It seemed none of Stevin’s family had known who actually killed Christof, judging by their faces, least of all Stevin’s sister.

  “You… uncle?” she whispered, heartbreak and fury warring in her voice. “What did Christof ever do to you? He had a family.”

  “Oh, shut up already.” Nihil spat the words, a thick vein bulging in his forehead. “I’d piss on his entire family if I felt like it.”

  How fortunate that vein looked so ready to pop. How unfortunate that it had not burst already.

  “So be it, Brother,” Silius sighed, stepping forward. “We’ll settle this the old way. You against me. None of the men you turned traitor need to die.”

  Poor moment to actually do what you could’ve done for years now, you regretful bastard.

  “Bah.” Nihil leaned back on his horse, laughing. “That honor-bound crap died the moment that pale shit killed my son. No, older brother, now all of you must die.”

  “I suggest you control yourself while you still can, Lord Nihil,” Craiena warned, her voice turning cold. “Dismount, and answer for your crimes. I advise you not to test me.”

  “I advise you to suck a dick,” Nihil replied flatly. “The Crown doesn’t order House Barta around. We have enough men to fight your entire Kingdom if needed.”

  “I do, little brother,” Silius corrected calmly. “Not you. And soon, Stevin will. Not you.”

  “And that is precisely the problem,” Nihil growled, finally sliding off his horse. “You raised a fool more interested in cowering to a king than becoming one. A failure. Your… failure. He already cost me a son; he won’t cost me anything more.”

  [New Directive: Survive.]

  [New Optional Directive: Kill Nihil.]

  [New Optional Directive: Run Away.]

  So you want me to choose, Ephe. Stand and fight, or take Stevin and the others and run.

  But where could I even take them? I couldn’t outrun these bastards on the way back to the Great Velvet Forests, and I definitely didn’t have the strength or mental coherence left to spam Veilstep and take the others away to safety.

  And because of that same reason, I couldn’t fight properly either. Not to mention the small, tiny, absolutely fucked detail that we were currently outnumbered fifty to one.

  Ten against five hundred.

  Even at full power, that sounded like a fairy tale written by someone who hated math dipped in the plot armor of fantasy classics.

  However, I had plot armor of my own, as well. Plot armor in the form of a far-too-dangerous shadow that might have been able to kill everyone in this place now that she had regained most of her powers.

  But that was just as dangerous as fighting that army alone. And I knew I couldn’t, so I turned to my trusted companion for answers.

  ‘Ephe, I can’t fight like this. I feel like shit. Can I even use what’s left of my powers in this state?’ I asked in my head.

  [Yes.]

  [At the Cost of Mental Damage.]

  ‘Right… Also, I remember you not giving me a notification when I stopped the assassination plot against Stevin. Why? Did you forget again?’

  [...]

  [The Plot Is Not Over Yet.]

  ‘I see… Then tell me this, what would happen if I used the Law of Separation on this Nihil guy?’

  [Mental Retardation.]

  [Quickened Transformation Process.]

  Of course. Not mild brain fog. Not a migraine. Nope, straight to “congratulations, you are now broccoli.”

  ...

  ...

  ‘Hold the fuck on, Ephe. What do you mean by QUICKENED TRANSFORMATION PROCESS? Transforming into what, exactly?’

  [...]

  ‘I dare you not to tell me.’

  [...]

  ‘…Is this a tasteless joke?’

  But as always, when I needed her to tell me shit, Ephe stood silent. Why? Because she thought I didn’t need to know.

  ‘At least tell me, is that unspecified transformation process the reason why I'm feeling like this?’

  [Yes.]

  [And No.]

  [The Transformation Process Will Take a Long Time.]

  [But Elio is Exhausted.]

  [The Visual and Auditory Hallucinations are not part of the Transformation Process.]

  Oh, what a relief to know that the lady singing in my head is yet another problem with no known source. What a great fucking relief.

  “So be it, my Lord. Come and die then,” said Craiena, drawing me back to a reality I found myself dreading more and more.

  The situation was dire.

  Not just because of the soul-shattering news I’d received, the lack of answers given, or the absolutely absurd numbers stacked against us, but because Relia was starting to stir beneath my clothes while the rest of my companions slipped into varying stages of panic. Things were going to get ugly.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  But none of that compared to what was happening in my own head.

  My sanity had quietly stepped over some invisible line, and I could feel control slipping out of my hands like sand. All I could do was watch. Watch like a useless dumbass while my emotions tore themselves apart inside me.

  I felt angry and at peace. Sad and joyful. Grief-stricken and hopeful. Empty and overflowing. Everything and nothing, all at once, crashing through my skull.

  And as Nihil gave the order for his soldiers to advance, as the others around me, Stevin included, began gathering their magic, and as Relia’s shadow rushed itself out from my clothes, I suddenly felt myself detach from my body entirely.

  It felt as if I was watching my body from behind while something cold pressed itself directly around my head.

  The trick that Ephe taught me had flared into existence by itself for everyone to see.

  Back when I’d fed that ridiculous lie to the Guild Master about being “The King of the Great Velvet Forests” who lived alone as a Vampire Lord for a... very long time in some massive castle, I also needed a way to sell the story.

  That was when Ephe reminded me of the Crown I always wore. Invisible, but always there. A Crown that I’d been under the impression that it would stay hidden until I sat on my throne again.

  But Ephe had taught me a trick: with enough focus and with enough intention, I could make it reappear.

  And now, without trying, without even meaning to, it appeared on its own. The Crown. My Crown. Nihil’s eyes snapped to me the instant it manifested, just as my body stepped forward without my consent.

  The song in my head swelled, louder and louder, the unseen voice drawing closer with every heartbeat, closer… just like the soldiers. And then my hand lifted, again without any intention of mine.

  Black and crimson spikes erupted from the earth, shooting up in jagged lines, ten to twenty feet high, ripping through the ground like roots tearing free of hell itself, impaling some soldiers and halting the approach of the others.

  ‘What is happening?’ I asked Ephe in my head the moment I found myself unable to open my mouth and speak.

  [Elio is activating its Passive Abilities involuntarily.]

  [A last measure to defend yourself.]

  [A last measure to defend the others from Relia.]

  [Passive Ability: Impaler Lord - Absorbing Essence.]

  [Essence Absorbed.]

  [Essence Absorbed.]

  [Essence Absorbed.]

  [Passive Ability: Impaler Lord - Increasing in Power.]

  “Your Grace!” Stevin shouted, rushing toward me, only to fling himself aside when another spike erupted at his feet, narrowly sparing him.

  But I wasn’t there. My body was moving on its own. It acted on pure instinct, protecting me from everyone. Friend or foe, making no distinction.

  It was then that even more soldiers tried to bypass the wall of spikes by circling to the sides, but as soon as they set foot past the previous wall of spikes, more obsidian blood-red burst upward, skewering them mid-stride.

  [Essence Absorbed.]

  [Essence Absorbed.]

  [Essence Absorbed.]

  [Essence Absorbed.]

  [Passive Ability: Impaler Lord - Increasing in Power.]

  For a brief, surreal moment, it looked like something out of history, a faint echo of the forest of impaled bodies that once greeted the Ottomans at Targoviste, courtesy of Vlad the Impaler himself. Not nearly as vast, not nearly as grotesque, but enough to send the same message: Approach, and die.

  None dared draw closer to me. But none could reach the others either, pinning Relia in place, forcing her focus onto me rather than unleashing herself on the battlefield.

  And then, as the song in my brain crescendoed into something unbearable, deafening, even the last conscious part of my mind slipped.

  Quietly. Completely. Into absolute, perfect silence.

  I was driving toward the farmer’s market, sunglasses on, having been given orders to buy the juiciest of tomatoes that I could find.

  It was Julia’s pleasure to eat tomatoes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. A small fixation of hers that she loved having me aid in by sending me to buy them. From her words, it seemed I was a tomato-whisperer, able to pick the best tomatoes available to me. Which gave me just the confidence I needed to leave the house and buy them for her.

  It was difficult to leave the house these days. I didn’t want to really, but still, I managed to get to the market.

  “Good morning,” I said once I found a stand full of wonderfully ripe tomatoes. “How much are these?”

  The woman scrutinized me for a moment, narrowing her eyes. All she saw was a man in a hoodie, hair hidden beneath it, and sunglasses covering his eyes.

  I’ll admit, I wasn’t exactly dressed in textbook twenty-first-century fashion, but come on... Why look at me like I was a brigand?

  “Ma’am?”

  “Ah, sorry, lad,” she said, shaking her head. “Two dollars per pound. How much do you need?”

  “Four pounds should be enough,” I nodded.

  Once she bagged the tomatoes and I paid, I moved straight past the other stalls toward my car.

  That was when an older man waved at me.

  For a second, I froze, turning my head just enough to see what he was selling at his stall. Flowers. And for some reason, an image of Julia being happy when I gave them to her made me take a step toward the man’s stall.

  “I could see a man in love even when he hides himself,” the old man chuckled. “Say, wife? Girlfriend?”

  “Wife,” I replied with a shy smile, showing off the ring on my left hand, “Half a year now.”

  “Reason to celebrate, lad,” the old man’s raspy voice laughed. “Say, what would it be?”

  “What would you recommend?” I asked instead. “I don’t really know much about flowers.”

  “Then,” he grinned, picking three different-looking flowers and showing them off one by one. “A tulip, a dahlia, and a peony. My favorite combination. Put these in between some decorations, a small teddy bear, and you've got yourself a happy wife for at least two days.”

  A frighteningly potent sales pitch. Even more so now that Julia was more than likely checking my location on the app, seeing that I was standing in one place for a suspicious amount. Which meant that her mood was at the present moment, souring, with more questions to come after.

  Unless…

  “How much?” I asked.

  “Eight bucks,” the old man grinned.

  Those were the quickest eight dollars I’ve ever spent in my life.

  But Gods… she loved them the moment she saw them in my hand, realizing what I was doing, even though I forgot about the teddy bear part of the old man’s plan.

  And Gods, did she keep kissing me afterward for minutes on end, making me promise to myself I will buy her flowers every week.

  And I did. Every week. Even in the hospital.

  That was what silence looked like for me.

  But then, I felt my eyes opening, seeing myself standing in the middle of a forest of spikes… alone.

  And for a moment, as I felt regaining control over my body, I thought I was standing in hell itself, until I heard Stevin’s voice calling out for me.

  “Your Grace,” he yelled from behind the Latrine, waving at me, “We are here! All of us.”

  But for a moment, I turned my head behind me, trying to listen past the spikes. Yet nothing could be heard.

  “What happened, Ephe?” I whispered.

  [You won.]

  [The Lifeforms Retreated, running opposite to the City.]

  “Where?”

  [Ephe does not know.]

  “Will they be back?”

  [Most likely.]

  “Fuck…”

  [Directive ‘Survive’ Followed - Registered.]

  [Directive ‘Do not let Stevin Die During the Battle’ Followed - Registered.]

  [Optional Directive ‘Kill Nihil’ Failed - Registered.]

  [Optional Directive ‘Run Away’ Failed - Registered.]

  [Reign Index Increased: 0.35% → 0.37% → 0.39%]

  And as Ephe kept speaking about the remainder of the Directives that I had active, I sighed, feeling lighter the moment I started walking toward Stevin, Relia, and those hiding behind the latrine.

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