Chapter 154: The Shattering of the Soul's Throne and the Imprisonment of Light within the Shadow's
The darkness was no longer just the absence of light; it had become a thick, adhesive substance raining down from the courtyard sky like burnt soot. The Grandmother, her terrifying face resembling cracked earth, began chanting a harsh incantation whose history dated back to before the dawn of humanity. She knew that through Rina alone, she could not extinguish the "imaginary power" boiling within Diyari's veins, so she decided to invoke the magic of the "Four Knights of the Curse." With every word that escaped the Grandmother's mouth, the crystal ground cracked, and three towering, horrific shadows emerged from the heart of the earth. These three shadows, appearing as black smoke filled with red eyes, gathered around Diyari's wounded body and, alongside Rina, began to execute the final cosmic punishment.
The Grandmother shouted in a raspy, arrogant voice: "Look, O King of Ruins! Look at this love, how it has become a hell for you! Did you think that through silence alone you could break my magic? No! Today, I will make not only your body but your mind a playground for these shadows! Rina, do not stop! Mix your blade with the poison of these shadows and show him what 'ugliness' tastes like!"
Rina, who no longer possessed any connection to the human world, stood in the center of the three shadows with her large black eyes, which looked like two wells full of poison. With her purple blade now emitting a black radiance, she launched an even more violent attack on Diyari. One of the shadows began pulling Diyari's soul out of his body, while another began lashing Diyari's back with a whip fashioned from hatred. Each time the whip struck Diyari's skin, a piece of that golden light turned into smoke and vanished. Diyari, whose body had now become a mass of burned and bloody flesh, only lowered his head; his lips trembled under the weight of the agony, yet not a single scream escaped him.
One of the shadows, its face resembling a shattered mirror, showed Rina visions of the days when Diyari stood before her door like a beggar. The Grandmother had made Rina feel that every misfortune in her life was caused by the man now lying before her. In a brutal manner, Rina thrust her claws into the open wounds on Diyari's chest and began squeezing his heart. The pain was so horrific it felt as if the entire universe had gone silent to hear the voiceless scream within Diyari's golden eyes. Diyari's golden blood, now mixed with the shadows' poison, turned a loathsome black, yet Diyari still refused to let a single ill thought toward Rina cross his mind.
From the balcony, the Grandmother said with a manic laugh: "Cut it, Rina! That tongue that told you 'I love you,' cut it out! Those eyes that made you feel weak, gouge them out! Look at how this 'foolish' man still thinks this is a dream! This is your reality, Diyari! You are nothing but a victim created for my pleasure!"
The shadows began to unravel Diyari's mind. They tried to make him feel that Rina was doing these things of her own free will; they tried to make him feel that all the love he held was merely a lie. But Diyari, in the depths of his soul, had forged a shield of "pure imagination" that no magic could penetrate. He knew that Rina was imprisoned like an innocent child within the cage of these shadows. Thus, when Rina placed the blade against Diyari's throat and was about to cut it completely, Diyari—with his bloody hand, now consisting only of bone and nerve—very gently touched Rina's hand.
At that moment, the Grandmother unleashed the "Endless Agony" spell. This magic made time stand still for Diyari; every second of pain felt like a year to him. Every cut of Rina's blade was like thousands of years of burning in fire. Under the influence of this spell, Rina began slicing the flesh from Diyari's shoulders and throwing the pieces into the falling black rain. The courtyard had become a slaughterhouse where the holiest of feelings were being sacrificed for the foulest of purposes.
The shadows circled Diyari like nightmares, echoing the screams of those who had insulted him in the past. The Grandmother wanted to break Diyari; she wanted to turn that golden light into a black radiance full of revenge, for she knew if Diyari became angry even once and used his power for vengeance, her magic would triumph and Diyari would become another monster under her command. But Diyari, despite all the wounds, the burns, and the lacerations, remained like a monument of mercy.
Rina, her body now lost within a purple smoke, raised her blade to strike the center of Diyari's forehead. She wanted to kill the mind that still had the courage to imagine love. Diyari closed his eyes and said in his heart: "Continue... I am here to carry all the world's pain for Rina... I will not be the king who crowns himself with the blood of his beloved..."
When the Grandmother saw that even the shadows could not change Diyari's will, she began chanting the "Soul Explosion" spell. She wanted Rina to strike Diyari in a way that his soul would shatter within his body. With the new power the Grandmother had given her, Rina began beating Diyari's weakened body until golden blood covered all the walls of the courtyard. Every drop of Diyari's blood that fell was like a burning star falling from the sky.
The courtyard had become a testing ground where humanity was on the verge of losing. The Grandmother, with eyes full of hatred, watched the man who, even under the grip of shadows, appeared more dignified than all the kings of the world. Rina, like a soulless doll, played in the blood of the person who had given his entire existence for her. The pain had become so deep it felt as if the earth itself were perishing in grief.
Diyari, even though his entire body had become a mass of torn flesh, was winning the greatest battle in history within that terrifying silence. It was the battle of "remaining in love" in the heart of hate. The Grandmother, with all her power, magic, and shadows, still could not extinguish that small spark within Diyari's heart, which held only one name: Rina.
At the end of this chapter, Diyari is on the brink of death, Rina is at the peak of madness, and the Grandmother is about to end everything with her final trick. The silence is so heavy it sits like a mountain on the heart of anyone witnessing this scene.
Written by: Dlin_myth