Chapter 441: The Void Of Despair

Listen While Reading: VIE/DUE ft.
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Anna continued crying, her tears streaming endlessly as she clung tightly to Song.

“Song…! I’m sorry…! I’m sorry…! Aaahhh…!”

“Y-You didn’t do anything; this isn’t your fault…!”

“I promised you all that this would work, that we would be able to reclaim Bestia, b-but I couldn’t do it! I couldn’t save everyone…! I-I…! I didn’t want this…! I didn’t want this!”

“I know, Anna… Me neither! Calm down, sister…”

Song hugged her tightly, letting her sob into his shoulder. He was now taller than her, as if their roles had reversed, and he had become the big brother there to comfort her.

“We don’t have time… to mourn…”

He placed his hands on her shoulders, looking into Anna’s eyes.

“Please… breathe in… and out… O-okay?”

“Ahhh… Uh-huh…”

Anna nodded timidly, still crying and trembling.

She was surprised at how quickly Song accepted things, despite having spent so little time by his father’s side.

Perhaps when the Original Song and the Song born from the Records merged, he didn’t only undergo physical maturity but emotional maturity as well.

And, as he had just said, they had no time to mourn, with the world still in peril and an immensely powerful demon fighting nearby…

They truly couldn’t waste time.

“Dad wouldn’t have… scorned us if he saw us crying like this… Don’t you think so?”

“Y-Yeah… He… he would have… done that…”

Suddenly, Anna’s armor transformed back into Fang Shuan, who enveloped Anna in a hug from behind.

“F-Fang Shuan?”

“Young lady… please don’t cry anymore…”

“I-I…”

“I know the pain and agony of losing those you love dearly… I lost everything myself.”

“…”

“But even then, it doesn’t mean the world has ended… Our lives continue.”

“But…”

“I may not have known him for long, but I knew the Heavenly Demon was a tenacious man with incredible conviction and willpower.”

“You’re… right…”

“He wouldn’t want to see you crying for him like this. I know that very well.”

“Ah…”

“We will mourn him, and we will cry together once this is over. But please, right now… Do not fall into despair. Do not let that monster, that otherworldly demon, hurt you like this. Don’t let him manipulate you.”

“Demon…?”

Anna glanced at Lucifer, realizing what this was all about.

The demon glared at her, smiling. He was delighted to see her crying, to see her fall into despair.

“Heheheh~ How does it feel to have YOUR pet killed now? Is it similar to the pain I went through when you killed my cute snake? Maybe I should kill your other pets too… I want to see you fall into despair!”

Anna’s eyes widened.

She fell silent as she watched the demon fighting.

“Anna! Don’t listen to him!”

The Heavenly Empress roared back, clashing against the monster and riddling his body with countless holes as she manifested giant spears of gold.

Anna realized this… was indeed her fault.

That monster was taking revenge on her…

If she hadn’t come here, if she hadn’t done everything she did, if she hadn’t lured these monsters here, this wouldn’t have happened…

“Anna, it’s not your fault!” Song cried.

“But he… he came for me…” Anna muttered.

“He did, but this isn’t… related to you…!” Fang Shuan tried to convince her.

“I…”

Anna looked at her hands. Though they were clean, she imagined them covered in the blood and black feathers of her beloved master.

Of her adoptive father.

“I caused this…”

The world grew darker and darker. Anna began to slip once more into despair…

Her Aura became unstable, and Song and Fang Shuan were suddenly pushed away by…

By something.

RUMBLE!

“Ugh?!”

“Agh!”

As they fell into the waters and quickly swam to the surface, they saw Anna’s lightless eyes as she began crying blood.

Her Aura sprouted monstrous black and red tentacles, crimson and white eyes, and massive maws everywhere, while her tears of blood stained the seas, turning them red.

“W-What am I seeing?!” Fang Shuan gasped in disbelief. “Y-Young lady! Calm down! YOUNG LADY, DON’T LET DESPAIR CONSUME YOU!”

“Anna!!!” Song roared.

The two unleashed their divine auras, pushing through the darkness and the blood aura that surged from Anna endlessly.

The space around her warped and twisted, shattering apart, as the countless eyes seemed to weaken anyone who glanced at them.

“T-This presence…!” Fang Shuan muttered. “Why… Why does it feel so similar to THEM?!”

The old cultivator’s metallic eyes widened as he realized that something else dwelled within Anna. He didn’t know if it was completely separate from her… or born from her.

“What’s wrong with Anna? What is going on with her?!” Song asked. “S-She’s… like… Ah?!”

And then, out of nowhere, a message appeared.

[The {####### ######} cries in endless agony and despair.]

[Her tears and her agony embody the Pain of the World.]

[Her {Story} is being twisted.]

[The Effect of the {Boundary of the Fourth Wall} is shaking!]

“̵̹͎̦̏͝ͅÅ̷̛̳̈̄̈̉͐̄͊̈́̾̕͘͠A̴̡̡̢͎̩͐̾̆̀͊̆̇́̑̔̀͘͝͠͝ͅͅȦ̴͓̻̬A̸͙̎̉̈́̈́́̿͝͠ͅA̴̛̳͚̦̿̄̄͗̂̎́̑̊̀͗͘̕Ḩ̸͙̠̫̬̪̲͎̦͓̪̆͆̊̐̎͗͆̇́H̸̻̘̘̱̟̮͍̖́͐̈́͠H̶̜͔͈͇̭̤̔̂̒͠H̴̬̗̰̱̯̖͍̔̌ͅȞ̸͕̼͕͇̲͇͇̪͇H̴̹̙̖̫̫̺̾̉̂͂͐͂̌͊́͛̆̔̿̑!̸̡̼̪̭̺̮̦̦̂̈̆!̵̨̨͓̗͉̯̪̳͖̺̣͇̰̭̓͌ͅ!̶̞̘̦̪̮̹̩̮͕̦͚̀̊̄̈́͘ͅ”̴̩͍̦̲͙͎̫̉̄̈͊̃́̐́

And then, they heard her—Anna’s agonizing scream, an endless anguish spreading through the world, the cosmos beyond. Everything.

Crack, crack…!

CRAAASH!

Giant cracks spread through the skies as space shattered. The Heavenly Empress and Lucifer glanced at the scene in disbelief.

“Anna?!”

“Oh? Would you… look at that! Heheheh…! Wakey wakey, my princess of agony.”

Fang Shuan and Song groaned in pain and agony, but they continued moving forward, their Auras overflowing from their bodies.

They had been growing stronger this entire time… They couldn’t let this stop them!

“Anna! Stop this!”

Song’s Aura manifested, the power of Darkness and Light seamlessly combined. The Heavens and the Earth became one within him.

His aura pierced through the space-warping power that Anna exuded upon falling into despair and blaming herself for the death of her beloved father, tearing through it with sheer force.

“Song! Let me help!”

Fang Shuan quickly transformed into golden armor, wrapping around Song as the two combined their powers, reaching her.

“ANNA!”

They hugged her as they gazed at her face. Her eyes had turned deep red, and she was constantly crying blood.

She seemed to have entered a state of unconsciousness…

“Please, Anna, come back!”

Fang Shuan and Song infused their Auras into her body, trying to fight back whatever malicious entity was attempting to exploit her fragile mental state.

Was it even a “being,” though, or perhaps simply a part of her own being that had been hiding this entire time?

To Anna, the world and everything suddenly turned black and red.

She felt herself drifting through an endless ocean of blood and darkness, though she wasn’t confused or anything like that.

If anything, she couldn’t feel anything at all.

“It’s my fault…”

“I might as well have not come…”

“I provoked this… It’s my fault that he died.”

“He’s gone… forever… I cannot bring him back…”

“I can’t stop crying…”

All of her smarts, her cunning mind—everything shattered apart. All her bravado was in shambles. The shell she had created around her fragile heart to appear and act strong had crumbled into pieces.

“This isn’t like you, Anna…”

“Eh?”

She looked into the distance, noticing a small golden centipede made of light and stars.

“S-Sepa…”

“We know what happened, but that doesn’t mean you’ll suddenly abandon everything and start crying until you destroy the world, right?”

And then, a golden cat appeared, sitting above the emptiness, with a crown of gold and a red mirror resembling the sun above her head.

“Bastet…?”

The two Constellations descended, looking at Anna and beginning to reprimand her.

“Don’t be selfish!” Sepa said angrily.

“You’re making it all your problem now? When not only you, but many people are suffering right now?!” Bastet said angrily.

“Ah? I didn’t…! I-I…!” Anna muttered as she continued crying. “I…”

Sepa and Bastet looked at one another, realizing that tough love might not work that well…

Anna was more fragile than usual, hesitating, afraid.

This was the “real Anna” within her, unlike the persona she had built to cope with this terrifying universe.

Just a scared girl who wished her peaceful daily life could return one day.

“Come here…”

“There, it’s alright…”

Sepa and Bastet hugged her, giving Anna their warmth and love.

“It’s going to be okay…”

“The world needs you, Anna… We need you.”

“But what if I’m not enough? What if I keep losing more and more people? I-I…”

“We will try our hardest so that isn’t the case anymore…”

“But you have to accept that… not everything will ever go your way.”

“That’s why you have to persevere and keep moving, stay focused on your goal, no matter what.”

“…”

Anna cuddled between the two Constellations as a pink light began emerging from her heart.

“You have to keep going, Anna…”

“You’re not alone, alright?”

Anna slowly stood up. Sepa and Bastet noticed she looked much younger than outside, like a girl no older than ten years of age.

“Really?”

They nodded.

“Yes, let’s go.”

The two Constellations dragged Anna out of the hell she had created within her own soul and mind.

The pink light within her heart continued shining brightly, spreading pink flames across her body.

“Anna! Please wake up, Anna!”

“Young Lady!”

As Song and Fang Shuan cried for her to wake up, the darkness and blood energies around Anna suddenly dissipated, and the world around her returned to normal.

[The {####### ######} has fallen into slumber.]

[The {Heavenly Princess of Boundless Love} has woken up.] 

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