burden. Thus, even if he had to submit to a dangerous spell and live in a young human body, it didn't shake his resolve.
Without hesitation, he began reciting an ancient possession spell. This spell aimed to subdue the consciousness of the body and erase it, allowing the caster's consciousness to take over. However, contrary to his expectations, mental preparation alone wasn't enough. Something was going wrong.
"Cough, cough, even with this, that foolish girl is giving me trouble."
Caelus had spent years immersed in schemes, so he wasn't fazed when something went awry. He knew the best solution was to keep pushing through.
As his determination strengthened, his instincts alerted him to danger. He had been discovered!
The space in front of him shattered as a masked man appeared, walking slowly. His pristine attire and fox mask gave him an aura of majesty, but all Caelus felt was burning hatred.
"You! How did you find me?!"
"I don't owe you an explanation for my methods." His voice sounded youthful, almost like a teenager's. Even so, his aura rivaled — no, surpassed — that of the demon.
He frowned, saying, "Were you really naive enough to think this would work? Possession is a lost magic; how could you replicate it?"
"Humans like you obviously lack the means…" Caelus still found the strength to laugh, even on the brink of death.
The young man didn't take the bait, raising his hand to block the hidden dagger aimed at his head.
"You know you're no match for me." He spoke with confidence, showing a grounded arrogance — his strength.
"That won't stop me from trying!" With that, Caelus charged at him, pulling and throwing multiple daggers.
The young man didn't even flinch, simply deflecting the attacks. As Caelus approached, he made his first move.
Crack.
Caelus's neck twisted to an unnatural angle. However, he still wasn't dead. The young man was surprised, but before he could finish the job, he hastily raised a barrier.
BOOM!