???: "The Shattered Crown… I see..."
Asura: "?"
Seeing his curious eyes as he continued plucking the chains one by one, the angel bit her lip hard, a drop of golden blood seeping out and bringing along the sweet taste on her tongue, but also taking away all her remaining vitality and strength.
As Asura pulled the last chain out, it directly coalesced into the tenth crystal on the crown bound by a dark ring filled with multicolored stars. It had now turned into a Dark Crown, each of the crystals forming a four-point star, connected by the ring.
With nothing left to support the angel, she fell forward powerlessly into Asura's embrace, crown floating high above her as if to not hit him.
A simple smile crawled onto her face. A smile full of kindness and something more - something she had never felt before and didn't know what it represented, nor why she felt it now.
"Perhaps all this solitude? Could that be the reason... Well, not that it matters now.", the angel thought.
Her head now completely clear, devoid of any regrets, resentment, or surprises, now hosted a single, foreign thought—one so powerful, it tugged at her now-free heart stronger than those chains ever could, but this time from within.
Mustering every ounce of her strength to raise her head, she looked deeply into Asura's eyes, her own overflowing with affection and an emotion foreign to her, yet so warm and serene—an emotion she was never supposed to feel according to <them>.
Looking at the green pearls filled with nothing but curiosity, she smiled even brighter and sharply raised her head, catching Asura by surprise as their lips connected.
Asura: "???"
He was completely caught off-guard but didn't resist.
No sane man would resist an advance from such a beautiful angel.
Asura felt something searing hot sliding down his throat—a drop of golden blood that he couldn't see, but could feel as it shook his whole being from the core.
An overflowing sense of freedom filled his very soul — as if he had transcended from the mortal laws into something much, much higher. It felt as if he was becoming one with the world.
As it all happened, the angel pulled her head back and gazed affectionately at the man holding her and all the changes going on with his appearance.
She knew full well what it meant and it made her countenance overflow with feelings of joy and accomplishment, but she knew it was all foreign to him, and enjoyed watching him face the unknown.
Looking at him, perplexed and almost frightened, she couldn't help but giggle with a sweet sound that could simply melt the hearts of whoever heard it. Even the stars in the background lit up as if echoing her laughter.
???: "I didn't expect something could shake even your calmness. But I'm glad it did, fufu~~"
Apart from blinking and looking at the ungodly beauty in front of him, there was nothing else Asura could do. The warmth and affection she radiated was something new for him, something he never felt before, of course he would be surprised — who wouldn't?
The angel closed her eyes as her smile widened and simply laid back into Asura's embrace, her head resting on Asura's chest as her ten wings wrapped around them, forming a cocoon.
???: "Asura… thank you! Thank you!", she barely squeezed out in between the gasps.
He could feel how heavy those words were, how much it meant to her—and although he didn't know a shred about her story, he knew it was no time to ask now.
But at the same time, the angel in his arms began feeling lighter and lighter, pulling him back into reality from the previous melancholy.
Asura: "Wh--what's happening?!"
Her figure started turning illusory just like how the crown was initially as she pushed herself back with her arms just enough to be able to see him clearly.
???: "I know you have many questions... and I will answer them… but not *cough*, not—now—I have something more important to tell you..."
As the angel said that, Asura could feel the space around them twisting violently and a sinking feeling, but he couldn't see anything as the cocoon of wings obstructed his view.
???: "All you should know is, wherever you are is wherever I am."
Asura: "…"
???: "I'm sure you feel a strange bond between us now, it's formed on the level of the soul—it transcends the fate itself, so worry not. You will be able to ask me anything you want, for eternity."
???: *Cough! Cough!!*
???: "We're now traveling from your world to the world where I come from. I believe you will be pleasantly surprised when you see it…"
As she spoke, she raised her index finger and placed it on Asura's lips.
???: "And that… was my gift to you."
Asura wanted to say something but was ultimately stopped by the angel shaking her head slowly, evidently still having something important to say.
???: "We will see each other in a bit, bear with me for now."
The feeling of soaring through the space—which Asura realized by now from the angel's words—now completely disappeared, and then her wings gradually unfurled.
What greeted Asura's eyes was a world completely different to his own, yet one remarkably similar.
Skies full of stars, surrounded by glowing planets, various unknown natural phenomena resembling Nebulae, and a sublimating feeling that seeped through his pores, as if wanting to merge with him and be a part of his being.
The angel pushed herself away from Asura and stood a few steps away from him. Closing her eyes, she brought her hands in front of her chest as the crown above her head floated down, resting at a short distance above her head.
Seeing a 10-winged angel with a colorful crown that he held in his arms just a while ago, Asura couldn't help but awaken from the sublimating feeling he was absorbed in until then, and calmly looked at the events unfolding before him.
What he witnessed couldn't be put in words—only by seeing it one would be able to grasp the insanity behind the event.
At that very moment, the darkness in the crown began shining, as if it was not darkness at all, and then rapidly fell on the angel.
As if whole world was resonating with the angel's being, her whole existence effectively reversed in an instant—originating from the darkness in the crown she gradually turned into what resembled a fallen angel, but it didn't take away her beauty, in fact it might've even turned her more beautiful.
Asura felt a hint of danger which instantly disappeared, but what he didn't know is that this feeling disappeared only for him—whoever else dared look at this angel would feel their very soul stir and raise an existential dread deep within them.
Suddenly, a heavenly voice reverberated inside his mind, as another paradox ensued—a blindingly-bright black light rushed towards his eyes before everything turned blank.
In the final moments, what he heard last echoed in his mind and took away his consciousness with it. Those words, he would soon come to remember for eternity.
"Tenri—my name is Tenri, The Ruler of Chaos."