Isis’s consciousness, which had been submerged in a deep sea, gradually returned. Before her eyelids even fluttered open, she was assailed by the alluring scent of a young maiden. Strangely, her body swayed from side to side.
Slowly, she opened her eyes. Instead of the warmth of her bed, she found herself gazing at soft skirts and a slender chest. After a moment’s observation, she realized she was being held in Beacai’s arms, carried deeper into a dimly lit corridor.
Her skirt’s hem hung low. She attempted to struggle free from Beacai’s embrace, yet the lifespan of this body was nearing its end. Her limbs felt almost numb, and her attempts to break free lacked any discernible strength.
“You’re awake?”
Noticing her awakening, Beacai glanced down at her.
“Where are you taking me?”
The corridor’s end dissolved into impenetrable darkness. Though Isis had no idea where she was being led, her sixth sense screamed that whatever awaited her ahead could only be ill tidings.
A faint unease began to stir within her heart.
“As I said before, the bracelet was only half my gift to you. The other half awaits us just ahead.”
“What kind of gift?”
“Mother will know soon enough.”
Beacai spoke cryptically, withholding a direct answer. However, her secrecy did not inspire mystery or anticipation in Isis; instead, the unease in her heart abruptly intensified.
As they delved deeper into the corridor, she noticed that the light from outside the windows had gradually vanished. Only the flickering candlelight from the walls on either side cast a faint glow, illuminating their path forward.
After a few more steps, under the dim, yellow candlelight, strange and obscure cracks began to appear on the walls. Blood seeped from these fissures, trickling down the stone before slowly drying, giving birth to an eerie and terrifying sensation.
It was only then that Isis remembered Beacai was a true Evil God.
These cracks were divine spell patterns carved by an Evil God. She had never seen them before and had no idea what purpose they served. Yet, no matter how she looked at them, these patterns radiated pure evil and chaos.
‘The Evil God’s remaining half of the gift wouldn’t be anything good…’
‘After two days of feigned peace, had Beacai finally succumbed to her true nature as an Evil God?’
As Beacai carried her closer and closer to the corridor’s end, Isis, uncharacteristically, felt a surge of panic. She feared Beacai possessed a divine spell capable of affecting a soul on the verge of dissipation—that would be utterly terrifying.
With a nervous tremor in her voice, she whispered, “What is this place ahead?”
“You’ll know soon enough.”
“No, I don’t want to go there.”
“But Mother, you have no choice in the matter.”
Beacai halted, looking down at Isis in her arms, a triumphant smile gracing her lips. “Besides, even if I were to put you down, you wouldn’t be able to walk out, would you?”
Isis’s hands pressed against Beacai’s chest, as if she intended to push her away. Alas, her strength was so minuscule that to Beacai, it merely resembled a petulant child’s plea.
“…What exactly do you intend to do to me?”
“Why would I ever harm you, Mother? You can rest assured.”
Beacai smiled at her, then resumed walking towards the corridor’s end. No matter how much unease Isis felt, she was powerless to resist. She could only watch helplessly as the darkness drew ever closer.
Finally, they reached the very end.
Before them stood a massive door, sealed by divine magic and covered in eerie incantations. It seemed as though opening it would unleash the demons and monsters trapped within to corrupt the entire world.
“For this day, I have prepared for such a very long time, Mother. You have finally reached the end of your life,” Beacai murmured softly, her gaze fixed on the grand door.
At her words, alarm bells rang furiously in Isis’s mind.
“I am no longer the Yggdrasil I once was. There’s nothing left for you to covet…”
“But Mother, do you not still possess your soul?”
Uttering this, Beacai cast a profoundly meaningful glance at her. Then, without any visible movement from Beacai, the incantations on the door illuminated, and with a powerful tremor, it slowly began to open.
Isis’s heart plummeted, for she knew her deepest fear had just materialized.
Evil God Beacai truly possessed a divine spell that could affect dissipating souls.
Passing through the great door, they entered a realm of absolute darkness. Beacai took a few steps, then paused. Immediately, dim crimson lights flared to life all around them, allowing Isis to perceive her surroundings.
It was much as she had suspected. Behind the door lay an enclosed space, its walls covered in the same blood-red incantations she had seen earlier. Beacai stood with her on a high platform.
Below the platform, a vast pool of blood churned.
“The soul of the World Tree harbors countless secrets and knowledge. If other deities were to discover your whereabouts, whether they be Evil Gods or not, they would likely be even more ravenous than I.”
“Furthermore, the World Tree’s soul *is* the World Tree itself. Divine power and faith are merely external trappings. What I’ve always coveted, Mother, is your soul,” Beacai declared with a smile, standing at the platform’s edge.
Isis’s breath caught in her throat. She glared fiercely at Beacai.
An Evil God was an Evil God, after all. Everything before had been nothing but a facade. Beacai’s true objective was to obtain her soul!
As for what she intended to do with the soul, Isis could easily guess, having witnessed the actions of other Evil Gods.
Most likely, Beacai sought to acquire all the knowledge and secrets of the World Tree to further her own power. Alternatively, she might intend to feed Isis’s soul to some creature, then nurture it into a loyal servant…
This was how Evil Gods, from ancient times to the present, treated souls.
“The World Tree is already dead. I cannot resist whatever you do to me. But Beacai, Evil Gods never come to a good end…”
“Mother, the World Tree has never truly died. Merely losing power is nothing at all. As for my end… I never think that far ahead.”
Beacai took another step towards the platform’s edge. Simultaneously, she extended Isis, still in her arms, outwards, above the still, silent blood pool below.
“In my hands, even a soul on the verge of dissipation can be salvaged.”
She gazed at the blood pool, its dull red glow reflecting on her pale cheeks. Then, under Isis’s horrified gaze, she released her hold.
Falling abruptly, Isis instinctively tried to grasp Beacai’s hand. Yet, her limbs were too weak; she couldn’t hold on. She could only watch Beacai’s figure grow smaller and more distant…
Finally, with a soft splash, she plunged into the blood pool.
Her unease had become reality. A torrent of blood instantly choked her nose and mouth, making it impossible to breathe. Her vision, obscured by a dark crimson haze, slowly shifted from dim light to utter blackness.
Her golden hair fanned out in the blood, her pristine white skirt now stained crimson. She tried to swim towards the surface, but her struggles beneath the blood were futile. She had lost all control of her body.
The blood entered her body, stopping her breath. She thought she should feel an unbearable agony, but in fact, she felt nothing at all. It was as if this body had utterly died the moment it plunged into the blood pool.
‘Perhaps, long ago, she had already died.’
‘This body was merely a fabricated vessel she had created to care for Nona.’
‘Only her dissipating soul…’
‘What a pity.’
‘She could not resist an Evil God.’
Carrying a trace of humiliation, she sank into the deepest reaches of the blood pool, losing all consciousness.
Her descent had caused splashes on the blood pool’s surface, sending out ripples. Yet, these ripples quickly faded, and the vast blood pool returned to a deathly stillness, as if nothing had ever disturbed its depths.