Chapter 35: Wish
Ellie's mind fractured under the weight of too much. Rage, betrayal, humiliation, grief, guilt, even a bitter edge of humor. It was all there, crashing at once. Part of her almost laughed.
[Ellie! You have to move! Move! Please!]
'Noona—'
"Did you really think we'd give up a piece of our souls for you?"
Yu-na spat. Her laugh bit deep, sharp and cruel.
"You? A queen? Please. Look at you, you stupid cow. Pathetic."
Ellie's eyes locked on her. Blonde hair, flushed cheeks, that stupid smirk. For some reason, Yu-na's face looked out of place now...too clean, too human. Too fake.
She opened her mouth to ask. To scream. To demand why.
But a pulse from the gate cut her off.
Hye-jin stepped forward, adjusting her hair like she was prepping for a photo. Her voice came with a grin too wide to be real.
"You should be honored. You'll be his first meal. From a life of shit... to actual shit. Kinda poetic."
Ellie's lips moved on their own.
"Help me..."
She didn't even know who she was asking. The words just came, small and broken. Her limbs were locked, her body frozen—some residue of the ritual still binding her in place. The terror hadn't even reached its peak yet, and already her heart felt cracked open.
'Noona, I'm sorry. I just wanted us to be happy. I'm so sorry.'
[I'm still here. Don't give up. Please don't give—]
Silence.
Even Noona cut out.
The portal rippled, like liquid slapped in a bowl. Waves pushed across the surface. Then, without warning—
Splech!
A wet mass slammed into the ground in front of Ellie. Sludge. Rotted, clotted, putrid. The portal had spat something out—less like summoning a demon and more like the gate had thrown up.
The sisters stared. No one moved. Hye-jin stepped forward first, inching closer, brow furrowed. She bent at the waist, peering into the mass of black-green muck.
Then she flinched. Shot upright.
"Blood Transfer!"
Her body exploded into bloodmist and launched skyward.
Yu-na and Ji-yoon didn't hesitate. No chant. No items. Just escape.
"Necrotic Exchange!"
Yu-na's skin split and shriveled. She collapsed into dry, hollowed husks of bone and ash.
"Yggdrasil's Bridge!"
Roots tore from the ground and coiled around Ji-yoon's legs, dragging her down—face locked in wide-eyed panic—before swallowing her whole.
Then nothing.
Only Ellie remained. Staring. Breathing shallow. The gate's glow deepened. The heat rose.
[Ellie... I'm sorry. I can't stay with you anymore.]
[Thank you for wishing for me. I love you.]
[Goodbye.]
"Noona—wait—Noona?!"
The words cracked apart.
And the gate exploded.
CRACK!
The air didn't just split, it tore. A pressure wave slammed outward from the gate, faster than thought, louder than reason. It ripped trees in half, flattened stone, shattered every gravestone in the field to dust. The concealment spell, Hye-jin's careful warding, burned away in an instant.
Then came the fire.
Not a burst. Not a flash. A breath, endless and roaring. A tidal surge of flame poured from the gate like a dragon exhaling. Hungry, constant, alive. The sky turned orange, the earth glowed. Smoke churned sideways as heat scoured the world in every direction.
The portal held open.
Hell bled through.
The roar faded, tapering off before cutting out entirely, abrupt, like something had severed its source. Chaos sank into a dragging hiss, fire retreating like breath through clenched teeth. Smoke rolled low across the ground, thick and heavy, curling through slag and ruin.
Then...silence.
No screams. No wind. Just the slow tick of heat retreating. The soft crack of stone splitting. The low smolder of earth not yet done burning.
Everything waited.
Nothing moved. Nothing was left to.
Until—like thunder snapping through a soundless world—a wet gasp tore from Ellie's scorched lungs.
Her mind screamed.
Not from pain. That was gone. Every nerve had melted. Not from fear either. She welcomed death now. It was the silence that broke her. The stillness. The absence.
'Noona!'
Ruined. That was the only word that fit. Not an inch of skin remained, charred, melted, sloughed off. Her arm, the one stabbed in the ritual, was gone. No blood, just ash. The fat from her body, especially her breasts, had liquefied and fused to her clothes, cooked into her like meat left too long in a fire.
Only one eye remained, dull gray and drifting. The other hung useless, having boiled out of its socket. She could barely see.
Just before the blast, Noona had done the only thing she could. The only thing any true friend would've done. She took it all back—Ellie's stats, her growth, everything. Every point and every ounce of power the system had allowed. And used it to shield her.
It barely worked.
But Noona was gone.
Ellie knelt in the dirt, fused to it, her thighs melted into her calves. Her body no longer hers. Her breath shallow. Her heartbeat slowing.
'Noona…'
It was her fault. All of it. If not for her, Noona would still exist. If not for her, none of this would've happened. She had killed her. As surely as the flames.
Her life dimmed.
No one was coming.
So when she saw movement—just a flicker—her one remaining eye locked on, wild with disbelief. A jolt shot through her. Not strength. Just want. A sudden, desperate urge to live.
"Gh—ghlhck! Aghh—glkh—!"
Blood poured from her mouth. She choked on it as she tried to cry out. Lips gone, tongue charcoal, she could only spew sounds.
Until she froze.
Something was forming. Rising. Not walking toward her, but gathering. Not help. From the same puddle of rot the gate had vomited before it died… something began to take shape.
An arm, horns, a head, two arms...slowly, a wet grotesque monster grew from the sludge. Skinned from the stomach up, teeth and bone exposed. Steam escaped its mouth as it stretched its jaw, and screeched to the sky.
'I'm sorry Noona...'
Ellie felt it. This wasn't a savior.
The things eyes turned to her. Lidless. Starving. It's head tilted, and even without skin, she could feel it. It was smiling.
'Go away...'
The thing limped.
'Go away...'
The thing laughed.
"Guuh ugha–!"
Silence...then chewing.
The thing started with her face. Teeth sank in, claws ripped. She couldn't fight, she couldn't run. Even after it had eaten her eyes and half her jaw, she just wished it would hurry up and—
Crunch!
Death finally made her wish come true.
---
Slurping. Ripping. Gulping.
The imp was gone, lost to instinct. Feed had triggered. Soul integrity flooded his core, and with it, his flesh stitched together in seconds. Bones reformed. Skin reknit. The taste...clean, potent, laced with memory. Pure. It was everything he hadn't dared imagine.
She hadn't been strong when he started. It didn't matter. This was a feast. His first. And it was perfect.
[System // Notification]
[Quest // Escape to Earth! // Completed]
[Distributing Quest Rewards....]
[Rank-Up Token (Passive) +1]
[Level up +1]
[Level 9 → 10]
[+1 INT / +1 VIT / +1 WIL / +3 AP]
[Level 10 System Unlocks Preparing... Initializing Protocols...]
The build-up started low...deep in his spine, rising sharp and fast. He tore his face from what remained, panting, blinking for the first time since the fortress.
[Gathering User Integration Patterns // Battle Experience / Choices Made / Resources Gathered...]
[System Recognition // Bloodline Resource Acquisition / Class Tree Mutation]
Heat pooled under his skin. The system flared inside him. This was it. His muscles tensed. His heart kicked. Even the simple gift of skin was forgotten.
[Analyzing... Analyzing... Complete.]
[Level 10 System Unlocks Distributing—]
[Evolution Options Unlocked // 3]
[Class Tree Paths Unlocked // 3]
"... Ha... ha... haha—hahahaha!"
He dropped to all fours, body trembling from more than hunger now. He'd done it. From a blind, crawling thing–through slaughter, through fire, through betrayal. Claws curled tight. Blood ran down his hands.
"You see this, Charon?! I did it! I'm alive!"
He turned to the wreckage behind him. What was left of the human. His tail flicked. His mouth split open in a jagged grin.
"I should finish my meal. It's my first. Would be rude to waste it."
The imp laughed again. He was intoxicated. Drunk on blood and success, mind spinning on possibility. Every drop of essence inside him was brimming with intent. He was ready to evolve. He was ready to fight.
But was Earth ready for him?
He couldn't wait to find out.
[End of Arc 1....Initializing Sequential Memory Sequence...Loading....]