Half an hour had passed since the storm ceased its wrath, but the silence left in its wake was far more dreadful. Vengourlus Palace—once a fortress of legacy and grandeur—now lay conquered, bloodied, and still.
Two Trevarian soldiers, clad in darkened steel and soaked in conquest, strode through the long hallways of the royal wing. Their boots echoed against marble, stepping through the remnants of betrayal and war.
They pushed open the heavy doors of the Duke's office, where the scent of blood and thunder still lingered.
"So, it's true," muttered one of them, a man named Dael. "The Duke and his lady are both dead. What a waste."
The other, Garric, stepped closer to Ophelia's still form, her torn and bloodied dress clinging to her like second skin. "Orders say to bury the witch behind the palace garden."
They lifted her limp body, not with honor, but with the same care one might offer a discarded doll.
As they carried her down the path behind the palace, Dael snorted. "Her body's still warm. Our luck's good today. When'll you get another chance to taste a Duchess, eh?"
Garric chuckled darkly. "The dead don't scream."
They set her beside the half-dug grave, one of them reaching out with a grin.
But before his hand could touch her—
Shhk.
A blade tore clean through his chest from behind.
Dael gasped, a choked sound as blood poured from his mouth. He collapsed, revealing Augustus behind him, drenched in blood and rain, his sword gleaming with divine vengeance.
The second soldier staggered back. "I-It's not possible... you were—"
"Dead?" Augustus growled, his voice rough, hollow, furious. "You should have made sure."
One strike silenced the man.
Then there was nothing but the sound of rain beginning again, soft and slow.
Augustus dropped his sword.
He fell to his knees beside Ophelia, scooping her into his arms with agonizing care. Her skin was cold. Her chest unmoving.
"Ophelia... Ophelia, please... I'm here now. I'll protect you. I swear I will, just—come back."
He held her tighter, forehead pressed to hers, tears falling into her tangled green hair.
He walked—no, wandered—with her through the castle ruins, until he reached a corridor long forgotten, lit only by faint golden etchings upon ancient stone.
The hidden temple.
He pushed open its heavy doors with his shoulder, stepping into the sacred chamber of Alsélia, goddess of bonds eternal.
The room was silent.
Torches lit themselves upon his entry.
At the center stood the offering platform.
He laid Ophelia down, brushing a blood-matted strand from her brow.
Then he knelt.
Then he broke.
"Please..." his voice cracked, hoarse with grief. "Alsélia... goddess of love, of fate... I beg you. Not her. Take my life. My soul. But not her."
He bowed again and again, his fists pounding the cold stone.
"She was lied to! Used! She didn't know! She gave everything to save me, even after knowing what she'd done! That's love! Isn't that what you stand for? Isn't that worth a second chance?!"
His voice echoed across the temple's stone, swallowed by silence.
"She's all I have..."
He was still, looking at her , just her , eyes full of despair. Tears falling down endlessly.
Then.....
Light.
A brilliant, golden glow bathed the chamber. The torches dimmed, and the sigils carved into the altar walls flared alive.
From the center of the light, a voice echoed, calm and vast, neither cruel nor kind—simply eternal.
"Augustus Virelion. What do you seek?"
He lifted his head slowly, eyes red and hollow.
"I seek... her life. Even if it costs me my own. Even if I must wander through ten thousand lifetimes. Bring her back."
The light swirled, wrapping around Ophelia's still body.
"You ask for what is not meant to be given," the voice said. "And yet... you offer what no mortal has freely given before."
He crawled closer, clutching her cold hand.
"Bring her back... as her. As Ophelia. Not someone else, not a stranger in her place. I want her."
The goddess was silent.
Then:
"Very well. The bond forged in death shall echo beyond the veil. But such love comes at a cost."
Augustus didn't hesitate. "Anything."
"Then it is done."
The chamber exploded in light.
And somewhere beyond the realm of the living, the soul of a girl with golden eyes stirred once more. The little girl was seating in a garden of the goddess knowing nothing about the realm she once belongs to.
Alsélia asked her " Child , do you wish to see him again?" .
Ophelia nodded even without knowing what she was agreeing to like a last command from her old self....
There begins the new chapter.....