The corridor leading to Zenithar Academy’s North Wing was frozen in dead silence. The night wind slipped harshly through the cracks in the stained glass, carrying a bone-piercing chill. The crystal lamps along the stone walls burned dimly, stretching the shadows of the quiet hallway.
Ethan Valen strode briskly through the corridor.
The wind violently tousled his dark brown hair, piercing through his thin black shirt. But the young man couldn’t care less. Both hands were shoved deep into his pockets, hiding his knuckles that had turned dead white from clenching too tightly.
His mind was fixated on a single thing: Elara.
Beneath his stoic facade, guilt slowly gnawed at him. He swore to utterly destroy anyone who dared to touch a single hair on his sister’s head.
Ethan’s right hand instinctively brushed his left chest—right over the Horned Crown tattoo. A warm sensation throbbed faintly beneath it, responding to the invisible anxiety brewing in his chest.
In his mind, an old memory faintly surfaced. The old Valen estate. The grassy courtyard. And a young maid who always stood by the door, waiting for Ethan and Elara to return from playing. Her face was blurred, devoured by time, but her warmth still lingered like a remnant of spring in the dead of winter.
Ethan banished the memory as quickly as it came.
Far behind him, Kaelia’s shadow still lingered in the Reception Hall.
The girl hadn’t moved from the sofa. Her legs felt like lead, and her chest was still fraught with unresolved anger and fear. She stared at the doors Ethan had just walked through, wanting to chase after him, but pride and confusion chained her down.
Kaelia gripped her own arm. "Why am I always left behind when it comes to his business?" she whispered bitterly. "Even though I... I just want him to trust me."
She looked down, staring at the cold marble floor. For the first time that night, she didn’t feel like the Student Council President. She was just Kaelia—a girl whose heart had been bound by dark chains to a man who didn’t even look back when he left.
Ethan’s footsteps carried him further, dragging his thoughts through the dark corners of the Main Tower. In the corridor leading to the North Wing, several students who were still awake immediately stepped aside upon seeing him. They lowered their heads, avoiding his freezing dark brown gaze.
"Look... Ethan Valen is passing by..."
"Don’t mess with him, he just came from the Reception Hall. He definitely just spoke with the Southern envoy."
The whispers faded as soon as Ethan walked past them. He didn’t care. His reputation was already akin to a monster, and he had no reason to deny it. What occupied his mind was no longer politics, the Council, or the Duke’s envoy. It was only one face: a blind little girl resting on a white hospital bed.
He arrived in front of the white metal-plated doors of the VVIP facility.
There, a petite Elf girl leaned against the wall anxiously. A white medical robe draped over her body. Her pointed ears twitched slightly, catching the sound of Ethan’s footsteps.
Seeing her master arrive, Miya instantly stood up straight. Her fingers wrung together tightly in front of her chest.
"Master Ethan..." Miya whispered, her voice trembling to suppress her panic.
"What is it?" Ethan cut in flatly, stopping right in front of her. His eyes locked onto her sharply. "What flower were you talking about?"
Miya pointed at the door with a shaking finger. "I-I don’t know, Master. All of a sudden... the flower on her table bloomed on its own. Even though it had been dead for weeks."
Before Ethan had arrived, Miya had been shivering alone in that corridor.
She squeezed the hem of her robe, occasionally glancing at Elara’s door. There was an alien sensation seeping out from inside the room—not magic, not poison. It felt like a presence that was both warm and terrifying at the same time.
Miya remembered the very first time she touched Elara’s hand. The girl had smiled blindly, grasped her fingers, and said that Miya’s voice sounded like the spring breeze. Miya had almost cried back then. Now, that same feeling returned, but mixed with something far older and profoundly deeper.
Miya took a deep breath. "What exactly is hiding inside of you, Lady Elara...?"
The sound of the door opening snapped her out of her thoughts.
Without wasting a single second, Ethan pushed the handle and stepped inside.
The difference in temperature instantly hit his skin. The soothing scent of herbs and aromatherapy candles immediately replaced the corridor’s freezing chill. A dim, yellowish light embraced the corners of the room.
In the center of the room, on a thick-sheeted bed, Elara lay looking agonizingly fragile.
The little girl’s skin was as pale as marble, practically transparent to the point her veins were faintly visible. Her body was so thin it looked as if she could shatter from a single tight embrace.
Tonight, however, there were no creases of pain on her face. Elara’s breathing was slow and steady. Incredibly peaceful.
The predatory Aura surrounding Ethan instantly vanished. He pulled up a wooden chair to the edge of the bed and sat down. With extreme gentleness, his large hand enveloped his little sister’s fingers.
Miya stood frozen at the doorway, not daring to ruin the familiar, intimate silence.
As if sensing the warmth on her hand, Elara’s eyelids fluttered slightly. The girl woke up.
A pair of eyes, now covered in the white film of blindness, stared blankly at the ceiling. Slowly, a faint smile carved its way onto her pale lips.
"Brother...?" she called out. Her voice was incredibly soft, as gentle as a passing breeze.
"Yes, Elara. I’m right here," Ethan replied. His tone drastically changed—it was remarkably deep, gentle, and full of care. His left hand reached out, softly stroking Elara’s pale brown hair.
"Brother... I had a dream," Elara whispered softly. Her white-filmed eyes narrowed slightly. "There was a flower... growing in the middle of the snow. Its color was so beautiful. It was so... warm."
Ethan’s hand stopped moving for a fraction of a second.
"It’s just a dream, Elara. Go back to sleep," Ethan said calmly. "I’ll be right here watching over you."
"Don’t leave again..." Elara mumbled weakly, before her eyes fluttered shut, surrendering to sleep once more.
In the corner of the room, Miya covered her mouth with both hands, her eyes welling up with tears. She knew just how ruthless the young man was out there, but seeing the predator shed all his thorns for his sister profoundly touched the Elf’s heart.
"Check on her, Miya," Ethan ordered quietly, after making sure Elara’s breathing had returned to a steady rhythm.
Miya quickly wiped the corners of her eyes. She stepped to the opposite side of the bed, closed her eyes, and focused the Mana in her hands.
"Crimson Radiance."
A soft, warm red light radiated outward, painlessly scanning Elara’s body tissues and Mana Circuits. For a moment, Miya remained silent.
"Well?" Ethan asked.
"Physically, there’s nothing wrong, Master," Miya reported softly, though a frown began to form on her forehead. "Her Mana Circuits are extremely stable tonight."
Miya’s hands hadn’t dropped yet. The Elf girl leaned in closer. Her pointed ears drooped slightly.
"Wait..." Miya muttered in confusion. She traced Elara’s chest with her magic. "Master Ethan... I’m sensing a strange flow. It’s very faint."
"Explain."
"This isn’t a curse, or an external magic attack," Miya swallowed hard. "It feels like... there’s a second breath inside Lady Elara’s body. An alien rhythm of life beating in sync with her heart."
Ethan’s jaw clenched tight once again.
The young man slowly released his grip and turned his head toward the small table near the window.
Inside the ceramic vase, a single stalk of a Lilac flower that had withered and died weeks ago... was now alive.
Its petals were perfectly bloomed in a stunning pastel purple. There was no remnant of life magic lingering in the air. The flower had embraced its own life entirely on its own.
Even crazier, one of its petals was emitting a soft, pulsing purple glow.
Unbeknownst to them, the air around the vase felt slightly different. A faint, warm aura enveloped the small table, as if an invisible breath was circulating around the flower. Miya felt that warmth slowly creeping toward her, and she instinctively took a step back.
"T-this makes no sense," Miya mumbled, going pale. "Lilacs don’t bloom in winter, Master. And normal flowers can’t... glow like that."
Ethan froze in silence. A freezing chill seeped out from his body. His analytical mind was racing at maximum speed.
Elara remained fast asleep, completely oblivious to the anomaly in her room.
"Master Ethan," Miya whispered in horror, deactivating her magic. "That feeling of a presence inside Lady Elara’s body... I’m afraid it has something to do with that flower. What if... all this time, Lady Elara hasn’t been sick because her body is weak, but rather..."
Miya couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence.
Ding!
The mechanical chime of the Asmodeus System suddenly rang in Ethan’s head. Its deep tone echoed, as if smiling with pure malice.
"Are you starting to realize it, My Lord? Something residing within your own flesh and blood... Something rooted so deeply, that even that arrogance of yours refuses to believe it..."
Ethan’s left chest throbbed with a burning heat.
He chose to remain silent, his gaze darting between the Lilac’s magical glow and the rhythm of his sister’s breathing. Tension hung thickly in the air.
A massive, dark, and terrifying question began to form in Ethan Valen’s mind:
What exactly... is living inside Elara’s body?
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter