Chapter 159: Diving Deep

As I entered Greta's soul all I could see was this dark empty abyss that I couldn't understand nor comprehend. I can still use my skills here but damaging the soul will be incredibly dangerous. "Mana Search!" As I looked around to find her, she's there in that dark cloud covering her whole body.

In this space, there was no ground. She was there all alone floating in this empty dimension.

I flew over to her side and tried to grab her to pull her out. "Argh..." As I touched the clothes, I was shocked as pain flowed through my soul.I persevered and took on the pain as long as I can bring her out of there. "Come... back!" I completely pulled her out of the black cloud. I carried her in a princess carry as she opened her eyes.

"Why... are you here?" As soon as her eyes opened, that's the first thing that she asked of me.

"We need you. I..." I couldn't bear to say it. I'm still a coward.

"Why?"

"If you ask why then... it's because we enjoy your company."

"You can just get that for other people. I'm simply done with everything."

"...Greta..." Was it wrong for me to go here? I feel like Zieglind would've done better in my stead. I'm speechless and I don't know what to do.

"You've seen it right? My memories."

"..Yeah. I'm sorry."

Suddenly, the world around us changed. The bottomless dark hole that was once this place changed. "This... is my hometown."

This is exactly what I saw that time. "..."

"You've seen it huh."

"Yeah."

"Everything was just at peace." Greta waved her hands at the kids at her hometown. But no one could see her. "This is just merely a fragment of my memories."

The ground the beast people were standing on suddenly tremored. The kids rushed into their homes and the remaining people rallied at the very entrance of their village in their beast forms.

Several mercenaries in their gryphons came flying down on their hometown. "Who are they...?" I asked.

"They're mercenaries. I don't know what they want. They just came one day demanding everything from my father. Asael Gurvein." She replied.

"Who are you?" Asael asked the mercenaries.

"A mercenary band. Well not really." The man with the creepy face and long hair replied. The man who I saw in Greta's memories that was eating her parents."We're now part of an army. Well let's pass on the details." With a creepy smile on his face he said, "Serve under us."

"We decline."

"If you do, we will be forced to kill everyone here."

"Then just try. The beastpeople are a proud race. Don't expect us to bow to anyone weaker than us."

"Weak!? HAHAHA! That's where you're wrong Asael Gurvein."

"How do you-"

"We carefully analyze our prey. In this case it's you all. If you dare to call our lord weak, then the army of Ouroboros doesn't fit you. Men!" He pointed his hand at the beastpeople. "Kill them all."

Asael jumped on the leader of their army and instantly killed their gryphons. "Hunter's Macabre!" Asael's body suddenly grew larger and the claws on his hand grew sharper.

"Good. Killing you brings me great joy." The mysterious man suddenly shot out several daggers but Asael easily blocked it.

"No honor even in battle?"

"When was there even an honor in battle."

"Filthy mercenaries. Hunter's Fest! Cloning!" Suddenly, tens of copies of Asael was formed overpowering the mysterious man.

Asael rushed in and swiped his claws in a flurry of attacks but the man simply parried every single one with his small daggers and countering with a small stab.

"Come on!" The man taunted him. Asael grew faster and faster with his attacks. Everytime he pushes back the man with his flurry of attacks, the snow that was on the ground were being cleared but he still couldn't land a single attack even with ten of his clones.

"Damn you..."

"Ouroboros doesn't deem you a part of his plan. The only glory you can give him is your death."

"What..?"

"I gave you a chance and you ruined it. Your stupid decision and pride as a beastman will kill all of your people."

"You are just mere mercenaries. You have no chance against us."

"Is that so. Then look behind you."

"I won't be fooled by your tricks."

"Is that so." The man suddenly disappeared. He was too fast for Asael to see. Even in his beastform which gives him bonus abilities and such and heightened senses, he couldn't even see his movement. "Then I'll force you to look back." The man then stabbed Asael on his back.

Asael jumped forward and looked back to see the man. But what he saw was something even more horrifying.

His people were flying. Not exactly the people, the parts of them. It wasn't a battle. It was just a massacre. "How can the beastpeople be killed like this..." He could only stand there and watch the carnage that was happening as his own people die by the hands of mere mercenaries. "What is that dark aura around them... What have you done!?"

"Nothing much. We merely received a fraction... no... BARELY even a fraction of our Lord Ouroboros. This is the power he gave us. In exchange? Freedom. We're free to kill, to ravage and get anything we want under his name."

"You've abandoned your humanity for that reason!?" Asael rushed in and performed a lunge attack but the man simply dodged it.

"I'm tired of this fight." The man disappeared and reappeared in front of Asael and stabbed him right in the stomach. "Death Marks Activate!"

The wounds on Asael's body suddenly got linked together by tattoo that looked like chains. "What... is... this..." Asael couldn't move.

"Die." As the man formed a fist on his hand, there was a loud sound that felt likt it came from Asael's insides. He grabbed Asael's head and began to head in a house. "I wonder where your wife is."

"NO! Greta! Stop!" I hugged her and covered her view of the memory she has been projecting all this time.

"Why are you stopping me from seeing this. This particular has always been engraved in my soul. In this place I can be anything."

"You have to stay strong Greta. You need to come back. With us."

"Why? Tell me why!?"

"I'm not asking you to forget this memory. This memory made you who you are. As painful as it might sound, this memory is a part of you that you can never escape. You must not forget it. But for the burden you are carrying, you have to share it. Everything you feel may it be happiness or sadness, fear or anger, I want to feel it with you. You have to remember that I'm here. We're here. You're not alone anymore."

"But in this space, I can create memories."

"But they're simply illusions Greta!"

"So what? With just a flick of my fingers," The whole world suddenly changed and we were in Greta's old home. "I can summon my family. In here, they're still with me. No one is going to bother me. In here I might be alone, but at least here I'm still in that place that took 10 years ago."

"I see. Then there's that. I can't convince you to leave this place."

"Yes. Tell Zieglind that I'm thankful for everything he has done for me. And I'm sorry Zeta."

"Why would I tell him?"

"What?"

"I won't be leaving here without you. If you're going to stay stuck in here, then I'll be stuck here with you."

"What are you saying!?"

"I originally planned this from the start if I couldn't convince you."

"Then I'll just drive you out." But nothing happened.

"It's futile. I entered in your soul using The Flower of Zeratria. It's an ancient item that can penetrate any barrier. It's made from the basilisk's venom and eye so you don't have full control over me."

"Why are you doing this? I'm not a part of anything. And my past will continue to haunt me wherever I go. I have been already broken from the very start."

"It's because..." I moved closer to her and gave her a kiss on her lips. "I love you. All this time I couldn't find the right time to tell you because I thought that your feelings were directed at Zieglind. But right now I don't care taking the risk of being rejected. Right now all I wanted for you is to come back to us. I don't care if you hate me or despise me for forcing you to leave this world. But I don't want you to forge your own fake happiness in this illusion. If you love Zieglind then I don't care. As long as you learn to turn your horrible memories into a lesson as you create more happy memories for yourself then I don't care about the outcome."

"Zeta..." Suddenly our souls inside Greta's realm was disappearing. Our bodies inside were suddenly fleeting into nothingness. "You finally had the courage to tell me. All this time I waited and waited but when you returned you had another woman with you." Greta suddenly shed tears. I couldn't take it seeing her in that state.

"She's-"

"You had your chance, I'm talking this time." Greta calmed herself down and resumed talking. "I hate that the first thing I noticed was you with another woman. I thought I lost you forever. I thought I lost the love of my life, my family, my friends and my will to live. But you suddenly came here in this world of mine to give me everything that I've lost. All those things that you said, we'll create our own memories, our own family and our own will to live to continue being together. Is that true?"

I was overwhelmed with feelings and I wish that I could let out my tears. But I want to see her face more than anything. "Absolutely. Anything and everything you want, we'll get it someday. I will give you the love and family that you lost and the memories you wished you had."

"Am I allowed? To be this happy?"

"Of course you are. I love you more than anything."

"Then Zeta Reysh, I'll give you everything I have."

"I'll also give you everything I have."

"I love you more than anyone."

"I love you more than you will ever think." As we kissed for the last time in her realm, our souls were dissipating into nothingness.

The bright light that covered our bodies were no more and I woke up in the place where Greta's asleep. I suddenly stood up and looked for her. She was there, awake. With a giant relief on my side, I was overfilled with emotions as I shed my tears as I reached at her with a hug. "Welcome back..."

"I'm back..."