Chapter 141: Ara Wants to Be with Bai
As Nisha had said, Bai’s struggles were futile.
At her peak, with all her demonic bloodlines, and the temporary use of her silver form’s [Word of Command], she might have been a match for Nisha.
But now, within Vikarn’s automated defense system, she couldn’t switch between bloodlines, her weakened body at its limit, only her willpower keeping her going.
Her final attack was easily deflected by Nisha’s force field, the blade sent flying.
The pulse pistol’s blast didn’t even reach her, dissipated by the ubiquitous force fields. And the Authority storm, only slightly redirected, struck the surrounding buildings, leaving them unscathed.
The buildings here were incredibly durable, comparable to the sacred lands of the Bewildering Forest or the Wild God Altar of the Savage Lands. Even a World Ender, without focusing their attack, couldn’t cause much damage.
Bai and Ara weren’t just fighting Nisha; they were fighting the legacy of the ancient empire.
Vikarn was their final bastion, and though their plans had failed, its technology was still formidable. The North Empire could only access a fraction of its power through the “Ascension to the Tower.”
And that was the foundation of their entire nation.
Nisha wasn’t as knowledgeable about Vikarn as her sister, Neily, but by pushing its systems to their limits, she could wield a power comparable to a World Ender.
“With such a large gap in power, why do you still struggle?” Nisha asked, walking towards Ara, her voice soft. “Little Sister Bai, perhaps you should learn to accept reality. Sometimes, submission is the better choice.”
Ara, her gaze fixed on the fallen Bai, was held in place by a force field, unable to move.
“Yes, you’re right. With such a large gap in power, why do I still struggle?” Bai said, pushing herself up, a weak, yet defiant, smile on her face. “Why…?”
“Perhaps… I just want to make a statement,” she said, gripping her dagger, her gaze fixed on Nisha. “The statement of an enemy. A mortal enemy… I will fight you until my last breath. I will defeat you.”
She charged again, but her strength was gone.
Before she could reach Nisha, a powerful pulse of energy, from an unknown source, struck her, piercing through her chest.
She collapsed, her dagger clattering to the ground, rolling to a stop at Ara’s feet.
“Bai—!”
A heart-wrenching cry echoed through Vikarn, and Ara’s body began to radiate an uncontrolled storm of Authority.
Bai lay less than ten meters away, a pool of blood spreading beneath her, and in that moment, a memory, a nightmare, flashed through Ara’s mind.
…
“Sister Neily! Help Ara! She’s hurt…”
“Sister… Neily? What are you doing… no, you can’t do this!”
“Why… Sister Neily…”
A small, silver-haired figure collapsed before her, and another, in a white lab coat, stood over her.
“I’m sorry, Bai. Sleep well. I hope you never wake up.”
“Now, Pandora, it’s time for you to return to where you belong.”
…
Why?
Why again…? Why was Bai falling before her again? Was she destined to be alone again, in that endless gray abyss, separated from Bai forever…?
Ara looked up at Nisha, the memory of the past becoming clearer, the figure in the white lab coat merging with the woman before her, their faces identical.
“Don’t worry. Little Sister Bai isn’t dead. I held back,” Nisha said calmly. “But now, it’s our time. I don’t want any interruptions.”
“No…”
“Not like last time,” Ara said, the Authority storm around her subsiding, her purple eyes now glowing with a strange light. “Not like last time… Bai once said, Ara and Bai will never be separated.”
Always, always, Bai had stood before her, protecting her, guiding her, shielding her from everything…
But this time, Ara would stand before Bai.
The signs of her loss of control vanished, the Authority storm separating into nine distinct powers, swirling around her.
This was something Nisha hadn’t anticipated. An out-of-control Ara was powerful, but chaotic. She could only win through overwhelming force.
So, Nisha hadn’t been worried about her. In fact, a part of her had hoped for this, for Ara to lose control.
It would have been the justification she needed, the self-deception she craved. “See? Such a dangerous, uncontrollable weapon. Sealing her is the only option.”
But now… this was different.
Ara looked down at the dagger at her feet, the one Lin Yan had given Bai, the one Bai had always carried.
“Perhaps… Ara can also leave something with Bai…”
“I can’t delay any longer. Even if this is wrong, I have to see it through!” Nisha’s resolve hardened, her doubts momentarily suppressed.
Her obsession, her guilt over her sister’s death, told her she had to continue.
Pandora had been Neily’s creation, Pandora’s existence a mistake.
She attacked, a barrage of energy pulses from all directions, a force field clamping down on Ara.
But Ara simply looked at Bai, then closed her eyes, as if memorizing her face.
No, Bai was already etched into her memory, from the first moment they met, a permanent image in the depths of her soul.
Even after centuries in the endless darkness, she had never forgotten.
“Such a beautiful Bai,” Ara smiled, her form beginning to turn ethereal. “She should have a beautiful necklace, to rest against her heart, to listen to her heartbeat…”
“Ara wants to be with Bai.”
No no no no