The Damned Demon

Inside a cozy wooden cabin atop a snowy mountain, the chilling wind softly rattling the shutters.

“Cedric, please, think about this again. You shouldn’t go to fight the Demon King,” Aira pleaded, her voice quivering with urgency.

Cedric sighed. jis own voice responded with quiet determination, serious yet gentle. “Aira, I know the vision you saw frightens you deeply. But trust me, this is the only way. I won’t run away and put billions of lives at risk. You didn’t have to drag us both up here so early. They might already be suspicious now.”

Asher furrowed his brows as he saw that this time she brought Cedric to this cabin and it seemed as if she might have already warned him.

“You don’t understand,” she whispered urgently, stepping forward to grab his hand, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. “It’s not just about Derek and the others betraying you. Even if you kill them all, even the Demon King, you still can’t escape what’s coming. I-I can’t watch you die again, Cedric. I can’t bear it anymore.”

Yet his past self, oblivious to this confusion, shook his head stubbornly, his expression firm. “You keep telling me I can’t escape my fate. But you’re not telling me what’s coming for me. Why can’t you tell me? At least then I’d know how to face it.”

Her voice trembled, her chin quivering, eyes reflecting sorrow and fear. “Because you can’t, Cedric, no matter what you do. Believe me, it always ends the same way. This thing that hunts you isn’t of this mortal realm. It’s beyond our understanding. All it seeks is to damn you again and again while forcing me to watch. Even I can’t bend the universe’s rules to save you. We must try something it won’t expect. Something that isn’t bound to its rules which I have yet to find out. But that starts with us doing something we haven’t done before. Something it won’t expect or can’t stop.”

His expression softened, his eyes filled with quiet determination as he reached out, gently placing his hands on her slender shoulders. “Running away solves nothing, Aira. Whatever it is, I’ll face it. I won’t abandon so many lives to save myself. If this thing is truly that powerful, then hiding is pointless. You know that. The only option is to fight.”

Her shoulders slumped slightly, her expression filled with helpless resignation. He tightened his grip gently, trying to reassure her.

“Let’s fight this together. I made it this far because you’ve always been there with me. As long as you hold my hand, we’ll get through this,” he vowed with quiet intensity, his voice growing hard with killing intent, “As for Derek and the others… let’s kill them first, and then we’ll face the Demon King.”

She sighed heavily, but finally nodded in silent agreement.

“Come. Let’s finish this,,” He said as he walked past her, his gaze set forward, unwavering, unaware of the silent tempest behind him. Aira’s eyes trembled, fighting an internal battle, before resolve crystallized within them.

“I’m sorry, Cedric,” she whispered under her breath.

In one swift motion, she extended her palm, gently placing it against the back of Cedric’s head. A faint pulse of radiant energy passed through her fingertips, brief yet potent.

Cedric’s eyes widened sharply, his breath hitching as shock flooded his expression. “No…” His voice trailed into nothingness, consciousness slipping from his grasp. His body went limp, knees buckling beneath him.

Aira swiftly caught him, easing him gently down onto the floor. She cradled his head tenderly, her gaze heavy with sorrow yet resolute with determination.

“I’m so sorry, Cedric,” she murmured softly, gently brushing his dark hair aside. Her voice carried the quiet weight of heartbreaking resolve. “I cannot let you walk a path destined only for your death. This time, I will simply ensure you live past that fated moment. I won’t manipulate time to try and save you…then perhaps, fate itself will overlook us.”

Her voice trembled slightly, but her resolve held firm. Gathering Cedric’s unconscious body, she lifted him with unexpected ease, his limp form draped carefully in her protective embrace. Stepping through the cabin door, Aira walked into the biting chill of the mountain air.

—

Snowflakes danced lazily around them, swirling gently under the pale glow of the clouded sun. Aira trudged determinedly through a desolate, snowy valley, dragging Cedric along on a portable bed. Her breath steamed the crisp air, each exhale a cloud of determination and hope.

Suddenly, the air shimmered faintly. A familiar message blinked into existence before her eyes, stark and radiant in its clarity:

[The Last Judgment quest has ended in your world’s favor]

Aira halted abruptly, chest heaving, her breath catching as relief cascaded through her veins. The overwhelming tension seeped away, replaced by the exhilarating rush of victory. Her eyes widened, tears gathering at the corners as a soft, heartfelt laugh escaped her lips.

“We’re safe, Cedric,” she whispered joyfully, voice breaking with relief as she tilted her gaze skyward, smiling brightly through streaming tears. “We did it! We’ve finally beaten fate and whatever that thing was who wanted your soul.”

She turned swiftly, radiant joy still etched deeply in her features. “But I’m sorry that I—”

But her voice broke off sharply, her smile shattering as horror flooded her expression. Her widened eyes fixated on the bed, her heart plummeting into an icy abyss of dread. Where Cedric had lain only moments ago, now lay nothing but a small pile of soft, gray ashes and dark green embers, gently stirred by the chilly breeze.

“No…no! This can’t be!” Aira’s knees hit the ground heavily, heedless of the biting snow. Her shaking hands cupped the remains tenderly, desperately, feeling the faint trace of his fading essence. “Cedric…”

The painful realization pierced deep: that dark, unfathomable entity had stolen him again—quietly, cruelly—beyond her awareness.

“No!” she shouted, her voice echoing across the barren landscape, raw with grief and rage. Her anguished gaze lifted skyward, tears cascading freely down her pale cheeks. “You can’t keep doing this to me! Please…”

Her voice grew soft, broken, and desperate. “Angels…gods…anyone. If you’re watching, please bring him back. How can you let something so evil take him away? What did he ever do but save and help people?” Her voice trembled, bitter realization slowly washing over her features. “Do you not care about us at all? He didn’t even get a chance to fight back!”

Her features hardened, eyes darkening with bitter anger and sorrowful clarity. “You so-called angels and gods never cared…did you?”

Slowly, her gaze lowered, cold determination seizing her heart. Her fingers tightened into fists, trembling yet firm. “Whoever or whatever you are…” her voice trembled, filled with fiery determination and a hint of a dangerous fury, “I swear to defy you. I will find a way. Cedric’s soul won’t be damned for long. You hear me?”

A small dagger materialized within her palm, its sharp edge glinting coldly in the pale winter light. Her eyes, filled with unwavering resolve, stared forward as she whispered softly, intimately, “I’ll see you soon.”

Without hesitation, she plunged the dagger deep into her own heart, her breath catching sharply. Her body collapsed heavily onto the snowy ground, crimson staining the pristine white as her consciousness faded swiftly into oblivion.

Asher watched helplessly, the painful heaviness in his chest unbearable, wishing desperately to close his eyes against her agony, yet trapped by the cruel force that compelled him to witness every heart-wrenching detail. His hatred, his resentment toward her had long evaporated; all that remained was a raw, aching desire to see her suffering cease and to understand why this was happening.

Then, inexplicably, the scene reset again.

He witnessed her fail again. And again. Each regression eroded her sanity, her hope breaking like glass beneath the crushing weight of fate. Asher lost count, each cycle blurring together into an endless nightmare. Each desperate attempt to alter destiny stole another piece of her, twisting her until she was barely recognizable, her bright eyes dulled by despair and an unspeakable rage.

“Stop…please…no more…” Asher’s heart pleaded silently, unable to bear the torment any longer. Yet fate cruelly pushed onward.

Until suddenly, during an iteration he had long lost count of, Aira’s approach changed. This time, she did not run to meet young Cedric. Instead, she marched resolutely toward her father’s grand study.

Edward looked up in surprise as his daughter barged through the door, his expression bemused by her grim resolve. “Aira? What’s wrong, my dear? Why this urgency?”

Her gaze was shadowed, almost haunted as she faced him directly. “Father, give me all of our family’s Radems.”

Edward’s eyebrows knitted tightly, bewildered confusion clearly etched on his face. “What? Aira, those are our family’s most precious heirlooms. Why on earth would you—?”

“I need them,” she interrupted sharply, voice cold and unwavering, “to break the limits of mortality itself and of this forsaken universe.”

Asher’s heart pounded against his chest as he heard her demand and he had a feeling that this path could only lead to darkness.

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