Souls Online: Mythic Ascension-Chapter 266: Come back to me

Everyone naturally turned their head to Lily. Had she managed to get a lucky shot? However, the girl in question only floated a small but undeniable smile.

"It wasn’t me~" She remarked, her glowing green eyes filling with relief as Luna slowly turned her head to face where the shot had come from and then froze.

With the barrel of the gun still smoking from the shot, Leo knelt on the ground, pointing it at his sister.

"Sis you really fucked him up good huh..." Leo’s smile was pained as he glanced at the remains of the Demon of Light. He didn’t comment on her appearance nor did he yell at her to stop. He had total faith in her that deep down she was still in there.

And that she would never harm him.

Luna raised her claws and let out a demonic screech in his direction but she made no move towards him. Rather she tried but her feet remained locked in place, almost as if her body was not listening to her.

Leo didn’t flinch. He slowly rose to his feet, keeping the gun steady as he walked a few steps closer. His movements were calm, deliberate. Each one said he wasn’t afraid.

"Come on, Luna," he said softly. "You can fight this. I know you can. You’re still in there."

Luna’s screech died into a low growl. Her body twitched violently, claws scraping the stone beneath her. Her eyes flared crimson, veins bulging across her face as something inside her struggled for control. One step forward. Then another. But her legs trembled, locked in resistance.

Behind Leo, the others stayed frozen, watching in disbelief. Greg tightened his fists, unsure if he should leap to defend Leo or trust him to reach her. Crystal looked between them, tears welling in her eyes. Aria gripped her cloak tightly to keep herself from rushing in.

Arachne watched with quiet disdain, her arms crossed, bone-like limbs poised but still. "Foolish," she muttered under her breath.

Lily didn’t speak. She just kept her weapon at the ready, her eyes fixed on Luna’s every movement.

"You remember me, don’t you?" Leo said, his voice soft. "It’s me. It’s your little brother. You used to carry me on your back when I scraped my knees. You used to scream at Dad for taking your pudding even when you knew it was me who did it."

Luna’s claws dropped a few inches. Her mouth twitched. Not quite a snarl. Not quite a scream. Something between.

"You used to scare off bullies just by glaring at them," Leo continued, taking another step forward. "You were the strongest person I knew. Still are. So don’t let this thing win. Don’t let it take you from us."

Luna’s head jerked violently to the side. Her breath came in ragged, unnatural gasps. One of her hands clutched her chest as if she were trying to rip something out. Her feet still refused to move.

Then she let out a guttural scream, part agony, part rage. Her body convulsed, and for a split second, her eyes flickered. Just for a moment, they softened. Still glowing red, but no longer wild.

"Leo...?"

Her voice was raw, pained as if she was seeing a dream before death, afraid that it would burst like a bubble and her pain would begin anew

Leo’s breath caught in his throat.

That one word shattered the tension around them like glass.

"I’m here," he said, stepping closer. His voice shook now, just a little, but he didn’t stop. "You’re not dreaming. You’re not gone. You’re still here, Luna."

Luna’s body continued to tremble. Her claws scraped against the stone floor as if she was trying to push herself back, to resist the thing inside her that pulled her toward madness. Her other hand dug into the floor, cracking it, muscles seizing and spasming. Her face twisted between rage and sorrow, caught in a silent war with herself.

Behind Leo, no one dared to move. Crystal clasped her hands together at her chest, silently praying. Aria had tears running down her cheeks, her song faltering in her throat. Even Arachne, arms still folded, stared with narrowed eyes, watching for any sign of a turn.

Luna looked up again, and in that brief moment, her lips moved as if trying to speak again.

But the change came first.

The light in her eyes flared, blood red and too bright. Her body seized up like a puppet yanked by tangled strings. The moment of humanity snapped like a twig. Her mouth opened in a scream, deeper and more guttural than before. A voice echoed with it, layered over hers. Something old and vile. Something that wasn’t her.

Leo’s hand tightened around the grip of the gun.

He didn’t raise it.

He stepped closer instead.

"Luna," he said again, louder now. "I don’t care what’s trying to take you. You’re still my sister. And I’m not going to let you go. Even if you try to tear me apart."

Luna snarled, baring her teeth, but her claws trembled. Her body jerked forward, only for her knees to slam into the ground like they were being dragged down by chains.

She was resisting.

She was still in there.

And Leo’s words were holding her to the surface, even as the abyss clawed her back.

came in ragged gasps, ragged and uneven, as if she were fighting an invisible weight pressing down on her chest. Her eyes, still glowing red, flickered erratically, wild and untamed one moment, then filled with a flicker of recognition the next.

Her voice cracked as she finally spoke, raw and broken. "I thought it killed you."

She swallowed hard, as if the words themselves were painful to say. "I couldn’t see. I was powerless. I thought I lost you forever."

Tears welled in her eyes, spilling over and tracing paths down her cheeks as her sobs shook her frame. "I tried to fight, but it was too strong. I couldn’t protect you. I failed."

She collapsed onto her knees, her hands digging into the ground as she sobbed uncontrollably. The black veins that had crept across her skin began to fade, the darkness receding as her real self fought to resurface. Her tears fell freely now, full of anguish and relief.

Leo took a slow step forward, lowering himself to kneel beside her. His voice was gentle, steady. "I’m still here, Luna. I never left. You didn’t fail. You protected me more than you know."

He reached out, placing a firm, comforting hand on her shoulder. "We’ll get through this together. You’re not alone."

Luna’s sobs deepened, but a fragile hope blossomed in her eyes. She clung to him, the sister he knew shining faintly through the shattered remnants of the corrupted shell.

Luna’s sobs shook her body, the raw pain in her voice filling the heavy air. Leo kept his hand steady on her shoulder, offering what little comfort he could. For a moment, hope flickered in the eyes of those watching.

Then, Arachne stepped forward, her bone-like limbs scraping sharply against the stone floor. Her voice cut through the quiet like ice. "This isn’t over yet," she said coldly, eyes fixed on Luna. "The Abomination inside her still lives, and it will remain a threat to her and everyone else until she kills it with her own hands...or herself."

Her words hung heavy, a stark reminder of the battle still ahead. The room seemed to grow colder, the fragile peace wavering.

Arachne’s eyes locked onto Luna, unblinking and sharp as shards of ice. Her voice dropped even lower, the weight of her words sinking into the silence like a stone into deep water.

"You’re too weak to beat it now," she said plainly, folding her bone-like arms across her chest. "But I can buy you time."

She stepped closer, drawing strange symbols in the air with her clawed fingers. The runes glowed faintly, flickering with an eerie light that seemed to pulse against the cold stone floor.

"I will seal part of your soul where the Abomination resides. It won’t destroy it, only trap it. A temporary cage to hold it back."

Luna, still on her knees, blinked through the tears, her chest rising and falling with ragged breaths. The weight of the truth hit her like a crushing wave, but there was no choice.

Arachne continued, her voice sharp and resolute. "The seal will not hold forever. You must find the strength to break it yourself. To face it. Otherwise, it will consume you and everything around you."

Leo’s hand remained steady on Luna’s shoulder. "We’ll stand with you when that time comes," he said softly, "but this battle is yours to fight."

Luna swallowed hard, the tremors in her body slowly steadied by the fragile thread of hope weaving through her sobs. She nodded faintly, a fragile promise flickering in her eyes amidst the fading darkness.

The room remained heavy with tension, the calm before the storm. The war inside Luna was far from over, but for now, a small breath of peace had been won.

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