Chapter 35

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I SQUEEZED my eyes shut, gritting my teeth as sharp pain stabbed through my hands. I tried to move, but icy metal shackles bit into my wrists and ankles, holding me in place. Slowly, I opened my eyes, blinking against the dim, hazy light that barely revealed the cold stone walls around me. Chains wrapped tightly around me, glinting faintly in the gloom, and the air was thick and frigid, biting into my skin.

“Mmph!” A muffled cry escaped me as I realized something rough was pressed against my mouth, preventing me from speaking. I struggled, my breaths coming fast and shallow. Shadows loomed in the dim light, casting eerie shapes over my confined form. I could barely make out the edges of the room.

I looked around, my eyes darting across the familiar yet nightmarish surroundings. This place… I know this place. I’ve been here before, but how? Where am I? Panic crept in, twisting my thoughts. How did I end up back here?

A faint memory flickered, a name—the Emperor. Rage flared within me. He did this. He used that cursed ability.

My mind raced, piecing together fragments of the Emperor’s sickening plans. He’s done this countless times, his obsession with reviving someone twisting him into a madman. Every time Sebastian regressed, it was all to bring her back—using my body as some twisted vessel. My stomach churned as I remembered reading that book Arthemice had left unfinished, a book that hinted at a fate far worse than death.

Then it clicked—the prophecy about the eclipse, the monstrous breach of the kingdom walls. But the book had never mentioned those monsters—creatures that originated from the grotesque tree hidden beneath the Imperial Palace. That tree fed on souls, and its roots stretched into a darkness even I couldn’t comprehend.

The Emperor is making his move to capture me. But why? I thought back to the original storyline. The villainess, Arthemice, was meant to be banished after the otherworldly monster’s defeat. That should have been the end, the final chapter of this twisted game. Yet here I was, trapped and helpless. The script had been rewritten, and I’d been taken far sooner than I could have anticipated.

I stared up at the cracked ceiling, my heart pounding as I whispered inwardly, ‘Arthemice… why is your fate so cruel?’ Confusion clouded my mind. What did they want with me? Why this body—her body?

A thought flickered to life, something the Emperor had said about Arthemice being the daughter of the High Priestess. I shuddered, my breathing shallow as dread began to seep into my bones.

Suddenly, a gust of icy air burst into the room as a window shattered, flooding the space with the pale glow of the moon. My eyes widened, taking in the nightmarish sight illuminated before me.

“Mmph!” I screamed against the gag, my heart racing. I was in the Heirloom Chamber of the Ducal Palace, and there—right in the center—stood a glass coffin. Inside lay a figure, eerily still and frozen, her features identical to Arthemice’s. The woman’s skin was as pale as death, her expression peaceful, as if she’d been waiting in silent torment all these years.

A chill gripped me, colder than any chain or shackle.

Revive... She’s the one he’s trying to revive?! No… wait, why does she look so much like Arthemice? My heart pounded. Don’t tell me… she’s the High Priestess?! I blinked, the weight of realization crashing over me.

The orb—it all connects. I remember now. To make every monster hatch, the orb needs to be destroyed. But only its creator has the power to break it. I thought back to what the Grand Duke had told me: the High Priestess was the one who sealed away the monsters, containing their strength. Without her, the monsters lingered, weaker but still threatening. And the Emperor... he wants to shatter this realm. To do that, he needs the High Priestess alive to bring down her barrier. He wants her back… so he can force her to destroy everything she protected.

I looked up, thoughts racing. Could this be true? Or are these just the desperate pieces of a twisted theory? But if I’m right, if the Emperor is truly willing to go this far to destroy the kingdom… Why? What did this kingdom ever do to him that he’s so hellbent on tearing it apart?

I shook my head, frustration clawing at me. I wanted nothing more than to run my hands through my hair, to ground myself, but the chains wouldn’t allow even that small comfort. I let out a bitter sigh, fighting back the panic rising within me.

“You’re awake.”

The voice was cold, slicing through the silence. I looked over, my gaze locking onto a blank, slowly rotating painting. When it stopped, the figure of a man stepped into view, his emerald eyes gleaming under the faint moonlight that streamed through the broken window.

Sebastian.

He entered with measured, deliberate steps, the heels of his boots echoing ominously in the chamber. His gaze pinned me down like a predator closing in on its prey.

He stopped just in front of me, reaching out to yank the cloth from my mouth, allowing me to gasp in the stale, icy air.

“Where is Arthemice?” His voice was sharp, deadly. The question wasn’t a request—it was a demand. His hand clenched my chin, forcing me to meet his gaze. Hatred smoldered in his eyes, his brows knitted in fury as he leaned in, his breath warm but threatening.

“I’ll ask you one more time.” His voice dropped, dangerously low. “Where. Is. Arthemice?”

A slow smirk crept across my face as her last words echoed in my mind: ‘You’re the owner of this body now.’

“My lady is already dead,” I declared, staring coldly into his eyes. His grip tightened as he shoved my chin away, his gaze blazing with fury.

“Did you kill her?” he spat, his voice trembling with barely restrained anger.

I couldn’t help but laugh, a mocking, bitter sound that filled the silent room. This bastard... is he serious?

“Oh, Sebastian, don’t play the fool,” I sneered, tilting my head in mock pity. “You know very well it was you who killed her. All of you did.” My tone hardened, and I felt the venom drip from my words. “Don’t pretend to care now. Every time you regress, you sit back and watch her suffer. ‘An illness’? What a joke. You just managed to suppress it this time, didn’t you? Where was this ‘mercy’ when she was slowly dying?”

His eyes widened, shocked, unprepared for the truth I was hurling at him like daggers. Good. Let him feel it.

“Do you even know why I’m here?” I leaned closer, the chains rattling as I moved, the cold metal biting into my skin. “Because she allowed it. She fought tooth and nail to bring me here—to let me wear her face so I could take the revenge she craved.”

I leaned back, letting my voice drop to a whisper as I let the words seep into his soul. “Reincarnation… She summoned me to rip apart everyone who wronged her, even if it meant choosing someone as weak as me. And if she wanted me to bring hell to this kingdom, then I’ll do exactly that. I don’t care if it’s the Emperor himself—I’ll burn everything he holds dear.”

My breath was coming hard, my heart pounding as a sinister thrill coursed through me. I could feel her anger merging with mine, her rage blending with my own resolve. This isn’t just her vengeance anymore; it’s mine.

“Watch me, coward,” I hissed, my grin stretching into something dark, menacing. “The ‘intruder’ you wanted dead is about to reshape the fate of your precious kingdom. All the things you failed to do to protect her—I’ll do them my way.”

Something in me was driving these words, a relentless, unyielding force that wouldn’t let me stop. I’d endured too much, suffered enough in this twisted body, to turn back now. I would escape, and I’d wield every ounce of power the system granted me.

They think they can use me, but they’re dead wrong. I’m the one holding the chains now.

“H-How the hell did you know I was a regressor?” he demanded, the shock in his voice barely concealed. I tilted my head, eyes glinting with amusement at Sebastian’s question. His curiosity was almost endearing. His eyes bore into me, searching for answers I had no intention of giving freely.

I let a smirk play on my lips, shrugging nonchalantly. “Well, does it matter now?”

I barely had time to respond to Sebastian before the painting starts to rotate, sending a chill through the dim room. We both turned, and there stood the Grand Duke Daryl, his eyes wild and haunted, his every step radiating menace.

Ignoring us both, he strode to the center of the room where the glass coffin lay, its occupant eerily still. He reached out, his fingers brushing over the frozen, lifeless face inside—the face of a woman who looked uncannily like me. My breath caught. Who is she really?

The Grand Duke Daryl’s voice broke through the silence, filled with reverence and a strange, fervent affection. “Soon… soon, you will awaken,” he whispered to the woman in the coffin. “And we’ll cast this intruder out of your daughter’s body.”

A pang struck me as I watched him—a memory that felt all too real, seeping into my mind from the life I now occupied. Back then, when the Grand Duke had no reason to doubt, he treated me with kindness, a fatherly warmth that seemed unshakable. He’d once been a man of quiet, unwavering strength, the kind of father who offered gentle words and reassuring smiles. But that image was shattered now, twisted beyond recognition. The loving father I had glimpsed in fragments of my memories was gone, replaced by this hollow, vengeful stranger.

A bitter sadness welled up within me, tinged with the sorrow of loss, though I forced myself to bury it. Whatever humanity he once possessed had been buried long ago, lost beneath layers of darkness I neither understood nor cared to forgive.

“What, too mad to even look at me, Your Grace?” I drawled, forcing a smirk to mask the hollow ache within. “Or is your little dream to raise the dead so fragile it can’t handle a bit of reality?”

Daryl’s gaze shifted, dark and furious, locking onto me with a loathing so intense I almost felt it as a physical weight. “You, vile spirit,” he spat, each word seething with contempt. “You desecrate the body of my beloved Artemisia’s daughter with your presence. And soon, you will be erased.”

Artemisia. So, I am right. This is Arthemice’s mother… I stilled, my eyes narrowing at the coffin. The resemblance was uncanny, but the implications twisted in my mind, stirring a confusion I was careful not to show. If he wanted this… this Artemisia back, then what did he need Arthemice’s body for? My mind raced, putting pieces together, but nothing fit.

Sebastian’s expression shifted, dark and unreadable as he watched Daryl. For the first time, he looked truly unsettled, his silence almost hesitant. I couldn’t afford to dwell on it. I focused on Daryl, tilting my head, letting my voice drop to a taunting murmur.

“So,” I sneered, “you’d rip apart your own daughter’s life, drag her soul through the mud, just for a desperate dream to resurrect the past? You call me vile, but look at yourself, Grand Duke. This delusion of yours reeks of pathetic cowardice.”

His eyes flashed, his hand falling from the coffin, clenching in rage. “You… know nothing of what I have endured,” he hissed, his voice barely above a growl. “You’re nothing but a thief, robbing this body from the daughter of the one I loved.”

A bitter laugh escaped me, and I leaned forward, the chains clinking around my wrists. So he’s one of the Emperor’s puppets, then? Does he truly believe the Emperor would bring her back just for him? Poor fool—he’s just another pawn.

“Then why don’t you tell me, Grand Duke?” I taunted, masking the confusion that churned beneath my defiance. “What are you trying to bring back, hmm? Or maybe even you don’t know.”

“Silence!” he snapped, taking a furious step toward me. I only lifted my chin, meeting his gaze with the same mocking, cold stare. If he thought he could intimidate me, he had no idea who he was dealing with.

“Fine,” I drawled, my voice low, venomous. “Pretend it’s all noble, that you’re sacrificing everything out of love. But let me tell you something, Daryl—your beloved Artemisia would sooner spit on you than thank you for this. Whatever pathetic plan you have, it’ll only end with more suffering. Maybe hers… but certainly yours.”

Daryl’s hand twitched, and his eyes darkened with a fury so intense that, for a moment, I thought he might strike me. Sebastian shifted uneasily beside him, though he said nothing, his gaze flickering between us.

“I will see you destroyed,” Daryl whispered, his voice soft, almost reverent with hatred. “You, who have stolen what is most precious. You will be nothing but a memory—no, less than that. You will be a stain, erased for good, while she”—his eyes returned to the lifeless woman in the coffin—“will rise again.”

I felt my pulse quicken, and a chill crawled up my spine, but I forced a slow smirk, masking the unsettling realization beneath my exterior. “Is that so?” I purred, my voice low and dangerous. “Then do it. If you think you have the power to rid yourself of me, try. But know this, Duke, I will burn this entire kingdom down before I let you use me—or Arthemice—as your plaything.”

Daryl’s face contorted, and he took another step forward, murderous intent clear in his gaze. Sebastian hesitated, caught between his loyalty and the rising madness of the man he served.

And in that moment, despite the chains, despite the cold bite of fear, I laughed—a hollow, cruel sound that filled the room.

“Come now,” I whispered, my voice a dare. “Let’s see who the real villain is.”

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The ability [Evoke] has been activated.

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fin.