Seventy Seventh Seven

"Now, fight. Properly."

Seven took seven measured steps backward, his eyes fixed on Eden.

Adrenaline inside him quickened his breath and sped up the heart rate so fast that Seven thought it would jump out the ribcage containing it.

Across from him, Eden stood calm. The smile on her lips wasn't warm or cruel. It simply existed and evoid of any emotions like it was carved from stone. 

Her sword rested loosely in her left hand. Her right hand that was tucked casually inside her pocket added an air of nonchalance that made the tension in the air even heavier.

Seven's gaze flicked to her sword. There was no frost dancing along its edge. 'I don't need frost,' is what he thought as be imagined the words Eden might say. 

But Eden didn't speak. She simply stood there, staring at Seven.

"Hah…"

With a steady, deep breath, he gripped the sword even tighter. The hilt dug into his palms like as if the sword itself were rejecting him.

Though of course it did.

The sword in his hands wasn't his. It was theirs—the twins' weapon handed by Eden and forced Seven to fight her. 

But he didn't let go 

"Seven Strikes…"

But there's no other option. All that matters is to fight.

"First Form…"

Eden tilted her head slightly as if it was out of habit. It only means one thing: there's a thing she couldn't understand. This time it was Seven's muttering, as if chanting a spell.

But there's no way. Seven didn't awaken any kind of magic.

"Eclipsing Blade."

Slash.

Seven vanished, his body blurred as he moved faster than the eye could track—if only for a millisecond. To anyone less skilled, it might have seemed like he'd truly disappeared.

But not to Eden.

Her eyes followed him with ease. There was no surprise nor panic, but only the quiet amusement that lurked beneath that hollow smile.

But in that millisecond, Seven's sword closed in, its edge a mere seven inches from her face. The air hissed as his aura from the first gate wrapped around the sword, carving a sharp path toward her.

Eden moved with a casual grace, her head tilting just enough to let the blade whistle past her cheek. 

Thrust.

Her left hand rose above as she held her sword as lazily as before. The thrust she launched looked so effortless.

The tip of her sword shot forward. The sheer power split the air as a shockwave rippled outward from the strike along with a gust of icy wind.

Cold bit Seven's skin as he felt the sheer force slam into him.

The bricked wall behind him groaned under the pressure, fractures spreading outward like spiderwebs before the structure gave way. 

Slash.

Still, his sword aimed at Eden in a desperate counterattack. The momentum carried him forward, and he felt the sword connect… or so he thought.

A sharp pain erupted in his chest and stole the air from his lungs. Blood sprayed from his mouth as he staggered past her. His knees buckled, but he forced himself to stay upright.

"Hah… Hah…"

His vision blurred as he turned to face her again.

Blood soaked his chest, warm and sticky, and his breath came in ragged gasps. His sword trembled in his grip.

"Damn it…" 

He stared at Eden. She didn't even move from her spot.

"I missed…?"

His knees gave out, and he fell forward. The cold ground proudly met his hug.

Thud.

Blood pooled beneath Seven's body and stained the dirt of the training ground. He tried to move and to stand, but his strength was gone.

Then darkness.

He couldn't even feel his own heartbeat as he could see nothing but pure darkness.

Step.

Eden stepped forward and crouched beside Seven's motionless body. Her cold eyes were met with gaping hole in his chest, the cavity raw and open, with veins still trembling faintly as if still in shock.

Seven's heart was gone.

Just an empty void where life once thrummed.

But Eden's gaze didn't falter. There was no reaction, shock, or grief. 

She simply stared. 

Her reaction was a complete opposite from the original storyline. The woman in the novel who cried and begged the heavens for being too late to save her dearest little brother was now the very one who ended his life.

And yet, she smiled.

It wasn't the twisted, gleeful grin of a psychopath reveling in destruction, nor was it the soft smile of someone cherishing a memory. 

It was hollow and an expression devoid of any substance as if her body mimicked an emotion her heart could no longer muster.

But her smile faltered when she felt it—a cold drip against her cheek. Slowly, she raised her fingers and brushed them across her skin.

Red.

Blood.

Her smile faded completely. She realized that Seven's sword didn't missed after all as a thin, faint line of blood ran down her cheek.

"My lovely little brother…"

She repeated the phrase again and again, her voice hollow, her gaze falling to the ground beside Seven's body.

The pendant.

The necklace she asked Iria to give him as a token of protection and sibling love. Now it lay there, bloodstained, its original purpose rendered meaningless. 

Slowly, Eden reached for it.

Her fingers brushed the blood on her cheeks and rubbed it against the necklace. Only she knows why. It was either her last act of loving him or just a way to send his soul in peace.

Crackle.

A tiny magic circle formed at the tip of her pointing finger, and frost immediately entered the necklace. No, more like the necklace devoured her frost magic.

The process took seven minutes, the time dragged on in tense silence. 

When it was done, the glow faded, leaving the pendant cold and lifeless once more. Eden's lips curled into another hollow smile as she leaned forward and placed it around Seven's neck.

Her fingers lingered for a moment before she rose to her feet. She turned slowly, her gaze sweeping over the cracked wall of the mansion.

It wasn't her shockwave that had caused the damage. No. It was Seven's heart, his literal, still-beating heart, which pierced the wall with enough force to shatter it.

But she ignored it.

She said nothing, offered nothing, and simply took a step forward.

Step.

Her pace was unhurried like the scene she left behind bore no weight on her shoulders. The soft crunch of her boots against the ground was the only sound that accompanied her, along with the frosty wind.

After a short walk, she reached the mansion's entrance.

Thump!

The sound of Seven's heart echoed across the wall, making her pause mid-step.

"Ciae Arventis."

She called out. It wasn't loud, but it was enough.

"The twins are yours. Don't touch the one I just killed."