In the solemn hallway, Ruvian finally arrived at the location where Julian was supposed to be.
And yes, he was there.
This time, it was the real him.
Tall, no longer trapped in the body of a child, Julian stood with his back facing Ruvian. His short white hair was slightly disheveled, while the dark cloak he wore was the same one Ruvian remembered from their fight, though now it was torn and battered from everything that had happened.
He simply stood before a single enormous portrait, staring at it in complete silence. It was a portrait of his family.
Ruvian finally took a proper look around.
The long hallway was lined from end to end with paintings of generations of Rozenbergs, their cold, dignified faces watching silently from gilded frames.
The Rozenberg family portrait hall.
The sound of Ruvian’s footsteps gradually slowed until he finally came to a stop several paces away from Julian. Julian seemed to notice his presence, slowly turning around before fully facing him.
His crimson eyes met Ruvian’s.
Although Julian’s face remained calm, too many emotions churned behind his crimson eyes, held back only by a thin layer of composure.
A bitter, searching look crossed his face.
"So, it was you... the person my Mother was talking about." (+1,000PP)
Hearing that, Ruvian kept his expression composed. Honestly, he had somewhat expected that Marielle would have warned Julian about his fate and the future awaiting him, so naturally, she might have mentioned him as well.
But what exactly had she told Julian?
Ruvian had no clue.
Because of that, he chose to hold his tongue and let Julian show his hand first.
"Who exactly are you... and how did you even get inside my memories?"
Julian asked, his crimson eyes narrowing as his guard rose once again.
However, before Ruvian could answer, Julian suddenly sighed through gritted teeth and pressed one hand against the side of his head. "No, forget that, Mother already explained it... and I don’t even know what I should be asking anymore."
Ruvian frowned as he watched him, noticing the strain slowly breaking through Julian’s calm face. After everything that had happened to him, Ruvian could hardly blame him for being confused and overwhelmed.
"Julian, you’re in danger right now, a powerful demon is trying to take complete control of your body."
Ruvian said, keeping his voice firm enough to pull Julian’s attention back toward him.
"The Chancellor is holding back because you’re still inside that body, but she won’t be able to do that forever. If you don’t take control again, she may have no choice but to kill the demon with you still inside."
He took a step closer and looked Julian straight in the eyes.
"So get your body back first, we can talk about everything else after that."
Julian’s expression immediately darkened, and his hand slowly fell away from his head as his jaw tightened.
"Tch, thanks for your brilliant observation, bastard, do you really think I haven’t tried?"
He clenched his fist and glanced toward the endless portraits around them, "I’ve been walking through these damn memories for what feels like an eternity, and no matter what I do, I have no idea how to escape from here."
Ruvian remained silent for a moment before his expression settled.
"That’s why I’m here, you damn smartass. There is a way, and I know how to help you take back control of your body." He met Julian’s gaze and continued calmly, "I’ll give you the chance, so when the time comes, make sure you fight that bastard with everything you have...
...and as for being trapped in here, I can help with that too."
As he said those words, Ruvian recalled what Morvayne had told him before he entered Julian’s memories.
Morvayne had mentioned one way to force someone out of a memory spell. The problem was that the method was anything but pleasant.
Ruvian had not paid much attention to it back then, but now it was probably their fastest way out.
"However, there is one condition."
Ruvian said, his voice becoming slightly more serious. Julian’s eyes narrowed at once, already looking suspicious of whatever was about to come next.
"You have to trust me."
"Trust you?"
Julian scoffed, the corner of his mouth twitching as irritation returned to his face.
"What the hell are you planning this time, bastard?"
Ruvian did not answer immediately, instead reaching toward the weapon at his side before summoning [The Endseeker] into his hand.
With a sharp metallic sound, he slowly pulled the black blade from its sheath, causing Julian’s expression to stiffen.
"It’s a little crude, but apparently the answer to waking up from this spell, or escaping this memory, is dying inside a memory."
Julian’s brows immediately pulled together, and his eyes moved from Ruvian’s face to the black blade in his hand.
"What?"
His expression changed almost at once as he took half a step back, "No, wait, how damn sure are you about this?"
Ruvian paused, seriously thinking about the question for a second.
"More than twenty percent."
He tilted his head slightly.
"Is that enough?"
A dry, almost disbelieving laugh escaped Julian’s throat as he rubbed a hand across his face. "Haa... you bastard, is this just some excuse for you to finally kill me?"
His crimson eyes sharpened again, though there was now a strange mix of anger and disbelief inside them.
Ruvian smiled faintly.
"Yeah, you can say that, but don’t worry, it’s not that bad once you get used to it." He paused, then corrected himself with a small frown, "No, it’s still pretty bad, but you get what I’m saying."
Julian stared at him for several long seconds, giving him a disgusted look.
"I swear, you damn good-for-nothing commoner... if this turns out to be some stupid idea and I die because of you, I’ll drag you down with me even if I have to crawl out of Hell to do it."
Ruvian smiled with quiet confidence as he tightened his grip around [The Endseeker]. "Don’t worry, a bastard like you shouldn’t die just once, you deserve to die twice."
Julian’s lips twisted with pure spite, his eyes burning with hatred as he spread his arms slightly.
"Tch... just fucking do it."
Without much thought, Ruvian let out a smile. His foot striking the floor as he slowly closed the distance.
Then, [The Endseeker] flashed forward and plunged straight through Julian’s chest, the black blade tearing through his body until its tip burst out from his back.
Julian’s body jerked once, his crimson eyes widening as blood slowly ran from the corner of his mouth.
"You piece of shit..."
He coughed blood.
"...You could’ve gone for my head."
"I know. But this is more painful." (+500PP)
"I’ll... kill you—"
Ruvian pulled [The Endseeker] free as Julian collapsed onto the floor. The instant his body struck the ground, the entire portrait hall violently shook. A deep crack spread across the floor beneath Ruvian’s feet, followed by countless fractures running across the walls and portraits around them.
The paintings twisted, the ceiling trembled, and the whole memory began breaking apart like shattered glass.
Ruvian raised his head as the world around him started collapsing. "Now... it’s time to wake up, you half-baked weepy brat."
Then, raising the sword to his neck, he spoke softly. "Because this is not where your third-rate villain story ends."
Slash!
The blade swept across his neck, and in that very instant, the entire world shattered into countless fragments of light.
[The memory has reached its end.]
[You have received +3,500 Plot Points!]
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[Chapter 324: A Gentle Death]
Plot Points= 88,000 PP
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