Rethen's name had finally come up, and with it came a devastating truth about what it truly was. 'His… a son of a god?' Her mind was slightly shaken, to the point she stopped in her tracks. All this time, she had been talking to the son of a god.
'Wait, the description said something about the false fruit of their love, most likely referring to Rethen… he's not their son, at least not their real son, but a being created by Nether to be their child.'
Now she was starting to understand the link between these descriptions. Apparently, Nether had for some reason been cursed by the gods and because of that their child died. It must have been a miscarriage, and due to that he waged a war against the gods only to lose and end up in the underworld. Refusing to accept reality, he made Rethen and used the essence of their unborn child to bring him to life.
'Now that I think about it, Rethen's name backwards is spelt Nether… so the story holds some truth?'
The more she connected the stories, the more she felt weirded out by Nether's actions. Although she could understand where he was coming from—if what she had pieced together was true or somewhat true—she could understand his desperation. But to use your unborn child to give life to another? That was so many levels of messed up. She did not claim to understand the goddess, but she kind of understood why she was disgusted. She would have been, too.
"…I committed a grave sin. I… let's just say I insulted the goddess." She remembered the words Rethen had said to her. Honestly, she felt quite sad for the guy. He was given existence only to be hated and chained by his mother, yet despite being hated, he wanted to be freed to help her in the war.
'Whatever, their family business has nothing to do with me.' The gods were gone. Although it was nice that she learned a bit about them and their love affair, in the end it did not matter. She was just here to end her nightmare and go back to the world of the living.
It wasn't until morning that she arrived at the foot of the pillar. She had been walking for hours without stopping, yet she didn't feel exhausted, nor did she feel sleepy. She had been trying hard to figure out the puzzle that was her aspect, and she had come up with a couple of theories. The one she was leaning toward was the one she believed was most likely her aspect ability.
Her aspect description said she "tended to the ocean," which sounded absurd to her, since how does one tend to the ocean? Or protect the ocean? From what, pollution?
Those parts she still did not understand, but it was the other part that gave her a clue to form her theory. An ocean maiden "lives for the ocean, hears the voice of the ocean, and is the voice of the ocean." She believed her aspect somehow tried to embody the ocean, meaning she lived, heard, and was the voice of the ocean. The ocean was something unending, so her stamina must be unending as well, meaning she could not be exhausted. That was a great ability, and it explained why she hadn't felt tired at all.
She turned her head and looked at the sky for a moment, looking at the semi-translucent golden barrier and the mist behind it growing lighter and lighter.
"I didn't sleep either," she muttered.
Although her body never got exhausted, her mind was the opposite. For some reason, she felt extra mentally tired. Guess operating two minds at the same time would do that to you. She shook her head and focused on the tower ahead.
It was gigantic in the distance, but up close it was truly humongous. She could not even see the top, as it pierced through the translucent golden barrier and disappeared into the mist. The tower was completely black, to the point she thought it was devouring the surrounding light, and she was only seeing the result of light refusing to be reflected.
She then looked down at the door of the tower. It was as dark as the tower; if not for the two massive golden handles, she would not have noticed it at all. She took a moment to admire it while getting mentally ready. She summoned one of the swords, and feeling the weight in her hand, she felt her courage soar through the roof. She walked toward the handle and opened the door.
Behind those doors was darkness. So dark, she could not see even an inch past the threshold, despite the doors standing wide open. She hesitated slightly before taking a single step inside. The instant her whole body crossed through, the doors slammed shut behind her, plunging her into absolute darkness.
'Huh… am I falling?'
She felt her body dropping, yet at the same time lifting upward and being dragged sideways. And yet, she knew her feet had not left the ground.
'W-what is going on?'
she whispered, though the sound disappeared into the void. Her senses spun wildly. When she stepped forward, she felt herself move backward, and forward, and sideways all at once. Even when she forced both her minds to focus, the result was the same.
'Is… space distorting? Just… where am I?'
Her thoughts were raging in confusion.
"Thump."
She suddenly heard a heartbeat. The moment it sounded, blinding pain surged through her entire body. She screamed, but no sound left her throat. Then, suddenly, the pain vanished just as soon as it came.
'Am… am I dead?'
Strangely, her mind felt lighter, as if something heavy had been stripped away.
'Huh… where am I?'
Darkness still surrounded her. Her senses were still scattering, slipping in and out of reason. Then music began to play, a soft, calm melody that soothed her chaotic thoughts.
"…oh right… I was sent to destroy the heart of a giant…"
'…what? How did she even forget?'
She took a step. Again the heartbeat sounded, louder than before, and agony tore through her. The music in the background strengthened, as if competing with the heartbeat to see what could be louder. She staggered forward.
'.....Where am I?' Her mind suddenly felt foggy again.
She looked around, only to be met with darkness again. When her mind refocused on the music, she remembered.
"Ah… I was sent here to free Rethen…"
'Right…'
Step after step, the cycle repeated. Whenever she heard the heartbeat, pain followed through, and whenever the pain subsided, her mind was fragmented and filled with confusion. She had no idea how long she had been in this state, but it felt like an eternity.
".... Where am I?"
Confused, she lifted her head, and this time saw a faint light in the distance. It was warm and felt soft.
She walked toward it, slowly, not noticing her surroundings shifting. Eventually she reached the source of the glow and stopped.
In front of her was a lake. A still, pitch-black lake.
'Is the light coming from the bottom…?'
The heartbeat pulsed again, but this time no pain followed, only a burst of warmth.
"I… need to go toward that light."
She stepped into the lake, and the water swallowed her. She didn't care. When walking was no longer enough, she swam, her fish-like arms cutting through the water, propelling her closer.
'Ah… so bright…'
At the bottom was a miniature sun, blazing fiercely. Its light seared her skin, but the surrounding water seemed to protect her, although barely.
Her sword suddenly glowed.
"Ah… a glowing sword? Why do I have this…?"
The moment she wondered, her purpose surged back into her mind.
"Right… I am here to destroy the heart of a giant, in order to free Rethen, son of Nether and the Goddess of Black Skies… Herald of Disaster…"
She thrust the sword toward the tiny sun. Her arm burned away instantly, yet the blade continued forward, dissolving into the core. Despite losing her arm, she smiled, her empty gaze looking at the glowing sword being swallowed by the miniature sun.
[Your memory has been destroyed.]
The moment she heard the spell's voice, she snapped out of the trance.
'Huh…?'
Before she could process anything, another voice thundered through the void. It was ancient, familiar, powerful, so powerful her soul trembled with dread. But the voice seemed to be screaming, wailing in agony.
"In the end I could not free you… what have you done, child of the sea, what have you done!? Could you not have listened to me?"
'W-what?' For some reason, her heart twisted in guilt, as if she had done something wrong.
The surrounding darkness twisted.
Suddenly a Fogg was lifted of her mind.
'Where am I?… I… was just entering the tower, no? Why am I suddenly—'
"I am here to free the Herald of Disaster."
Her remaining hand flew to her mouth.
'What am I saying? Who's the Herald of Disaster… how am I talking underwater? How am I breathing underwater??'
She had no time to question it. The miniature sun dimmed rapidly. Chains she had not noticed wrapped around it, chains that dissolved into dust as the light faded.
When the glow finally died, she heard the spell whisper:
[You have slain a supreme beast, Guardian of Disaster.]
[You have received a Memory…]
'Huh…?'
She had killed a supreme beast?
'Was that light… the heart of the giant?'
"Next heart!"
Her hand snapped up again to cover her mouth.
'Next heart…? Why do I feel like something is wrong here?'
She blinked, and suddenly she was outside again.
A vast crater of darkness lay behind her.
"Huh? Where did the tower go?"
Her hand clamped over her mouth again.
Just what was happening to her? Why did she not have any control over her mouth? Why did she feel like she had done something wrong by destroying the heart of the giant? Who was this Herald of Disaster? She had so many questions.
Suddenly she was assaulted by flashes of images. As the images played out, she understood what had happened to her.
'Oh… oh no… no, no…' the worst of the worst had happened.
'Urg… I was so stupid, I was soo stupid!!! How could I have trusted it… Rethen… I will kill you.'
The images were fragments of her memory, they had shown her why her mind was so disoriented, why her body, despite her arm being burnt off, didn't feel any pain, why she had no control of her mouth.
Her other half had been taken over.