Since I was little, I was taught to serve God. Well, my mother taught me how to pray, how to kneel, and how to maintain a righteous and submissive attitude before God. It was the first thing she ever taught me, and ording to her—her own words—it was the most important. The second thing she taught me was to be reserved, helpful, and kind, essentially all the good deeds a human can do for others. To be a good girl, a benevolent girl, an exemry child. The third thing she taught me was… demons. They too deserve mercy. Everyone is equal in God''s eyes; they are all His children. They can all ask for forgiveness, and as long as they repent, they will be embraced by the Lord… forgiveness.


    The fourth thing my mother taught me was love—true and pure love, a soul of light, and things like that. You could say that most of my interactions with my mother revolved around those things: teachings and more lessons. I can''t say it was a bad childhood or a bad rtionship with her, but something always felt strange… It happened once, purely by chance, that I saw it…


    Two divided souls… Something that, to my knowledge, was practically impossible to achieve. The soul of every person is unique in its essence, each one different in every sense of the word. But then, for the first time, I saw a soul trying to devour another. It was a great golden light, pure—so pure, like the sun—while the other was a small white one, desperately trying to fight. Finally, after many days, it was consumed.


    I tried to ask my mother about it, but the only answer she gave me was: "Mercy."


    I didn''t understand. I didn''t understand anything. I was just a child back then, and even now, I can''t fullyprehend it, only small fragments. I felt some sort of enlightenment, just now, when I saw it for the second time… but this case was different. A soul divided into three parts, in perfect harmony—or so it was a few seconds ago…


    Widening my eyes, I looked at it directly. Those three parts fused into a single soul. It was instantaneous, in the blink of an eye. They didn''t try to devour one another or anything like that. It was shocking. To my eyes, it was… a revtion, a single truth.


    Every time I looked at my mother… a shining golden soul. It was as if she wasn''t human. I felt so at peace… just by looking at that beauty. My mother always gave me a sweet smile when she caught me gazing at her soul… as if she already knew.


    "Mercy."


    A soul cannot coexist with another. That''s what I learned—it''s impossible. Or so I thought… Evelyn and Leslie break that rule. And not just them—my mother broke it too. The professor, the student council president, all of them broke that rule I thought was unbreakable. Even Arthur broke it. But if two souls exist in the same body, one of them—the most powerful—devours the other. That''s another rule I thought was unshakable. From my years of watching Leslie and Evelyn, two souls in the same body, the invading soul was always minuscule, almost like it wasn''t there, but it was always present…n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Just now, the second rule was broken by Arthur. ck mes as dark as the abyss surrounded him… At the very center stood a creature. It wasn''t human, but it wasn''t a demon either, nor even… me. But this feeling… emptiness, an overwhelming emptiness,pletely filled my heart. It was as if I had lost someone important…


    Even so, this feeling of familiarity wouldn''t disappear. I could clearly feel that this emotion was…


    "Arthur?"


    *****


    "What do you think? Isn''t it strangely… no, wait…" Seraphine ced a hand on her cheek and pondered for a moment. "I think it''s the ugliest thing I''ve ever seen in my life…" She let out a sigh. "But even so, let''s just say it''s… quite the odd creature."


    "Those ck mes… they''re the same as Lucifer''s," the red seraph said in surprise. "The two mes are entirely opposite to one another…"


    "They''re almost identical to divine runes. But if what you say is true…e on, tell me. What do you think? What do you think is better?" Seraphine asked again with a mysterious smile.


    "There''s no point in giving my answer, but I think it''s absolutely horrible," the red seraph said, expressionless, letting out a sigh. "You''d better leave… I don''t like seeing your stupid face any longer." Raising his gaze, his eyes became mes. "Remember my words. Leave that child alone…"


    *****


    His body… was ck, entirely ck. Surrounding him was what seemed like a ck robe dragging on the ground. His skin was a grayish hue, almost skeletal, if not for the thinyer of flesh covering his bones. His back was slightly hunched. His head—no, it was a skull, with tworge, hollow sockets where his eyes should have been. Instead, there was only an endless darkness… Behind his back, two massive bat wings extended menacingly. The membranes between their bones were tattered, some of them even hanging loose, falling to pieces on the ground. In his hands, he held arge scythe, as imposing as his nearly two-meter-tall body. The de''s sheen was covered by ck mes…


    Leslie stood frozen, staring at the creature before her. Her eyes wandered across its entire body… searching for something that was… Arthur? Yet she couldn''t find any trace of him. Crossing her arms, her gaze shifted to the two charred bodies covered in those ck mes… they were dead. Turning back to the strange creature that stood motionless, her eyes gleamed like amethysts. Stepping a little closer, she gave a radiant smile.


    "It''s hideous," she said simply. The hollow eyes of Arthur turned to her, lowering his gaze… in his mind, he smiled faintly. **"She''s right… it''s truly hideous,"** he thought. His voice was as hollow as his existence itself. The ck mes surrounding his body swirled into a vortex, and his form returned to normal…


    Arthur looked around. His eyes firstnded on the young elf. Her beautiful golden eyes stared at him strangely… it was a look he had never seen before. Then he looked at Leslie. His lips curved into a faint smile. **"I think… I''m going to faint…"** he murmured. As soon as the words left his mouth, his body was covered in wounds. A great amount of blood flowed down his skin, and even his flesh began to rot…


    "ARTHUR!!!" Both girls screamed in unison…


    Those were thest words he heard before falling unconscious.