Haken stood in front of the mirror, steam curling from his skin.
His eyes were still rimmed with silver.
He gripped the edge of the basin, heart pounding, sweat dripping from his jaw.
Why now? Why her?
That moment in the rain—it wasn't just power. It was... recognition.
He closed his eyes.
And he saw it again.
A child.
A girl in white.
Watching as his bones broke and rebuilt beneath a full moon.
But this time, he remembered more.
"You're not a monster," the girl had whispered.
"You're just hurting.
He staggered back from the mirror, breath caught in his throat.
"It was her."
Not just a memory.
A beginning.
🕯 In Vivi's chamber
She placed the book beneath a velvet cloth, hiding it from even herself.
The Cursed Bond.
She didn't want to believe it—but she felt the truth pressing against her chest like a locked door rattling in its frame.
She whispered the line aloud:
> "When beauty meets the beast fated to destroy her, the world shall either fall…"
She paused.
"Or change forever."
What if she was the one meant to break him?
What if… she was the only one who couldn't?
🕸 Elsewhere in the palace
A servant whispered to the guards.
"I saw it. The storm... it broke around her. Like the rain was afraid."
The guards exchanged looks. One slipped away quietly.
Later, that same guard entered the dungeons—dark, damp, quiet.
And knelt before a shadowed figure behind the bars.
"She's waking," he said.
A soft laugh echoed from the cell.
"Then so shall I."
The prisoner stepped into the torchlight—face hidden, eyes gleaming red.
"Let the princess play her game."
"I'll be the one to end it."