My Will To Live Forced Me Into A Second Life ?!

Chapter 36 : The Opening of The Inner Door

My eyes instinctively close under the intensity of the light. When I reopen them, I find myself in a completely different place. Before me stretches a vast hall, forged from black stone, almost abyssal. Immense pillars adorned with incomprehensible patterns break the void of this space, supporting a ceiling so high it seems to disappear into the shadows. This place, beyond time, is bathed in a dense and heavy atmosphere. Indistinct whispers reverberate through the walls, carrying mysteries and forgotten memories. I can hear, faintly, distant echoes: the voices of Valentin and Alfira, who seem to be calling out to me through a thick veil.

Then, suddenly, a figure appears before me, projected like a specter from the past. I immediately recognize it. It's me—or rather... it's Aleystria, the being I once was. This is not just a reflection of myself; it's a distinct entity, yet intimately linked to my existence. It wears a heavy divine armor, almost overwhelming in its majesty, adorned with ancient runes and engraved with celestial symbols. In its hand, an immense sword reflects the infinity of the cosmos, stars and galaxies dancing along its blade. Its face, though so familiar, is marked by millennial fatigue. Its eyes are bottomless pits, black and empty, bearing the weight of a thousand disasters, as if it had lost everything.

Abyssal shadows ring its eyes, and the aura emanating from it is of a crushing intensity. It is a force far more terrifying than what I felt in the presence of Elvaristria. It's as if despair itself had taken form.

"What are you doing here?" it says. Its deep voice resonates through the hall, causing the walls and the air around us to tremble. It leaves no room for weakness or hesitation. It's the voice of someone who has nothing left to lose.

I catch my breath, trying not to succumb to the growing terror consuming me. "I have a path I must follow," I say in a firm voice, even though anxiety rises within me.

Its gaze darkens further, and its voice grows even colder. "Separate yourself from Elvaria." It says it like a sentence, an inescapable order.

I blink, surprised. "What are you saying?" My voice falters, but I try not to show my confusion.

"Your purpose, as you've been told, is only to serve as fuel. A god to repair the mistakes of others," it replies with inhuman coldness. Then, after a heavy pause, it adds, even more sinisterly: "But if you seek to change your future, when you're inside the Prism... destr...oy it."

Each word is a slap, a threat. I want to ask more questions, to understand its words, but its black eyes, filled with rage and disgust, stop me cold.

Then, with a slow, heavy gesture, it extends its hand toward me. A sphere of light, so intense it seems to devour the surrounding darkness, appears in its palm. It pulses, as if alive, distorting the air around it. Before I can react, it rushes toward me, piercing my chest with indescribable force. I feel invaded, consumed by this energy.

— Stria authorized: Wings of God — Next Stria: ???

A mechanical voice then resonates in my mind. It's the voice of the Will of the World, the same white entity I glimpsed during the tournament. It speaks with divine coldness.

"O Aleystria, god of hatred and destruction, your awakening will mark the final twilight. Remember well who you are, who you were... but most of all, beware of who you will become."

The words repeat in my mind, swirling, crushing. It's as if two distinct entities are fighting within me, the old and the present. A silent, but relentless duel.

I try to respond, to understand what is being revealed to me, but the old me—Aleystria—cuts me off. Before I can say anything, it raises its sword. The cosmic blade slices through the air with inhuman speed, so fast it leaves only a trail of energy behind it. It passes just centimeters from my face, creating a shockwave so powerful it destroys the walls of the hall, erasing this world in one breath.

"Leave here... Let your face be erased forever," it murmurs, falling to its knees, as if exhausted by its own power. "I no longer wish to remember what I was. Which is a strange irony, for I am nothing more than one of your memories... buried in this dungeon..."

Its words fade as everything plunges into darkness, violently ejecting me from this space. Time and space collapse around me, and when my eyes open again, I am back in front of the dungeon door.

"Aley! Are you okay?" Alfira shouts, panicked, shaking me slightly. I can feel her trembling against me.

I take a deep breath. "I'm here. It's okay," I say calmly, trying to reassure her.

Valentin lets out a sigh of relief. "That's good, Aley," he says, a tired but sincere smile on his face.

My gaze immediately turns to Elvaria. She is standing, but her mind seems far away, lost in deep thoughts. "And Elvaria?" I ask, concerned.

She blinks and seems to regain awareness. Before I can say anything, Alfira throws herself into her arms. "Elvie, are you okay?!"

Elvaria nods, a fragile smile on her lips. "Yes, I'll be fine..." She stares at me intensely, and I understand that something has happened to her as well.

"Aley, did you see it too?" she asks me in a low voice.

I answer just as discreetly: "Yes..."

Suddenly, the dungeon door opens before us, with a solemn slowness.

The dungeon is clearly tied to my past. A soft light emanates from the door, and when it disappears, it reveals an unexpected scene. The interior is a magnificent clearing, bathed in light, surrounded by apple trees whose branches bow under the weight of ripe fruit. In the center of this clearing, a gigantic tree dominates the landscape, its ancient roots snaking across the ground like veins of the earth itself. The nostalgia that strikes me at this moment is as sweet as it is incomprehensible, like a distant dream that one can never quite grasp.

"Aley..." Valentin suddenly murmurs, looking at me, his voice tinged with worry.

"You're crying?!" Alfira adds, visibly surprised.

Her words hit me, and only then do I realize that several tears have slid down my cheeks. A raw, visceral emotion that I do not understand overwhelms me, as if this place were an integral part of my being, of my soul.

Turning my eyes to Elvaria, I notice that she, too, is silently crying. Her eyes are filled with the same poignant sadness as mine. This place... this place is important, not only for who I am but also for who we once were. This explains why a memory of Aleystria guards this place.

"Sorry..." I say, wiping my tears with the back of my hand, embarrassed by this sudden reaction.

"Let's enter the dungeon, Aley, Valentin, Alfie," Elvaria then says in a soft but resolute voice, after wiping her own tears.

At those words, we cross the threshold together, entering a dungeon that no one before us had been able to open, a place that seems deeply connected to our pasts... and perhaps even to our destinies.