This was the demon haunting her heart.
Perhaps she had always been thinking about it. In all the years since she had left the Abyss, throughout her long reign as the strongest ruler of the Holy World, her subconscious had remained burdened by her departure. Perhaps she had even been blaming herself all along, believing that she deserved to be judged by her sisters.
That was why this illusory realm had taken shape.
This was the condemnation she believed she had to endure.
Because she had once told him about the Abyss, about the helplessness in her heart. How could a soul that yearned for freedom and a new world cling to ancient dogma and let its entire life rot away?
"Are you that raven? You finally came to find me, didn't you? You still couldn't let me go, could you?"
Amid the biting gale, she gazed at the man who had suddenly appeared and sheltered her in his arms.
She did not understand the things he had said.
But the only one she could imagine appearing at a time like this was the raven who had soared through her dreams. He had been gone for so very long without a word that she had thought she had been abandoned.
Lynn froze.
He looked into the Matriarch's pure golden eyes as he held her.
He knew that, within this illusory realm born of her subconscious, she was not yet the future founder of Dark Night City, nor had she become the ruler of the Holy World. She had yet to rise to power. She had told him about her experiences during this very period, when that raven had accompanied her through the most agonizing days of her inner struggle.
He had shown her the way, only to leave without a