Bound and Broken: An Isekai Adventure Dark Fantasy (Melas Book 1) V.A. Lewis (feel good books to read .TXT) 📖

most powerful spells that Aria knew. It brought forth a tempest of jet black fire that was so dark it sucked out all the light from the surrounding area and left nothing in its wake. Staring into its darkness and the desolation it brought was like staring into Hell itself. It was truly a spell that befitted its name.

It was so powerful, Aria once used it to route an army from the Holy Xan Empire. The only problem with the spell was that it took time to cast— time which her daughter bought for her.

Aria looked down at her daughter and felt her heart ache.

She felt guilty for putting her daughter in danger, for using her daughter to buy time as she prepared this spell, but she had no other choice.

If it was only Inquisitors that discovered her, Aria would have had no problem killing them without any preparations. But the Saint was powerful enough to counter most of the spells she knew. Even the Flames of Hell.

Aria did not turn to look at the Saint, but she knew he was still alive. He was fighting to survive the onslaught of black flames, and it did not look like he was going to lose anytime soon. He was why Aria had to put her daughter in danger, but still Aria felt guilty.

However, if Aria felt guilty over endangering her daughter even if only for a minute, she did not think of that. Rather, she could not.

Something else loomed over that guilt. A guilt so large, it crushed her very soul itself. It was an unforgivable sin— something a mother could never justify or rationalize. She was dead.

Aria looked down at the gaping hole in her chest. At the place where her heart, lungs, and other vital organs should be. There was nothing there. She was dead, and yet she was alive for now.

It was not something that could be explained normally. It was not even something that magic could explain. Necromancy could not do this. It allowed the living to reanimate the dead, and Aria was dead. So that was not possible.

No— this was something even beyond magic. Something most mortals could never do. It was something only a Saint or Saintess could do. Or rather, something they were supposedly only able to do.

It was a miracle. Power bestowed upon mortals by the Goddess to destroy the wicked Demons and those who follow their dark magic. And yet, it was a miracle that allowed Aria to live for now.

Aria wanted to see the Saint’s reaction. He probably understood what happened but was too stupefied to fully comprehend it in the moment. She wanted to laugh just thinking about that.

But Aria did not laugh. She was too guilty to laugh. Because even though it was a miracle that let her save her daughter, it was the miracle that would break Melas.

Aria looked at the streaks of glowing purple lines that ran throughout her body. Once they faded— once the miracle ended— Aria was going to leave her daughter once and for all. Despite her promise, and despite her best attempts, she had failed. So, Aria spoke slowly.

"Melas."

"Yes mommy?" The little girl smiled as she looked up at her mother. Her gaze passed over the hole in Aria’s chest as if it was not there, and she locked eyes with her mom. "You’re alive... I’m so glad."

Perhaps somewhere deep inside of Melas, she knew Aria was dead. That whatever this was, it was temporary. But the little girl ignored that feeling, choosing to believe that her mother was fine. Aria smiled bitterly at her daughter’s denial..

"Melas, I am sorry."

"What are you sorry about mom? You’re alive! We can finally leave—" The little girl got no further as Aria’s hug around her tightened.

"Shh, Melas. It’s ok, my daughter." Aria slowly let go of the girl, and knelt down in front of her. She pressed her head against her daughter’s, and closed her eyes. "You will be ok, my daughter. I love you so much."

With those words, Melas finally understood. The pieces that were all there finally connected and she tightly gripped her mother’s arm as she began to cry.

"Please, mom. Don’t—" The little girl choked on the words and swallowed hard. "Don’t leave me. Don’t go."

"I am sorry," said Aria, voice broken at the sight of her crying daughter.

She felt as though it were her fault. As if there were something different she could have done to prevent this. But there was not.

It was pure chance that brought about this meeting. Not destiny, and not fate. Aria was simply at the wrong place at the wrong time. Or maybe it was the Inquisitors who were at the right place at the right time.

Regardless, it had happened, and there was no longer anything that could be done about it. Aria was going to die and leave her daughter alone in this world. Her beautiful, gentle, and wonderful daughter. Aria took one last long look at her daughter as her vision became blurry.

A single teardrop fell from her face as she pulled her head back. Aria tried to hold herself together. She could not cry, not in front of her daughter. She had to be strong in the final moments.

But Melas did not. So she cried and wept and bawled her eyes out. A gentle hand reached out and wiped the tears from the little girl’s eyes. Aria tenderly held onto her daughter until her crying subsided. Until Melas finally looked her mother in the eyes. Only then did Aria speak.

"You are so amazing and wonderful, Melas. From the moment you were born, you were the light of my life and my only purpose of living. You are a gift sent down from the Goddess, an angel that came down to me to soothe my wicked