Royal Secret: I'm a Princess!

"NEOMA, it's not yet too late to stop all of this."

The orange sky held both the sun and the moon at the moment…

… along with the king and the queen that represented them, respectively.

Commander Yoan Solfrid, the God Slayer and the son of the God Among Gods, hovered over the horizon where the sun and the moon met– above the surface of the ocean under his feet. He held Hiu, the ancient bow in his left hand, and a single lightning bolt for an arrow in the right.

Neoma de Moonasterio, the abandoned princess who had lost her mind to the worst Lunacy in history, was also suspended in the air– opposite the Sun King. She held the flaming horns of the God of Wrath that she had just killed in her bloody hands.

But, if one looked closely, the "ocean" below the two wasn't a real ocean– it was Impure Mana. The murky liquid was the substance produced by the Darkness attribute users who were burned to death.

As most people knew, when a person or a creature with the Darkness attribute died, their Mana wouldn't return to Nature. It would become a substance called Impure Mana.

The one who caused the flame that burned those people was the abandoned princess.

The one trying to stop the world from completely getting engulfed in the fire was the God Slayer.

As his title suggested, he had the license to kill gods.

And the de Moonasterios were considered gods among men.

But both the hunter and hunted looked beyond exhausted. It wasn't shocking, though. After all, the two had been fighting for countless days and nights now.

Even so, despite their rugged appearance, the fire in their eyes hadn't died down yet.

The moon's eyes still glowed red, while the sun's one eye remained the color of blood.

"How much longer are we going to fight, Neoma?" Commander Yoan asked in a tired voice. "Why don't we stop now?"

"This fight will only end when one of us dies, Commander," Neoma answered in an equally tired voice. "You only have one lightning arrow left, and I can tell that you do not have enough power to create more lightning arrows."

"I can say the same thing to you," the commander said. "The flame in those horns is slowly dying."

The abandoned princess smiled bitterly. "That's true, and that means this fight will end once we launch each of our last attack."

"Neoma, just what went wrong between us…?"

"You chose to save the world for the greater good," Neoma said indifferently, then she raised the horns in her hands. The flame grew bigger and longer until it looked like blades, while the horns served as the double flaming swords' handles. "And I chose to burn the world you're desperate to save. Commander, you know that the only way to stop my flame from burning the world is to kill me, don't you?"

The God Slayer just gripped the weapons in his hands tighter.

"I've set the world on fire, and I've taken more lives than I have saved," she said in a mocking tone. "I've also killed gods, and ended several mythical races such as the Dark Elves and the fairies. Come to think of it, I also eliminated every single crow and de Luca in existence– not that I regret that."

"Neoma–"

"The Spirit World, the Sun Temple, and the Cosmic Tree's garden were all destroyed by my hands, too," she said, letting out a burst of shallow laughter. "Commander, did you know? Just recently, I grabbed the hand of the Devil. They will soon bring me to the Upper World. Should I say hi to your father while I'm there?"

"I apologize in advance, but you won't be able to meet my divine father," he said, his voice cold and his different-colored eyes void of emotions now. "Neoma de Moonasterio."

The commander called the abandoned princess's name in a tone that didn't have a hint of affection.

The abandoned princess concealed her pain by smiling.

She was afraid that if she cried, the commander would change his mind. Why else would she count the crimes she was forced to commit in front of his face if not to rile him up on purpose?

Only the commander could end her, so he must not lose his resolve to eliminate her.

"Neoma de Moonasterio, the last de Moonasterio in this world," Yoan Solfrid said indifferently as he raised his bow and pointed its glowing lightning bolt of an arrow at the abadonded princess. "I, the God Slayer, with the power granted by the God Among Gods, declare you as the most dangerous enemy of the world."

The commander released his final arrow as tears rolled down his cheeks.

"Don't cry yet, Commander Yoan– you can't kill me with a single lightning arrow anyway," Neoma said, and she wasn't mocking the commander. She was sincerely hoping he would use his REAL final attack. "If you want to end the de Moonasterio bloodline with my death, then you must borrow the divine power of the gods in the Upper World."

After all, the Neoma de Moonasterio who received the Moonglow of Yule, her father, and twin brother, along with the Mana and life force of her Four Pillars, became the strongest de Moonasterio in history…

… and, unfortunately, the one who also suffered from Lunacy the most.

Alone.

***

NEOMA was falling while thousands of lightning arrows poured down to hit her.

Ah, she was having that nightmare again.

The nightmare where she was falling from the sky while reaching her hands to Commander Yoan– yearning to be held by him one last time.

Of course, the commander didn't move an inch.

She couldn't see his face clearly because her eyes were misty. But she could see his lips move, and she could read what he was trying to tell her.

It was a promise.

A promise too sweet for her to believe.

So, in the end, she would just close her eyes– dropping her arms, letting go of her tiny desire to live and be with him.

And then she would fall into the deepest part of the "ocean" made of Impure Mana–  Impure Mana created from thousands of Darkness attribute users that she had killed. Her life would end in the part of the "ocean" that light couldn't reach.

That was how she would die in her recurring nightmare.

Neoma of the first timeline was swallowed by the Darkness she created herself.

After witnessing her own end, Neoma would wake up from that awful dream…

…while calling and reaching for Yoan.

"Neoma," her mother called her name worriedly, then her mother gently grabbed her hands. "It's alright, baby. I'm here."

"Mother…?"

"Yes, baby. It's me," her mother said. "But why are you suddenly calling me formally…?"

She was still disoriented, so she couldn't understand why her mother was surprised by what she called her.

What was she supposed to call her mother?

Her brain couldn't understand.

"Mother, it's cold and dark in here," she said weakly, her voice trembling. "I'm scared. I don't want to die alone again…"

"Neoma, what are you talking about..." Her mother trailed off. "Your temperature keeps on rising," she said worriedly. "Your fever is so high, baby. Let me get you some medicine–"

"Don't go, Mother," she pleaded with her. "Please don't leave me. The Darkness scares me."

"But the lights are bright…"

Were they?

Then why couldn't she see anything at the moment?

Well, she couldn't even tell whether this was a dream or a reality. Her mother died a long time ago, right? She didn't get to meet her. But she was talking to her so naturally now.

[Am I imagining things as I sink deeper into the ocean?]

Ocean?

Hah.

Who was she deceiving?

"The ocean that I created from the Impure Mana of the lives I've taken… it's deep," she whispered, her voice cracking. "I wonder if this is as deep as the resentment they have against me…?"

"Neoma…"

She could hear and feel the pain in her mother's voice.

But she couldn't stop to ask her mother if she was alright.

"I don't mind dying for the sake of the world," Neoma whispered, her tired eyes slowly closing. "All I asked was to be surrounded by the people I loved before I go… but why do I always die alone?"

***

"WHEN Prince Nero stabbed and left me to die, I didn't feel any resentment towards my twin brother," Neoma de Moonasterio, the dying princess, said while sitting on top of the rock. She was on the part of the Upper World where she could see the world still burning from her flame– the flame that would only die out with her death. "I thought it was inevitable for me to end up that way because I tried to bind our lives together for my survival."

"Is it different this time?" Yoan Solfrid, the God Slayer who couldn't turn his back on his divine duty, asked in a voice that barely reached the princess's ears. "Do you resent me?"

The dying princess smiled and shook her head. "You did the right thing, Commander," she said. "I am the villainess who set the world on fire, and you're the hero who's about to save the world from its biggest enemy. I don't resent you, but…"

"But…?"

"But I feel lonely," she said, then she laughed shallowly. "I wish there was at least one person to watch me go."

Yoan Solfrid closed his eyes. "Neoma…"

"But I can't ask you to die with me, can I?" Neoma asked, smiling sadly at the commander. "So, the next time we meet, please don't let me die alone, Yoan."

***

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