I Guard The Book That Slays Gods

The bold, calculated voice lingered in the air as Raiden's head whipped frantically from side to side, searching for its source, his expression betraying raw fear and confusion.

"Don't move!" The voice boomed, its sinister echoes twisting through the air.

Raiden's body pulled back instinctively, confusion etched across his face as his expression cracked further under the weight of incomprehension.

"Am I going insane?" he whispered, holding Ash like a lifeline.

"No, you aren't." The voice replied, its tone marginally warmer than moments before. "I know what your heart desires. Obey me, and it shall be yours."

Raiden's expression hardened into a sneer, eyes narrowing with disdain. What kind of fool did this voice think he was? Desperate as he might be for understanding, he wasn't stupid enough to trust something so brazenly forward.

"Why don't you reveal yourself so we can talk?"

Raiden spun wildly, looking everywhere for the speaker, but only emptiness greeted him. Finally, he faced the mansion again, glaring up at the silhouette on its peak.

"You're the one up there, aren't you?"

"This is my world, my dream, and my mind."

Raiden's gaze sharpened as the horrible truth crystallized. If this twisted landscape belonged to the voice taunting him, if this was their domain and their nightmare, then he'd found what they were looking for—he was face-to-face with the Lost Child.

But if he was here, where were the others?—The question gnawed at him again.

"You don't need those pages. Submit to me, and I shall forge a way back to your world."

Raiden's pulse stuttered as his golden eyes flashed wildly. The frigid wind couldn't stop the nervous sweat that slicked down his backbone.

"Home?" The word escaped his lips like a prayer. Did the Lost Child mean his original world—the place he'd been torn away from?

"I've claimed enough souls to distinguish those worth saving." The pause felt calculated, predatory. "Your only desire is home—why should you perish in a place that isn't even yours?"

Raiden's chest tightened as the words sank in. Was this real? Could everything he'd fought and suffered for truly be within reach, just like that?

He swallowed hard, his frame shaking, yet he willed his body to stillness as a smile slowly curved his mouth. He seemed like an entirely different person from the one who had been suspicious mere moments ago.

His hand found his forehead as he massaged the tension away, overwhelmed by the implications. This could truly be it. Everything he'd sacrificed for was suddenly within reach, requiring nothing more from him.

"All I ask is your cooperation. Don't give me a reason for unpleasantness, and you'll have your passage home."

Raiden's grin stretched wider as electric excitement coursed through his veins, pure elation flooding every nerve.

Deep in his soul, he sensed the truth of it. Everything was falling into place so effortlessly, and instinctively, he knew the Lost Child could deliver on his promises. As a former Judge, he would possess the necessary power for such feats.

At that instant, all doubt vanished from Raiden's mind. His terror and bewilderment seemed like distant memories, his missing companions nothing more than afterthoughts. This was his ultimate goal—the very purpose behind entering the Dark Dream and forming these alliances.

"Walk forward; there's a door before you. Stay on that path!" the Lost Child's voice rang out.

Raiden gazed up at the lightning-split sky, euphoria coursing through him.

"Cross that threshold, and home awaits you."

Raiden offered a grateful bow, his face lighting up with renewed purpose. At long last, he could go home and fulfill what he'd set out to do.

"Thank you," he breathed, bowing deeply before breaking into a hurried stride toward the mansion.

He could barely contain himself, shifting and twitching with anticipation. His hands found Ash's shoulder, patting her repeatedly as she remained limp in his grasp.

"We're going home, Ash," he said softly, not caring in the slightest whether she belonged in his world or not. His mind had abandoned all logic.

His pace increased steadily, his hurried gait jostling Ash against him until her chin kept hitting his collarbone, slowly pulling her from her trance.

As consciousness returned to her, Raiden froze, his mood shifting to something almost sinister. Yet moments later, his face radiated with fevered joy.

Not far ahead, an open doorway radiated with intense luminescence. The harsh glow seared his vision, waves of pain crashing through his skull. Any other time, such searing brightness would have made him cry out, but now it felt like salvation.

He approached with cautious, reverent steps. Electric anticipation raced through his body, pure ecstasy flooding his system as his most desperate hope seemed ready to manifest.

But with each step forward, Ash curled deeper into herself, shielding her vision from the searing radiance. Her instincts were serving her well.

As soon as he came within reach, she flexed her fingers and unleashed the identical blow from their last encounter, only with greater force behind it.

"You fell for it again, Papa," she whispered, then drove her fist into his jaw.

The impact struck Raiden's psyche like an avalanche of concrete and steel, ripping him from his hypnotic state and hurling him earthward while Ash dropped smoothly to the ground.

Raiden stirred and clutched his aching chin.

"Ouch… that was painful, Ash." As the words left his mouth, his face grew troubled. Something about the felt familiar, yet his memory remained frustratingly blank.

[It was a trick, Papa,] her voice resonated through his thoughts, drawing his gaze back to the door.

When Raiden turned to look, his frame convulsed with terror. What he saw as his passage home was actually an Iron Maiden, its interior bristling with countless gleaming spikes ready to impale him.

Raiden swallowed hard as he realized what was happening. If he had walked into it, he would have died the moment the door closed, without even knowing he was dying.

"Who are you people?" the Lost Child yelled in frustration. "Why won't you just die?!"

"You coward. Show yourself!"

As soon as Raiden called, he blinked and found himself right back in his previous position, before he ever heard the mysterious voice. Ash remained peacefully resting in his arms, and he felt that the mansion in front of him was still within his grasp.

He stood there, blinking in confusion, overwhelmed by a sense of loss. It felt like something important had happened to him not long ago, yet all he could grasp was an unsettling emptiness. It was as if the memories had slipped away, leaving him with a lingering feeling that something significant had vanished without a trace.

It didn't take long for the realization to hit him, and soon his gaze shifted to the ground, searching for the mark he had made to determine if he was stuck in a loop.

"I see what you're after," the voice resonated in the air, each word dripping with intrigue.

The voice carried a lazy, blunt tone that felt strangely nonchalant, a stark contrast to what it had been before. As Raiden turned his head, confusion flooded over him, and his heart raced with anticipation of what was about to unfold.

"What was that?"