The Obsidian Fortress didn't just look like a tomb; it sounded like one. As the heavy oak doors of the Master Suite swung shut behind them, the click of the lock resonated through Evelina's marrow.
This was the room where she had spent a thousand lonely nights in her past life, weeping until her eyes were raw. Back then, the room was filled with white lilies and soft silks pathetic attempts by her father to make her "palatable" to a monster.
Now? The room was stripped bare. It smelled of cold stone, old parchment, and the sharp, metallic tang of Caspian's uncontrolled mana.
"Strip," Caspian said.
He didn't turn around. He stood by the fireplace, his back a broad expanse of black velvet and repressed violence. He was unbuttoning his high-collared coat with hands that trembled just a fraction, but Evelina's Eyes of Truth didn't miss it.
[Target: Caspian Thorne]
[Status: Mana Overload (Level 4)]
[Condition: The Void is eating his sanity. Current Pain Level: 88/100]
Evelina didn't move. She didn't reach for the laces of her corset. Instead, she walked to the center of the room, her heels clicking a rhythmic defiance against the stone.
"Is that the 'God of Ruin's' best line?" she mocked, her voice airy and sharp. "I expected a bit more effort. A little wine, perhaps? A threat involving my family? Or are you so desperate to see if my skin burns under your touch again?"
Caspian spun around. His eyes weren't grey anymore. They were swirling pits of obsidian, the whites of his eyes overtaken by the corruption of his own power. The air in the room thickened, making it hard to swallow.
"You think this is a game?" He was across the room in a blur, his hand slamming into the wall beside her head. The stone cracked under his palm. "Every woman who has entered this room has left in a casket or a straightjacket. Your 'Light Aura' is supposed to be a filter for this rot. So, filter it, or I will see if your screams sound the same as the others."
Evelina looked at his hand—mere inches from her face. The black smoke of the Void was licking at her cheeks, but the Obsidian Skin she'd bought from the System held firm. It felt like a dull sunburn, nothing more.
She reached up, her fingers grazing the pulse point on his neck. His skin was scorching hot.
"My Light Aura is gone, Caspian," she whispered, leaning in until their chests touched. "I traded it for something much more useful."
Ding! Confusion: +50 Points]
[Ding! Target is experiencing 'Intense Physical Shock'.]
[System Prompt: Use the 'Truth Serum Needle' now?]
Not yet, she thought. I want him to hurt a little more.
"You're lying," Caspian growled, his grip tightening on her shoulder. "The Vances are known for their purity. You're a saint, Evelina. A boring, golden-haired saint."
"The saint died," she said, her eyes flashing with a cold, predatory light. "You killed her. Don't you remember?"
Caspian froze. His brow furrowed, a flicker of genuine confusion crossing his dark features. "I've never met you before today, girl."
"In your mind, perhaps. But in my dreams, I still feel your sword in my ribs."
She moved her hand from his neck to his chest, right over his heart. She could feel it thumping like a trapped bird erratic, violent. This was the weakness she'd seen with her new eyes. He wasn't a god. He was a ticking time bomb.
"You're dying, aren't you?" she asked, her voice dropping the mockery for a moment.
Caspian recoiled as if she'd slapped him. He stepped back, his breath coming in ragged gasps. The black shadows in the room began to lash out like whips, shattering a vase on the mantel and tearing the velvet curtains to shreds.
"Get out," he rasped. "Go to the guest wing. Before I lose what's left of my mind and tear you apart."
[Warning! Mana Eruption Imminent!]
[Emergency Quest: The Taming of Ruin.]
[Objective: Suppress the Target's Mana Riot.]
[Reward: 1,000 Spite Points & Unlock 'Shared Fate' Bond.]
[Failure: Death. (Again.)]
Evelina looked at the door. She could run. She could leave him to suffer in this dark room, let the Void eat him from the inside out, and claim the Vance fortune when he died a week later. It would be easy. It would be justice.
But then she remembered the look in his eyes right before he killed her in the first life. It hadn't been hatred. It had been... relief?
"No," Evelina said, standing her ground as the floor beneath her began to frost over with dark energy. "I didn't come back to watch you die an easy death, Caspian. You owe me too much for that."
She reached into her mental inventory and pulled out the Truth Serum Needle. In the physical world, it manifested as a tiny, shimmering silver thorn between her fingers.
She stepped into the eye of the storm. The Void Aura screamed, tearing at her dress, shredding the crimson silk until she was standing in her chemise, her skin glowing with the dull, metallic sheen of the Obsidian protection.
"Evelina, move!" Caspian roared, his knees hitting the floor. He clutched his head, his power spiraling out of control.
She didn't move away. She knelt in front of him, pulling his head against her shoulder. The contact was agonizing the Obsidian Skin was reaching its limit but she held on.
"Tell me," she whispered, pressing the silver needle into the nape of his neck. "Why did you kill me?"
Caspian's body went rigid. His eyes rolled back, and for a second, the shadows stopped their frantic thrashing. The serum took hold instantly, bypassing his defenses and tapping straight into his subconscious.
His voice came out as a hollowed-out wreck of itself.
"Because..." he choked out, his hands clutching her waist so hard it would leave bruises. "Because the Emperor... he used your soul as the anchor. As long as you lived... I was his puppet. I killed you... to set us both free."
Evelina felt the world tilt.
He hadn't killed her because he hated her. He'd killed her because they were both being used as batteries for a madman's throne.
[Ding! Major Plot Armor Pierced!]
[Relationship Status Updated: Enemies -> Fated Antagonists.]
[Mana Riot Suppressed.]
The shadows receded, leaving the room in a heavy, ringing silence. Caspian slumped against her, unconscious, his head heavy on her chest.
Evelina sat on the cold stone floor, breathing hard, her hands trembling as she looked down at the man she had spent a lifetime hating.
"Well, System," she whispered into the dark. "It seems the revenge plan just got a lot more complicated."
[Balance: 1,060 Spite Points.]
[New Skill Available: 'Shadow Puppet's Rebuke'.]
[Would you like to spend 500 points to heal the Target's internal injuries?]
looked at Caspian's pale, sweat-slicked face. She thought about the Emperor. She thought about her father.
"Keep the points," she muttered, though she didn't push him off her. "Let him hurt a little longer. I'm still the villainess, after all."