When the peaceful social order of their original world crumbled under the ancient laws of the Tower of Procession, nothing restrained them from ceasing to bow to Shiki. Eventually, those she once considered her servants turned the tables, making their "master" a mere plaything.
Her beautiful crimson eyes, a reflection of the dragon blood within her; her unparalleled beauty, outshining all women; and her alluring, curvaceous figure—all became nothing more than outlets for the stress and desires of dragonewts who risked their lives daily. Shiki was passed from one to another, like the most sought-after toy.
She tried to resist, but all she had was empty arrogance, useless against those hardened by battles of life and death. Their abilities far surpassed hers, and Shiki’s pride was shattered to dust.
In the end, she was forced to face reality. Gone were her illusions of exceptionalism—she was just one cog in the vast machinery that spun the reality of this world. She was so insignificant that, when her body no longer held appeal for them, her fate became even sadder than being a mere ornament in a forgotten corner. Her final owner intended to sell her, but her value had plummeted. No one wanted Shiki, not even as decoration. She was discarded, left to rot like a piece of spoiled meat in a basement filled with other refuse.
Shiki believed this was where she would end. Her eyes saw only piles of decaying garbage, and the stench of rot filled her nostrils. At last, she realized she was no different from the trash surrounding her. She was no longer of any use to the world, and the only place for useless things was the garbage heap. Her gaze grew vacant, waiting for death to claim her.
But never in her wildest dreams did she expect that, when her heart had frozen over and her eyes were steeped in darkness, a light would appear.
His silvery-white hair shone like rays of light descending from the heavens. His mischievous smile seemed capable of lifting any burden, and his calm, wise, and inquisitive purple eyes gave the impression that this world was merely a game in his hands. He appeared before Shiki like a beacon of light she couldn’t comprehend, shaking her entire worldview and turning her broken existence upside down.
"Hey, done playing? The fun’s just starting!"
Those were the only words he spoke, his playful smile leaving Shiki stunned and unable to respond. He hadn’t come to save her; his presence felt more like that of a wanderer, drawn by curiosity, stopping by briefly, and then moving on.
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Shiki could only stare in confusion, unable to comprehend what had just happened to her. Once she managed to escape from that filthy place, the man with the purple eyes vanished without a trace. Yet the image of his smile and those calm, piercing eyes remained etched in her mind, as though they had given her broken life a new purpose.
Shiki didn’t even know the man’s name, but their first encounter had sparked an obsession within her. She felt as though she and the man with purple eyes were bound by fate. If her world were a story, she was its protagonist, and he was her soulmate. Shiki was utterly convinced of this, and over time, her conviction deepened into an obsession.
Shiki changed. She used every means at her disposal to grow stronger, no matter the cost. She became calculating, evaluating everything and exploiting whatever could serve as a tool to achieve her goal. She never imagined she could transform into such a person, but she quickly ascended to the pinnacle of power in this ruined world. Yet even as the strongest of the dragonewt species, she failed to find the man with the purple eyes. Frustrated, she turned her attention to other species, reigniting the Brides War that had barely subsided.
She annihilated species after species, making the dragonewts a terror within the Procession Tower. Her methods were so ruthless that she left no survivors—not even infants. She relentlessly sought any trace of the man with purple eyes, and as time went on, her obsession consumed her. Her terror became an overwhelming threat to the other powerful species, forcing them to unite against her.
But Shiki didn’t care. Eventually, she found a trace of the man with purple eyes, and her obsession reached its peak, compelling her to charge headlong into the traps her enemies had laid.
However, she failed in the end. Though her power had surpassed many other creatures, she was no match for those who had been fighting since the beginning. It wasn’t a lack of potential but the simple fact that she had started too late. Even so, there was no regret in Shiki’s heart—only an unrelenting obsession.
As her vision began to blur and her body grew numb, one final hope emerged in her heart: to see the man with the purple eyes one last time. Perhaps that was her only remaining regret.
A single tear slid down her long-frozen cheek.
“I just want to see you for the last time, please.”
[Do you want to start over?]
Shiki didn’t know where the voice came from—perhaps just a hallucination from her dying mind. Still, she answered.
“Yes…”
[Why?]
“Because this time, I know what I’m living for…”
[What for?]
“For him! To live by his side and never let him go again!”
[Then, I will give you one last chance!]
With that voice, Shiki drew her final breath. What she didn’t notice, however, was the crimson ring adorned with a gemstone resembling a dragon’s eye, now placed on her ring finger.
Shiki's Ring [Leonardo.ai]