CHAPTER 492: DESTROYING THE ROOTS

The first scene opening before Sera and Qinrir was quite familiar, since it only happened a few minutes ago.

They stood in the busy hall, with the Arachnids eating, laughing and enjoying themselves. The secret door opened, and Hestia stepped inside. Behind them, Sera and Bea arrived.

"Damn, I look good in this dress!"

Sera exclaimed while approaching her memory self. She walked around herself as the fake Sera glanced towards the amazed Arachnids.

The real Sera and Qinrir looked like their selves from the Sea of Cogitation. They could move and interact with everything within the memory, but nobody could see them, since none of these people were real.

The glowing Angel walked towards the crowd curiously, but the closer she got, the stranger everything became.

The first few Arachnids had well-defined faces and bodies; the food before them also looked perfectly real. However, the further Sera got, the blurrier it got, the people and surroundings got.

"Before we continue, let me tell you a bit more about memories and let’s set a few ground rules..." Said Qinrir, his six eyes watching the blurred Arachnids.

"You need to remember that nothing here’s real other than the two of us, and the Seeds we’re hunting. What you’ll see has already happened, and you can’t change the outcome! If you begin feeling overwhelmed, emotional, or exhausted, let me know! We’ll leave and try again later!"

While Sera didn’t plan on leaving before all the Seeds were removed, she also didn’t plan on endangering Qinrir’s life.

"I understand and won’t do anything stupid... So, where’s this Seed I need to destroy?"

Qinrir narrowed his eyes at Sera’s glowing form, but her voice was full of sincerity, and he couldn’t find any hints of a lie. Warily, he believed the Angel and together they began searching for the Seed of Madness.

"They’re never in obvious places, but always within the borders of the memory. The border can be far or close, depending on the surroundings, the owner’s senses and their ability to remember details. Sadly, your memory and attention to detail are excellent, which’ll make our job harder!"

Sera chuckled as they walked around opening doors along the passage. It felt ironic that her great memorization ability became a hindrance.

Even she felt surprised at how well her mind remembered this random passage. She could recall every door in perfect detail, and the noises and lights shining through the cracks gave her an idea of the insides.

For example, she stepped towards a random door and opened it without issue. She never been inside, yet with the few mental images her mind received, it replicated the room’s interior.

It was far from perfect, like a badly rendered area in some game. The colors and lights were all wrong; everything looked blurry, and the noises she remembered came from blobs instead of actual people.

However, just as Qinrir said, her amazing memory increased their workload by a lot. They opened every door and even ventured into side passages she didn’t even remember existing.

The Seed wasn’t inside them, but it didn’t take too long to find its position. The darkness took form right before the double door leading into Qinrir’s office.

The darkness expanded and shrank based on no particular rhythm. It didn’t have a concrete border, and just being in its proximity filled Sera’s heart with disgust, as if the Seed tainted reality itself.

She took a step towards it, but then her movements halted and she glanced back at Qinrir.

"Do you have any suggestions? Should I attack using specific techniques and powers, or aim at something in particular?"

Qinrir just shrugged, which looked disturbing on a giant spider, and climbed onto the wall. He seemed way too comfortable given the situation’s weight. His gloomy eyes met Sera’s golden-green ones, clearly awaiting her to attack the darkness.

After waiting a few seconds, he rolled all six black eyes and said, "For the first memories, the Seeds won’t attack, since they can’t! You’ll know when they become dangerous. Now get on with it!"

Sera chuckled at Qinrir’s pissed expression, but she didn’t want to stay any longer than necessary either.

She took a step towards the darkness, then reached out her hand. A small, sharp, silvery metal spike appeared floating before her palm; golden cleansing flames danced along its blade.

The Arachnid’s eyes glinted with curiosity. The blade looked absolutely perfect, like a unique work of art. It had no embellishments or any decoration, yet it was the most magnificent weapon Qinrir ever laid his eyes upon.

A smirk grew on Sera’s lips as she saw Qinrir’s expression from the corner of her eye. With a small flick of her finger, she sent the spike flying straight into the darkness. Its glowing edge passed through and disappeared in its depths.

Nothing happened for a few seconds, yet Sera nodded to herself and stepped towards Qinrir with a wide grin.

"Okay, that’s done. Let’s move on to the next!"

"What do you mean it’s done?" He asked. "It’s still ther–"

Before Qinrir could’ve finished his sentence, suddenly a giant sphere of golden flames exploded from deep within the darkness, eliminating the Seed entirely.

He watched the cleansing flames in awe as Sera walked beside him and whispered into his ear.

"You worry about moving between memories and finding the Seeds. When I say it’s done, don’t question me."

Sera continued grinning as Qinrir’s eyes moved towards her grinning face. He didn’t appreciate the Angel entering his personal space without asking first.

As petty revenge, he quickly touched Sera’s temple with his fangs. Both of them disappeared into a different memory.

...

They traveled further into Sera’s past, to the moment she woke up aboard the Old Dawn. Luckily, Sera only remembered the hospital room and the lounge room outside, so finding the Seed wasn’t too difficult.

After another explosion, they moved on even further back...

Sera and Qinrir found themselves on a battlefield inside a burning city. Above, Sera’s past self was fighting against Peace and War. The entire city shook after each blow, but neither energy beings noticed the tremors, since it was nothing but a memory.

It wasn’t as easy to find the Seed this time, but after Sera’s past self leveled the city, they found it. Qinrir watched the destruction with fearful eyes, while Sera exploded another spike, which dispersed the darkness.

The next few Seeds took them hours to find. Sera could barely remember these memories, since in all of them, bloodlust consumed her mind.

They walked through gory forests and sites of massacres. Sometimes they found the Seed between fallen great trees. Other times, it was hidden above within the giant branches, and more often than not, it was floating beside a small mountain of corpses.

After finding the tenth Seed, both glowing ghosts stopped to take a break...

"How long did you live in these woods exactly? Especially wandering around bloodlusted! It expands our area of search immensely!"

Sera chuckled as she leaned against a great tree’s trunk. She glanced up through the branches with nostalgic eyes.

"I lived here for two years, but only spent a few months wandering these tall woods aimlessly and consumed by bloodlust. I spent most of my time in a Village east of here. I’m sure you’ll see those memories soon enough... Just enjoy this peaceful time. The further we travel back, the worse everything will get!"

The nostalgia in Sera’s eyes turned into melancholy. She took a shaky breath, then waved her hand and exploded the darkness without summoning the usual spike.

"Wait? You could do that all along?" Asked Qinrir while pointing at the explosion.

The Angel just smirked and shrugged. She walked up beside the Arachnid and said, "The spike was just theatrics. You saw me fight against monsters and Stellars, so why act surprised?"

Qinrir, despite all his annoyance and exhaustion, chuckled, which elevated Sera’s mood too.

Soon they left the forest behind and appeared in a large room built of wood. Past Sera lay on a wide bed, cradling young Nick in her arms and watching with a joyous smile as he drank her milk greedily.

A near imperceptible smile appeared on real Sera’s lips too, but a few seconds later she turned away to search for the Seed. Qinrir continued staring at the memory of Sera’s breastfeeding, with his head tilted and his expression full of confusion.

"Why’re you holding that little human to your chest? And why’s it suckling on that protrusion?"

Sera halted in her steps and glanced back at Qinrir. The giant spider pointed one front leg at her memory self while asking such a ridiculous question.

Her eyes widened a moment later, and a small giggle echoed from her. She forgot Qinrir wasn’t human and did not know about their customs and biology.

"That’s how we feed our children for a few months after giving birth. Those ’protrusions’ are called breasts, an organ all female mammals have specifically for feeding babies. They make milk full of nutrients, which helps with growth."

With that, Sera prepared to turn away when Qinrir said, "Hmm... It must be tasty given how satisfied your child looks... Maybe I can try some after we’re finished."

The Angel nearly fell on her face as she stumbled. Luckily, she was near the door, so instead of face-planting into the ground, she only head-butted the wooden doorway.

Qinrir, upon hearing the loud bang of Sera’s head meeting the doorway, turned towards her with a confused expression. He didn’t even realize how weird his request was!

Sera coughed in embarrassment and opened the door leading outside.

"Sure, but ask Bea for milk... Hers tastes better!"

A wicked, mischievous grin split Sera’s face as she stepped outside. Instead of explaining why his request was weird, Sera planned on pranking both the Arachnid and Bea!