‘A wolf, vicious and dangerous, masquerading as a harmless, helpless lamb. Even now, witnessing that abrupt shift in his gaze is still fascinating. And disturbing. Staring into those cold, calculating eyes of his, it feels like every move I make is being meticulously read and assessed.’
“You already know what I’m after, right?” Elysian said, observing her carefully. “I’m just waiting for your answer.”
“You want me to serve you,” BloodShade stated, smirking at him.
“Correct,” the boy responded nonchalantly.
“Haven’t I already given you my answer?” she said, raising an eyebrow.
“Did you?” Elysian asked, pondering for a moment as if recalling a memory before glancing back at her. “Ah. Well, we all know that answers can change at any time.”
“What if I told you my answer hadn’t changed?” the woman replied, staring him straight in the eye as if they were engaged in a battle of wills.
Elysian remained silent while wearing his grin as though he hadn’t heard her and was still waiting for the answer—the response he wanted to hear. The atmosphere grew thick with tension, weighing down the air so heavily that it would have made any ordinary creature sweat and squirm. Yet, these two beings continued in their silent confrontation. While they stared at each other with their unyielding gaze, intense and piercing, their faces were masked by indifference; it’s a facade they two wore for their role, a means to gain an upper hand in a game they knew all too well.
‘Sometimes, those eyes of his are quite unsettling. And that’s something, coming from someone like me.
Hmm…
Yet, I find myself drawn to them. They’re distinctive, adding depth to his character, unlike those mundane beauties who strut around as if they’re the center of the world.’
“But we both know that there’s only one possible answer to your proposal, don’t we?” the woman remarked, finally breaking the silence between them. With it, the tension faded into the dark recesses of her forgotten realm. A sigh of resignation escaped her lips as she pointed upwards towards the colossal eye peering down on them with its intense gaze, like a god watching disobedient children engaged in their foolish games. “All because of that entity up there?”
Who’s the first one to break the silence spoke volumes—the dominance was established. And Elysian was fully cognizant of it. His face abruptly relaxed, while his once emotionless eyes regained their mirth, finding their place once more in his boyish charm. His disturbing grin devolved into a smile as gentle as a breeze, unlike the predatory one before, out for a kill.
‘Fascinating!
It’s truly a wide world.’
“Correct,” the young noble affirmed.
The woman’s laughter erupted suddenly, echoing through the air with unrestrained delight, while the boy just maintained his amused smile, his eyes alight with quiet pleasure as he observed her with silent measure, savoring every moment of her infectious energy, a complete contrast to her recent insanity.
‘How many times did I laugh today? Two or three times, I don’t know. Does it matter?
I can’t even recall the last time I felt this ecstatic.
Hmm…
It seems it’s been really long. Very long.’
“Then why do you even ask me if the outcome was already decided from the very beginning?” the woman asked, her eyes focused on the boy. She watched him ponder her question for a moment, detecting the subtle smirk playing on his lips—a telltale sign of his showmanship. Instead of being annoyed, she played along, having come to a greater understanding of the young noble by now. So, she simply watched as he pretended to rack his brain for an answer he had known from the very start.
“I just want the idea to come from you,” Elysian finally said, smiling at her as he chose to side with honesty. He recognized there was nothing to hide from her since she already knew. “And, of course, from your own free will—not from any coercion on my part. Even though, deep down, you don’t really have any other option. But if you can convince yourself it was your decision, it will be much easier for you to accept working for me. Resistance fades when you believe it’s your own choice. And I’m more than willing to assist you in reinforcing that belief.”
‘Seems we’re forgoing all the pretense.’
“Of course. Of course,” the woman said, laughing without humor in her tone. “You know it's vile, right? Why would I willingly choose to work for a manipulative ‘son of a b*tch’ like you?”
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“Careful now; you can insult me, but not my mother. That’s the red line you can’t cross,” Elysian said, not entirely serious about the threat but offering a cautious reminder. “Also, I wouldn’t call it manipulation but persuasion, just so we’re clear,” he added, smirking at her. As he pondered her question further, he sighed and continued, “Let’s be honest. All creatures influence each other, knowingly or not. When people interact with each other, the way they smile or frown affects the other person’s behavior. It’s simply the reality, especially for those in positions of power who have people to rule. It’s what you’d call politics. At the end of the day, it’s the intent that matters,” he said, growing serious. “And I can assure you, my intent towards those under me will never be malicious. I can promise you that.”
“Isn’t it said that the road to the abyss is paved with good intentions?” the woman countered, raising a brow.
“You’re right. I can’t argue with that,” Elysian responded with a somber expression before sighing deeply. “I know my actions might have dire consequences. I just can’t help myself. I’ve refused to get involved in the past, believing that it was their choice, but in the end, I couldn’t forgive myself. I’ve always asked myself, what if I did not listen and just did this or done that. Would the outcome change? Would they have survived?”
‘Regret is such a cruel thing. How can someone so young suffer so much?’
“What if your action might lead to their demise? Could you bear that burden?”
Elysian looked her straight in the eye and honestly replied, “I don’t know. What I do know is that I will never forgive myself if I don’t do anything. At the end of the day, I am and will be a leader of men. I can’t escape the responsibility that comes with it,” he remarked, his face suddenly appearing tired and aged from the weight of the burden he had to carry. “Now, I’ve made my decision to forgo inaction. I believe that it’s better to take whatever action, even if it involves manipulation, to save the lives of my people. I don’t care what I must do; I must ensure that I can protect them.”
‘A broken mirror, seeing your reflection on its pieces.
Hmm… This feels weird. He’s indeed broken, just like me.’
“Damned if you do, damned if you don’t,” the creature mused, offering a sad smile.
Elysian sighed, nodding to her. After a moment of silence, he remarked. “I know my actions might not be moral. I don’t even proclaim to be a good person. I don’t care about all that. They can call me a villain all they want. I just want to protect all the people that I care about with whatever I’ve got. And I hope you will be one of those people.” Smiling warmly at her, he continued, “But I do believe that my proposal is a win-win for both of us. We can both get what we want.”
‘He’s right. I have nothing to lose.’
Before she could respond, Elysian laughed and added, “This discussion suddenly became serious so quickly. Knowing the truth, I just hope I didn’t come across too poorly and make the wrong impression.”
The woman’s eyes softened slightly as she smiled and said, “Don’t worry, I don’t care about that. I’m the queen of spite, after all. Something like that is inconsequential to me. I’m just a little irritated that I’m going to be serving a man.”
“As I mentioned earlier, I’m not a man but a boy,” Elysian quipped, raising a brow before chuckling. “Going to be serving a man? So, does that mean?”
‘I can’t believe I’m doing this.
Though their personalities are opposite, my little Marcus is almost the same age as him. Sigh.’
“Congratulations, boy, you just have me as your blade,” BloodShade said, sighing before shaking her head at what she just decided. “Well, I don’t know if I’ll be a boon for you. I might be a curse. You never know.”
“You’re a curse I’ll gladly accept,” Elysian responded, grinning at her, extremely happy with what he had just accomplished.
‘I hope you won’t regret that.’
“Let’s see if you’ll still say that once all of this is done,” Bloodshade stated, a devious grin spreading across her face as her entire body became enveloped in crimson light, its edges tinged with a darker hue. Then, a hole suddenly appeared on her chest, resembling an all-consuming pit of endless void.
When he saw this, Elysian swallowed hard. The hole in her chest seemed ominous and dangerous. Even worse, he didn’t know what was happening, so he decided to ask her, “Hey, is everything alright?”
‘How does it feel now to be afraid, brat?’
Instead of responding, the woman chose to remain quiet, maintaining her grin that clearly revealed her fang as the hole in her chest began pulling everything around them toward her. At first, it was just the pillars, followed by the branches and skulls, and then the lake of blood.
As the endless pit in her chest started devouring everything, Elysian felt the urge to run away immediately. He only stopped when he noticed the Eye of Sachaeon, staring at them without a care in the world. While the colossal eye’s behavior wasn’t surprising in itself, as it always acted according to its own whims, it provided him with the necessary time to contemplate what was truly happening.
Elysian realized that even though he was in very close proximity to the woman, the pull of the endless hole did not seem to affect him. Even when the blood under his legs was being devoured by it, he was still unaffected. So, against his trepidation, he chose to stay and calmed himself.
‘Impressive. But what should I expect? The boy has already withstood the pain I inflicted on him. The uncertainty of the unknown should be nothing to him. It’s just that often he’s hard to read. He wears so many masks, from a total fool to someone scary, that at times I couldn’t discern if it was really him.
Whoever he truly is, I’ve already cast my lot. I’ve made my choice. Hopefully, I won’t come to regret it.
Now, let the pain begin.’
When everything around the realm was devoured, only the eerie whiteness remained, or perhaps it was replaced. He did not know. What he did know was that the creature’s realm felt like it had been stripped like wallpaper from a wall, leaving only this strange emptiness. The only blemishes on this seemingly perfect monochromatic strangeness were him, the woman, and the hole in the sky, where the colossal eye still peered, indifferent. Being inside was extremely uncomfortable; it felt like he was floating, but not quite. This was something he hadn’t felt before, and he doubted this was something a mere mortal should have experienced. What was even more troubling was the creature’s stare. She grinned as if she were hinting that this was just the beginning.
And just as Elysian feared, it was only starting. The woman’s mouth suddenly opened as if to scream, but there was no sound; instead, a crimson light emanated from her mouth. Her eyes blazed with the same intensity. Then, out of nowhere, her entire body collapsed, being devoured by the hole in her chest. This continued until nothing was left but the hole.
“F*ck!” Elysian cursed, his mind swirling with confusion at the bizarre turn of events. As he bore witness to the unfolding chaos, she uncertainly gnawed at him. “Hey, Eye, she’s not trying to kill me, right?!” he exclaimed, desperation coloring his voice as he pleaded for some form of reassurance from the indifferent colossal creature. Yet Eye remained silent, its gaze lazily watching. With a heavy sigh, Elysian resigned himself to the unsettling spectacle before him.