Dimensional Descent

Loryth shrieked. The banshee-like fury peeled across the skies like flashes of lightning, the echoes painting the harrowing image of an infuriated wraith.

The earth burst apart and the foundations of the city were torn as trees, vines, and poisonous buds burst out from the cracked, paved roads.

A large net of vines wrapped together, spiraling into the skies as they intertwined. They formed a beanstalk that should have only appeared in fairy tales, reaching a peak and then twisting into a mutated, budding lily.

The lily opened its maw, unleashing a roar that sounded akin to a yodelling whale. Rows of teeth lined its petals and a thick mist of poison spread out from it.

The moment this behemoth appeared, it was like the plants of the world bowed in obedience, and the Life Force that Aina had managed to maintain a small bit of control over was torn apart. What remained of her blood roses vanished, sucked into the endless river of vines.

The toothed lily sucked in a strong breath and hurricane-force winds knocked buildings to the ground and stirred the clouds into a spinning vortex.

And then it closed up. Its throat bulged and the world fell into silence for but a moment before it exploded with a bursting breath of fire.

The flaming ball fell toward Aina.

It truly looked like a helpless situation. Her left ankle was nothing more than a stump of pooling blood, her arms were nailed together by an arrow that cut through both of her forearms, and now she was facing off against an attack in what was her worst state since this battle began.

Anselma watched calmly from a distance, not feeling very surprised. They might not have regained their full strength just yet, but their ability to play off of one another and battle in tandem was second to none.

In fact, they were only working at about 10% capacity right now. That was because... She had yet to join.

BOOM!

The attack landed, crashing into Aina’s location and enveloping her completely and totally.

A strong vacuum force ripped upward, forming a cyclone that spiralled into the air. With a calm gaze, Aina watched as a figure appeared before her. Her eyes never seemed to carry any fear or surprise. Even seeing this person didn’t bring her any excitement or happiness.

Miel swept out his battle ax, standing before his daughter in a protective posture before he slowly looked back.

”I do not know why you’ve allowed this to happen.... but you can’t expect a father to stand on the sidelines and watch this happen, right?”

”...” Aina looked toward her father with a calm gaze, but she eventually parted her lips, speaking out an equally calm set of words. ”... You’ve done it before.”

Miel’s pupils trembled.

It was clear to him that his daughter was not happy, not happy in the slightest. In fact, she seemed bothered by his appearance.

He thought that their relationship had taken strides toward the better, he had even met her children and he had taken on the role of grandfather with open arms. He loved those two little babies no less than his own daughter.

However, right now, the dividing line that still existed between them became clear and obvious to him.

”... I am not strong enough yet.” Aina continued slowly. ”This is my last chance to become so. If you stand in my way now, it will be because of you that he has to stand alone when the time comes. I do not want him to fight alone. Please move.”

Miel understood his daughter better than any Imperatress ever could, though maybe that wasn’t as much of something to be proud of as he thought. Wasn’t it only natural that he be so capable?

But even though he knew that his daughter had been holding her back, he found it very difficult to wait for the result.

The fact that his daughter hadn’t even spoken to him before coming here said all that needed to be said. She truly didn’t need his help anymore, and maybe right now, while her emotions were so raw, while the pain of her mother’s death all those years ago was becoming even more of an open, festering wound...

She didn’t want his help either.

Miel seemed to forget that there was danger lurking all around him. He only had eyes for his little girl, his gaze softening considerably.

He was only human. Part of him wanted to scream out that it wasn’t his fault, that he had done all he could, that he couldn’t have possibly known that things would end the way they had.

But time and time again, he only let this daughter of his down.

He was the reason her mother was dead. He was the reason Atheleys had ended up the target of a vindictive woman, the reason his daughter was almost forced to marry a man she didn’t love, the reason she had lived a childhood so broken and full of despair that even when she did find the man she loved... for a long while, she didn’t even know how to love him right.

A tear fell from Miel’s eye and Aina felt her heart shake. For a moment, she almost broke out of her state of hyper-focus, buried emotions threatening to bubble back up.

But before they could, Miel had already turned away.

”My name is Adam Renier Brazinger.” Miel said softly. ”This is a name I cast away long ago, but it wasn’t for reasons as noble as you, my daughter. I did not want this name because I was ashamed of it, ashamed of what it had forced me to do, ashamed of what I had done in the name of it.

”You, my daughter, do not have the same fate. By now, you’ve probably realized that death cannot be reversed so easily. But often... neither can life. Much the same way death cannot be atoned with life, sometimes life can only be atoned with death.”

Aina’s pupils trembled, her lips parting, but no sound came out.

Miel shook his head. ”Don’t speak. Redemption sounds like a nice story, but there are some sins that can’t be taken back no matter how much you wish for it, no matter

how much you bleed for it.

”I cannot give you the life you deserved back. But I can give you a new one.”

A powerful soul pressure rippled from Miel in waves.