I will not die a Villainess's death

"It's enough playing around. You should go back and rest your body now. The final calamity is fast approaching"

The final calamity was something that Elysia had not thought about much. Mainly because there had been no available information on the subject. All she knew about it was that it was an incredibly difficult trail this world must go through.

Ancient mother, the one who created all these worlds, had not told Elysia much about it. In her words, it was something Elysia would need to experience herself to know what it meant.

And once the final calamity had passed, a new world will be birthed under Elysia's control.

"I understand that you are worried. And don't worry about me and my body. I will go and rest soon enough. The mortal world no longer holds any attachment for me."

Elysia was no longer the emotional girl she had once been. She had attained enlightenment when her emotions had been strained and now she was more than capable of letting go of things.

It did not matter that her eyes and her heart kept on turning back toward the people inside the pool. It was a mere temptation she would soon forget about.

"I hope that is the case. Especially for your case, Elysia. I don't want to see you suffer anymore."

Had anyone else heard Axia's words, they might have taken it as genuine fondness and kindness. Axia was someone capable of sounding innocent when he wanted after all.

But Elysia could see past his façade and into the hollowness that made up Axia. This man did not care about anything as long as he could fulfill his mission. And Elysia was sure she would become the same as him soon.

They both stood still for a minute, just staring at each other. And then the space's whiteness was again broken by a golden light. This time, it was a small bird that flew toward Axia and landed on his shoulder.

'The messenger', Elysia's mind supplied her with that answer just when she thought about it.

The messenger was a spiritual beast given to Axia to help him out by his mother. It was a strong ancient beast capable of crossing dimensions.

"Looks like my time here is up. I shall see you again, Elysia Dirac, and this time it will be when you are ready to be reborn."

Elysia's heart gave a painful tug as she heard those words. She had not realized it before, but she almost felt afraid of the future.

As someone who had let go of all lingering attachments, it should no longer matter to Elysia what happened to her. She should be glad for a chance to improve herself. But she still found herself to be afraid for some reason.

'Do I not want to forget these memories? The more I forget, the more relief I feel inside my soul. But it also hurts for some reason.'

Elysia could tell that she had tried to hold on long ago. But her resistance had eroded over time and left her as a blank note in this vast sea of white.

'I wish I could see you one last time. Maybe then I will have my answers?'

But even as Elysia wished for this, she knew that it was a passing wish that would not come to pass. After all, she had her role to play in this world and there was a role made specifically for her - the sacrifice.

////////////////////////////////////////////

"Lord Lucas, Lady Sara is here to see you. Should we let them come in?"

Lucas Dirac looked toward the servant but she did not budge. The servants were getting bolder and bolder by the day, not even flinching when he glared at them could make them back down.

They were also getting smarter, ignoring the uninvited guest's presence in the room. It was their cleverness that would allow them to live for a long time.

"You can send Sara in."

Out of everyone, Sara was the last person Lucas expected to be visited by. Especially in these busy times and Lucas was curious to hear her out.

But when she walked through the door, she was not alone. The other two children (because they were too young to be called anything else.) looked uncomfortable as they walked into the room.

Lucas had never seen clothes like those before, which made him suspicious, but Noctis tensed at his side, giving him  pause.

And suddenly, Lucas had a feeling he knew where these kids had come from. They were from Noctis's original world.

"Hey, I know you both. But how did you get here? Is there a way to return home then?"

Coincidentally, it seemed like Enma knew them as well. He sounded surprised by not being very clear in his words.

The girl in the pair looked a little taken aback by the enthusiasm in Enma's voice and she took a step back but the boy looked to be frozen. He was looking at Noctis with wide eyes and Noctis stared right back at him.

No one else noticed it before, but they both had similar features.

"Brother, what the hell? You were here all this time?"

Noctis jumped out of the way of a punch rather elegantly. It was turning out to be a small fight in front of his eyes. They were both fighting with each other and the room was turning inside out now.

Under other circumstances, this fight would have been something Lucas would have allowed to continue. But time was of the essence now.

And then Adrian started crying, his small lungs increasing in volume every second which caused everyone else to put a hand on their ears to keep his incredible volume out.

The one who was the most irritated by this was Lucas. He was sick and annoyed by the fighting going on in front of him. Especially since it was affecting the baby in his lap as well.

Adrian did deserve to be caught up in this fight. The kid had nothing to do with what was going on and he was also the only connection Elysia Lucas had.

No one saw it coming when Lucas exploded out of the blue. One second everyone was fighting, and the next they were sitting on the ground while covering their heads. No one wanted to be the first one to pick their heads up.

"You all, calm down. If Adrian ends up not sleeping today then I will kill you all. You better pray Adrian is in a good mood and clams down soon."

No one could lift their head and look Lucas in the eye. He was almost like the devil when he glared everyone down.

But still, there was one person who found Lucas's anger to be funny and that was Adrian. He stopped crying and turned toward Lucas with a giggle on his lips.

Everyone else could only watch with their heart caught in their throat. They were expecting to be killed, not to be spared like this. They had to thank Adrian for their lives being spared.

"Ah, that reminds me. How did you both get here? The world-preservation force should be in effect and no human should be allowed to slip past it."

Noctis asked this question as one asked about the weather. He seemed to not be worried about what was going on at all while everyone else was holding their breath.

And it was also because of his question that everyone else realized this important information.

Noctis had also forgotten it, but it had taken so much firepower to cross the world when he did it. It had also taken quite a few sacrifices on the way.

But now, it seemed almost like child's play. First Enma, then Elysia, and now these two people. It wounded his heart to see it happen.

"It was not easy but the rift made it possible. That, and the fact that Elysia had my ribbon with her. Actually, we are here to meet her if possible. So can we know where she is?"

Serina's voice was calm but excited at the notion of meeting Elysia again. She had been waiting for this chance forever and now it was finally here.

She did not catch the sudden change in mood that occurred but Lexus did. He was not aware of what happened but he had a feeling that it was not good for him.

Still, he had to ask this question and make sure to get his answer  - what happened to Elysia?

"Elysia is…no longer here. We don't know what happened to her or where she went. All we know is that she erased her memories before disappearing forever. Even we are trying to chase her right now."

Serina's excitement disappeared into dread as soon as she heard those words. She had never expected herself to feel this dejected before but it seemed as if her heart was sinking.

Elysia was missing?