Chapter 36: Morgana's Final Test and the Spiritual Defeat of Liva
The Hard Decision of Dawn
It was dawn when the first light of the Black Forest appeared, looking like the rays of death. Morgana and Liva's mother woke from their demonic sleep. Morgana walked toward Diari and Rina, whose bodies were almost fading into their souls because of the chain. Morgana stood over them and said with a cold voice: "Yes, the time for sacrifice has finally come. Liva, my daughter, give the dagger to Rina." With a smirk, Liva placed the poisoned dagger in Rina's hand and said: "Take it! Sacrifice him, you weak, worthless nuisance! What are you even proud of? Of Diari? Of your father? Of who?? Hahaha! Truly pathetic, you failure."
In her heart, Rina spoke a voice only she could hear: "Liva, keep barking until morning, I won't listen to you. Your silence is the flame in my heart. As they say, the one who stays silent will burst the one who makes noise. Keep talking to yourself." Morgana added: "Rina, if you stab this dagger into Diari's heart, not only you and your father will be saved, but your mark will return to you. If not, by noon, all three of you will be nothing but ashes."
The Painful Silence of Diari
Diari looked at Rina; his eyes held nothing but love and sacrifice. He looked extremely weak and exhausted, almost dying from the pain, but he kept saying to himself: "I must be strong, I must not give up for Rina. We must win. We promised to stay together through good and bad times." Diari said with a thin, raspy voice: "Rina... do it. I am ready. My life is nothing compared to your power. Do it, please. I know you will all be at peace and saved. Do it." A tear from Diari fell onto the red chain. He was truly ready to be the sacrifice just so Rina could stand on her feet once again.
The Unexpected Reaction of Rina
Rina picked up the dagger, her hands trembling. Liva, her mother, and Morgana watched eagerly. Liva said: "Yes, we did it! We won!" They thought Rina had surrendered. Rina looked at the dagger and then at Morgana. Suddenly, Rina did not stab Diari; instead, with all her strength, she struck the red chain between them and wounded her own hand so that her blood would fall onto the chain. Rina screamed: "You are fools! Sacrifice is not our weakness; it is our weapon! Diari and I will not die; we have decided to live and die together!"
The Shattered Pride of Morgana and Liva
When Morgana saw that her magic couldn't force Rina to kill her friend, her face changed into something even more terrifying. Liva went mad and started screaming. She went to Rina and yelled: "Why don't you die? Why don't you fall to your knees?" But Rina, covered in blood, gave a smile that made Liva tremble to her core. Liva's mother realized that the war of "Weakening" had failed. Not only were they not weakened, but the souls of Rina and Diari were now more like steel than ever before.
End of the Chapter: Toward the Cemetery of Shadows
Liva's mother said angrily: "Enough, Morgana! Stop these games. Since they want to die together, take them to the Cemetery of Shadows. Let them rot there among the pain of thousands of lost souls." Rina, Diari, and the father were dragged toward a deeper, more terrifying depth. When Rina looked back, she saw her father thanking her with his eyes for not surrendering to the demons. Rina said in her heart: "You are taking us to a cemetery? Fine... but be sure it will be your cemetery, not ours."
Written by: Dlin_myth