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