Souls Online: Mythic Ascension-Chapter 268: Where she once was

[System Anomalies Supressed.]

[Reintializing System Protocols]

[Task Completed.]

[Reinitializing Damage Tracking]

[Task Completed.]

[Reintializing Respawn Function....]

[Task Failed. Retrying....]

[Task is Unable to be Completed.]

[Analysing Cause.]

[Source of Error Detected.]

[Raid Dungeon: The Procession Gathers is not contained entirely with the System.]

[Determining Alternatives....]

[Solution Found. Compensation shall be given to Players attempting to clear the Raid Dungeon]

The series of system messages was both confusing and alarming.

A low hum lingered in the silence, something between static and breath. The chains were gone. The light had vanished. But none of them moved. Not yet.

Adam stirred.

His fingers twitched against the stone floor. Then again. A low, pained sound escaped his throat as he drew in a shaky breath. His brow furrowed, muscles tense like he had fought his way back from something deep and dark.

His eyes opened.

Unfocused at first, then slowly sharpening. His lips parted.

"...Penny?"

She was already there, dropping to her knees beside him with a soft cry. She reached out and cradled his face in her hands, brushing her thumbs gently along his cheekbones.

"I’m here," she said, her voice thick. "I’m right here."

His gaze found hers, confused and raw.

"You’re safe?" he asked.

Penny nodded quickly. "You made sure of it."

He exhaled slowly, the tension in his chest loosening. His eyes drifted toward the ceiling again, then back to her.

"What happened?" he asked.

Penny hesitated.

What could she say? It all had happened so fast and even though she had witnessed it, experienced it, some part of her didnt believe what happened to be real.

Greg was the one who took the initiative to explain.

"Long story short is after that Demon went full nuke on us and took you out, Leo was also knocked out protecting Lily."

He scratched his cheek as he struggled to come up with the words to describe what happened next.

Crystal decided to continue the story.

"Luna thought Leo was dead amd snapped."

Adam frowned. "What do you mean snapped?"

"I mean she was crying and laughing before she charged it alone."

Greg nodded grimly. "Yeah. She lost it. She went full reckless, swinging at it like it was the only thing left. It became a total predator vs prey situation..."

Adam opened his mouth slowly as if he was about tonaks a question but Greg answered it for him.

"She was the predator."

Rachel then stepped up and joined in on the storytelling.

"Yeah once that monster was squished like a bug beneath her boots, she wasn’t done. She attacked us."

Adam’s jaw dropped as Leo’s harsh interruption came out as a growl.

"Watch what you say Rachel..."

"What? It’s the truth isn’t it? Some Demon got inside of her head and she tried to kill us. If it weren’t for the Old Man, Lily and Arachne, we might have been dead."

Greg’s gaze hardened at Leo’s warning, but he didn’t back down. "She was dangerous, no doubt. We barely managed to keep her from tearing us apart."

Crystal nodded, her eyes flickering with a mix of fear and sadness. "It wasn’t Luna anymore. The corruption had twisted her, made her something else."

Leo’s shoulders relaxed a fraction, though the tension lingered in his jaw. He glanced over at Luna, who still leaned heavily against him, eyes red and tired.

"She’s been through hell," Leo finally said, voice low. "But she fought for us. Even when she wasn’t herself."

Adam took a deep, shaky breath, processing everything. His eyes drifted toward Luna, still close to Leo, her face pale and tear-streaked.

He closed his eyes for a moment, then tried something. He reached inward, searching the dark corners of his mind for a flicker of Arachne’s presence. Arachne? The thought was almost a prayer. But silence answered him. No whisper. No sign.

He opened his eyes again, brow furrowed.

"She’s not responding," he said quietly.

Each party members expression twisted slightly. They each had regrets and no one knew how to break the news to him.

However Penny had a promise to fulfill and she was going to keep her word.

"She was taken away," Penny said softly, swallowing hard as she met Adam’s eyes. "Confined in the Hall of Punishment for one hundred days."

Adam’s fingers dug into the rotten wood beneath him, splinters pressing against his skin. The roughness grounded him, but his mind felt strangely hollow. The absence of Arachne, the companion who had lived within his mind, left a quiet too deep to ignore.

At first, it was just a faint emptiness, like a space left unfilled. Then the silence pressed in, heavy and cold. The low hum that had filled the air moments before faded, replaced by a stillness that seemed to stretch endlessly.

Adam’s breath caught in his throat. His head felt too quiet, too vast without her presence threading through it. A slow, creeping loneliness settled inside him, subtle but unmistakable.

He swallowed hard, voice barely above a whisper. "It is too quiet."

Penny reached out, her hand resting gently on his arm.

"She saved all of us. She gave all of us hope. A chance for Luna to have a future again..."

Greg looked away, the weight of the truth pressing down on him. "She bought us time but the cost was hers alone." frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓

Crystal’s voice was soft, trembling just slightly. "We do not know what happens after the hundred days. It could be worse."

Luna shifted closer to Leo, clutching his arm tightly. "The seal she made for me is holding for now."

"So we just need to make sure you are strong enough to kick that Demons ass!"

Leo replied, his voice full of confidence that she would and could kick its ass given enough time. Something he hoped they wouldn’t be short on.

Penny hesitated a moment, then spoke softly, "Adam, I have a message for you from Arachne."

Adam’s brow furrowed, eyes searching hers. "A message?"

She nodded, her voice barely above a whisper.

"She asked me to tell you not to miss her too much when you wake."

Adam blinked, the loneliness tightening in his chest. He swallowed again, struggling to steady himself.

Penny gave a faint, sad smile.

"She really cares about you. I can tell..."

"Mhm."

Adam grunted softly in agreement. He knew that and despite all the sass and backtalk, he cared about her just as much.

The silence returned, deeper than before.

Outside, beyond their sight, a faint flicker of golden light shimmered once more, a quiet reminder that the reckoning was far from over.

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