Chapter 89: “You Don’t Understand”
“Flora, you have a white hair…” Abyss said, reaching out to touch the stark white strand that stood out against her golden hair.
“Don’t…” Flora said, grabbing his wrist. “Don’t touch it…”
“What’s wrong?” Abyss asked, his brow furrowed with concern. “I don’t remember you having any white hairs. And undead don’t age. Why would you have a white hair?”
“I don’t know…” Flora said, her voice laced with a hint of sadness. “I’ve been feeling unwell ever since we returned from the Ossi Kingdom palace… I wanted to be with you…”
“Let me see,” Abyss said, gently taking the white hair between his fingers.
But he couldn’t pull it out. The moment his fingers touched it, the strand turned to ash, crumbling into dust, leaving a faint white mark on his skin.
Abyss frowned. What had the Lord of Nightmares done? Why was Flora’s hair turning to ash?
“Abyss… Will you truly stay with me forever?” Flora asked, her golden eyes fixed on him, her voice filled with a desperate longing. “I… Perhaps I’ve been thinking about you too much… I finally understand. My feelings for you aren’t just dependency, but love. I want you, Abyss. I want you to feel the same way…”
“I’m sorry… I’m not ready…”
“Please… Love me. I can’t live without you,” Flora pleaded, her voice trembling, tears welling up in her eyes, as she grabbed his wrist. “I was a Saint. In life, I was forbidden from interacting with men, from falling in love. But I’m dead now… I’m free to choose whom I love. And I’ve chosen you… I don’t want to lose you…”
Abyss looked at her, his brow furrowed, not because her request was unreasonable. If she truly desired him as her lover, he would consider it. But there was a more pressing matter.
As Flora’s emotions intensified, more white hairs appeared near her temples, her golden locks turning white, one strand after another, as if time itself were accelerating, her hair turning gray before his eyes.
“Flora, please calm down. Your hair is turning white. This isn’t normal,” Abyss said, taking her hand, his voice gentle but firm. “Let me address this first, then we can talk about love. I promise I’ll make you happy, alright?”
“Okay…” Flora said, nodding, but her voice was laced with disappointment, the light in her eyes dimming.
Abyss touched another white hair, and it crumbled to ash. He brought the ash to his nose, sniffing it—it had no scent, as if it had never existed.
As he turned his attention back to Flora, he noticed that one of her arms was also turning gray.
“Abyss… I feel strange… What has the Lord of Nightmares done to me?” Flora asked, her voice filled with panic. She chanted a prayer, trying to heal herself with Divine Arts. A faint golden light flickered around her arm, but it continued to turn gray, the discoloration spreading to her shoulder, her neck, her face…
“Flora?” Abyss was stunned, watching in disbelief as she seemingly disintegrated before his eyes.
What was happening? He tried to check her status through their necromantic link, but it was severed.
“My necromancy… it’s not working?” He stared at his hands, then back at Flora, who was still looking at him with her beautiful golden eyes. But now, one of her arms, half of her body, was crumbling into white ash… Without his connection, her undead body was being rejected by this world’s laws…
“Abyss… I’m sorry… I should have told you sooner… I’m sorry… I was too cowardly…”
Tears streamed down her face as she spoke, but the vibrations of her vocal cords caused cracks to appear on her neck and chin, pieces of ash falling onto his bed.
Then, her voice vanished. Her body disintegrated completely, a pile of white ash settling on the bed, her nightgown collapsing, empty. The beautiful girl who had been lying beside him moments ago was gone.
“Flora!” Abyss exclaimed, reaching for the ash, but it was just dust, nothing more.
“ABC! ABC!” Leona’s voice echoed from outside. Before he could react, the door burst open, and Leona rushed in, limping.
“My body feels strange… I…”
She looked at Abyss, her voice filled with panic, then she too turned to ash, her clothes collapsing, her small boots rolling across the floor, spilling white ash from their openings.
Abyss checked Rebecca’s status through the link. It was also severed.
“No!” he cried out, grabbing Flora’s empty nightgown, his voice filled with despair. “I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have brought you on this adventure! I’m a fool! Why did I do this?!”
But there was no response, only silence.
He looked up.
“Are you satisfied now, Lord of Nightmares?”
Silence.
“You think I’m afraid of this?” He suddenly laughed. “My dear Lord of Nightmares, you’ve made a grave mistake. Let me tell you something—I’m not just arrogant, but also incredibly confident in my necromancy. It’s flawless. No one, nothing, can make me doubt my skills, not even a god.”
He slowly stood up.
“I know you targeted my followers to make me suffer, but the moment Flora entered my room, I knew this wasn’t real. You might know a lot, but you don’t understand my Flora.”
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