Chapter 109: Stopping the Gate
0% “Wake up. There’s something you must do.”
The girl’s eyes snapped open against her will at the voice emerging from the darkness. In her vertically slit pupils, the reflection of Archbishop Armata took shape.
The holy power imprint controlled her body, forcing her unwilling eyes to obey. A sharp ache pulsed through her skull, and she clutched her head with both hands.
The Hillai Church wasn’t foolish enough to create an ultimate chimera without a means of control. The goddess herself had branded the girl with stigmata, allowing those imbued with divine power to command her through the sacred scars. But that was the least of her worries.
Far worse than the pain of disobedience was the ceaseless, insidious whispering that returned when her eyes opened. Silence existed only when they were shut.
Yanid. Poor child. Pitiful thing. Abandoned by your parents, discarded by the very church that preaches mercy. No one wants you. No one cares. Why bother living?
Shut up.
Voices from the outside could be muffled by covering her ears. But the ones inside her mind never stopped until she genuinely ceased to exist.
[Kill him. Kill him. He’s just soft flesh and brittle bones. One twist of his neck, and it’s over. Afraid of pain? Being trapped like this is worse.]
Why do you resist?
Why shake your head? Accept me. Acknowledge me. Your body is already breaking down. Whether you surrender now or later makes no difference.