Elysia's head fell to the floor as she stared blankly at her mother.
When was the last time I saw my mother smiling like that?
She couldn't believe that her mother, who always had a gloomy expression whenever she saw her, was smiling so happily when she wasn't there.
Now, have those children become their mother's joy in my stead?
Darkness whispered again in Elysia's ear as she pursed her lips to keep the tears that had been welling up in her eyes from falling.
“Do you understand now, child? Hethel doesn’t need you anymore. So don’t expect anything from her, and don’t be sad because of her.”
“...No, that’s not true. Even if she has other children, my mother still loves me. I’m sure she does.”
Elysia denied it with all her might.
She could not hate her mother, even though she felt that she was no longer her mother's only joy, and perhaps even excluded from being the object of her affection.
No, actually, she hated it, but she couldn't admit it.
She didn't think that would work.
Elysia fled from the constant whispering of darkness and the heartbreaking scenes it presented.
“Look at that. Didn’t you say that it was a future that would eventually come true?”
When was the last time I saw my mother smiling like that?
She couldn't believe that her mother, who always had a gloomy expression whenever she saw her, was smiling so happily when she wasn't there.
Now, have those children become their mother's joy in my stead?
Darkness whispered again in Elysia's ear as she pursed her lips to keep the tears that had been welling up in her eyes from falling.
“Do you understand now, child? Hethel doesn’t need you anymore. So don’t expect anything from her, and don’t be sad because of her.”
“...No, that’s not true. Even if she has other children, my mother still loves me. I’m sure she does.”
Elysia denied it with all her might.
She could not hate her mother, even though she felt that she was no longer her mother's only joy, and perhaps even excluded from being the object of her affection.
No, actually, she hated it, but she couldn't admit it.
She didn't think that would work.
Elysia fled from the constant whispering of darkness and the heartbreaking scenes it presented.
She hid in a corner, buried her head in her knees, and covered her ears.
So that darkness does not consume her.
So that she doesn't make her hate her own mother.
But without any reward, the scene that the darkness had shown continued to play in her head.
How long could a heart that had become so weak from the shock of being abandoned by her mother be able to endure that nightmare?
Eventually, before long, Elysia's mind was completely consumed by darkness.
“Yes, if you abandon me, I will abandon you too. I will not beg for your affection anymore.”
In the darkness that filled the basement, purple hair and red eyes shone brightly.
From that day on, Elysia had a dream.
To overthrow the goddess, the creator of this world, and take her place.
She wanted to see her mother, who loved the world she created and all creatures more than the daughter she bore, being abandoned by them and shedding tears.
Just as she was.
In this way, Elysia began to build up her strength to stand against the goddess.
There was no need to put in any effort.
Because all the dark things in the world were her source.
The darkness grew bigger and bigger, fueled by Elysia's sinister desires, and finally, judging that the time had come, she broke the barrier set by the goddess and left the underworld on her own.
The first thing that greeted her when she returned to the surface after thousands of years was the sunlight.
The sunlight that felt so warm and cozy when she was on Earth in the past.
But maybe it's because it's been so long.
Now the sunlight felt warm and stinging.
It felt like they were attacking her, telling her that she shouldn't be here.
No, it didn't seem like a simple feeling.
She sees blood flowing out of her eyes like this.
Elysia, who was smiling vainly while looking at her reddened hand, started walking again.
Every step she took felt like fire was burning in her eyes, but she didn't stop.
She had no intention of hiding in that dark, shabby place again.
Pitch-black darkness enveloped her as she was engulfed in despair.
She thinks it took about half a day to walk like that.
The goddess's abode came into view, stained with blood.
The place where she ran and played to her heart's content as a child.
The place that held her childhood in comfort.
But now, that place will be destroyed without a trace by her.
After gazing at the place with its many meanings for a long time, Elysia opened the door and went inside.
And then they met again.
A goddess sitting on a chair made of gold, gazing out into the garden, her mother, whom she had longed for and resented so much.
“It’s been a while, Elysia.”
The goddess who discovered Elysia smiled faintly and sat up.
There was no sign of surprise, as if she had known she would come.
Rather, what was funny about that face was joy and longing.
“You’ve really grown up a lot since I last saw you. At first, I wondered how you looked so much like me, but now that your hair and eye colors have changed, you’re just like your father’s daughter.”
Elysia's fist clenched tightly.
How can someone who has been locked in an underground chamber without any light for thousands of years look at herself with such eyes?
The anger that came from deep inside her pounded in her chest.
“You are at your leisure. Do you not know what it means for me to break your barrier and come up to the surface?”
“How could that be? I know that your goal is to drive me out and take this place.”
The goddess slightly pursed her lips.
It was a bitter smile, like the fallen leaves rolling on the ground in late autumn, but there was still no anger or fear in it.
It was a calmness that Elysia could not understand.
“Wasn’t it the world you wanted to protect, even if you had to abandon your daughter? I don’t know how you can be so relaxed when you say I'm going to take that world away from you, when I'm going to make all the creatures you love turn their backs on you. Do you really think I can’t do it? That I still love my mother too much to harm you?”
As Elysia twisted her lips and sneered, the goddess quietly shook her head.
“I know how much you resent me. You will surely try to drive me out. But I am not surprised, because I already knew this. It has been planned for a long time that you would rebel against me.”
“Huh, that was planned?”
Her face, which had been trying to look strong, was distorted with anger.
“Don’t be ridiculous! I didn’t mean to hurt you. This is all your doing. If you hadn’t abandoned me, if you had just trusted me, then absolutely...!”
"No."
The goddess cut her off.
“Once a future is set, it doesn’t change easily. Even if I hadn’t restrained you, we would have ended up like this. This is the fate of you and me, mother and daughter.”
“My fate, my fate, my fate!”
Elysia screamed.
“Isn’t that fate ultimately just your delusion?”
This world was created by Hethel. Ultimately, it was she who determined the lives and fate of creatures.
In the end, everything that came out of her mother's mouth was nothing more than excuses.
Elysia's expression turned cold.
“You abandoned your daughter because of a delusion. A little child who doesn’t know how to do anything without you, a little child whose only wish is to be by your side!”
The goddess's eyes, as fresh as new green leaves, were filled with sadness.
“Elysia, my dear daughter, I have not abandoned you. I just needed time to find a way to be with you.”
“Huh, time? Thousands of years?”
A burst of laughter came out of Elysia's mouth.
It wasn't even funny that the excuse she had come up with was something like that.
“So, did you find a way?”
Still, she asked this question out of hope.
A glimmer of hope for a mother she thought she had abandoned, a mother she thought no longer existed.
As if noticing the hope, the goddess smiled faintly and nodded.
“...What is that?”
Elycia asked with a stern face.
Suddenly, her heart started pounding and her whole body started shaking.
In fact, she didn't want to kill her mother.
No matter how cruel she was, the goddess meant everything to her.
Even though her resentment towards her was so deep that it had come to this point, she wanted to believe.
That those merciless hands were truly for her own good.
Hope once again spread through Elysia's eyes as she looked at the goddess.
A last hope that maybe she can stop herself from losing control.
But the hope she had barely managed to gather was crushed.
“You will know soon enough, even if I don’t tell you. Just do what your heart tells you.”
"Ha."
Elysia's heart grew cold.
If you really found a way, there's no need to hide it.
So that was just a lame excuse.
An excuse made because she doesn't want to admit that she, who is looked up to by all creatures, is actually a delusional villain who abandoned her daughter.
Her bloodshot eyes turned cold.
“Yes, you are the Creator in name only. Even if it is the last, you do not want to reveal your lowly intentions. If you wish, do so. I am tired of it all.”
Elysia waved her hand with an indifferent expression.
Then, the darkness that had been circling around her, waiting for the order to fall, flew towards the goddess as if it had been waiting for it.
But is she really the Creator?
The goddess took no action and was not hit in any way.
The sight of her just standing tall and maintaining her composure only fueled Elysia's anger.
“We don’t need people like you anymore. Die! Die! I’m telling you to die!”
Elysia continued to attack, but was still unable to reach the goddess, and it was Elysia who was growing tired.
If things continued this way, it seemed as though Elysia would be defeated without leaving a single scratch on the goddess's body.
No, it definitely would have been like that.
If it weren't for someone who appeared at that moment.
“Stop it. Elysia.”
Someone who appeared out of nowhere hugged Elysia, who was cursing.
He had been comforting her with an affectionate voice, but then he spoke to the goddess in an indifferent voice.
“Let’s just end it now.”
At that moment, something unbelievable happened.
White light began to flow out from the goddess's body and be absorbed by him.
Eventually, when not a single bit of life remained in her body, the goddess fell powerlessly to the floor.
A bitter smile tugged at the corners of her parched mouth.
So that darkness does not consume her.
So that she doesn't make her hate her own mother.
But without any reward, the scene that the darkness had shown continued to play in her head.
How long could a heart that had become so weak from the shock of being abandoned by her mother be able to endure that nightmare?
Eventually, before long, Elysia's mind was completely consumed by darkness.
“Yes, if you abandon me, I will abandon you too. I will not beg for your affection anymore.”
In the darkness that filled the basement, purple hair and red eyes shone brightly.
***
From that day on, Elysia had a dream.
To overthrow the goddess, the creator of this world, and take her place.
She wanted to see her mother, who loved the world she created and all creatures more than the daughter she bore, being abandoned by them and shedding tears.
Just as she was.
In this way, Elysia began to build up her strength to stand against the goddess.
There was no need to put in any effort.
Because all the dark things in the world were her source.
The darkness grew bigger and bigger, fueled by Elysia's sinister desires, and finally, judging that the time had come, she broke the barrier set by the goddess and left the underworld on her own.
The first thing that greeted her when she returned to the surface after thousands of years was the sunlight.
The sunlight that felt so warm and cozy when she was on Earth in the past.
But maybe it's because it's been so long.
Now the sunlight felt warm and stinging.
It felt like they were attacking her, telling her that she shouldn't be here.
No, it didn't seem like a simple feeling.
She sees blood flowing out of her eyes like this.
Elysia, who was smiling vainly while looking at her reddened hand, started walking again.
Every step she took felt like fire was burning in her eyes, but she didn't stop.
She had no intention of hiding in that dark, shabby place again.
Pitch-black darkness enveloped her as she was engulfed in despair.
She thinks it took about half a day to walk like that.
The goddess's abode came into view, stained with blood.
The place where she ran and played to her heart's content as a child.
The place that held her childhood in comfort.
But now, that place will be destroyed without a trace by her.
After gazing at the place with its many meanings for a long time, Elysia opened the door and went inside.
And then they met again.
A goddess sitting on a chair made of gold, gazing out into the garden, her mother, whom she had longed for and resented so much.
“It’s been a while, Elysia.”
The goddess who discovered Elysia smiled faintly and sat up.
There was no sign of surprise, as if she had known she would come.
Rather, what was funny about that face was joy and longing.
“You’ve really grown up a lot since I last saw you. At first, I wondered how you looked so much like me, but now that your hair and eye colors have changed, you’re just like your father’s daughter.”
Elysia's fist clenched tightly.
How can someone who has been locked in an underground chamber without any light for thousands of years look at herself with such eyes?
The anger that came from deep inside her pounded in her chest.
“You are at your leisure. Do you not know what it means for me to break your barrier and come up to the surface?”
“How could that be? I know that your goal is to drive me out and take this place.”
The goddess slightly pursed her lips.
It was a bitter smile, like the fallen leaves rolling on the ground in late autumn, but there was still no anger or fear in it.
It was a calmness that Elysia could not understand.
“Wasn’t it the world you wanted to protect, even if you had to abandon your daughter? I don’t know how you can be so relaxed when you say I'm going to take that world away from you, when I'm going to make all the creatures you love turn their backs on you. Do you really think I can’t do it? That I still love my mother too much to harm you?”
As Elysia twisted her lips and sneered, the goddess quietly shook her head.
“I know how much you resent me. You will surely try to drive me out. But I am not surprised, because I already knew this. It has been planned for a long time that you would rebel against me.”
“Huh, that was planned?”
Her face, which had been trying to look strong, was distorted with anger.
“Don’t be ridiculous! I didn’t mean to hurt you. This is all your doing. If you hadn’t abandoned me, if you had just trusted me, then absolutely...!”
"No."
The goddess cut her off.
“Once a future is set, it doesn’t change easily. Even if I hadn’t restrained you, we would have ended up like this. This is the fate of you and me, mother and daughter.”
“My fate, my fate, my fate!”
Elysia screamed.
“Isn’t that fate ultimately just your delusion?”
This world was created by Hethel. Ultimately, it was she who determined the lives and fate of creatures.
In the end, everything that came out of her mother's mouth was nothing more than excuses.
Elysia's expression turned cold.
“You abandoned your daughter because of a delusion. A little child who doesn’t know how to do anything without you, a little child whose only wish is to be by your side!”
The goddess's eyes, as fresh as new green leaves, were filled with sadness.
“Elysia, my dear daughter, I have not abandoned you. I just needed time to find a way to be with you.”
“Huh, time? Thousands of years?”
A burst of laughter came out of Elysia's mouth.
It wasn't even funny that the excuse she had come up with was something like that.
“So, did you find a way?”
Still, she asked this question out of hope.
A glimmer of hope for a mother she thought she had abandoned, a mother she thought no longer existed.
As if noticing the hope, the goddess smiled faintly and nodded.
“...What is that?”
Elycia asked with a stern face.
Suddenly, her heart started pounding and her whole body started shaking.
In fact, she didn't want to kill her mother.
No matter how cruel she was, the goddess meant everything to her.
Even though her resentment towards her was so deep that it had come to this point, she wanted to believe.
That those merciless hands were truly for her own good.
Hope once again spread through Elysia's eyes as she looked at the goddess.
A last hope that maybe she can stop herself from losing control.
But the hope she had barely managed to gather was crushed.
“You will know soon enough, even if I don’t tell you. Just do what your heart tells you.”
"Ha."
Elysia's heart grew cold.
If you really found a way, there's no need to hide it.
So that was just a lame excuse.
An excuse made because she doesn't want to admit that she, who is looked up to by all creatures, is actually a delusional villain who abandoned her daughter.
Her bloodshot eyes turned cold.
“Yes, you are the Creator in name only. Even if it is the last, you do not want to reveal your lowly intentions. If you wish, do so. I am tired of it all.”
Elysia waved her hand with an indifferent expression.
Then, the darkness that had been circling around her, waiting for the order to fall, flew towards the goddess as if it had been waiting for it.
But is she really the Creator?
The goddess took no action and was not hit in any way.
The sight of her just standing tall and maintaining her composure only fueled Elysia's anger.
“We don’t need people like you anymore. Die! Die! I’m telling you to die!”
Elysia continued to attack, but was still unable to reach the goddess, and it was Elysia who was growing tired.
If things continued this way, it seemed as though Elysia would be defeated without leaving a single scratch on the goddess's body.
No, it definitely would have been like that.
If it weren't for someone who appeared at that moment.
“Stop it. Elysia.”
Someone who appeared out of nowhere hugged Elysia, who was cursing.
He had been comforting her with an affectionate voice, but then he spoke to the goddess in an indifferent voice.
“Let’s just end it now.”
At that moment, something unbelievable happened.
White light began to flow out from the goddess's body and be absorbed by him.
Eventually, when not a single bit of life remained in her body, the goddess fell powerlessly to the floor.
A bitter smile tugged at the corners of her parched mouth.
“Look at that. Didn’t you say that it was a future that would eventually come true?”
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