The fire crackled louder than the screams.
Serena Valen couldn't move—her wrists were chained above her head, her silk gown soaked in oil, the scent of roses now twisted into something rotten. Smoke curled around her like a serpent, stealing her breath, scorching her skin.
Below the platform, nobles in golden masks watched from a safe distance. Their expressions were hidden, but their whispers were blades.
"She betrayed the duke."
"Poisoned her own sister."
"She deserves to burn."
Their words dug deeper than the heat.
Serena's eyes darted wildly through the crowd. Where was Kael? Her beloved. Her fiancé. The man who had once promised to protect her no matter what.
Then she saw him.
Duke Kael Ravenhart, draped in ceremonial black, stood at the foot of the pyre like a statue. His silver eyes were unreadable—cold, still, uncaring. The man who once held her trembling hands under moonlight now watched her execution without a flicker of emotion.
"Kael!" she choked, fighting through the smoke. "Please… you know I didn't—!"
He turned his back.
Her heart cracked so violently she thought she might die from that alone.
Standing beside him, her sister Alina clutched his arm, dressed in mourning white like a grieving saint. But Serena knew better. That dress hid the blood on her hands. The same hands that wrote the lies. The same lips that whispered poison.
---
"You're too trusting, Serena," Alina had once said with a soft smile. "That'll get you killed someday."
She hadn't realized it was a warning.
---
The fire caught her hem. Heat surged up her legs, blistering skin and burning silk. But the agony in her chest was worse—every memory turning to ash inside her.
Kael, who had kissed her in secret gardens.
Alina, who had cried in her arms as a child.
The court, who once knelt before her and now watched her burn.
"I gave you everything," Serena whispered. "And this is how you repay me?"
The flames roared in answer.
As her vision dimmed, her thoughts clung to one last truth—
> "I loved the wrong people."
"Next time, I won't be the fool."
---
Then — silence.
No more fire. No pain. No breath.
Just black.
> [SYSTEM INITIALIZING…]
[Revenge Path Chosen. User: Serena Valen]
[Do you wish to return to the past and exact vengeance? Y/N]
[Warning: Failure will result in permanent death.]
The voice was calm. Inhuman. Final.
Serena hovered in the dark, trembling.
But she was no longer the same girl who begged for love.
She would never beg again.
"Yes," she whispered.
---
Her eyes flew open.
She lay in her bed—silk sheets, ivory curtains, morning light. Familiar. Wrong.
She bolted upright, gasping. Her skin was smooth. Her hands unburned. She rushed to the mirror and froze.
Seventeen.
The face staring back at her wasn't the broken woman on the pyre—it was her from seven years ago. Her heart pounded.
> [System Online. Welcome back, Lady Serena.]
[You have been granted one second chance.]
[Primary Mission: Destroy those who betrayed you.]
[Reward: Unlock power, status, and secrets.]
[First Target: Alina Valen]
[Task: Prevent her from attending today's royal tea.]
[Time Limit: 3 hours. Failure will result in punishment.]
A glowing screen hung in the air like a cruel joke.
But Serena was done laughing.
> "You took my life once, Alina. Let's see what happens when I take yours apart, piece by piece."
She turned toward the door.
This time, she would write her own ending.