Chapter 105: Hatred

-Inside the summoning space.

While Aria was busy with her machinations, Alena faced a problem of her own. It concerned her consciousness strewn over the puppetry summoning space. In front of her was the frightening Ice Spirit, Ilyin. The spirit looked at her with murderous eyes, as if Alena had caused her mortal harm and committed a sin that couldn't be forgiven no matter what.

Alena felt the cold start to affect her even in this space. She had just been relieved of the numbing pain she felt on the reality's side. She had forgotten that the spirit would still possess her ice powers and could very well use it upon her.

However, right then, Alena recalled something that her big sister had said to her before she went into this space. That she was the puppeteer. That Ilyin was bound to her. That the spirit was nothing but a half puppet. That this was her summoning space, and not Ilyin's. That.. there should be a weakness that she could grasp on to. Ilyin's weakness. Something she could take advantage of.

With this newfound bravery, Alena began to approach the spirit with careful steps with thoughts that she wouldn't die. She was the one in power. If she died, wouldn't Ilyin die too? The spirit was originally on the verge of dying, and Alena contracting her brought her life back. Just as a puppet. The spirit wasn't dumb, she should very well know that her death would result in the spirit's death as well. Thus, she calmed herself down and swallowed the fear forcibly.

"...Ilyin," Alena slowly called out. The spirit's expression worsened, and she opened her mouth to emit a loud shriek. Ilyin wasn't able to communicate, but as the spirit's technical master, Alena was naturally able to understand what the spirit wanted to convey. "Ilyin, I... am sorry," she said.

Apologizing was the right thing to do, the one that made this whole mess happen was her. Ilyin was originally harmed because of her too, and to this day, every time Ilyin caused her pain, she couldn't help but think back to when she first encountered the spirit. She was captured in a trap because of her subordinates, and forced to bear continuous damage from her just so that she could leave her in a state enough to bind her to a contract. Imagining the suffering Ilyin had to face that time as a practically newborn spirit, Alena couldn't help but feel heartache.

She was someone who had a logical train of thoughts. She wanted to achieve the best stage she could reach, no matter what means it took her. In the first few months that she gained her powers, she saw it as an opportunity, a plausible 'cure' to her condition. To grow strong and overcome this shitty situation she was involved in.

She was heartless. She commanded her subordinates, mobilized them to acquire dungeons and snatch all the resources. She forced some to create these cages that could entrap the monsters and to bring captured creatures back to her laboratory, where they would be inspected and possibly turned into one of her puppets. Ilyin was precisely one of the captured spirits.

She remembered the feeling of joy and greed she had. The ecstatic, giddy emotions. Her ambitions were off the charts. She wished for nothing more than power, pure power to help overcome her adversities. In the end, what did she get? This curse was still binding her, and Ilyin was more than just pissed at her.

She listened to the spirit's thoughts. It was painful as the recipient of all those collective passion.

It was feelings of hatred, loathing, and a large combination of negative emotions. The angered spirit didn't have any hint of good feelings towards her own master. The exposure made Alena flinch, as it influenced her own state of mind quite heavily. She tried to resist it, but the overwhelming sensations started to confuse her thoughts. Confusing her own self worth.

Whenever Ilyin voiced out her hatred, Alena would start to feel the same way. She was a bad person, a sinner, someone who took away the spirit's life. She shouldn't be allowed to live. She should just perish. She deserved the curse. She deserved to suffer. All sorts of damaged thoughts circulated around Alena's head, making her terribly scared as she really was beginning to believe these thoughts. Doubting herself to the point of nonsensical levels.

She actually wanted to harm herself. Ilyin's thoughts were projected onto hers.

"It hurts," Alena chanted those two words like a madman, her volume increasingly getting louder and louder as the pain duplicated. Ilyin saw how Alena was reacting and figured out that she was affecting her own master. This fact made her even more confident and daring, as she began thinking about worse stuff.

It wasn't even a physical attack, but it caused stress comparable to nothing else. It cost Alena much more than what a physical attack would. The freezing temperature didn't even phase her anymore. The thoughts were what made it hellish for her to bear.

To resist it, Alena resorted to screaming. She cowered down to the ground, banging her head on the pitch black surface. It didn't matter how painful it was. She just wanted to get these thoughts far away from her head. It caused her severe mental distress to the point where she didn't know what was real and what wasn't anymore. Her beliefs were changed, they were corrupted by Ilyin's own.

She stayed still for minutes just sobbing and raking at the floor in order to get any piece of her sanity back. Within those minutes, she felt torture worse to what she had gone through due to her innate condition. Her curse.

Ilyin's thoughts brought her more pain.

However, the pain had an end. After those minutes passed, silence suddenly ensued. The conflicting thoughts Alena was involved in just a second earlier was completely gone. It didn't fade out. It disappeared in one go, leaving no traces behind.

She only began to get up once she regained a clearer mindset. She docked her head, looking at the spirit's direction to check her condition and confirm what had happened. To her surprise, she found the spirit sleeping. The previously angered state was no longer visible, all that was left was Ilyin's calmed figure.

Alena gulped a mouthful of saliva. Due to the tense atmosphere, and the lingering pain she just felt, Alena was hesitant to get near the spirit once more. The remnants of those thoughts were terrifying. It sent chills down her spine, knowing that she was almost pushed to the maximum amount her mind could handle.

However, she forced herself to carry on, as she didn't know how long this cease period would last. Perhaps, if she was just a step later, the period would end and her suffering would continue forth.

Indeed, it was just like what Aria said. She was the puppeteer, Ilyin was the puppet. The summoning space was hers, so she had power over here.

Ilyin was tired. Exhausted from all the vivid emotions she lashed out. It pushed her to the brink of limits until she finally fell down. Alena heaved a sigh of relief, but also knew that the feud was not over. It was just that Ilyin didn't have the necessary power to fight back. If she was more energized, then the spirit certainly would've kept trying to harm her.

Of course, if this incident were to repeat, Ilyin wouldn't hesitate to lash back at her in the same way.

Alena looked at the spirit's slumbering figure with tired eyes. She had mixed feelings about her relation to this spirit of hers. On one side, she felt guilty. On the other, she felt like Ilyin was too overbearing. She felt like.. she wanted the spirit to disappear.

However, she knew better. Aria had coached her. Ilyin was the key to her survival. Only through manipulating the spirit to her own advantage would she be able to get out of this situation and come out alive of the dungeon.

She was expectant. Ilyin was her hope. It was funny, considering how Ilyin was also a large source of her struggle. But she was still her hope.

Hopes could be extinguished in mere seconds. It was fleeting and indescribable. However, when someone had hope, that sentiment could become their biggest motivator. Creating a high level of willpower.

Because hope meant that the goal was there. The set goal was marked by this hope, making it achievable in their sights.

Alena's hope was Ilyin, just like how Aria's hope used to be Dianthe. They both shared similarities in which they had spirits.

Alena's goal was of course, her curse dissolving. How far was that goal from her current position? She would never know. She only knew that she had to hold on to the hope she gathered.

Heaving a sigh, Alena crouched in front of the spirit with saddened eyes.