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00:00:00The moment my best friend learned the truth about my immortality and my enormous fortune,
00:00:04she hired a practitioner of dark sorcery and set a trap to have me killed and sent straight to the
00:00:09underworld. All so she could take my life essence for herself. On the rooftop of a Manhattan
00:00:14skyscraper, I sobbed so hard I could barely breathe. Please don't kill me! I'll give you
00:00:20everything! The trust fund, all of it, every dollar! I was terrified of dying. Truly, utterly
00:00:31terrified. Because my ex-husband, the one who ruled the underworld, had sworn the day I left him that
00:00:37if he ever saw me again, he would throw me into the lake of fire, peel my skin, tear me
00:00:42apart piece
00:00:43by piece. Vanessa, we've known each other for 10 years. I've always been good to you. Please just
00:00:50let me go! I'll transfer everything to you! Please! I dropped to my knees on the rough
00:00:59concrete of the rooftop. My dignity shattered, nearly smashing my forehead against the ground
00:01:05as I begged. Vanessa let out a cold laugh. The pointed tip of her designer heel tilted my chin up.
00:01:12I don't just want your money. She said, I want your endless life. Aren't we best friends?
00:01:19What's yours is mine. If you really care about me, then give it all to me. She shot a look
00:01:26at the
00:01:27black-robed sorcerer beside her. He understood immediately. Grabbing a fistful of my hair,
00:01:35he dragged me toward the edge. 33 stories below, a demonic-packed circle had already been drawn in
00:01:42blood. If I fell and died, everything would go exactly as they planned. I would not even have
00:01:48the chance at reincarnation. Vanessa had made sure of that. No revenge. No lingering spirit.
00:01:56She intended to erase me completely. The freezing New York wind slammed into my face as I struggled,
00:02:03clawing backward. But her greed had already spiraled out of control the moment she learned my secret.
00:02:09She rushed forward and, together with the sorcerer, kicked me over the edge. As I fell,
00:02:16the rushing air drowned out everything. My senses blurred into nothing. Then came the impact.
00:02:22A deafening crash exploded in my ears as my body hit the ground, reduced to a mangled ruin of flesh
00:02:29and blood. When I regained awareness, I was no longer alive. I was in spirit form, standing in the
00:02:36underworld. Two infernal guards stood beside me, each gripping a thumb-thick soul shackle. The other
00:02:43end was locked tightly around my neck. A heavy fog surrounded us, but the distant wails and screams
00:02:50were painfully clear. I had been here before. This was the entrance to the gates of hell, and I had
00:02:56my
00:02:57damned ex-husband to thank for that. Back when I tried to leave him, he had dragged me here himself,
00:03:04eyes burning red, just to scare me. He never actually threw me in. But now, I was about to be
00:03:12erased for
00:03:12good. I was murdered! I cried, struggling not to be dragged forward. I didn't do anything wrong!
00:03:20One of the guards, a man with a thin mustache, pulled a barbed whip from his belt and lashed me
00:03:25without hesitation. The pain tore straight through my soul. I collapsed instantly, unable even to
00:03:32scream. He said coldly, I don't care where you're from. Once you're in our hands, you're done.
00:03:39If it was a choice between immediate damnation and taking a gamble, I would take the gamble.
00:03:44What if Lucian still remembered me? What if there was even the slightest chance? He'd show mercy?
00:03:52Anything was better than soul obliteration. My voice trembled as I forced the words out.
00:03:57I know your lord of the undergailed. I know Lucian. I want to see him.
00:04:03The two guards exchanged a glance. Then the whip came down again. This time, I felt something inside
00:04:11me crack. A fracture ran through my very soul, and I couldn't speak another word. The mustached guard
00:04:18spat at me. You think you get to say His Majesty the Underlord's name just like that? I don't care
00:04:26how you learned it. Keep your head down unless you want more pain. Powerless, I was dragged forward
00:04:32like a dead animal. The other guard, who had been watching quietly, looked uneasy. What if she's telling
00:04:40the truth? What if something goes wrong? The mustached guard scoffed.
00:04:46What's there to be afraid of? That sorcerer said she's no saint. There's no record of her in the
00:04:51Ledger of Souls. Picked up a few tricks of dark sorcery, that's all. Of course she'd know His
00:04:55Majesty's name. You're too soft. If the higher-ups can't find her, then it's not our problem.
00:05:01We're getting paid. Let's move. No point dragging this out.
00:05:05At that point, I understood everything. They had been bought off by Vanessa and that sorcerer.
00:05:12Guards of hell, taking bribes to do something like this. When I saw the towering gates of hell ahead,
00:05:19carved with grotesque demonic figures, a deep, uncontrollable terror shook my soul. The guards
00:05:25cast a spell, and the massive gates began to open slowly. My heart sank into despair. Then suddenly,
00:05:32a voice rang out from behind us, drawing closer. New arrival? Has she gone through the judgment
00:05:40process yet? My heart lurched. I recognized that voice. Cole, a high-ranking reaper. And he knew who
00:05:48I was. I stared at the tall figure emerging from the mist, my heart pounding as I forced out his
00:05:55name.
00:05:55Cole? The moment I spoke, a hand clamped over my mouth. One of the guards dragged me behind a
00:06:02massive rock, silencing me before I could say another word. Through the haze, I watched as Cole
00:06:08was stopped by the moustached guard. Panic surged through me. I struggled wildly, only to be struck
00:06:15hard in the lower back. The blow knocking the air out of me. The moustached guard quickly pulled out a
00:06:21pack of Marlboros, his face breaking into a psychophantic grin. Lord Cole, what brings you
00:06:27here today? Got something good from the human world, strong stuff. Wanna try one? Cole brushed dust off
00:06:33his black coat, clearly irritated. Cut it out. I asked you a question. Has that wandering spirit gone
00:06:41through the judgment process? The guard swallowed, his confidence faltering. Yeah, of course. We
00:06:48wouldn't dare skip procedure. You and Selena have been swapped lately, right? Go ahead, take a break.
00:06:54Cole accepted the cigarette and lit it, saying nothing more. The fog was too thick for him to
00:07:00see me clearly. Desperation took over. I bit down hard on the hand covering my mouth. The guard yelped
00:07:08and let go. I bolted toward Cole, but before I could take more than a step, a heavy kick sent
00:07:15me
00:07:15crashing to the ground. A boot slammed onto my face, grinding me into the volcanic ash. It filled
00:07:21my mouth and throat. I couldn't spit it out. I couldn't make a sound. Thankfully, the commotion
00:07:29caught Cole's attention. He stepped closer. What's going on over there? The guard I had bitten pressed
00:07:36his foot down harder in retaliation, as if trying to crush my skull. Nothing serious, just a restless
00:07:47spirit. Still struggling even after getting this far. You know the type. None of them are innocent.
00:07:54No need to dirty your hands. Cole paused, then stopped approaching. Be careful. Every one of them was a
00:08:04criminal in life. No mistakes. Send her in. With that, he turned and disappeared back into the mist.
00:08:12And just like that, whatever hope I had left died with him. The moustached guard bowed and scraped
00:08:18until Cole was gone. The moment he turned back, his expression twisted with anger. He rushed over and
00:08:25kicked me several times, then raised his whip and lashed out again and again, venting his fury. It didn't
00:08:32take long before my soul was covered in wounds, barely holding together, unrecognizable. Finally,
00:08:38he grabbed my chin and forced my face up. You little bitch. Almost ruined everything for us.
00:08:47Don't worry. Once you're inside, I'll take real good care of you myself. I was thrown into the first
00:08:53circle of hell like a piece of trash. This level was reserved for the thousand spike torment. Everywhere I
00:09:00looked, there were iron maidens and racks of torment. Souls were. Bound to them, each body pierced by
00:09:06thousands of steel needles, like grotesque. Human pin cushions. Here, souls were not allowed the mercy of
00:09:13destruction, which meant the screaming never stopped. A chill ran through me as I forced out the last of my
00:09:20strength, my voice shaking. I really do know. Lucian, if you treat me like this, and he finds out, he
00:09:29won't you get
00:09:30away with it? It was mostly a bluff. Lucian would not care whether I lived or died. If anything, he
00:09:36probably never
00:09:37wanted to see me again. Otherwise, he would not have given me ageless immortality, leaving me alone in the human
00:09:45world, unable to age, unable to die. He was making sure I would never come back here and bother him.
00:09:54Once I crossed this threshold, the guards no longer saw me as a threat. The mustached guard patted my face
00:10:01mockingly. His grin cruel. What's wrong with you? Watch too many Hollywood dramas? You think someone like
00:10:08you gets to even think about his majesty, the underlord? My head was knocked to the side. A wave
00:10:14of nausea hit me, and I coughed up a mouthful of black mist. My soul felt thinner, more transparent.
00:10:22They strapped me onto a rack of torment. The mustached guard grinned as he picked up a soul-piercing spike,
00:10:29each one as long as my forearm. Hang in there. There are 17 more levels waiting for you.
00:10:34We've got plenty of time. He raised one of the spikes and drove it straight toward my thigh.
00:10:40No matter how tough you think you are, everyone breaks down here. The tip pierced half an inch
00:10:46into me. The pain tore through my soul like it was being ripped apart. My entire body shook uncontrollably.
00:10:56A voice cut through the air. The spike was yanked back out. I gasped, forcing my eyes open to see
00:11:05who
00:11:05had arrived. It was Harris, the warden of the pit for this level. I remembered him. Back when Lucien had
00:11:13dragged me to the gates of hell to scare me, Harris had been there, trying to calm him down.
00:11:18Your majesty, the underlord, the concert queen is just being impulsive. There's no need to be so
00:11:23angry. You might hurt her. Hope flared inside me again. After all these years, maybe he's still
00:11:30remembered. Harris? Warden Harris? It's me? Please, help me?
00:11:43After everything I had endured, I was completely drained. My throat felt raw, like it had been scraped
00:11:49against sandpaper. But I knew Harris had heard me. He stared straight at me, studying my face as if
00:11:56trying to place it. Then I saw it. The sudden contraction of his pupils. The flicker of shock and
00:12:03fear. He recognized me. Relief barely had time to surface before he looked away, avoiding my gaze.
00:12:10As if nothing had happened, he turned to the guards. We just received word from above. They
00:12:15want to witness this woman's sole absturation in person. They're almost here. Hold off for now.
00:12:21I froze, disbelief flooding through me. Harris was in on it too. He had recognized me and still chose to
00:12:28do nothing. The last bit of hope I had left was extinguished. A bitter laugh slipped out of me.
00:12:34Lucien. So this is your underworld. Your domain, where your subordinates take. Bribes, bend the rules,
00:12:43and do whatever they want without consequence. And Vanessa. I had underestimated her. I could not
00:12:50decide if she was bold or cowardly. Bold enough to come all the way here. Cowardly enough that she
00:12:56needed to see me destroyed with her own eyes, just to feel safe enjoying my endless life and my money.
00:13:01Soon, the mist ahead began to clear. Vanessa and the sorcerer arrived. They had used astral
00:13:08projection through dark sorcery, their souls temporarily separated from their bodies.
00:13:16At first, Vanessa looked uneasy. The instruments of torture, the endless screams, all of it made her
00:13:22cling tightly to the sorcerer, afraid to stray even a step. But when she saw how familiar he was with
00:13:28the guards and even Harris, exchanging knowing glances, her confidence returned. After all,
00:13:34she was the one paying. She walked toward me with arrogant ease, took a red-hot spike from one of
00:13:40the
00:13:40guards, her face twisted with excitement.
00:13:42Serafana, I should thank you. Without you, I never would have experienced what it's like to live
00:13:49among the elite in the Upper East Side. Turns out money really can make anything happen. With enough
00:13:56of it, I can even walk through hell itself. And now I get to watch you, the untouchable heiress.
00:14:04Nailed down like a dog. You've lived long enough. I'll take it from here. Go quietly.
00:14:08That's the only way I can feel at ease. I looked at her, numb, forcing myself to endure the pain.
00:14:14Wasn't I good to you? Even as I said it, I knew how pointless the question was.
00:14:19If she had any conscience at all, none of this would be happening. Vanessa burst into laughter,
00:14:25almost hysterical. You think you were good to me? I worked as your assistant. Wore your outdated
00:14:32designer hand-me-downs. Stood next to you at parties like a prop. Even the way men looked at me.
00:14:41Like I was just an extension of you. And you call that being good to me?
00:14:47I said nothing. There was no arguing with someone like her.
00:14:55When I first met her, Chicago was in the middle of a brutal snowstorm. She had been standing there in
00:15:01a thin, worn-out jacket, shivering, on the verge of freezing. She had come from some remote town,
00:15:08couldn't afford rent, couldn't find a job, and was about to end up on the streets. I took her in.
00:15:14I never needed a personal assistant. I had long been used to being alone. I gave her the job out
00:15:21of sympathy. I treated her like a friend. Anything she wanted, as long as it wasn't unreasonable.
00:15:27I gave it to her. Her salary was higher than most senior professionals on Wall Street.
00:15:33Over time, she stopped seeing herself as an employee. She took more and more. She wore my
00:15:39limited-edition gowns without asking. Used my black card. I had been too lenient. She started
00:15:46to believe we were equals. Worse. That she could replace me. My real mistake was trusting her.
00:15:54One night, drunk, I told her my secret. My ageless immortality. My silence now only fueled her madness.
00:16:04She leaned in close, her eyes filled with venom. Nothing to say now, right?
00:16:09You agree with me, don't you? You never saw me as a friend. You were just handing out charity.
00:16:15Go to hell!
00:16:16She raised the spike and drove it down toward my heart. A wet,
00:16:21sickening sound echoed. She did not hold back.
00:16:28Harris and the guards exchanged uneasy looks. Destroying a soul core outright would cause serious
00:16:34disturbance. But none of them stopped her. They simply watched.
00:16:39Black mist poured from my mouth. My soul essence was leaking away. My body turned increasingly
00:16:46transparent. My thoughts grew. Sluggish. My vision blurred.
00:16:54Vanessa kept screaming, completely unhinged, stabbing spike after spike into me.
00:16:59My face was shredded, every wound leaking dark smoke. And then, through the thick haze,
00:17:06I saw him. Lucien. Walking toward me. He looked exactly the same. More striking than any Hollywood
00:17:14star I had seen in centuries. Time had left no mark in him. His black velvet robe was embroidered,
00:17:21with dark gold patterns. A symbol of absolute power. His long dark hair flowed like a cascade.
00:17:27His features were sharp, flawless. His gaze carried a terrifying weight that made people want to fall
00:17:34to their knees. The kind of man you could not look away from. The kind of man you feared. Was
00:17:40this a
00:17:41hallucination? It had to be. A dying illusion. He would never want to. See me again. And yet,
00:17:49why had everything suddenly gone silent? The guards, Harris, even the arrogant sorcerer. All of them
00:17:57were trembling. And kneeling.
00:18:02Your majesty, the underlord. What brings you here in person? Harris was shaking uncontrollably,
00:18:08kneeling ramrod straight as cold sweat dripped. From his forehead onto the black stone beneath him,
00:18:14taking bribes from the living was already a grave offense. Allowing living souls to enter hell and
00:18:21even carrying out unauthorized punishment made it far worse. And now he had been caught red-handed by
00:18:27the ruler of the underworld himself. There would be no good ending to this. The sorcerer's face drained
00:18:34of color. He quickly yanked Vanessa away from me, stopping her frenzied stabbing and forced her down to
00:18:41her knees beside him, pressing, her head low. Lucian's gaze swept across everyone present.
00:18:47Cold. Cutting. Absolute. The air itself seemed to freeze under the weight of it. Behind him,
00:18:55the high chamberlain, Sebastian, stepped forward and barked, his voice, thunderous.
00:19:02Outrageous. If his majesty had not come today, who knows how far your in arrogance would have gone.
00:19:11Have you all forgotten the laws of hell?
00:19:16The two guards who had dragged me here lowered their heads as far as possible, as if. They wished
00:19:22they could disappear into the ground. I wanted to speak, but my mind was slipping. The wounds in my
00:19:29chest and face tore at me with unbearable pain. All I could manage were shallow, broken breaths.
00:19:37Would he recognize me? And if he did, what then? Would he pull me out of this nightmare? Or would
00:19:44he do exactly what he once promised? Throw me into the lake of fire? Tear me apart and watch me
00:19:52suffer?
00:19:53At this point, it hardly mattered. I was already close to soul obliteration. My vision of him was
00:20:00starting to blur, splitting into overlapping shadows. After a long silence, Lucien finally spoke. His voice
00:20:08was calm, slow, and colder than ancient ice. Harris, I entrusted the first circle of hell to you.
00:20:18This is how you carry out your duty? Allowing a living soul to enter my domain and administering
00:20:25private punishment on my ground? Harris slammed his forehead against the floor over and over,
00:20:30even harder than I had, when begging Vanessa earlier.
00:20:40I was wrong. I know I was wrong. It was those two guards. Greed got the better of them. They
00:20:47brought the
00:20:47living in. I had no idea. Before your majesty arrived, I was just about to drive them out.
00:20:52Two guards immediately snapped. Even in front of Lucien, they could not hold back.
00:20:58This is your territory. If a living person got in, that's your failure. The mustached guard shot back.
00:21:06You took the bigger share of the money. How dare you turn on us now? Harris's face twisted with fury.
00:21:14You were the ones who came up with this scheme. You dragged me into it.
00:21:18Your majesty, please see the truth. I finally understood. Lucien was not here to save me.
00:21:25He had sensed something wrong with the barrier, realized his subordinates were,
00:21:30breaking the rules, and came to deal with it. I just happened to be here, an extra piece in someone
00:21:37else's disaster. At this point, I felt almost invisible. The sorcerer and Vanessa were at the
00:21:44center of the storm. As the three of them turned on each other, blaming and accusing Lucien let out a
00:21:50quiet scoff. The sound struck like a hammer against every soul present.
00:21:56Enough! His voice carried finality. Since they are here, those two living souls will not be returning.
00:22:06Strip them of bodily perception. Detain them for judgment. He paused, then cast a cold glance at
00:22:13Harris and the two guards. As for you, you knew the law and broke it. You will be cast into
00:22:20the
00:22:20abyss of demons. You will become hellhounds for all eternity, burned by hellfire, never to rise again.
00:22:28Harris went completely still. Still kneeling, he collapsed backward, his face drained of all color,
00:22:35too stunned even, to beg. The two guards looked no different. Pure despair. Vanessa, slower to process,
00:22:45finally understood what not returning meant. She stared at her semi-transparent hands and panicked,
00:22:51scrambling to her feet. You can't do this. I'm not supposed to die yet. Don't you have rules in hell?
00:22:58I paid for this. She could not let go. Not of the life she had just stolen from me. Not
00:23:06of the endless
00:23:07wealth waiting for her in Manhattan. The sorcerer, terrified she would drag him down with her,
00:23:12grabbed at her leg and hissed under his breath. Are you insane? Get down on your knees. She shook him
00:23:20off
00:23:20violently and pointed straight at Lucian. I'm leaving now. Send me back. If you don't,
00:23:27you'll regret it. The sorcerer shut his eyes. He did not dare move. Vanessa grabbed him by the
00:23:33collar and shook him, her face twisted with rage. What are you doing? I paid you a million dollars.
00:23:40Do your job. I said I'm going back now. She had no idea. Lucian despised noise,
00:23:47and he had no tolerance for mortals who overstepped in his presence. The next second,
00:23:53he simply lifted a finger. Vanessa's soul was struck as if by an invisible hammer.
00:23:59Her body flew backward like a severed kite. As if fate itself were mocking her,
00:24:04she landed hard on a marrow table covered with instruments of torture. More than a dozen
00:24:10red-hot soul-piercing spikes drove straight to her back. Her screen tore through the entire first
00:24:16circle of hell. Now she understood. The pain. The horror. Her face twisted beyond recognition as she
00:24:24shrieked. Silence her. Sebastian raised a hand, his voice cold. Several high-ranking guards stepped
00:24:32forward immediately, forcing her down, covering her mouth as the spikes burned through her. When it was
00:24:38over, silence returned. Heavy. Absolute. Only then did Lucian slowly turn his head. And look at me.
00:24:48I could feel it. His gaze. Cold. Distant. Like he was looking at something worthless. Like I was nothing more
00:24:57than trash. Sebastian read the shift in Lucian's expression immediately and stepped forward,
00:25:04his tone sharp and authoritative. Who are you? State your name. Why were you brought here without
00:25:10going through the judgment process? Even after being sentenced,
00:25:15Harris clearly was not ready to give up. He was still trying to salvage something, anything. If it
00:25:21came out that I had been smuggled and through bribery, bypassing the proper process, his fate would only get
00:25:27worse. And if Lucian actually recognized me, he spoke first, rushing to cover it up. Your Majesty,
00:25:35she's just a newly dead wandering spirit. No idea how she slipped in. Anyone who ends up here isn't
00:25:40innocent. She even tried to attack the guards just now. There's no need for you to concern yourself.
00:25:44I'll dispose of her immediately. Lucian's brow furrowed slightly,
00:25:48displeasure flashing across his face. His gaze cut toward Harris like a blade. Before he could say
00:25:54anything, Sebastian stepped in and kicked Harris to the ground. You were not addressed. Keep your mouth shut.
00:26:01One more word, and you go to the abyss now. I tried to speak. Tried to call out. But my
00:26:08throat only
00:26:09produced a hollow, rasping hiss. Black wisps of soul energy kept spilling from my mouth. When no clear
00:26:16answer came, Sebastian approached me himself. He examined my condition with visible disgust,
00:26:23then turned back to Lucian and shook his head. Your Majesty, her soul is severely damaged. It's on
00:26:32the verge of collapse. I'm afraid we won't get much out of her. Lucian had always been a ruler of
00:26:36order
00:26:37and strict law. He did not tolerate any disruption to the rules of the underworld. Verify her identity.
00:26:43If she does not belong here, stabilize her soul if possible. Then determine whether she should be
00:26:47returned to the living world or sent into the cycle of rebirth. Sebastian bowed. He immediately ordered
00:26:56someone to bring the ledger of souls. While they waited, Vanessa was still struggling on the ground,
00:27:03twisting and thrashing, trying to pull the spikes out of her body. She still did not understand what
00:27:08kind of existence she had just provoked. All she could think about was getting back to the living
00:27:13world. Back to my luxury penthouse. Back to spending my money, living the life she had always envied.
00:27:21Soon, a clerk hurried over, carrying a massive, faintly glowing ledger of souls. Sebastian took it
00:27:28and stepped closer to me again, looking down from above. Your name. I gathered what little strength I had
00:27:34left. From deep in my throat, I forced out a single word. Barely more than a whisper.
00:27:43Sebastian did not recognize me. He must have taken this position sometime in the last few centuries.
00:27:50He began flipping through the ledger, his fingers moving quickly as he searched the records of the
00:27:56corresponding years. Seconds passed. Then minutes. His movements slowed. Something was wrong.
00:28:04A thin sheen of sweat appeared on his forehead. That's not possible. How could this be?
00:28:13Lucian's patience snapped. He was not known for tolerance, and even less for restraint.
00:28:19The temperature around him seemed to drop instantly. A dark, violent aura surfaced beneath his composed
00:28:25exterior. What is the delay? How long does it take to check a name?
00:28:32Sebastian dropped to his knees with a thud, raising the ledger above his head with trembling hands.
00:28:38Your majesty. Please forgive me. I have checked every record. This woman. Her name does not exist in
00:28:45the ledger of souls. A bitter smile flickered inside me. Of course it didn't. That had been Lucian's doing.
00:28:53His punishment. To erase my name. To leave me wandering the human world. Unable to die. Unable to enter
00:29:01reincarnation. He in hell. Me in the mortal world. Forever separated. Never crossing paths again.
00:29:11Lucian, however, did not make the connection. Too much time had passed.
00:29:17His first instinct was that someone had tampered with the ledger, daring to challenge his authority.
00:29:23Fury surged. Black energy roiled around him as he snatched the ledger from Sebastian,
00:29:29flipping through it himself. What is her name? Sebastian's voice trembled. She calls herself
00:29:39Serafina. The moment the name left his lips, Lucian's hand froze. His pupils contracted sharply.
00:29:48For the first time, something cracked through that cold, untouchable composure. Shock. Disbelief.
00:29:57Something deeper. His gaze snapped up from the ledger and locked onto me. Pinned to the rack of
00:30:03torment. Broken. Barely holding together. In the blink of an eye, black mist surged.
00:30:13He appeared in front of me like a phantom, bringing with him a suffocating chill.
00:30:20His long, cold fingers shot out and gripped my chin, forcing my head up. His brows were drawn tight.
00:30:27His gaze sharp as a hawk's, as if he were trying to see through the ruin of my face and
00:30:32uncover who
00:30:33I really was. But there was nothing left to recognize. Vanessa had carved my face into a
00:30:39mess of crisscrossing wounds with those. Soul-piercing spikes. Black mist seeped from
00:30:46every cut. Whatever beauty I once have was gone without a trace. He stared at me for a long time.
00:30:53Something unreadable flickered in his expression, as if he was struggling to confirm what he was
00:30:58seeing. His voice was low, restrained. The pain made it impossible to breathe. I could only give
00:31:07the faintest nod. The moment he got his answer, his grip tightened. I felt my jaw creak under the
00:31:14pressure. His eyes darkened instantly. A storm gathering beneath them.
00:31:21Of course I had not forgotten. Those words were carved into my soul.
00:31:27The day he released me, he had stood before the gates of hell, looking down at me with cold
00:31:33indifference, warning that if he ever saw me again, he would throw me into the lake of fire
00:31:37and personally tear me apart, leaving me to suffer for eternity. I had no strength left to argue.
00:31:45I could only curl my lips into a faint, broken smile, one that looked more like a grimace than anything
00:31:51else. It did not matter anymore.
00:31:59This shattered soul of mine would not last long enough for him to carry out that threat anyway.
00:32:03At any moment, I would disappear. Suddenly, he let go of me. With a look of disgust,
00:32:09he took out a black silk handkerchief and wiped his fingers, his voice cold and cutting.
00:32:14Pathetic. You insisted on leaving me. I thought you would make quite a life for yourself in the
00:32:19human world, and this is what you've become. What a disgrace.
00:32:22He sounded almost satisfied. Seeing me like this must have fed his pride. When I left,
00:32:30I had walked away without looking back, proud and unyielding. Now, nothing had changed for him.
00:32:36He was still the lord of the underworld, standing above everything. And me?
00:32:42I was nothing more than a broken soul, betrayed by my own assistant, nailed to a torture rack,
00:32:49on the verge of being erased. He did not let me disappear. Instead, he turned sharply to Sebastian.
00:32:57Take her away. Find the best physician in the Netherrealm. Do whatever it takes to stabilize her
00:33:01soul. Without my permission, she is not to die. So he wanted to keep me alive. Of course,
00:33:07Lucien had always been vindictive. Petty, even. Being abandoned by a woman was not something he would
00:33:14ever let go. If he was going to settle this, he would do it personally. The treatment was worse
00:33:21than torture. Every drop of medicine poured onto my wounds felt like my soul was being torn apart
00:33:26and stitched back together again. I did not know if I had lost consciousness or if I was simply drifting
00:33:32in and out under the weight of the pain. That was when I realized something. Even a soul could dream.
00:33:38And the dreams felt terrifyingly real. I saw everything. From the moment I met Lucien,
00:33:47to the time we fell in love, to the day we tore each other apart. Back then, he had found
00:33:53the
00:33:53underworld unbearably dull and decided to wander the human world. On a freezing winter night,
00:33:59during the Great Depression in New York, he found me. I had been young, starving, on the verge of death.
00:34:06In those days, the economy had collapsed. People died on the streets every day. Lives meant nothing.
00:34:14And yet, somehow, I caught his attention. Lucky. Or perhaps terribly unlucky. He hid his identity,
00:34:23becoming a wealthy gentleman. He stayed by my side as I grew up, giving me everything. My first love was
00:34:31him. My first time was him. He became my entire world. He kept his secret flawlessly hidden.
00:34:39It was not until I fell ill and died that I learned the truth. When my soul was brought to
00:34:44the underworld,
00:34:45I saw him sitting on his throne. That was when I realized who he really was. At the time, he
00:34:51believed
00:34:52he had given me a great gift. A short but happy life in the human world, spent under his protection.
00:34:58We had been husband and wife. So naturally, in his mind, I should remain in the underworld,
00:35:05by his side forever. His obedient consort queen.
00:35:11At first, I thought the same. Love blinded me. But I was not made for that world. I was a
00:35:19modern woman.
00:35:20I wanted freedom. The rigid, ancient, suffocating rules of the underworld became unbearable. I could
00:35:27not accept that as the lord of the underworld. He had countless dark consorts, each more alluring than
00:35:33the last. I could not accept the way he stood at the top of power, issuing commands as if it
00:35:39were
00:35:39second nature, treating me not as an equal, but as something beautiful he owned. So I chose to leave.
00:35:46I wanted a new life. I wanted to drink the waters of oblivion and return to the human world, free.
00:35:53When he found out, he lost control. His eyes turned red with rage. He dragged me to the gates of
00:36:00hell,
00:36:01pointing at the boiling depths below, trying to force me to stay. I had been terrified. Crying
00:36:07uncontrollably, shaking, afraid he might actually throw me in. We stood there for a long time. In the end,
00:36:15he let go. Reluctantly, coldly, he allowed me to leave, but not without a warning. If he ever saw me
00:36:24again, he would not show mercy. At the time, I did not understand what he really meant. All I wanted
00:36:31was
00:36:32freedom. Rebirth. Only after I returned to the human world did I realize the truth. His punishment. He let me
00:36:43keep all my memories. He made it so I would never age. Never die. A living anomaly. He even arranged
00:36:54for
00:36:54me to be born into a powerful family, leaving behind a trust fund and immense wealth that could sustain me
00:37:00for centuries. That was when I understood. He never intended to see me again. Not just in anger. He had
00:37:10cut
00:37:10off my path entirely. No death. No return. No chance of ever entering the cycle. Of rebirth. I took it
00:37:20seriously. I lived carefully. Quietly. Watching everyone around me grow old and die, while I stayed the same.
00:37:30I was afraid of death. Afraid of accidents. Afraid of being dragged back here. Afraid he would make good on
00:37:39his promise. And yet, despite all that caution, I still fell. To the person I trusted most. The memories faded
00:37:49like. A passing storm. A sharp pain pierced my head as I slowly came back to consciousness. The
00:37:58surroundings were familiar. Luxurious. Dark. This was the Obsidian Palace. Lucian's private domain.
00:38:11The bed beneath me was wide. Soft. Black. It carried his scent. Deep. Cold. Lingering.
00:38:22Like cedarwood burning in a winter fireplace mixed with the faint trace of ash. It was a scent I had
00:38:29never
00:38:29found on anyone else. Once, it had been comforting. Even now, wrapped in it, my tense soul relaxed for
00:38:40just a moment. But it did not last. As if he had been tracking me, the doors opened the instant
00:38:48I woke.
00:38:49Lucian walked in. I immediately shut my eyes, pretending to still be unconscious. Trying to avoid facing him,
00:38:58it did not work. Stop pretending. Your soul's fluctuations are obvious. I know you're awake.
00:39:06I almost laughed. Back then, he could spend an entire night gazing at my face without getting tired.
00:39:13Now, he called me ugly without hesitation. Ugly. Wait. I lifted a hand and touched my face.
00:39:21It was uneven. Rough. Completely ruined. Vanessa had not held back. Every strike had been meant to destroy.
00:39:32Maybe I really had become something hideous.
00:39:41I opened my eyes, dropping the act. I met his cold gaze and let out a faint, bitter laugh.
00:39:49So what now? You saved me just to throw me into the lake of fire yourself? Planning to tear me
00:39:55apart
00:39:56with your own hands? Not yet. Lucian stepped forward and yanked me off the bed without the slightest care.
00:40:06His grip was rough, almost punishing. What I granted you, and those worthless humans
00:40:15dared to covet it. They even used dark sorcery. You should witness for yourself what happens to
00:40:21those who anger the underworld. The darkness in his eyes made my spine go cold. So that was it.
00:40:28He was going to make an example of them in front of me first. And then deal with me.
00:40:34In the outer hall of the Obsidian Palace, the atmosphere was suffocating. Vanessa and the
00:40:40sorcerer were bound by heavy soul shackles locked around their bodies, forced to kneel on the hard
00:40:45obsidian floor. Nearby were Harris, pale as death, and the two guards who had dragged me in,
00:40:51trembling where they knelt. Everyone involved was here. No exceptions.
00:40:57The moment Vanessa saw me being led out by Lucian,
00:41:05jealousy flashed across her face. She tried to lunge at me, only to be kicked back down by a
00:41:11high-ranking guard behind her. I was still too weak to respond. Even walking here had taken
00:41:23everything out of me. I could barely breathe, let alone waste energy on her hysteria. Lucian,
00:41:30on the other hand, seemed almost pleased. There was something dark in him. Something that thrived on
00:41:38this kind of moment. The faint curve of his lips carried a chilling edge.
00:41:46Serafina, these rumen hurt you. What would you like done with them? I'll leave the decision to you.
00:41:52Me? I looked at him, stunned. He ruled this place. Life and death were his to command. Why ask me?
00:42:01For a fleeting second, it felt like the past. Back when we had lived in the human world,
00:42:06he had always been like this. Gentle. Respectful. Asking for my opinion on everything. No matter how
00:42:15small. A sharp, unnameable ache spread through my chest. I shook my head. Do whatever you want.
00:42:23Just follow the rules of hell. He frowned, clearly displeased with my answer. Without warning,
00:42:31he pulled me into his arms, locking me against him with one arm around my shoulders. What's wrong?
00:42:38Feeling soft now? Have you forgotten what happened to you just hours ago? How they killed you? How they nailed
00:42:44you to that rack?
00:42:49They've already confessed. Even your trust fund has been transferred. This is your chance to get even.
00:42:56Don't act like a coward. Seeing the closeness between us, something twisted in Vanessa's
00:43:02expression. Jealousy spilled over into pure madness. I knew it. I always knew you were that kind of woman.
00:43:09Clinging to men with money and power using that face of yours to get whatever you want. And now look
00:43:14at you.
00:43:15Dead and still doing the same thing. Even seducing someone here. You're disgusting.
00:43:22The temperature in the room dropped instantly. Lucien's expression darkened to something
00:43:27terrifying. His face was flawless, almost unreal, but the sheer violence in his gaze made it impossible
00:43:34to look at him directly. I knew exactly why. It was not just the insult. Vanessa had crossed a line.
00:43:45Lucien. She implied I belonged to someone else. Lucien had always been possessive. Obsessively so.
00:43:53In his mind, once I had been his, that was permanent. Time did not matter. Life or death did not
00:44:01matter.
00:44:02I was his. No one else was allowed to touch me. Not even look at me. Fortunately, during the long
00:44:10century I spent back in the human world, I had lived cautiously. I stayed single, avoided relationships,
00:44:17avoided attention. If I had not, I did not even want to imagine what would happen right now. The sorcerer,
00:44:25realizing Vanessa was pushing them both toward destruction, panicked completely. He slammed his head
00:44:31against the floor again and again. Your majesty, please show mercy. I was blinded by greed. She
00:44:37offered a fortune. I lost my judgment. I should never have interfered with fate or taken a life.
00:44:42I was wrong. She manipulated me. This was all her idea. Vanessa snapped. Like a feral cat,
00:44:50she lunged and slapped him hard across the face. Shut up! You took the money willingly,
00:44:55drew the circle, and now you want to pin everything on me? Not happening!
00:45:02Sebastian strode forward. Silence. His voice cutting through the chaos like a blade. The room fell
00:45:07still. You dare raise your voices here? His gaze swept over them coldly. Every one of you is guilty.
00:45:13None of you will escape. He paused. Then his tone turned even sharper. Do you even understand who it
00:45:19is you tried to harm? Vanessa's bloodshot eyes snapped toward me. Even now, she refused to back down,
00:45:29letting out a cold, stubborn laugh. She's just some freak who doesn't age or die. She's lived long enough,
00:45:38had more than enough. I took her life and her trust fund. So what? That's what I deserve!
00:45:47I spent ten years serving her like a slave. I had been too exhausted to argue before. People like her,
00:45:55cold and self-centered, never see kindness. They only see what they think the world owes them. But
00:46:03hearing her twist everything so shamelessly still made something in me snap. Vanessa, I said,
00:46:09my voice low but shaking with anger. Ask yourself this. If you hadn't met me in that snowstorm,
00:46:19would you have had those ten years at all? You would have frozen to death on the street.
00:46:24And if I remember correctly, you were the one begging me to take you in. You said if you didn't
00:46:29make money, your father would force you back home to marry that drunk who beat his wife. A life trapped
00:46:35in
00:46:35poverty. In violence. Raising a crying child in some run-down trailer park until it broke you,
00:46:43that was your future. Her face flushed as I exposed everything in front of everyone. For a moment,
00:46:49she faltered. Then, just as quickly, she doubled down.
00:46:56So what? You gave me a job. Paid me. I worked for it. I gave you my youth. I let
00:47:03out a short,
00:47:04disbelieving laugh. My voice trembling. Worked for it? You mean sending your cheap clothes to high-end
00:47:13dry cleaners on my account? Ordering from five-star restaurants every day and charging it to me?
00:47:20Or taking my Porsche out to clubs under my name, trying to hook rich men? You were never grateful.
00:47:28People like you don't know how to be. You belong at the bottom, rotting there. The moment someone
00:47:35shows you kindness, you think you're entitled to everything. You think you can replace them?
00:47:40Vanessa opened her mouth to scream back, but Sebastian had had enough.
00:47:44His voice cracked through the hall like thunder. He stepped forward, his expression cold and severe.
00:47:56You blind, arrogant fool. Do you even know who she is? His voice rose, sharp and unforgiving.
00:48:04She is the ninth consort queen personally taken by Ajesty the Underlord, and you dared to scheme against
00:48:11her. You think someone like you can touch her? Vanessa froze. Her expression locked in place,
00:48:19as if her mind had simply stopped working. All this time, she had only seen the surface.
00:48:27My immortality. My wealth. To her, I was just a lucky anomaly. She had never imagined what stood behind it.
00:48:37Harris looked even worse. His face was drained of all life, his eyes unfocused. Back then, he had
00:48:44recognized me. He must have assumed that after centuries, Lucian and I had nothing to do with
00:48:51each other anymore. That I was no longer under his protection. So he took the risk. For money.
00:48:59Now, with my identity revealed, there was no escaping the consequences.
00:49:03I turned slightly and noticed Cole standing quietly in the shadows. He had not said a word. His expression
00:49:11was grim, weighed down with frustration. Out of everyone here, he was the only one who had done
00:49:17nothing wrong. He had carried out his duties faithfully, only to be dragged into this mess by
00:49:22corrupt subordinates. He had almost discovered me that day. Almost. The two guards and the sorcerer,
00:49:30upon hearing the words consort queen, collapsed. Completely. They did not even have the strength
00:49:37to beg. As for me, I felt nothing. No pride. No satisfaction. Just emptiness. I was nothing more
00:49:46than one of many in Lucian's long life. Just another woman who had passed through it. There was nothing to
00:49:53be proud of. And I knew better than to underestimate him. This was not just about avenging me. This was
00:50:02about maintaining the authority of the underworld. The ones who had harmed me were dragged away. Into
00:50:08the deepest parts of hell. They would suffer everything I had suffered. A hundred times over. Cole was punished
00:50:17as well. For negligence. For failing to notice what was happening under his watch. Lucian ordered him to
00:50:24the river Styx for a year of the harshest labor. As for me, the victim, Lucian took me back to
00:50:31the first
00:50:31circle of hell. And made me watch. The winds howled through the first circle. Vanessa was bound to the
00:50:38execution platform. Her limbs stretched out. Chained in. Place. Under the control of demonic executioners,
00:50:46thousands of red hot soul piercing. Spikes drove slowly into her body. One by one. From every angle.
00:50:54She was turned into a screaming, driving pincushion. The executioners were precise. Cruel, but controlled.
00:51:02They avoided her soul core. They wanted her alive. Alive enough to feel everything. So she would not die.
00:51:11Only suffer. Endlessly. At last, fear broke through her madness.
00:51:19Her face was soaked with tears and mucus. Her voice hoarsed as she cried out to me.
00:51:23Serafina. I was wrong. I know I was wrong. I lost my mind.
00:51:30I shouldn't have done that to you. Please, make him stop. I'm the worst. I'm not even human.
00:51:39I was jealous of you. Your looks. Your youth. Your life in Manhattan. All that money you could never
00:51:46spend. And me, always depending on you. I didn't want to become a murderer. It was you. You told me
00:51:56your secret when you were drunk. Do you know how tempting immortality and welfare. No one could
00:52:03resist that. Not just me. Anyone would have done the same. You can't blame me for everything.
00:52:11Even now, she was still shifting the blame. I told you because I trusted you. Because I believed you were
00:52:19my friend. In all these centuries, I've seen how cruel people can be. I never told anyone else.
00:52:28You made your choice. My voice was calm, but heavy with disappointment.
00:52:34Her words caught in her throat. For the first time, she fell silent. Maybe,
00:52:40in the middle of all that pain, she finally understood what she had thrown away. What she had
00:52:51destroyed. She had betrayed kindness. Betrayed trust. For greed that had no bottom. And now,
00:52:59this was the price. She deserved it. She took a life. Betrayed someone who saved her.
00:53:06She deserved help. And worse, she had conspired with dark sorcery to steal my lifespan,
00:53:13defying the natural order itself. That made her crimes even greater. I watched as her body convulsed
00:53:20on the platform. And I knew. She would never leave this place. Not in this life. Not ever. What
00:53:29surprised me, was how fragile a wicked soul could be. Vanessa did not even make it through a full round
00:53:35of punishment. Her soul was far too fragile. It collapsed completely before the first cycle was
00:53:42finished. In the end, she was. Dragged into the second circle of hell. Where the hellfire that burns
00:53:49away all sin. Reduced her to nothing but ash. Not even reincarnation remained for her. Among all of them,
00:53:57the one who lasted the longest was the sorcerer. He truly had some skill. His soul was unusually solid.
00:54:05Otherwise he never could have. Activated that forbidden demonic pact circle and nearly transferred my
00:54:11life to. Vanessa. He endured layer after layer of torment. In the end, he met his fate in the sixth
00:54:19circle of hell. The abyss of demons. There was no light there. Only endless darkness and hunger. Ancient
00:54:27demons that had been trapped for countless centuries lurked in that abyss.
00:54:34Vicious and insatiable. The moment a soul with even a trace of energy entering its way.
00:54:40With swarm it instantly, tearing it apart and devouring it piece by piece. As for Harris and the
00:54:45corrupt guards, they were stripped of their ranks and cast into the boiling tar pit of the fourth circle.
00:54:52They struggled and sank, over and over. Their bodies exploding under the scorching.
00:54:58R, burned inside and out. None of them would ever return. When it was all over, Lucien turned to look
00:55:05at me. Under the dim, flickering glow of hellfire, his gaze burned with something. Complicated.
00:55:13You really are fearless. After seeing all this, you're not afraid at all. No wonder you walked away
00:55:21back then without hesitating. Even after everything I said. Hearing him bring up the past made my chest
00:55:27tighten. I lowered my head, my hair falling forward to hide my face. I did not want him to see
00:55:34what I had
00:55:35become. He knew better than anyone how much I cared about my appearance. Back in the human world,
00:55:41I had always been meticulous. Elegant. The center of. Attention wherever I went. That was why so many
00:55:50men had been drawn to me. Just like Vanessa said. That I attracted them all. But I never did it
00:55:57for
00:55:57them. I did it for myself. To make the long, endless years a little more bearable.
00:56:06What's the point of bringing that up now? Forcing my tone steady.
00:56:16The people who betrayed me are gone. So now what? Is it my turn? Something in my words struck him.
00:56:25Hard.
00:56:26His expression darkened instantly. With a cold snort, he turned and left without. Another word.
00:56:34His back rigid with anger. I stood there, confused.
00:56:39Wasn't he the one who had sworn to throw me into the lake of fire?
00:56:44Now I asked? And he got angry? After he left, Sebastian did not follow immediately. He paused, turned back to
00:56:53me, and let out a long, helpless sigh.
00:56:58My queen. Do you truly not understand his majesty's feelings, or are you pretending not to just to provoke him?
00:57:06I looked up, puzzled.
00:57:09Understand what? Doesn't he want me dead?
00:57:14Sebastian sighed again, as if the answer were painfully obvious.
00:57:18His majesty has never let you go. Not once. He may seem cold, but he has always kept you in
00:57:25his heart.
00:57:27He could not bear the thought of you suffering through another mortal life. He could not bear to see you
00:57:33struggle in poverty again.
00:57:35That is why he gave you everything. These past years in the human world, you lived well, didn't you?
00:57:43No. I froze.
00:57:45And do you know, Sebastian continued, how he spent those same years without you?
00:57:49My heart skipped.
00:57:54He dismissed every consort in the palace after you left. Not one remained.
00:58:00And whenever he had time, he would go to the human world in secret, just to watch you.
00:58:07He is too proud to admit his feelings. And you? You never looked back. Not once in all these centuries.
00:58:17He paused, then his voice grew heavier.
00:58:20Do you understand what it means to erase a name from the ledger of souls?
00:58:25It violates the very laws of existence.
00:58:28The backlash alone is enough to bring divine punishment.
00:58:32And your endless lifespan.
00:58:35It did not come from nowhere.
00:58:39He used the power of his divine core of death to sustain it.
00:58:43Each word hit me like a blow.
00:58:45I stood frozen, unable to move, my thoughts spiraling.
00:58:49All this time, what I thought was punishment, was protection, sacrifice, before I could process it.
00:58:59Lucian's voice cut through the distance.
00:59:02Sebastian.
00:59:03Sharp.
00:59:04Irritated.
00:59:05Who do you serve?
00:59:06Get over here.
00:59:08Sebastian gave me a quick bow, said nothing more, and hurried after him.
00:59:13I was left alone.
00:59:15I wandered slowly along the shadow path.
00:59:18The air cold and filled with drifting spirits.
00:59:21But my mind was anything but calm.
00:59:29For the first time, I truly thought about what came next.
00:59:33Lucian was not going to kill me.
00:59:35That much was clear.
00:59:37But my body in the human world had already been destroyed from that fall.
00:59:42There was no going back.
00:59:44That left only two possibilities.
00:59:47Remain here as a soul.
00:59:50Or, reincarnation.
00:59:53But could I even be reborn?
00:59:55I was someone whose name had been erased from the ledger of souls.
00:59:59A being, outside the system itself.
01:00:02And then there was something else.
01:00:05Something I had not allowed myself to think about.
01:00:08After centuries apart, could what we had ever be restored?
01:00:12Back then, in that lifetime, we had been happy.
01:00:17Truly.
01:00:18But memories fade.
01:00:20Time changes everything.
01:00:22For hundreds of years, I had lived alone.
01:00:26Yes, the curse, or blessing, of immortality had made me think of him often.
01:00:31But was that love still there?
01:00:34That same intensity?
01:00:35I did not know.
01:00:37My thoughts were a mess.
01:00:39I had no answers.
01:00:41I walked without direction until exhaustion caught up with me.
01:00:45Eventually, I found a quiet corner and sat down against a cold stone.
01:00:50Staring, staring into nothing.
01:00:52Then suddenly, a piece of black fabric edged with dark gold patterns appeared in front of me.
01:00:58I looked up.
01:00:59Lucien had come back.
01:01:04I looked up at him.
01:01:06He still stood there.
01:01:08Tall and commanding as ever.
01:01:10But the cold arrogance I was used.
01:01:12To was gone.
01:01:13Replaced by something.
01:01:15Awkward.
01:01:16Almost like a wronged golden.
01:01:18Retriever.
01:01:20Stubbornly refusing to admit it was hurt.
01:01:23What are you doing out here alone?
01:01:25He asked first.
01:01:26There was a hint of tension in his.
01:01:28Voice.
01:01:29Thinking about how to leave me again?
01:01:32I froze.
01:01:33I had never seen him like this.
01:01:36Like I was the heartless one who had abandoned.
01:01:39Something that loved me completely.
01:01:41I took a slow breath.
01:01:43Forcing myself to look away from his eyes.
01:01:46If I wanted to leave?
01:01:48I asked calmly.
01:01:49Could I be reborn?
01:01:50My name was no longer in the ledger of souls.
01:01:54I was an exception.
01:01:56No.
01:01:57His answer came without hesitation.
01:01:59Anyone not in the ledger does not enter the cycle.
01:02:03You cannot be reborn.
01:02:04I had expected that.
01:02:06If I could not return to the human world and I could not reincarnate, then there was.
01:02:11Only one path left.
01:02:14Stay here.
01:02:15In the underworld.
01:02:17Seeing me fall silent, Lucian seemed to misunderstand.
01:02:20His eyes reddened slightly, his voice rising despite himself.
01:02:26You don't have any other choice.
01:02:28Even knowing that you still won't choose me?
01:02:31You'd rather wander as a lost spirit than stay by my side?
01:02:35Something in me softened at the sight of him like this.
01:02:38I opened my mouth, wanting to explain.
01:02:42But no words came.
01:02:46My hesitation only made things worse.
01:02:49He turned sharply, clearly furious, striding away in long steps.
01:02:54But even then, he stopped just long enough to throw one last warning over his shoulder.
01:03:00You do have another option.
01:03:02Stay here as a stray soul.
01:03:05Just hope no guard mistakes you for an escaped demon and throws you into the abyss.
01:03:11And don't expect me to save you.
01:03:14His threat was so childish that I could not help it.
01:03:17I laughed.
01:03:19Quickly getting to my feet, I hurried after him and grabbed his sleeve.
01:03:23He stiffened.
01:03:25But he did not pull away.
01:03:27I'm scared.
01:03:28I said softly, tugging at him just a little.
01:03:32That part was not entirely true.
01:03:35That night, in the obsidian palace, he did not let me go.
01:03:39Centuries of longing and restraint finally broke loose.
01:03:43Lucian was like a starving wolf.
01:03:45Once he had me in his grasp, he refused to let go.
01:03:49My soul had not fully recovered.
01:03:52I could barely endure the intensity of him.
01:03:55More than.
01:03:56Once, in the overwhelming rush of sensation, I felt like I might shatter completely.
01:04:02Every time I tried to push him away, he had an answer ready.
01:04:06You are the consort queen.
01:04:08I have only you now.
01:04:13If you don't give me an heir soon, who is going to take over the underworld?
01:04:18I huffed in protest.
01:04:20Half breathless.
01:04:21I don't like it here.
01:04:23It's dark all the time.
01:04:25Cold.
01:04:27Empty.
01:04:27The human world is better.
01:04:29He pressed a kiss to my ear, his voice low and coaxing.
01:04:33Fine.
01:04:34Once we have an heir, I'll hand over the power.
01:04:39I'll go with you.
01:04:40Wherever you want.
01:04:42His promise stirred something in me.
01:04:45Memories of the life we once had.
01:04:47I wrapped my arms around his neck.
01:04:50Can we go back?
01:04:51I asked quietly.
01:04:53Live like we did before?
01:04:55Just normal people?
01:04:58Only then could I feel something real.
01:05:01Not the distance between ruler and subject.
01:05:04Just him.
01:05:05Just me.
01:05:06In the heat of the moment, he bit lightly at my neck, leaving his mark, his voice firm.
01:05:13Anything you want.
01:05:14I cupped his face, looking into those dark, intoxicating eyes, teasing him just a little.
01:05:20Didn't you say my name was erased?
01:05:22That I could never be reborn?
01:05:24He paused.
01:05:27Just for a second.
01:05:28Then his gaze flickered away.
01:05:31Caught.
01:05:32The next moment, he pulled me closer.
01:05:35More forceful this time, silencing me in his own way.
01:05:40After that, I stopped thinking.
01:05:42Letting everything fade into the dark.
01:05:47Time passed.
01:05:49We spent years in the underworld.
01:05:51Long, quiet, unexpectedly warm.
01:05:55We even had children.
01:05:57Mischievous little ones who inherited his divine core of death.
01:06:01And in the end, he kept his promise.
01:06:04We returned.
01:06:06Back to the human world.
01:06:08Lucien used his power to create a new identity.
01:06:11He became the boy, next door.
01:06:14The one who had grown up with me under the California sun.
01:06:17We fell in love again.
01:06:20Got married.
01:06:21Bought a house by the ocean, with a garden full of flowers.
01:06:25We sat together on the porch swing, watching the sunset paint the sky in endless colors.
01:06:31One evening, as the light faded, he held my hand and told me quietly that during those
01:06:37centuries apart, he had watched countless sunsets like this.
01:06:41With me, even when I did not know he was there, a breeze passed through.
01:06:47I leaned against his shoulder.
01:06:49We looked at each other and smiled.
01:06:52This time, we would never be apart again.
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