Chapter 9: Obsession
The figure studied me.
The room grew quiet. Several seconds passed before he spoke.
"I am Travis," he said, his voice rough but steady.
"Court painter to the Sovereign."
Selene stiffened. "The one who used bones for brushes and blood for paint?" she asked before she could stop herself. "You painted the Portrait of Aya the Healer? That's... horrifying."
Travis turned sharply toward her.
The air turned cold.
"The horror was the Sovereign," he said through clenched teeth. "He ordered Aya's execution. Then he commanded me to paint her, so he could look at her every night."
Jasper frowned. "But that's not what the legend says. It says the Queen Mother had her killed, because Aya and the Sovereign were in love—"
"Absurd!"
Travis cut him off.
His robes snapped as if caught in a sudden gust. He grabbed at his own hair, his composure cracking.
"How could Aya love such a man?" he demanded. "She loved me."
I went still. None of the records mentioned this.
"Anyone who speaks ill of Aya will die."
He slashed a hand through the air. Something invisible closed around Jasper's throat.
"Travis! Stop!"
I stepped forward without thinking. "I was the one who told him."
His eyes locked onto me. The killing intent in them eased slightly, though it did not disappear.
Jasper collapsed to his knees, coughing violently. Selene and Bella rushed to support him.
"You told him?" Travis said coldly. "If not for the strange aura surrounding you, you would already be dead."
He was right. Against him, I was insignificant. Still, I held his gaze.
"Killing me would be easy," I said. "But that isn't what you want. You want the truth about Aya. Am I wrong?"
He studied me for a long moment.
"Well spoken," he said at last. "What I want... is her truth."
His gaze drifted somewhere far beyond the room.
"Aya's father was known as the Divine Hand of Healing. That day, she accompanied him into the palace. I was painting the Sovereign in the great hall."
His voice lowered.
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"She wore a red veil. When she stepped inside, the hall seemed lighter."
He looked past me, as if seeing it again.
"The Sovereign, on a whim, ordered me to include her in the painting. When it was finished, Aya bowed to me. She smiled."
He paused.
"In that moment, I believed she had feelings for me."
"The next day, she was summoned again. I waited outside the hall for two hours."
His voice tightened.
"What I received instead... was news of her death sentence."
Silence followed.
"Later, the Sovereign ordered me to use forbidden methods. He wanted her painted again. He wanted her spirit bound to the canvas."
Travis's hands curled into fists.
"I wanted to refuse. I wasn't afraid of dying. I was afraid that if I died, I would never find her again."
"So I obeyed."
The pieces clicked together.
"The painting in the palace wasn't meant to resurrect her," I said quietly. "It was only meant to bind her spirit."
He nodded.
"Yes."
"And later," I continued, "you created a second Portrait of Aya the Healer. Using Skinbound Resurrection."
Something close to reverence crossed his face.
"When I saw what remained of her, I decided I would bring her back. I took a fragment of her skin and treated it with rare herbs for forty-nine days. I turned it into a canvas that would not decay."
He spoke as if recalling a sacred ritual.
"The Sovereign died soon after. I stole the original painting. It took me a year to complete the second. I transferred her spirit into it, and sealed my own essence within the canvas through a thunder-binding rite."
His breathing grew uneven.
"With three hundred and sixty-four living souls, we could be reunited."
His expression twisted.
"I thought it would happen soon. I never expected to wait a thousand years."
The frenzy faded, leaving something harsher and more fragile.
"I am free now," he said. "So tell me—where is Aya?"
A chill settled in my chest.
This wasn't love anymore.
"Aya has already been resurrected," I said carefully. "She may simply not be ready to see you."
"Not ready?" he repeated.
The air tightened around me.
"I waited a thousand years," he said. "How can she not be ready?"
His gaze sharpened.
"You are hiding her."
My throat tightened. My vision blurred at the edges.
"Stop! Don't hurt Rhan!" Selene rushed forward, talisman raised.
Before she reached me, Travis flicked his hand.
She slammed into the wall and slid down, stunned.
Even I could barely withstand him.
As his focus shifted, the pressure loosened. I swung the Lumin & Umbra Sigil with everything I had.
A shockwave burst outward.
The invisible grip shattered. I dropped to one knee, gasping.
"Your anger is understandable," I forced out. "But killing us will not bring her to you. Calm yourself."
"I don't want calm," he said. "I want Aya."
Energy gathered behind him, thick and unstable.
His gaze shifted to Luna.
"Descendant of the Arcane Sect. If not for your ancestor's interference, Aya and I would have been reunited long ago."
His expression hardened.
"I spared him once. I will not spare you."
Crimson energy condensed into a jagged blade and shot toward Luna.
Kai stepped in front of her, placing himself directly in its path.
"Kai—look out!" Luna cried.
The attack struck him squarely in the chest.
The force hurled him backward. He hit the ground hard, landing near Luna.
"Kai!" She dropped to her knees beside him.
He tried to push himself up, but blood spilled from his mouth.
Travis looked down at them.
"If he loves you, he can die with you."
Another surge of power formed.
I thrust the Sigil forward again.
The energy split apart.
Travis turned fully toward me now.
"Travis," I said sharply, "you have no right to claim you love Aya."
His gaze hardened.
"She devoted her life to healing others. You're killing without hesitation. Do you think she would accept that? Would she even recognize you now?"
For the first time, uncertainty flickered across his face.
"That is why she won't see you," I said. "No matter how long you wait."
---
"SILENCE!"
The force of his voice hit like a physical blow. My chest tightened. Sound faded into a dull ringing.
Then—
Something moved past me.
A figure landed between us.
"Who are you?" Travis demanded.
No answer came.
He raised a long blade.
Steel flashed.
A pale arc cut through the air.
For the first time, hesitation crossed Travis's face.
The figure struck again without a word.
Energy collided, forcing Travis backward. Strain showed in his expression.
Behind me, Selene whispered, "Rhan... who is that?"
"I don't know," I said. "But they're not ordinary."
"Can he win?"
I didn't answer.
The blade flashed again.
And this time, Travis stepped back.
