Chapter 3

3.

I left the palace and headed straight for the healer's hut, clutching my side.

In the Shadow Realm, people rarely needed healers unless they were low-rank like me.

I reached the door, but before I could knock, a massive shadow slammed into me.

I wasn't fast enough. I screamed as my ankle snapped and I hit the ground.

Blood poured from my wounds. A rogue spirit, sensing my weakness, growled and prepared to pounce.

Its claws ripped into my shoulder, tearing through the meat.

Just as I thought I was dead, a sword flashed in front of me, shattering the spirit into mist.

I was hunched over, unable to move from the pain. It was Caspian and Vivienne.

Caspian's tense expression relaxed when he saw it was me. "Oh, it's just her. At least no one innocent got hurt."

Vivienne sighed. "Caspian was practicing and accidentally let a rogue spirit escape. Good thing it was just Seraphina, or Silas would have been furious."

I ignored them and tried to limp into the healer's hut.

Caspian was annoyed that I ignored Vivienne. He blocked my path. "Auntie Vivienne is talking to you!"

Cold sweat dripped down my face. I didn't have the energy to argue. I pushed past him and called for the healer.

Caspian gave a cruel smile to the healer who ran out. "Seraphina was disrespectful to Vivienne. No one is allowed to treat her wounds."

I stopped. I couldn't believe the boy I had nursed and raised hated me this much.

Vivienne fake-pulled on his arm. "Caspian, don't be mean. She's still your mother, technically."

She looked more like his mother than I ever did.

I looked at Caspian one last time. "It's okay if you hate me. It's okay if you want her to be your mother. I'm done hurting for you."

I walked away, ignoring his curses.

I cried with every step I took.

Once, I was a lost soul in this dark realm. My sister was the only one who gave me a home.

She was a high-tier goddess, but she cared for a weakling like me. If she were alive, she would be heartbroken to see me like this.

When she died, the whole river turned red.

She begged me with her last breath. "Seraphina, please. Watch over my son."

I promised her I would. She died in peace because of that promise.

I had protected that boy with my life. I endured Silas's coldness and everyone's mockery just for him.

And all I got was a broken body and a son who told me I wasn't worthy.

"Sister," I whispered, my tears disappearing into the sand. "I miss you. I miss the girl I used to be."

I found myself walking toward the Vortex of Reincarnation. The swirling portal felt like it was calling to me.

The guard at the portal laughed. "The Queen of Shadows? What brings you here?"

A second later, he screamed.

I took off my shoes and stepped into the bloody swirl of the vortex.

Within moments, the portal spat me back out. New wounds covered my body, deep enough to show bone.

The guard trembled. "You have a Soul-Bond with the King! You can't enter the cycle of rebirth!"

I gritted my teeth and crawled back toward the edge. Blood was gushing from my chest. "What if I force my way in?"

The pain of a thousand arrows piercing my heart pushed me back again. I was thrown onto the ground, my internal organs crushed.

The guard looked away, unable to watch. "The Soul-Bond is written into your very heart. The portal won't let you through as long as that heart beats."

My mind suddenly cleared. "So that's how it works."

I pulled out a sharp dagger. I crawled back to the edge of the vortex. Right before I jumped, I plunged the blade into my chest.

The pain blinded me. Blood and tears soaked my clothes, but I felt a strange sense of victory.

I twisted the handle, ignoring the sound of my own lungs failing. I literally carved the heart out of my chest cavity.

A lump of flesh, glowing with the runes of the bond, fell away from my body. I felt light as air. I leaped into the vortex.

In my final moment, I saw Silas running toward me, his face pale with horror. I gave him a weak smile.

"From the heavens to the abyss, Silas... we will never meet again."

My body fell like a withered leaf. He only managed to catch a scrap of my sleeve.

"SERAPHINA!"

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