Chapter 269: Chaska's Awakening
A torrent of energy erupted from Chaska, utterly alien to the power she normally commanded in battle. It was a darker, more chaotic force, seething with an aura of destruction and a terrifying loss of control.
This was the very root of her affliction. Corroded by the Abyss in her childhood, she had been lucky to survive, but the taint had fused itself into her bloodline, into the very source of her power, making it impossible to ever truly separate.
Usually, she kept it suppressed with her formidable will and the strength drawn from ancient names. But now, in the moment her mind had faltered, it had finally, completely, burst forth.
"Sister!" Chuychu, having just regained a sliver of consciousness, cried out weakly at the sight.
Paimon was startled by the sudden turn of events. She instinctively summoned the small, silver construct of light again, preparing to unleash a purifying blast. "Chaska, what's wrong with you, too?! Paimon's gonna have to fix this!"
"Wait! Paimon!" Chuychu, however, used every ounce of her newly recovered strength to stop her, her hand rising feebly as if to block Paimon's path. "Don't… Don't be hasty… Sister… she… she has to overcome this herself… Let her try… Trust her…"
Paimon held the shimmering light construct aloft, her small face a mask of confusion and urgency. "Huh? But… but she looks like she's in so much pain! And that power is so evil!"
In her mind, any energy from the Abyss was something to be purified on sight.
Chuychu shook her head. Though her body was weak, her eyes were exceptionally clear and firm. She gazed at her sister, who was writhing within the storm of Abyssal energy, her face contorted in agony. "That's a part of her," she whispered. "It's a trial of the heart she has to solve on her own… She has to learn to control it herself…"
Though she didn't understand, Paimon saw the unwavering conviction in Chuychu's eyes and reluctantly lowered her hand, causing the light construct to dissipate. Still, she hovered nervously nearby, poised to intervene at a moment's notice.
At that moment, Chaska was drowning in the boundless pain of a mental storm and a backlash of her own power.
The nightmares of her childhood, the brutality of the battlefield, the crushing weight of her responsibility to protect—and now, the extreme fear and self-loathing from almost losing the person she loved most… every negative emotion she had buried deep within her soul was ignited and amplified by the rampaging Abyssal energy, which sought to drag her into an eternal, lightless abyss.
Just then, Chuychu gathered what little strength she possessed and, with the loudest and firmest voice she could muster, shouted at the dark-shrouded figure of her sister.
"Sister—! Look at me! I'm fine! Listen to me, learn to control your emotions! You don't need to blame yourself! That pain and all those negative feelings are just obstacles on your path! Don't let them trap you! You are the bravest warrior of the Kapo-Chiri! You must transcend them!"
Chuychu's voice, like a sunbeam piercing the darkest storm clouds, like a clarion call across a chaotic battlefield, sliced through the cacophony of negative emotions and struck deep into Chaska's mind.
'Transcend… them…'
A flicker of struggle appeared on Chaska's twisted face. In her eyes, which had been swallowed by darkness, a faint glimmer of light seemed to ignite.
She remembered her vow—the one she made to protect her sister and her tribe. She remembered the unyielding will of her Natlan ancestors, who had fought against their fate for five hundred long years…
"Ugh… Ahh… AHHHH—!"
A roar, even more pained than before, tore from her throat. But this time, it was not merely the agony of corrosion. It was the sound of a desperate, furious resolve—the will to shatter her shackles, to be reborn from the ashes.
After what felt like a century compressed into a few suffocating seconds, the wildly surging Abyssal energy began to slowly, grudgingly, retract. Like a great beast finally brought to heel, it coiled back into Chaska's body.
The dark aura surrounding her gradually receded. Though her face was still pale, clarity returned to her eyes, which now shone with a depth and firmness that hadn't been there before.
She had succeeded.
Guided by her sister's call and fueled by her own tenacious will, she had, for the first time, truly suppressed and gained initial control over the 'curse' that had shadowed her entire life.
The moment her power settled, the first thing Chaska did was stumble forward. With all her strength, she once again pulled the weak but truly, miraculously alive Chuychu into a tight, desperate embrace.
Her hug was so forceful it was as if she wanted to merge her sister into her very bones and blood. Her body trembled with the aftershocks of fear and exhilaration, as if she had truly lost her completely only to find her again, and now she couldn't bear to let go for even an instant.
"Chuychu… Chuychu…" she murmured, calling her sister's name again and again. Her voice was hoarse and thick with a heavy, post-sobbing nasal tone, yet it was filled with the deep relief of surviving a catastrophe and an endless, tender love.
Just then, another anomaly occurred.
A soft, warm light began to glow from Chaska's chest.
The light gradually spread, coalescing into a distinct, humanoid figure of light beside her. It was a phantom, dressed in the traditional attire of the Kapo-Chiri, with resolute and wise eyes—the manifested will of Menelik, the Kapo-Chiri hero from five hundred years ago.
Menelik's spectral gaze swept over the tightly embracing sisters, finally resting on Chaska, whose aura had calmed and whose eyes were now firm. He spoke slowly, his voice rich with the emotion of one who had witnessed ages pass, as if his words were crossing a five-hundred-year gulf of time.
"Life is not fair. She has carried many misfortunes since childhood, and every step forward has been a torment. Perhaps compromising with the pain would have been a better choice, but she never gave up. And so, that pain became the stepping stones on her path."
"Suffering is worth remembering, but never worth glorifying. I leave the suffering of my life as an epitaph, to commemorate that I once endured it, and to commemorate that I—'transcended' it."
These words, like a final recognition and coronation, were etched deeply into Chaska's heart.
"Chaska!" Paimon zipped over, her small face filled with shock and dawning realization. She pointed a trembling finger at Menelik's phantom, her voice brimming with surprise and joy. "You… you're the sixth hero Mavuika's plan has been looking for! Oh my goodness! This is great! All six heroes are finally gathered! Natlan has hope!"
Chaska looked at the phantom of her ancestor beside her, feeling the new power within her—a power now more intimately connected to the ancient name she bore. A flash of understanding and astonishment crossed her eyes.
It turned out that the part of herself she had always resisted, the part she had feared, was the very key to fulfilling her mission and transcending her own limits.
Chuychu, still held in her sister's arms, looked utterly bewildered. She stared at the ancestral phantom, then listened to Paimon's excited words, completely lost. "The sixth… hero? Sister? What… plan?"
She knew nothing of the five-hundred-year-old plan, a secret vital to the nation's destiny, to gather the power of six great heroes.
Paimon gesticulated wildly. "Oh, that's a long story! In short, it's good news! Great news!"
She looked from the still-weak Chuychu to the emotionally drained Chaska and clapped her hands together. "Since that's the case, you two should hurry to the Holy Fire Arena!"
"Mavuika and Mualani must be waiting for you! They'll definitely be very, very happy to see the sixth hero appear! Leave this place to us!"
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