Ellie herself had chosen to stay inside that cage out of her own volition; she had decided to seal her own fate to protect herself from miasma.
It was either stay there or become a plaything for miasma; she had no other choice.
This was also the reason why her peers and even her elders rotted away and disappeared in the annals of history while she remained alive till this day.
"Err... I donât want to talk about myself though... itâs better not to think too much about whatâs already happened; instead, you should aim for a better future..."
Ellie threw a half-eaten cookie at Liam which heat him in the head, before saying,
"Stop saying things that make you sound like some high and mighty... if you want to vent your sadness and cry, you can just hug me, you know!"
"Whatâs the point in sulking all day long and wasting time!"
Liam rubbed his forehead and gave a wry smile.
"Tch, why are you so quick at noticing things like these when you are usually like a couch-potato with an empty mind-"
The very next moment, another half-eaten cookie came flying and hit him like a ballistic missile!
"Who are you calling an empty-brain!? I am the most talented and intelligent among all the shadow dragons of my age in my hometown, you know!!"
"Hmph! When the time comes, you will come to understand how amazing I am! I will show you what I can do!"
Back then, Ellie only shouted those words in the heat of the moment, but every word she said was the very truth.
She was always ready to give her everything for the young boy who treated her like an equal and showed her what âlovingâ and âlikingâ someone felt like.
Ellie was not joking; she never joked. She was a survivor, a woman who caused even Miasmaâs plan to fall apart and kept it at bay for a thousand years!
Elisia Mistilteinn was a proud Shadow Dragon Princess who was the final survivor of an Eternal Curse.
...
Back to present time.
Lying on the cold ground behind the giant door, Ellie was bleeding continuously, and past memories flooded her mind endlessly.
âIs this what they refer to as seeing your memories one last time before death?... it sure is interesting...â
Ellie was heavily injured and half-dead; she could not feel her limbs properly, and she couldnât even transform back to the dragon form with how badly injured she was.
Her vital signs and her aura were slowly disappearing as time passed, but there was no anxiety or sadness on her face anymore.
She was not worried about her death and breaking apart anymore; in those final moments, Ellieâs abysmal luck finally seemed to have shattered, and she achieved a realization in that near-death state.
âI am not afraid, because I know what to do and what I can do... Thank you, Liam, for everything...â
Ellie knew what she could do; she was still in an equal contract with Liam, and it was very much possible to still reverse summon him to her side once again!
But there was a risk of damaging Liamâs soul in that case.
Thatâs why Ellie stepped in personally; she used her own vitality, her own life, her own body, and her own soul as the âsacrifice.â
âFor the one I like... I can even sacrifice myself... hehe... I will show you Liam... I am capable of doing a lot...â
[Ultimate Skill: Forbidden Art: Vital Soul Sacrifice: Forced Reverse Summoning!]
Reverse summoning was a skill only someone with an equal contract and stronger strength could do.
Ellie went one step ahead; she paid the price of soul damage with her own soul to protect Liamâs soul during the transfer and upgraded that skill to the next level by sacrificing her everything!
Elisia Mistiltienn had taken that skill to the next level; her love for Liam was so strong that it succeeded in attracting the attention of the âLawâ of âLove, Care, and Protectionâ!
Due to the manifestation of the âlawsâ of the âworldâ through Ellie, it caused the power of this forbidden skill to become almost equal to that of a legendary skill for a temporary time period!
Moreover, Rio and Raika had fallen inside the wormhole, which means Liamâs soul had left the spirit realm!
Even though it was inside a wormhole, it had technically already left the spirit realm, and it was now available to reverse summoning!
The âlawsâ of âlove, care, and protectionâ are the type of âlawsâ that can bend even ârealityâ to make the wish of those they bless come true!
Even if tracking someone inside a wormhole was near impossible, these âlawsâ were perfectly capable of bending even ârealityâ for Ellieâs sake!
They helped Ellie lock on to Liamâs soul in an instant; their manifestation was so powerful that Raikaâs legendary artifact, the âHoly Lyre of Eternal Faith,â was shattered almost instantly!
Cracks appeared on the legendary artifact, and Liamâs soul was successfully freed from Raikaâs confinement!
Elisia had poured her very existence into that move; it was almost as if the âworldâ itself had agreed to Ellieâs wish, and thus it was impossible for even Raika to stop Liamâs soul from escaping!
Raika didnât lose because he was weak; itâs just that Ellieâs love and concern for Liam was so strong that she bent the ârealityâ just to save Liamâs life by any means possible!
The soul directly teleported right beside Ellie and held it in her trembling palms as a smile appeared on her face.
"hehe... w-welcome home... my dear... I missed you~"
While embracing Liamâs soul and smiling happily with a relaxed smile, Ellie closed her eyes for the final time.
Elisia Mistiltienn, the princess of the shadow dragons, the stain on the shadow dragon race, and the hopeless confined Elisia were no more.
And with that, the final few pieces of the outer layers of the grand seal shattered and fell apart.
{Emotions seem so fragile so weak against all kinds of powers... and yet... they hold the power to bend the very rules of reality itself... How Ironic....}