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