blueteamnovel 845. The Only Ilya
845. The Only Ilya
845. The Only Ilya
“ILYA!”
The dark medium denied everything that was not a part of Michaela’s soul. Her wings should have remained, as with all 7 of her tails, but the Qliphoth Corrosion had destroyed everything she had.
All that remained was a wingless Arbiter with a tail that carried the power to open Guf; the tail that Elysia also possessed. Her pale, ghostly hair matched the color of her bare flesh. She was like an apparition roaming the void; an existence she was all to familiar with.
This lonely world was where Ilya had been living for 15 years. But she knew that Ilya been lonely for far longer than that.
Michaela’s body burned as she fell arms first deeper into the medium. Moving even an inch in this world resulted in her pallid flesh to flake off, revealing a meld of red and gold. It was the primordial goop that made up her soul. The Primordial Factor that allowed her to maintain her shape as the Michaela that the world knew would no longer exist.
And still she approached the pale bead of light. It was Ilya. She sat cradling her knees in her lonesome, her eyes sealed shut. Ilya had not moved from that position for 15 years. If she did, then her soul would not have been so pristine.
“ILYAAAAAA!” Michaela screamed as she reached a veil that separated her from Ilya.
Ilya’s eyes quivered. Slowly, they opened to reveal the same gold that stared back at her from above.
“Ah...?”
“I’M HERE!” Michaela’s hands plunged into the material. It resisted her as it swallowed her arms whole, refusing to give in. Likewise, Michaela did not allow herself to be beaten by this veil.
And so, she howled at the top of her lungs as she pushed with everything her soul could muster.
“TAKE MY HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAND!”
“Moth... er...” Ilya looked up.
Merely glancing in her direction caused her to wince. But this did not come from the pain of moving in this world. It seemed that it was only Michaela who experienced this. She did not belong in here, after all.
The reason why Ilya made such a face was because she could never have imagined seeing her mother’s face again.
“Mother! Why...? You’ll disappear if you come too close! You can’t! I’ve... already forgotten about living out there. I can just stay here...”
“THE REASON WHY I LOST YOU WAS BECAUSE I COULD NEVER REACH OUT TO YOUR HAND!”
Ilya’s eyes widened. The raw emotions that gushed from her lips and from those eyes like a fountain was a sight she had never seen before. Her mother, who only smiled and would occasionally pat her head, risked her life like it was meaningless to live without her.
She did not forget the words that were spoken to her by Frost.
And here, Ilya finally realized the truth to those words.
“You didn’t do anything wrong.” Michaela assured her.
“I killed you.”
“I did too. Doesn’t that make us even?”
“Mn...” Ilya finally smiled. “Mother... Can I ask you something?”
“Anything, my dear.”
Ilya’s hands curled behind Michaela’s back, as though to clasp onto her clothes.
“For a long time now, I’ve been jealous of the children beyond the garden. Mannerisms didn’t matter to them. I was the princess of Paradise. Formality and duties. I had to uphold them. I thought that it would make you happy...”
Ilya’s voice trembled as she then whispered:
“Mom. I’ve always wanted to call you that.”
Michaela pulled her deeper into her chest as Illya added:
“It makes me feel like I’m closer to you. Is it ok? I’m sorry if it’s too much.”
“There is no such thing.” Michaela smiled with all her heart.
For an instant, she saw a prompt as she gazed far behind Ilya.
< AWAKENING REQUIREMENT: Refuse Paradise >
She wanted to laugh. The meaning of ‘refuse’ and ‘paradise’ held a humorous hidden meaning.
She had already refused Paradise.
The false Paradise that only brought misery.
And...
She had brought the Piece of Paradise and the Price of Paradise together to refuse Ilya.