"So, you were all in collusion from the start." Standing wretchedly in the downpour, cold rainwater streamed down her blue-violet hair. The Herrscher of Corruption hunched over like a stray dog that had lost its home.
Clinging strands of hair covered her cheeks, obscuring her expression, but through the gaps in her bangs, one could still see the bloodshot orange-red eyes.
She glared, her blood-red pupils clearly reflecting Mei's figure. Sensing the distinct aura of Ren on Mei, she seemed to finally understand something.
"Heh... Hahahaha! So that's how it is! I was just your sacrificial lamb from the very beginning!" The Corruption laughed self-deprecatingly, shakily straightening her body. "A Herrscher needs nourishment to grow, and I... I was just the nourishment you prepared for this one."
"And I actually thought... I actually thought..." As the Corruption spoke, tears streamed down her face, her angry voice turning hoarse. She looked at Ren, her breath trembling.
"I thought you could lead me out of that endless darkness! I thought you were going to grant me new life! I thought you could let me become human!"
"Turns out, it was all just my wishful thinking! You never looked me directly in the eye! In your eyes, there was only this one from start to finish!"
In the rainy night, two figures stood facing each other. Pale lightning flashed, casting two shadows of the Corruption and Mei upon the earth.
Yet, though the shadows were identical, due to the angle, one fell beneath the golden tree sheltered by Ren, while the other could only vanish into the boundless darkness.
Ren's expression remained calm. He didn't spare the Corruption another glance despite her accusations, merely repeating the words he had said many times before.
"I told you, I am not your mother."
A simple statement, yet it inflicted more pain than a blade piercing the chest. The Corruption stood rooted, her eyes filled only with devastation.
She stood there silently, letting the rain lash against her body.
Nearby, Mei was speechless, merely gripping the hilt of her sword tightly. Just as she thought the Corruption would continue its questioning, an eerie cackle sounded from the darkness.
"Heehee~ In that case, you can just die together. Become a part of me... along with this one."
Thunder crashed, a storm raged, and the world seemed to hold only the Corruption's figure, casting an immense shadow.
When she lifted her head again, her eyes were filled with crimson light. She bent her body, pressing one hand to her forehead. Between her fingers, a hint of madness could be seen.
"The 'find mommy' game is over. Now... it's time for Corruption."
Her blue-violet hair whipped in the storm, her crazed shadow growing with the darkness. The Corruption twisted her neck, staring at Mei at an extremely unnatural angle.
"Want to use me as nourishment? Then come!" Amidst mad laughter, the Corruption's mouth split into a horrifying grin.
In an instant, even the thunder in the sky seemed to halt. Within the pitch-black clouds, a colossal eyeball slowly opened.
Mei's heart clenched. The long sword instantly left its sheath. The flashing white light struck the Corruption's body without hindrance, splattering blood everywhere.
Landing the blow, she didn't dare relax her guard. With a flick of her wrist, the long sword changed angles in her hand, slashing towards the Corruption once more.
One strike, then another, and another.
The Corruption didn't even have time to resist as Mei delivered seven or eight blows. Yet, despite gaining such an advantage, the warning bells in her mind showed no sign of silencing.
RUMBLE!
Lightning flashed, illuminating both their faces. Mei subconsciously looked at the Corruption, only to see the familiar grotesque smile.
"Kill me! Kill me!"
Amidst the Corruption's crazed laughter, the blade continuously slashed through its body, sending up clouds of blood mist, until the light of the sword faded, and the two figures passed each other.
Backs turned, time seemed to freeze. Mei held her long sword, blood dripping down the blade. Behind her, the Corruption's body was mangled beyond recognition.
Splat. Blood spurted out, staining the rainy night crimson. The unsupported corpse collapsed to the ground, sinking into the pooling blood.
Thunder, rain... In the world of senses, everything fell silent. The only thing Raiden Mei could hear was her own rapid heartbeat.
And... a disgusting squelching, slithering sound.
She snapped her head up, only to see a massive, bloodshot eyeball filling her vision. At some point, the eye had gotten less than ten centimeters away.
The grotesque closeness made Mei's heart tighten. Just as she prepared to retreat, her feet stumbled, caught by something.
Looking down, she was horrified to find countless blood vessels snaking out from the Corruption's corpse, silently entangling her legs.
Fortunately, the vessels weren't strong. A swing of her long sword severed them all. No blood or flesh flowed from the broken vessels, only deep purple data streams.
Just as Mei breathed a sigh of relief, she noticed the data streams hadn't vanished but were clinging to her legs. In a mere instant, the skin on her legs corroded, revealing large patches of nauseating black marks.
"Data Corruption!"
The memory of her missing left hand was still vivid; Mei knew the terror of this thing. Without hesitation, she gathered electric arcs, burning away the data along with her skin.
"You can't escape!" Before she could break free, the Corruption's voice echoed from the eyeball again. She turned back to see the squirming eye had grown immense, expanding in an instant to almost block out the sky.
Wary of the Corruption's next move, Mei decisively pulled back. But this was a data space; where could she possibly hide?
The eye blinked. An intense psychic shockwave struck. She initially thought it was the prelude to a Herrscher attack but found herself unharmed.
As she wondered, everything around her seemed to be devoured by an invisible force, rapidly disintegrating into pure data.
"Data annihilation again?"
No, the disintegrated data didn't disappear. Instead, it reassembled into entirely new data. When this reconstruction was complete, a brand new world replaced the original Elysian Realm.
Flashing neon lights, flickering screens... scattered across the midnight dome were countless retro-style computer monitors.
Pac-Man, Breakout, Snake...
Numerous classic games appeared on different screens, but the moment Mei looked, they all vanished, leaving only a single pixelated eyeball.
"Welcome... to the world of data."