Chapter 148: Sushi chamber

Chapter 148: Sushi chamber The brief reunion with his family had been painfully short. Kiada hadn’t allowed it to last long, and despite her warm words and gentle demeanor, Eren could see the truth written clearly on his loved ones’ faces. His mother’s smile had been strained, her eyes holding a sadness she couldn’t quite hide. Lyra’s usual confidence seemed dimmed, and even Naia, despite her reassuring words, had looked tired and worn down in a way that spoke of hidden struggles. ’They’re putting on an act,’ Eren had realized as he was led away from the main hall. ’They’re trying to protect me from the truth of their situation, just as I’m trying to protect them from mine.’ Now he stood alone in a dimly lit corridor, facing another ornate door. The guards who had escorted him here - the same ones who had treated him with such reverence earlier - were preparing to leave. "This is where we part ways, Veilwalker," the taller guard said with a respectful bow, though there was something different in his expression now. A kind of knowing sympathy that hadn’t been there before. "Number Three is waiting for you inside." The shorter guard nodded, his previous enthusiasm notably subdued. "Good luck, Veilwalker. We... we’ll be nearby if you need anything." Both guards turned and walked away, their footsteps echoing down the corridor until they faded entirely. Eren found himself alone, staring at the heavy wooden door before him. Unlike the previous chambers he’d entered, this one seemed to emanate a different kind of energy - something colder, more ominous. He stood there for several long minutes, gathering his courage and trying to prepare himself mentally for whatever awaited beyond that door. ’I have to do this,’ he reminded himself. ’For them. For my family. Whatever this Number Three is like, I can handle it.’ The door suddenly swung open on its own, revealing the chamber beyond. Eren’s breath caught as he saw the figure standing in the center of the room. She was tall and elegant, with long white hair that seemed to shimmer in the low light. Her face was strikingly beautiful but cold, like carved marble - perfect features that held no warmth whatsoever. There was something in her pale eyes that made Eren’s skin crawl, a kind of darkness that seemed to go deeper than mere cruelty. What made him pause, however, was her clothing - or rather, the lack thereof. She wore what could generously be called a garment, but it was so sheer and transparent that it revealed everything beneath. The thin material clung to her form, making her private parts clearly visible through the gossamer fabric. "Well?" she said, her voice carrying an odd cadence that seemed to turn even simple words into something unsettling. "Are you going to stand there staring like death has already claimed your tongue, or are you going to enter my domain?" Eren shook himself from his momentary paralysis and stepped into the chamber. The door closed behind him with a soft click that somehow sounded final, like the closing of a coffin lid. "Better," she continued, circling him slowly like a predator studying its prey. "Though I must say, you look rather pale. Like someone who’s seen their own grave being dug." ’She speaks strangely,’ Eren thought, noting how every sentence seemed to carry references to death or darkness. ’Is this some kind of affectation, or is she genuinely disturbed?’ "I’m here for the TUNA ritual," Eren said simply, keeping his voice steady and controlled. "Oh, how direct," she replied, her lips curving into what might have been a smile if it had contained any actual warmth. "Most people who enter my presence spend more time dancing around the inevitable. But then again, you’re not most people, are you, Veilwalker?" She moved to a chair near the window and settled into it gracefully, her transparent garment shifting to reveal even more of her form. "My name is Sushi," she said, her voice taking on an almost sing-song quality that made the simple introduction sound like an incantation. "Though most who learn it don’t live long enough to forget it." Eren remained standing, his posture alert but not aggressive. "Sushi," he repeated, filing the name away. "Tell me about your family," Sushi said suddenly, her pale eyes fixing on his with uncomfortable intensity. "The ones rotting away in Kiada’s hospitality. Do you think about how easily their lives could slip away, like sand through dead fingers?" Eren’s jaw tightened slightly, but he kept his expression neutral. "They’re fine." "Fine?" Sushi laughed, the sound like breaking glass. "Oh, my dear Veilwalker, ’fine’ is such a fragile word. Like a flower that blooms beautifully one day and withers to dust the next. Your mother looked rather... tired when I saw her last. The kind of tired that comes from carrying the weight of inevitable sorrow." "What do you want me to say?" Eren asked, his voice remaining carefully controlled despite the provocation. "I want you to understand the delicate nature of life," Sushi replied, rising from her chair and beginning to pace around the room. "Your precious family members, they’re like butterflies pinned to a board - beautiful to look at, but so very fragile. One wrong move, one moment of defiance from you, and their wings might be torn away forever." Eren watched her movement but didn’t respond to the obvious bait. "The TUNA ritual," Sushi continued, changing topics with the swift unpredictability of a striking snake, "do you understand what it truly means? It’s not just a physical act, you know. It’s a kind of death and rebirth, a transformation that leaves both participants forever changed." "I understand what’s required," Eren said simply. "Required," Sushi mused, the word rolling off her tongue like a death rattle. "Such a cold word for something that should be so warm, so alive. But then again, requirements are often the chains that bind us to our fate, aren’t they?" She moved closer to him, close enough that he could see the unnerving intensity in her pale eyes. "Tell me, Veilwalker, when you performed the ritual with Luna, did you feel the little pieces of your soul dying? Did you sense the way the act carved hollows in your spirit that will never be filled again?" Eren’s hands clenched slightly at his sides, but his voice remained steady. "I did what was necessary." "Necessary," Sushi repeated, savoring the word. "Another cold term for hot work. You’re quite good at distancing yourself, aren’t you? It’s a useful skill when walking among the graves of your former self." She circled behind him, her voice coming from over his shoulder. "But distance can only protect you for so long. Eventually, the reality of what you’re doing, what you’re becoming, will sink its teeth into your soul like a hungry wolf." "Are you trying to frighten me?" Eren asked, finally showing a hint of irritation. "Frighten you?" Sushi laughed again, the sound echoing strangely in the chamber. "Oh no, dear Veilwalker. Fear is for those who still have something to lose. I’m simply helping you understand the beautiful inevitability of decay that touches all things." She moved to stand in front of him again, her transparent garment catching the light in ways that made her seem almost ethereal. "Your family, for instance - they’re aging even as we speak. Each breath they take brings them one step closer to the silence of the tomb. The TUNA ritual won’t save them from that fate, but it might... delay their appointment with oblivion." "Enough," Eren said, his patience finally beginning to wear thin. "If we’re going to do this, let’s get it over with." "Eager to embrace the little death that awaits?" Sushi asked, her smile becoming more genuine and therefore more unsettling. "How refreshing. Most people cling to their illusions of purity until the very end." She walked over to a small table and picked up a crystal goblet filled with dark liquid. "This will help with the transition," she explained, though her tone suggested she was discussing poison rather than medicine. "It makes the boundaries between self and other more... fluid. Like blood flowing from an open wound." Eren accepted the goblet without question, though he didn’t drink immediately. "You know," Sushi continued conversationally, "I’ve been wondering what drives a man to sacrifice so much for others. Is it love? Duty? Or perhaps just the fear of facing the darkness alone?" "Does it matter?" Eren replied, still holding the untouched goblet. "Everything matters," Sushi said, her voice taking on a more serious tone. "Every choice, every sacrifice, every moment of pain or pleasure - they all add up to create the sum of who we are. And who we’re becoming." She moved to the center of the room and slowly began to turn away from him. "The question is, Veilwalker, who will you be when this is all over? When you’ve given pieces of yourself to Luna, to me, to whoever comes next? Will there be anything left of the man your family remembers, or will you have died and been reborn as something else entirely?" As she spoke, her hands moved to the clasps of her already minimal garment. The transparent fabric began to slip away from her shoulders, revealing more of her pale skin. "But perhaps," she continued, her voice dropping to an almost hypnotic whisper, "that’s exactly what needs to happen. Perhaps the man you were was too weak to protect the people you love. Perhaps only by dying and being reborn can you become strong enough to save them." The garment pooled at her feet, leaving her completely exposed. She glanced back over her shoulder at him, her pale eyes gleaming with an unreadable emotion. "Well then, Veilwalker," she said, her voice carrying a note of finality that seemed to echo from beyond the grave, "let us begin the TUNA ritual. Let us see what new form of death and rebirth awaits us both." Eren set down the goblet, still untouched, and steeled himself for what was to come. ’For my family,’ he reminded himself one more time. ’I can endure anything for them.’