The artificial light from above finally revealed the woman''s face as she pulled back her hood.


    At the same time, two wide silver metallic wings spread behind her. It cast shadows on both Sera and Bea.


    They both took a step back and their faces went pale. The wings didn''t even register for them, because they were too absorbed in the woman''s face.


    Once beautiful, now full of scars, cut marks and burn wounds. As her smile widened, a few recent wounds'' skin broke and began oozing blood down her cheeks.


    Her shoulder length hair was a divine golden color, while her fierce, mad eyes were a mix of gold and green, just like Sera''s.


    The woman''s face was something they both recognized. Now, Sera realized where the sense of familiarity came from.


    The scars couldn''t hide the face beneath, but even if they could, those pair of eyes were something Sera would never forget, because... She saw the exact same eyes when she stared into a mirror...


    As the mad lady watched the realization dawn on their faces, she turned towards the metal ceiling and howled her laughter. It echoed in the large chamber and lasted for a few endless seconds.


    "So you finally know who you are dealing with! Let''s see if you can kill yourself, my other half!"


    From the Scarred Sera''s gauntleted right hand, a curved blade grew out, but this time it wasn''t as big as previously. It was the height of the other Sera and its silver edge was serrated for the extra terror effect.


    When the silver sword fully formed, a silverish-golden flame ignited along the blade and over her wings.


    She brandished the blade once, cutting a deep line into the metal floor. It passed through the metal, like it was air, and they both felt that their defenses wouldn''t be enough to stop it.


    "How is this possible?!" asked Bea, when she noticed movement behind Scarred Sera.


    From the corner of her eye, she also saw where Vicky was lying, but she wasn''t there anymore. Deep down Bea hoped she was alright and could help them get away.


    Sera, on the other hand, had a blank expression on her face. She secretly spoke with Kastral and ordered the entire island and research facility to be evacuated without raising alarm.


    It was all going great, but there was a fact neither Sera nor Kastral expected. Since Scarred Sera was literally the other half of Sera''s soul, she had the same connection to their Eternal Mount.


    Her smiled turned even wider and creepier. She stared specifically at Bea as she answered her previous question.


    "You should probably ask Harold about it. He created this body using that whore''s excess energy, which she ejects with each resurrection. He combined it with half of our soul, giving me life!"


    While talking, she walked slowly towards them. Her presence became more suffocating, and they felt the upcoming violence in the air.


    "You are asking the wrong question though... Who cares how I got here? The bigger question is... Why?"


    Scarred Sera stopped about 20 meters away and stared at Sera''s helmet.


    "The question is, why am I here? Why now? What do I want to accomplish? What is the goal of my existence?... There are so many more questions waiting to be answered, but ''How?'' is not in any of them!"


    Bea wanted to ask another question. She needed to keep the other Sera talking longer, so everyone could escape, but the mad woman had other ideas.


    "Even Harold didn''t expect the stunt you pulled, which is quite the achievement! I don''t actually want to kill you, but I want to be reunited with my other half and, sadly, you need to die for that."


    The silver blade rose in Scarred Sera''s hand. Upon closer inspection, Sera saw runes etched into the blade, and as the blade fell, she felt that her life came to an end.


    In a last, desperate attempt, Sera tried to continue their conversation.


    "How much do you remember?" she asked just as the blade was about to pierce her chest.


    The curved blade''s point stopped less than a millimeter from her skin. Sera felt the flames scorch her body under her tattered armor.


    Scarred Sera stared at her curiously, then looked away with a sad sigh. This was the first time Sera saw normal emotions showing on the mad woman''s face.


    There was regret and pain etched into those much too familiar eyes.


    "I remember everything... The reason your memories are lost is because my half of our soul contained everything. After many failed attempts, Harold realized his normal mind writing wouldn''t work on us..."


    "He then tried to break the part of our soul, which contains all our memories. If it didn''t exist, then you wouldn''t be able to remember..."


    This information brought a lot of information into new light. Sera never understood why haven''t Harold tried to erase more of her memories.


    With Sera''s <Flames of Mourning> passive ability, no mind manipulation would work on her, but it always seemed strange to Sera that Harold never even tried.


    Now she knew he figured noticed a long time ago that the manipulation wouldn''t work. At least not on long term.


    But this revelation brought new questions to Sera. "Then why do you obey Harold? You have all the memories. You know exactly how awful he is! What do you get out of this?"


    Scarred Sera smiled with pure sadness, and she side-eyed Sera.


    "You spent a few weeks in his care... Imagine more than a year of that torture!... You don''t have to tell me how horrible Harold is, I know it more than you!... The reason for my obedience is simple... I don''t want to suffer any longer!"


    Sera finally realized what this woman was. She wasn''t simply mad or insane, but truly broken. She fully obeyed Harold''s every request, just for the torture to stop.


    He managed to find a way around the memory issue. Harold wanted Sera to be fully obedient, but with her emotions and memories outside of his control, that couldn''t be achieved.


    Instead, he separated the rational and emotional part of the soul, and tortured each separately.


    Sera was sure that if the emotional, broken half absorbs her, then the result would be an obedient slave. Scarred Sera would do anything Harold asks, even if she gets stronger, that wouldn''t change.


    This truth appeared in Sera''s mind as her other half raised the sword for a second time.


    Her eyes were still sad, but they were also determined. "I''m sorry it had to be like this..."


    On Sera''s lips, a small smile appeared as she said, "Yeah, me too!"


    With that, she bashed the side of her head into a nearby spike. It broke her skull and entered her brain, killing her on the spot.


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