The Game Before the Fall

Chapter 71: The story after the End. (Part 2)

**

When I opened my eyes, I was in an unfamiliar room, lying down in a soft bed. A brief look around told me I was in a hospital of some kind. There was barely a sound aside from the occasional beep of the machine I was attached to. Someone had changed my bandages and clothes, and I was alone. From the looks of it however, visitors had been here recently.

I tried to lift my body and to my surprise found I could. My muscles were still strained, but as I was, I could move myself with relative ease. I took a moment to close my eyes and focus on my spiritual side. My mana circuits were torn apart and needed to be repaired. It was clear I had overblown them. The only reason they were still something functioning was my Mana Heart which continued to balance my Aura and mana. My internal energy that governed everything was as I expected but the problem was the strange sensation attached to it. There was Kazu's soul fragment still hanging about, but there was another link that felt similar to Aura. Aura was the power of my soul and for it to be similar... it was the power of someone else's... the Faceless King.

Currently the pathway was barely ajar, a small swirl of the Faceless King's power circulated inside me. I frowned. The power felt clean. If anything, it was most likely the reason I had recovered as quickly as I did. I couldn't feel an urge to kill, destroy, sacrifice anything or anyone and I wasn't about to laugh like a madman. At the moment however it was just a small amount... there was no telling where it could go from here. I wanted to believe, like Crozen and the other demons with him, I'd stay sane, but the doubt was still there, itching at the back of my mind.

The door at the other end of the private room suddenly opened. I hadn't sensed a thing. Was it because of my injuries... or was it their abilities?"

A women entered, just as tall as the two Oni that flanked her. She wore an incredibly intricate robe that folded around her body, adorned with laces of gold. A fan held in one hand covered the bottom of her face. I immediately recognised her as the Oni's Maiden.

"Ardent Friend," she snapped the fan shut as she approached the bed. "Or should I call you Ardy Boy?"

I eyed her back as she did me, "Call me what you like. Shall I call you Maiden?"

"That is my preferred title," she waved and one of the Oni behind her placed a chair beside her as she gracefully descended upon it. "Now, how about we have a chat?"

"I feel like I'm not getting a choice here."

"You are not," she fanned herself, smirking. "What happened in Celestia? What did you do to change the demons so much?"

"Where's my daughter?" I purposefully didn't answer her question, returning with my own.

The Maiden frowned, fan coming to a halt, "She is not your daughter. I am her only family left here."

"Ria is my daughter," I put emphasis on my words. "I swore an oath to protect and care for her."

For a moment the tension in the room rose to the point of snapping. My eyes carefully took in the space, the exits I could use, what weapons existed and how the guards and Maiden would move. I'd do it. Despite my current state, if needed, I'd break out and take Ria with me regardless of the chaos that I may cause, and she knew it. Finally she sighed, her fan moving once more,

"Your daughter is being kept safe alongside mine."

"Good," I replied sternly.

She began pointedly, "Now tell me, what did you do?"

"I alongside your Ardent defeated Kazu."

"Oh, I know that," she smirked. "It was an amazing fight. Quite the spectacle. What I am more curious about however is what happened after, why did you disappear and more importantly, who was the Witch that took you away?" Her eyes flashed crimson and I was reminded about her fervency towards Witches and the reason Endi died.