Kurayami stood once again before Vitae. She watched him intently, with that gaze that seemed to pierce the very soul.
Yet this time, he wasn't there by choice. Though he had never wished to return to that place, now something compelled him. He didn't understand why, but his body seemed to obey a force beyond his will, pushing him to remain before her.
"Kurayami… in the end, the small gem within your heart broke, didn't it?" Vitae said, her voice carrying a melancholic echo.
"Yes… I'm sorry. I couldn't keep my promise."
She sighed softly, her words wrapped in a sad tenderness.
"It's alright. It wasn't your fault. After all, I couldn't help you as I should have either. But now it's time to rest, don't you think?"
Kurayami lowered his gaze, the weight of guilt pressing against his chest.
"Yes… but there's still something… something I might still be able to do…"
Vitae shook her head gently, her expression serene and final.
"No. He's about to awaken very soon. But it was a pleasure being with you. Even though I was the one who created you, it was thrilling to see you fight… to see you live."
With a solemn gesture, Vitae shattered the last chains that bound her to the massive door. Her arms opened, and she stepped forward, embracing Kurayami in silence—a hug filled with gratitude, farewell, and affection.
Kurayami felt her warmth… but also the inevitable fading. As she held him close, he began to dissolve slowly into the darkness.
The immense door she had guarded for countless ages opened with a deep, thunderous rumble. Beyond it appeared a young man, suspended in the air, bound by thick, ancient chains that cracked like glass under pressure.
Finally, the young man fell to the ground. The entire place began to shake and collapse, walls cracking, the echo of the end resonating through every corner. Vitae, from outside the door, smiled one last time as her body began to fade into glittering dust.
"You're free now, Kurayami… I'm sorry for having used your body all this time…"
And then—the real Kurayami awoke.
He opened his eyes sharply and realized he was tied to an iron chair. His hands and feet were shackled by dark chains that mercilessly drained his magical power. He tried to break free, but they were too strong—and he, too weak.
"What…? Where am I? Where's my mom? Mom?!" he screamed in desperation, his voice cracking with fear.
A sharp, mocking laugh echoed through the shadows.
"Mom?" repeated a female voice, dripping with venom. "Are you serious, hero? Can't you see where you are? Stop calling for others. It makes me jealous… because now you're mine. My toy."
Kurayami struggled against his restraints.
"Who are you? Where am I?! Let me go, I have to find her!"
The figure stepped into the candlelight, her feminine silhouette outlined against the damp darkness of the dungeon.
"No, no, no…" she sang in a playful, cruel tone. "You can't leave yet. You and I are just getting started. Look at all these toys the God of Death gave me… they're all for you. So stay still, because we're going to have fun. And you can call me… Koharu."
Beside her, on a rotted wooden table, lay an array of torture tools—pliers, blades, hammers, scissors—lined up like a macabre arsenal. Koharu picked up a pair of pliers and slowly traced them along Kurayami's skin, savoring the moment before the pain.
Kurayami trembled—perhaps from fear, perhaps from uncertainty. He didn't know how he had gotten there. His memories were shattered fragments: his childhood, when he was barely seven years old. Nothing more.
That was the real Kurayami—a lost boy in an abyss he couldn't comprehend.
The stench of damp stone, the flicker of a few candles, and the metallic clink of bars were the only proof of his misery.
Koharu took one of his fingers—and without hesitation, tore it off in a single pull with the pliers. The pain was unbearable, a fire ripping through his nerves.
Kurayami screamed, but his voice was devoured by her hysterical laughter.
Then she raised a hammer and smashed it down on his hand—bones cracking like dry branches. Kurayami howled, his throat breaking as she laughed even harder, feeding on his agony.
"Please… stop…! It hurts… it hurts so much… I don't want any more…"
Koharu tilted her head, feigning pity.
"Stop? Hmm… alright, that's enough for today…"
But instead of stopping, she raised the hammer again and brought it down on his other hand, turning it into an unrecognizable mass of flesh, blood, and crushed bone.
"Hmm… let's leave it at that for today. But tomorrow… tomorrow we'll start with the fun part."
Kurayami wept uncontrollably, tears streaming down his face as he repeated one single word between sobs:
"Mom… mom…"
Koharu's smile suddenly vanished. Her face twisted into a furious snarl. Without thinking, she grabbed a pair of scissors and held him down. Without a word, she slowly cut out his tongue as he struggled helplessly. The tongue hit the floor with a wet, sickening sound.
Kurayami barely managed to groan before a brutal blow to the head plunged him into unconsciousness.