Aedan stared blankly around the empty house.Silence enveloped everything — everything except himself.
He rose and moved toward the kitchen with mechanical motions.Water slowly began to boil in the kettle; Aedan moved with sluggish, almost eerie calm.He brewed a cup of coffee, cooked a simple breakfast of fried eggs and smoked ham — as if trying to summon some comfort into the hollow house.He opened the window, letting the pale morning sunlight stream in, its touch faintly cool on his skin.
As he ate his meager breakfast, a smile tugged at his lips.Though it was nothing compared to the meals Elaris had once prepared for him, for the first time since his "resurrection," he felt a fleeting sense of real satisfaction.
Three days passed.Elaris still did not return.
At first, Aedan told himself she would come back any moment — but gradually, a quiet, gnawing anxiety took root.He missed her smile.He missed the warmth of her embrace.He even missed the dependency she had so carefully woven around him.Her scent still lingered in the air, her presence etched into every corner of the house — but she was no longer part of his world.
The emptiness gnawed at his heart.He didn't dare leave, didn't dare search for her — she had given no orders.Without her permission, he couldn't even step outside.
As more days slipped by, the anxious knot inside him grew tighter.The sunlight that poured in through the windows should have been warm, but to him, it felt cold and foreign.He stood at the window, watching the town's winding streets, the lives of others drifting further and further from his own.
He waited.And waited.
Until — after six long days — the door finally creaked open.
At the first sound, Aedan's heart almost stopped.He leapt to his feet and rushed to the door.
There she stood.
For a moment, all his fear and longing dissolved into overwhelming relief.He nearly threw himself into her arms, clutching her tightly, pressing his lips against her silky hair, whispering hoarsely, "Elaris... you're back."
But Elaris didn't respond to his fervent embrace.She gently pushed him aside and turned toward the figure standing behind her.
"Come in," she said softly.
Aedan froze, his heartbeat faltering.He followed her gaze to the man who stepped through the doorway.
He was... almost like Aedan.
The same deep-set eyes.The same sharp, elegant features.Even the subtle curve of the nose was nearly identical.
But unlike Aedan, the man radiated a magnetic charm — a dangerous kind of self-confidence and disdain.
A surge of dread clawed up Aedan's spine.
"Who is he?"His voice trembled as he spoke, raw fear flashing in his eyes.
Elaris turned back to the stranger, her gaze soft, almost worshipful — the same look that had once belonged only to Aedan.The look that had once been his alone.
"He is the greatest blessing Heaven has ever given me," she said tenderly.Her fingers brushed the man's cheek with exquisite reverence, as if touching something sacred.
Aedan felt as if an icy blade had pierced through his heart, leaving it bleeding and hollow.His lips parted to speak, but no sound came out.
The pain of abandonment crushed him.
"Elaris..." he finally managed to choke out, "Are you... abandoning me?"
Elaris smiled faintly, her gaze as cold and sharp as a knife."No," she said with chilling finality, "I'm giving you your freedom."
Her voice was calm, resolute, like a sentence passed with no room for appeal.
"You've always wanted freedom, haven't you?"She smiled almost sadly."Now, you are free."
Aedan's soul emptied out in that moment.The emotions he had so carefully buried surged up all at once, drowning him.
"I..." he gasped, "I don't want freedom. I want you, Elaris. I'll do anything for you — anything. I will always be your most loyal servant—"
But she cut him off with a laugh that was both cold and pitiless."You're a corpse, Aedan," she said flatly.Her voice held no affection, only cold disdain."You reek of decay. No potion, no herb can ever fully mask it."
Her words thundered through him, shattering what little remained of his world.
Only then did he truly understand.
He had never been her lover.He had only ever been... a tool.
Nothing more.
Pain — deeper than any he had ever known — bloomed in his chest.He lifted a trembling hand to his heart, and his fingers brushed against the crystal pendant he still wore.
The crystal was burning hot.
He looked down in shock as it began to glow — a soft, flickering blue light that seemed to pulse with life.
Something unseen pulled at him — a force, irresistible and cold.
The last thing he saw was the pendant's light engulfing him —before darkness swallowed him whole.
—
At 3 a.m., in a cramped apartment in New York City, a young woman stretched and rubbed her aching neck.She adjusted a few final lines on her sketch, then leaned back with a satisfied smile.
Allison picked up her half-melted iced coffee, admiring the finished piece on her desk.
With a soft sigh, she whispered:
"Realm of the Necromancers — complete."