V7.C17 Eternal Sadness, Decision
The day after Leo left her, Miledi woke up lightheaded. Although being in a golem body, her body never faced exhaustion, but mental fatigue was a different thing.
She dipped her stone body into hot water, not because she got dirty; it was her habit from when she was human.
Her high tech golem body had a nerve simulation. As its name implied, it let her feel and sense the touch.
The sensation of water touching her boy felt similar to when she was a human, only if she closed her eyes.
She hummed a pleasant tune as she arrived at the ground floor of her home. Just like always, the bed sitting in the center attracted her attention.
"What should I teach him today?"
A bright smile appeared on her face as she thought about her hardworking disciple.
"Womanizer." She cursed and hopped onto the bed, waiting for Leo.
Seconds, minutes, hour… he still didn't appear.
"That bastard… How can he make Miledi-chan wait so long? I'll make sure to torture him today…"
Even as she cursed Leo, she only wished for him to come.
Alas…
Another six hours passed, Miledi sprawled on the bed, as her first friend taught her and gazed at the ceiling.
Yet no sense of joy and happiness came.
She felt utterly hopeless.
She continued staring at the ceiling for another hour or so. Then when she got up, the vast room around her felt as though it was shrinking. It was becoming more and more similar to a prison, caging her, robbing her from the freedom she always wished…
She shook her head and waited with a smile.
"Miledi-chan can surely wait..."
She was right. No one on Tortus could even hope to match Miledi when it came to patience.
After all, she endured two thousand years alone in a golem body.
But today, those years seemed smaller in comparison.
"I... I'll sleep."
She knew her expectations over Leo were wrong. She knew he held no feelings for her other than some gratitude.
She nevertheless waited with a bubbly smile, even when every second that passed was like an eternity.
An unknown time later, doubts began rising in her head.
Miledi, what the hell are you doing falling for a man so much younger...
And why did I fall for him in the first place? Even if he is the most handsome man I ever saw, I can't…
But he is kind… and the way he looks at me… Those gentle eyes remind me of Belta.
Time passed by, her thoughts turned even darker.
I really don't deserve this when my comrades are dead...
But why do I have this feeling?
The feeling was strange; it was completely different from anything she ever came across. Instead of getting impatient, she felt that even waiting for another thousand years wouldn't be much.
She snapped open her eyes to discover a pure white light everywhere. The source was her own body.
*Throb!* *Throb!* *Throb!*
Powerful heartbeats resonated in the room.
"Impossible..."
She uttered in disbelief when she probed for the source.
It was coming from her own body despite the fact her body had no heart.
"Argh!"
An excruciating pain ran through her body. No, it was like something was ripping her soul apart from her body.
The pain grew, and an enormous amount of mana began leaking from her body.
"Urgh!"
She curled up on the bed and scrunched the robe near the heart.
*Boom!*
The overwhelming wave of mana blasted everything in the room.
*Crack* *Crack* *Crack*…
Her body creaked from the mana rampaging wildly in her body.
W-What is happening? Am I dying…? This unbearable pain. Why all of a sudden?
She hardly moved her hands to the pocket of robes in search of the artifact that helped her in casting Spirit Magic.
But the pockets torn from the explosion had no treasure trove ring. Her consciousness became hazier with every passing second.
I-Is this the end…?
Ha… haha… living for two thousand years… now I'm dying because of that stupid idiot…
White slowly covered her vision. It was the end for her or not...
"Miledi!"
A familiar voice called out to her. She was relieved for a moment before she cursed him for being so late. She barely opened her heavy eyes and glimpsed at his face.
The worried expression made her feel warm until she finally lost her consciousness and blanked out.
---
Leo worriedly looked at Miledi. He couldn't fathom what happened for her body to break so horribly. He put his hands on her body.
"Infinite reverse"
He cast the restoration spell, and immediately, the fragments flew back and filled up the cracks on her body. It gradually became like it was before.
(Interesting. This situation is fascinating.)
'Jen! What is happening to her?'
(Her soul is fading. The soul is the strongest yet the most fragile part of any being and hers despite being a human survived for more than two thousand years solely on Spirit Magic.)
'Then, what happened now?'
(Don't try to act dumb… You already know you are the reason for this. The emotions of solitude Miledi suppressed were finally let loose thanks to your ridiculous charm. Not entirely so, I think that triggered her feelings. The reason was that she was about to become Tier four, a Demi-God.)
His eyes gradually widened at her claim before he sighed at his blunder. How a sincere act of kindness would affect a woman decaying in solitude for millennia…
Jen continued, ignoring his worries.
(It wasn't natural but a forceful ascendance. As I said before, becoming a Tier four requires combining all three, spiritual, physical, and astral bodies.)
He suppressed the curiosity of what forced her and nodded while repairing her body over and over.
(She might have succeeded if it was her large body, but her current physical body is too weak to bear the burden.)
'And this is the result.'
(Yeah.)
He quickly took out the ring enchanted with [Soul Taker] and pushed it in one of her fingers. I poured mana again and again, but nothing happened. The all-powerful concept magic was unable to collect her dispersing soul.
"Why is it not working!?"
(No concept of this world can interfere with this process. There is only one choice, connect her soul to yours, and she will survive...)
'You mean bind? But she will become a slave bereft of her free will.'
(The decision lies in your hands.)
All this while, Miledi's body creaked as it repeated the cycle of mana replenishment and discharging. He plopped his right hand on her round head.
"Mindbender."
He cast the magic to read her memories and scanned through all of her memories. His fists clenched when her last feelings were transmitted to him, his heart heavy with guilt.
He no longer hesitated and immediately used the outrageous skill.
"Bind"
He was using the skill for the second time. Numerous strands of pitch-black mana came out of his hand. This time something unexpected happened. The strands didn't enter Miledi's head immediately, but coiled around her head as if testing her. Only a few seconds later, they all infiltrated her head, letting him sigh in relief.
[Bind successful]
And that stopped the vicious cycle of breakdown.
I'll create a new body for her...
"Rift Walk."
He activated his rift walk skill to achieve multiple thought processes, brought his hands together, and concentrated his willpower while imagining Miledi's appearance.
The appearance she liked the most.
A white glow emerged from his hands, spreading on the floor, and gradually created Miledi's body in merely a few minutes.