Asher — POV
How long had it been since I was captured by that insane princess?
Honestly… I didn't know anymore.
Time didn't exist in this basement.
There were no windows.
No sunlight.
No clocks.
No shadows shifting across the walls to mark the passing hours.
Just stone.
Chains.
And silence.
At some point, I'd stopped counting days and started counting visits. And even that fell apart once the intervals became… irregular. Sometimes she came twice in what felt like a single day. Sometimes she disappeared long enough for hope to start growing again—just long enough to crush it when she returned.
Funny.
I'd avoided every death flag until now.
Every bad route.
Every doomed choice.
Every suspicious affection meter creeping too high.
And yet—
Looks like this one was unavoidable.
"So this is it," I muttered to myself. "The one ending I couldn't dodge."
The Basement Ending.
A legendary bad end that only triggered if you somehow pushed a character's affection past two hundred percent. An affection value so absurd it was practically a joke.
Except I'd achieved it.
Congratulations to me.
"Asher, darling~"
My blood ran cold.
The voice slid through the darkness like silk dragged across a blade—sweet, affectionate, intimate.
Too intimate.
"Fuck—"
A chill crawled down my spine as soft footsteps echoed from above. Each step descended the stairs slowly, deliberately, as if she wanted me to hear every single one.
I'd imagined my death countless times.
Beheaded on a battlefield.
Executed as a traitor.
Poisoned during a royal banquet.
But dying in a basement?
Trapped.
Chained.
Loved.
Yeah… no. This was worse.
"I guess this is what you'd call a basement ending," I whispered hoarsely. "A truly exclusive route."
The footsteps stopped.
I felt it before I heard her—presence pressing against my skin, heavy and suffocating.
"Did you wake up?" she asked softly.
Her breath brushed my ear.
My whole body tensed.
Fear—raw, instinctive, primal—shot through me like ice water.
This time, I didn't raised my head to look at her.
I didn't want to look at her.
She was close.
Too close.
With each step she'd taken down those stairs, my instincts had screamed at me to run.
Run.
Bolt.
Dig a hole through the floor with my bare hands if I had to.
God, how I wanted to.
But this genre was cruel.
And the Basement Setting always came bundled with premium restraints.
I looked down at my wrists.
Enchanted cuffs bit into my skin, glowing faintly with anti-mana runes. Thick chains wrapped around my chest and legs, layered like a paranoid checklist.
Magic? Sealed.
Strength? Laughable.
Escape? A fantasy.
Even if I somehow broke free… I couldn't imagine what she'd do if she caught me again.
I'd tried once.
The cracks in the walls were still there. The bloodstains, too—no matter how often she scrubbed them.
She noticed me staring.
Her smile softened.
"You're quiet today," she said, tilting her head. "Are you thinking about leaving again?"
My stomach dropped.
"I—" My voice came out dry. "No."
She stepped closer.
Her fingers brushed my cheek, tracing the faint scar she'd apologized for giving me.
"That's good," she whispered. "I don't like it when you think about places without me."
Her thumb pressed gently under my eye, forcing me to look at her.
"You look tired, Asher."
I swallowed.
"You don't sleep when I'm gone, do you?"
Gone.
As if this place wasn't a grave.
As if she ever truly left.
"You should rest more," she continued sweetly. "Your body needs it. Your mind too."
She leaned in, her forehead resting against mine.
"I'll take care of everything," she murmured. "You don't need to worry anymore."
My chest tightened.
This was the scariest part.
Not the chains.
Not the wounds.
Not even the isolation.
It was how gentle she was.
How convinced.
How absolutely certain that this—this nightmare—was love.
Her fingers intertwined with mine, slow and deliberate, careful not to hurt me.
That alone was terrifying.
She could hurt me.
She simply chose not to.
"You're safe here," she murmured. Her voice was gentle, almost soothing.
"No one can hurt you. No one can take you away."
Her thumb brushed against the back of my hand, as if reassuring herself that I was real.
Her smile widened—just a little.
"And you won't leave me again."
It wasn't a request.
She traced the line of my jaw, her touch feather-light, reverent, before hooking a finger beneath my chin and lifting my face toward hers.
There was a bit of force this time.
Enough to remind me that my compliance was expected.
If I had to give a quick description of her beauty… any single word would feel insufficient.
Her long golden hair cascaded down her back, curling softly near her waist, shimmering even in the dim light of the chamber. An ornate hairpin—something that likely cost more than the entire tax revenue of my barony—held a few loose strands in place.
Her eyes…
Those deep, radiant red eyes glowed with an intensity that balanced precariously between devotion and madness.
She was undeniably beautiful.
She was also undeniably the most terrifying thing I had ever seen.
She watched my face closely, as if studying every flicker of emotion.
"…Don't make this hard for both of us, Asher," she said softly.
"You know how much you mean to me."
Her pupils were dilated.
Trembling.
Her breathing was shallow now, uneven, like she was barely restraining herself.
"I don't want to resort to force," she continued quickly, almost pleading.
"I really don't."
Her hands tightened around mine for just a second.
"So… I'll ask you again."
She smiled.
It was the most terrifying smile in the history of the Empire.
"Will you marry me?"
Her voice quivered with excitement.
"Will you stay with me?"
She leaned closer, our foreheads nearly touching.
"We don't need anyone else," she whispered.
"No one else."
Her fingers slid upward, resting over my chest, right above my heart.
"Just think about it," she said, her tone turning dreamy."You'll be emperor."
Her eyes shone.
"You'll rule this empire with me."
She laughed softly, breathless.
"You can have everything. Power. Authority. Safety."
Her smile softened—warped into something almost tender.
"All I ask in return…"
Her nails pressed lightly into my skin.
"…is you."
I swallowed.
"You don't want a husband," I said quietly.
"You want a prisoner."
The air shifted.
For a moment, her expression cracked.
Then she laughed.
A light, melodic laugh—too gentle for the words she answered with.
"Oh, Asher," she said fondly.
"Why do you always say such cruel things?"
She cupped my face with both hands, thumbs brushing beneath my eyes.
"If you were a prisoner," she whispered,
"you wouldn't be holding my hands right now."
Her gaze sharpened.
"You wouldn't still be alive."
Silence fell heavy between us.
"I love you," she said suddenly.
"I have always loved you."
Her voice shook now—not with fear, but with desperation.
"I erased threats for you."
"I silenced rumors for you."
"I ruined people for you."
She pressed her forehead against mine, her breath warm, steady—like this was a lover's embrace instead of a prison visit.
"I shattered families."
A pause.
"Burned faith."
Another pause.
"Silenced anyone who looked at you for too long."
Her fingers tightened in the fabric of my shirt.
"So why," she whispered, her lips barely brushing my ear,
"won't you marry me?"
In any normal world, this wouldn't even be a question.
If a princess asked you to marry her, you said yes.
You said yes to wealth.
Yes to safety.
Yes to a long, comfortable life where nothing ever truly threatened you.
I know I would have said yes.
Immediately.
Without hesitation.
Alas… my situation wasn't normal.
Not when a translucent blue window flickered into existence right in front of my eyes.
⸻
[System Notification]
[Warning Status: Subject integrity compromised]
[Risk detected: Loss of reproductive function imminent]
…What the fuck?
⸻
[System Fault Detected]
[Apologies. Diagnostic error acknowledged.]
Yeah.
Sure.
I trusted this system about as much as I trusted the woman pressing her forehead against mine.
But chained to a chair in a hidden basement, trust wasn't exactly a luxury I had.
So I stayed silent.
The screen blinked again.
⸻
[Condition Update: No viable moves remaining]
⸻
[Current Death Flags Indicators Identified:]
1. Mutual Annihilation Agreement
Origin: Princess Elena
"If we can't live together, then we'll end everything together."
Activation Condition: Refusal of the proposal.
---
2. Divine Retribution
Origin: The Saintess
"If I cannot have you, then no one will."
Activation Condition: Acceptance of the proposal.
---
3. Blade Saint's Retribution
Origin: Emma
"How dare you pretend I never existed?"
Activation Condition: Acceptance of the proposal.
----
4. Terminal World Event
Origin: Unknown
Failure to halt the Demon Queen's descent.
Activation Condition: Inaction due to continued confinement.
⸻
I dismissed the window with a slow blink.
In simpler terms?
If I said yes, I died.
If I said no, I died.
If I stayed quiet…
Everyone died.
Elena tilted her head, watching my face with unsettling focus that says 'tell me your answer and it's better be 'yes''
Damn it!
I guess there is no escaping it
If....
If only I had let that train hit me that day.....
And then I opened my mouth....