Chapter 69: The Seed of Life
Her voice was clear yet hollow, devoid of any emotion.
Her small, cold fingers brushed against Qin Chu’s cheek, despite the flames that danced around her.
The icy touch trailed down his face, his neck, his chest, his stomach…
She seemed to be searching for something, her fingers lingering on his navel. He shivered.
What did she mean, “the seed of life”?
The flames, though intense, didn’t burn him. He swallowed, wanting to ask what she was doing.
But as he looked down, his gaze met hers, and he froze. In the depths of her blue, lifeless eyes, he saw pain, despair, madness…
Fleeting images, fragmented and confusing, flashed through his mind.
A grand palace… the Auville Empire’s Imperial Palace?
A young woman, clad in battered armor, knelt before a corpulent man, his crown askew, his eyes barely visible amidst the folds of fat.
But through those narrow slits, Qin Chu saw greed and suspicion directed at the kneeling woman.
The opulent hall echoed with praise for her, but she felt only annoyance. The enemy wasn’t defeated. They were still plotting their revenge.
She yearned to be on the battlefield, defending the Empire.
The fat man, acknowledging her achievements, bestowed upon her the title of “Valkyrie Protector of the Nation.”
He shifted uncomfortably on his throne, his body a mound of flesh, seeking a position that offered him some semblance of comfort.
He asked her to become his queen…
She replied: “How can I think of home when our enemies are still at large?”
The surrounding nobles praised her noble spirit, their fawning admiration blinding them to the venomous rage that filled the Emperor’s eyes.
His authority, his power, had been challenged.
A noble, loved and respected by her peers, was a threat to his rule.
From the moment she refused his proposal, her fate was sealed.
They held a grand feast in her honor. The Emperor himself offered her a toast, a poisoned chalice disguised as a celebratory drink.
They couldn’t defeat their enemies, but they excelled at eliminating their own.
Don’t drink it! Don’t drink it! Don’t drink it!
Qin Chu screamed inwardly, seeing a reflection of his own fate in her story.
He wanted to stop her, but this was just a memory, a glimpse into the past. He couldn’t change anything.
He watched helplessly as she drank the poisoned wine.
And then she fell ill.
Her body weakened, her strength fading. She could no longer wield her spear, no longer lead her army into battle…
Her condition worsened. She was brought to the palace, to receive the best medical care, but the physicians, the priests… they had all been bribed. The medicine they administered, just like the concoctions he had been forced to consume, was laced with slow-acting poisons.
And when she was too weak to resist, they dressed her in her battle armor, placed her spear in her hand…
They bound her with chains and burned her alive.
It hurts! Why are they doing this to me?
They watched her, their faces contorted with glee, as she burned, her screams swallowed by the flames.
They wanted to see her die, broken and humiliated, clad in the armor that had been her pride.
They forged a farewell letter, informing her family that she had chosen to die alone, away from their loving gazes, unwilling to burden them with her suffering.
They held a grand funeral, their faces streaked with tears, lamenting the loss of their “Empire’s Pillar.”
They named a street in her honor.
They turned her remains into a statue, its stone body inscribed with powerful runes, transforming it into a prison, her soul trapped within, eternally standing guard on the street that bore her name… They wanted her to witness the Empire’s continued prosperity, even without her.
Betrayal, it seemed, was a tradition.
“Are you crying? Why?”
The small girl stood before him, her expression innocent, her blue eyes staring up at his face.
She noticed the tearstains on his cheeks.
Her demeanor, usually vacant and unresponsive, seemed to soften in his presence. Her eyes, though still lifeless, held a flicker of… awareness…
He exhaled, a wave of empathy washing over him. He smiled, reaching out to pat her head, but his hand passed through her body.
A ghost.
“It’s nothing… You and I… we’re the same…”
They were both victims.
“What do you want from me?”
“The Seed of Life?”
“Not the Seed of Life. The Seed of Light. Light brings life, so you also possess the Seed of Life.”
She corrected him, her voice firm, her words betraying a strange wisdom that belied her childlike appearance.
So, he possessed both the Seed of Light and the Seed of Life. But why couldn’t he sense them?
“I’m sorry, I don’t know what those are. But if they’re inside me, and you need them, you can take them.” He spread his arms, offering her his body. He felt a strange kinship with this girl, her story echoing his own. “But if you could return them… that would be appreciated.”
Her hand, cold and small, rested on his lower abdomen.
She frowned, tilting her head, her expression confused.
She had located the Seed of Life but didn’t know how to extract it.
After a long moment, she sighed, her frustration evident. She had no experience with… harvesting… Seeds of Life.
“Can I… stay with you?” she asked, her voice no longer hollow, but ethereal, a whisper in the wind.
Qin Chu, startled, nodded.
Did he have a choice? This strange domain was her creation. If he refused, he might never escape.
She climbed onto his shoulder, her small hands gripping his arm, her legs dangling in front of his chest. Her blue eyes, still clouded with confusion, scanned her surroundings. She didn’t seem to understand what she was, what had happened to her, why she was free from her stone prison.
He had seen her memories, but she had sealed them away.
Perhaps those memories, filled with pain and despair, were too much for her fragile soul to bear.
She didn’t know what she was doing. She was simply drawn to his life force, his warmth, seeking comfort, escaping the eternal torment of the flames.
She had endured it for a thousand years.
The strange domain shattered like a mirror, the sounds of the city rushing back, a cacophony of noise after the oppressive silence.
“Hero-sama… Hero-sama, are you alright?” Charles’s voice, close and concerned, snapped him back to reality. He had stopped walking, his gaze fixed on… nothing…
The guards, the pedestrians… they couldn’t see her.
Only he could perceive this ghost…
No, not just him… Shaye…
The witch’s crimson eyes widened in disbelief. She recognized Anthea instantly. She wasn’t human. She was a spirit, a ghost, a fragmented soul…
And she was sitting on Qin Chu’s shoulder, her presence accepted, even welcomed.
Shaye, though confused, knew this wasn’t the time for questions.
But what she couldn’t tolerate was this… intruder… sitting on her… spot…
Unforgivable!
That was her territory!
She could ignore Angelica, Ekaterina, Natia… they were insignificant. She was unique, special. But now, she felt a surge of… jealousy…
Had Qin Chu found a new ghost, a replacement for her?
She wanted to shove the ghost off his shoulder but hesitated. She couldn’t defeat her… not yet. She had lost all her power during the time regression and was slowly regaining her strength as Qin Chu’s power increased.
And this ghost… she was as strong as Ekaterina!
Just you wait until I regain my full power… Shaye fumed silently.
Qin Chu, his expression a mixture of surprise and amusement, looked at Charles, forcing a smile.
“Ah, sorry, it was nothing. I was just… lost in thought.”
As the last rays of sunlight faded, he returned to his residence, intending to rest. But as he entered his bedroom, he saw Ekaterina.
She had just bathed, her long hair cascading down her back, still damp. Her cheeks were flushed, her long eyelashes adorned with water droplets. Her crimson eyes, usually fierce and untamed, were now soft and inviting, a hint of moisture glistening within them.
Her lips, pink and full, parted slightly, her breath warm and fragrant.
This boisterous woman, usually so brash and aggressive, was now a vision of seductive beauty.
She was… yearning…
…
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