Wait... she was already turning into an Unhallowed before she died?! What the fuck?!

That didn't make any sense at all. If her transformation into an Unhallowed had been well underway before her demise, then why did the System say that she had awakened as a Banshee-revenant? If Julian and the others had planned to kill her before she became one, then they clearly failed at that.

There had to be more to it.

Aubrey gave Julian another slap across his cheek just for making her irritated. He whimpered pitifully beneath her as she climbed off the bed and paced around the chamber floor with her arms folded across her chest. Her eyes darted about while her thoughts raced through possibilities.

If she hadn't yet fully transformed before her murder, then what had happened to trigger the process? And why did these four think killing her would stop it from happening? What did they expect to happen afterwards? Did the System play a role here? It didn't seem like Cedric and the others knew or interacted with a System of sorts, so that meant that being an Unhallowed wasn't a requisite for having one.

Ugh... so confusing. She really needed to find out more about what an Unhallowed actually was. Maybe it'd clear up some questions regarding her origins.

But first, she had other concerns to deal with. Like a certain sniveling nobleman tied to her bed.

"If you were trying to stop me from turning into an Unhallowed before I even changed into one, then you fucking suck at your job. So who put you up to it?" Aubrey asked sharply as she strode back over towards him and stared down at him coldly. "Who? Answer me."

Julian's mouth trembled slightly as he struggled to form words—his entire body quaking in terror. Sweat dripped off his face onto the sheets beneath him. Aubrey leaned closer, her crimson eyes locked on his pale blue ones, as she waited impatiently for a reply.

Finally he managed to speak again. "It w-was H-Helena... Helena Voss. Sh-she told me you needed to die... s-said you weren't meant to be here..."

Helena Voss? Who the hell was that? Again, the name sounded familiar but Aubrey couldn't recall ever hearing it spoken during her time in this world. If only she could remember everything, instead of just bits and pieces here and there. But since her memories weren't coming back, she had to rely on others filling in the gaps—if she could trust what they said.

"Tell me more about her," Aubrey commanded harshly.

"Sh-She works with the Luminous Consortium... I don't know much about her..."

Luminous Consortium? Sounded like another fancy-schmancy organization with a bland naming sense. It certainly fits with the aesthetic of this place, though.

"Well... tell me everything you DO know about her. Don't leave out any details... or else I'll be forced to get... creative with my questioning techniques." Aubrey made sure to emphasize the last part of that statement with a long slow glance down at her claws, tapping them against Julian's thigh for emphasis.

He swallowed hard and began talking rapidly as if he'd explode if he didn't get it all out now. "H-Helena approached me some time ago... asking me questions about you. Wanted to know if I'd heard anything strange about you lately... or noticed any changes in behavior or abilities. When I told her what had happened during your recent performances, sh-she warned me about you becoming something dangerous... and said it w-was imperative that we take action immediately."

Aubrey smirked wryly. "And by 'take action,' you mean kill me."

Julian nodded feebly as he continued. "She insisted upon it... I-I tried to convince her otherwise... I swear! But she wouldn't listen... so eventually I caved in... because she threatened to ruin me otherwise!"

Her gut told her that he wasn't entirely candid, but his body language conveyed too much desperation and fear for him to be making up this story on the spot. So at least he's telling some parts of the truth. That was good enough for now.

"Okay... let's say I believe your little sob story. How does Helena figure into all of this? Is she working for someone?"

"No," Julian replied quickly before adding hastily, "I don't think so anyway."

"Oh? Do go on then."

"She seemed like she just wanted to prevent you from getting too powerful. Said that someone would come looking for you eventually... someone very dangerous..."

"Who?" Aubrey pressed impatiently.

Julian shrugged helplessly. "I don't know! She never said exactly... Just kept warning me about how important it was that you died before that person could find you."

Aubrey furrowed her brows in thought—trying desperately to remember anything about her life as Aubrey Sinclair—but came up empty-handed once again.

Frustration gnawed at her insides, causing her face to contort into a scowl while her nails dug deeper into her palms until tiny droplets of crimson formed underneath them. She released an exasperated sigh as she looked away from Julian toward the window behind him where moonlight shone brightly through the glass panes casting a pale glow across the floor below.

"Alright... next question. What were your original plans for me before that decision changed? I managed to find those ledgers you kept in your office. Don't even try lying about it. I know you kept meticulous records. I also know about your little scheme with those Luminal Projectors and those imbued posters. You planned on using me as a pawn to influence public opinion in favor of the Blackwell Industry's political interests, didn't you?"

Julian nodded meekly as he spoke. "That's right... we planned on using you as a sort of figurehead for our cause. Your popularity among the people would make it easier to gain support for certain legislation we hoped to pass... but that changed when Helena got involved..."

"Because she wanted me dead instead?"

Julian nodded once more. "Yes."

"What about those projectors? Whose bright idea was that?"

"Helena's..."

Of course it was.

"So she supplied them to you?"

"She gave the schematics and instructions for their construction... The Iron Circle provided the resources necessary to build them..."

Aubrey's eyes widened slightly. "The Iron Circle? That's the group you're part of?"

"Yes..."

Ugh... politics and secret societies. Of course there's a freaking Illuminati-wannabe group here too. Guess that's just how shit rolls around here.

"What were you planning on doing with those projectors? I'm guessing they don't have any relation to those posters either."

Julian shook his head vigorously. "No! The poster campaign was merely a test run... We wanted to see if we could really pull off what Helena had proposed. Once we confirmed its effectiveness, then we intended on expanding its application..."

"To what end?" Aubrey questioned sharply.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"It would allow us to directly manipulate the masses..." Julian confessed reluctantly, lowering his gaze away from Aubrey's piercing stare. "With those projectors installed throughout the city, we'd be able to broadcast our messages straight into everyone's homes without them knowing. They'd see exactly what we wanted them to see, hear exactly what we wanted them to hear, and feel exactly what we wanted them to feel, whenever we pleased... All without realizing they weren't even aware of anything else around them..."

"I doubt everyone would be able to afford such a luxury," Aubrey remarked dryly. "You're only targetting the upper echelon, aren't you?"

Julian remained silent—his eyes averted from hers as he stared down at the bed beneath him—as if ashamed of himself for revealing all this information willingly.

"Yeah... that's what I thought." Aubrey said in response to his silence.

Seemed like she unexpected stumbled upon a greater scheme during her investigation, something with much deeper implications than just a simple murder. The people responsible for her death might have just been pawns themselves in someone else's game.

"How long had you guys planned for this?"

Julian shrugged slightly before answering, "Years... It took time to gather enough resources to put everything into place."

Years? So, it wasn't just an opportunistic endeavor once I got famous.

This plan must have predated Aubrey's involvement with him. That meant she somehow fit into their strategy later on, perhaps when he realized just how influential she was becoming. He probably figured he could leverage her popularity and talent to further his own agenda, maybe even create a cult of personality around her.

But then this Helena Voss showed up, wanting her dead, which led to things taking a darker turn.

After a few seconds passed in silence, Aubrey returned her attention to Julian, noting his eyes flickering nervously between her face and the ropes binding him to the bed.

Her eyes wandered down towards his groin area—taking note of the obvious bulge forming underneath his trousers—before letting out a sigh of disgust as she rolled her eyes at him. "Oh my... despite all this terror, it seems you still get aroused. How pathetic and disgusting you are."

Julian said nothing in response—although judging from the flush creeping up his neck and the faint whimper escaping his lips—her words clearly had an effect on him regardless.

She felt strangely pleased at his reaction, despite feeling repulsed by the whole display.

Did her other self still harbor some lingering feelings for the man? Had he been a lover at one point? Perhaps more than just a friend? Was it possible they had once cared deeply for one another, until the scheming got in the way? Or maybe she had always known about his intentions and decided to play along willingly.

A sudden wave of dizziness washed over her, making Aubrey unsteady upon her feet—forcing her to sit down beside Julian on the edge of the mattress. Her head spun with newfound thoughts, accompanied by flashes of images flittering behind her eyelids every time she blinked.

This man... this filth—he enjoyed abusing power, especially over women. There had even been a few instances when he'd gone too far—the way he'd force himself on her and how scared and helpless she felt at his whims. How she had no choice but to acquiesce and endure it for her career's sake.

Yet she had forgiven him. Over and over again, until... well, until he was complicit in her murder.

That might explain why she felt drawn towards him despite knowing what kind of monster he truly was. Maybe they were both monsters in the end. Monsters that hurt each other because hurting each other made them feel good.

The memory faded away after that, leaving her flushed with heat while she panted for breath. Sweat clung to her skin—making it glisten under the light of the oil lamp beside them—while tendrils of desire twisted within her guts, spreading outward until they reached down to pool between her legs.

Beneath the rage and disgust that still stewed inside her, another urge continued building up.

Guess the interrogation session ended early. Maybe this was all she was going to get out of him. It didn't seem like he knew anything else useful anymore. She'd gotten most of the information she wanted from him anyway, so now all that remained...

"Alright, Julian. You've been a good little boy tonight... Well... as good as you can be under the circumstances," Aubrey said teasingly while crawling slowly forward atop the mattress until she straddled him again. Her lips brushed against his ear as she whispered huskily, "Now... let's see how much fun we can have together... one last time... shall we?"

The look in his eyes and the way his lips tugged into a trembling smirk told her everything she needed to know—despite any fear he might've felt, that opportunistic glint in his gaze couldn't hide just how eager he seemed about this. Selectively hearing the "fun" instead of the "one last time" probably did wonders to soothe any misgivings he had about this. The cogs in his head clearly working overtime to convince him that his manhood could save his skin in some way.

Stupid fool.

No matter... she'd indulge these dark impulses now that they surfaced within her—before sending him to oblivion afterwards. It'd give her some release at least.

----------------------------------------

Aubrey dragged Julian by his bound legs across the graveyard's grassy surface—his face scraping harshly against the rough dirt and stones along the way—while ignoring his muffled pleas for mercy behind his gag.

Their brief tryst had left him weak and broken—both physically and mentally—so much so that he couldn't even put up any resistance to his fate as she dragged him toward his doom. Not that she cared; the only thing on her mind right now was revenge.

As she approached the very same unmarked grave where she had awakened, she glanced down into its depths with a sense of grim satisfaction. The earth remained untouched since her emergence, not a single footprint or disturbance to indicate that anyone else had come or gone after that fateful night.

She paused at its edge and looked down into its shadowy depths before turning back to face Julian again.

"This is the grave where I got my life back. A place of rebirth. And now, it'll become your tomb," Aubrey stated coldly while staring down at him with unwavering crimson eyes.

Julian merely stared back at her through tear-stained eyes, shaking his head vigorously while mumbling incoherently beneath his gag.

Aubrey grinned wickedly as she lifted her foot above his head and slammed it down hard against the ground next to him.

"I want you to know this," she continued speaking softly—a cruel smirk spreading across her lips. "All four of you failed. I'm still alive."

She squatted down beside him and stroked his cheek gently with her knuckles before adding mockingly, "Oh, don't worry about the others. They'll be joining you... sooner rather than later. It's just a matter of time. You can count on it. And when you see them in hell, you can tell them all about how it feels to rot away underground, screaming silently into the dark while waiting for death to finally come. It's going to suck. And there won't be anything you can do to stop it. You can take solace in knowing you're the first though, so you can show the others how it's done."

With that, Aubrey grabbed hold of his ankle once more and began dragging him towards the hole. Julian struggled against her grip—his entire body convulsing violently—but she held firm as she lowered his legs over the edge before dropping him unceremoniously inside.

Aubrey listened as he tumbled against the walls of earth below before landing heavily against what used to be her coffin, crushing it further under his weight. She leaned forward and peered down at him lying prone amidst broken wood fragments and scattered dirt—his eyes wide and terrified—while he tried desperately to push himself up from where he lay.

But it was no use; she'd made sure to bind him tightly enough to ensure complete immobility.

Grabbing the shovel lying off to the side, Aubrey began scooping up large amounts of earth and tossing it onto Julian's helpless form—one scoop at a time—while humming a dirge that echoed eerily through the night air around them.

She ignored his frantic pleas for mercy—his muffled cries and whimpers fading away into silence as each mound of dirt buried him deeper and deeper into his tomb.

♪ ♫ Oh bury me not, on this lonely hillside,~ ♪ ♫

♫ For the ravens will come down to fill their nest~ ♪ ♫

♫ Their black feathers fall upon the ground around you,~ ♪ ♫

♫ A shroud for you, so black and endless.~~ ♫

She continued singing while dumping load after load onto him until only his head remained uncovered, his face contorted with despair as he realized his fate had finally caught up with him.

Aubrey paused in her work and stared down at him one last time with an almost serene smile tugging at her lips as she said softly: "Goodbye, Julian... I'll miss you... in a way."

Then, she continued shoveling the dirt above him until only a freshly packed mound of soil marking where he now lay entombed beneath her feet, before returning the shovel back to its proper place amongst the graves surrounding them.

She stood there silently for several minutes staring down at the grave, lost deep in thought. The terror and despair that emanated from Julian during his final moments had sated her spectral hunger—but more importantly—had appeased her lingering need for revenge, finally granting her a measure of peace despite how cold and hollow that feeling felt right now.

This had been only the beginning, however. There were still three more people left to account for before her vengeance would be truly fulfilled... But before then, she needed to figure out more about what kind of creature she had become... and exactly what happened to her other self... and whether or not she could regain her lost memories...

The System once again interrupted her thoughts with a new message.

[You've acquired a large amount of experience]

[Your rank increased from Moderato to Allegretto]

[You have 2 unused Talent Points]

[You have 2 unused Ability Points]

[You can increase one of your attributes by one grade]

Perfect. What a great way to finish off a successful night of revenge and debauchery.