"She would go on a killing spree, isn't that right?"

Tezen didn't give much of a reaction to Dorian's deduction. Instead, he sighed, a sound of ancient weariness.

He stood up, and then slowly walked forward, his voice calm and steady as each word left his mouth.

"Far off, but not that far off," he said. "You've always been a threat. No matter. I don't need your permission. I can take you peacefully. Your acceptance is not needed. Not anymore."

Dorian still held the grin on his face, pressing his back even closer to the glass wall.

He stared beyond it, seeing an expanse of darkness that lay beyond, covering a large distance, as if spreading to eternity.

Meanwhile, in the sky above, multiple stars seemed to be shining, glowing repetitively.

After taking note of everything, Dorian turned his gaze back to the god. "You don't plan to let me go?"

"Not until I have acquired your body." Tezen moved closer. "Don't worry, it's not painful. It's barely recognizable."

"Yeah, buddy, that isn't happening." Dorian flipped a 'fuck you' at the god. "If you want my body, you can have it once I'm dead."

Crack!

Dorian suddenly punched a hole in the glass wall. It shattered upon impact, the sound unnaturally sharp in the silent domain, before he threw himself backward, falling into the pit of eternal darkness.

"No!" Tezen screamed, immediately racing towards the breach, a worried, almost panicked look playing on his face.

As Dorian fell, just like the dark pit Yahoshi had once used, he felt his power being stripped forcefully from his body.

It was an agonizing, violating sensation, as if his very soul was being siphoned. Blood dripped from his nostrils, staining his neck and clothes the very next second as he plummeted into the void.

At the top of the dome, Tezen watched as Dorian fell, a frustrated look on his face as he raised his hand, ready to snap his fingers. The stars that had once been shining were now gushing with bright light, lightning striking as the entire space shook.

Snap!

The God of Eternity finally snapped his fingers after moments of contemplation.

…

Gasp!

Dorian suddenly sat upright, his eyes widened as he found himself seated on a large bed, with a white blanket covering the entirety of his lower body.

'Hahah, it worked.' Dorian gripped the side of his head with a nervous look on his face. 'Fuck, and here I thought I was going to die. Ishtar's gambles are rubbing off on me.'

Initially, he knew the dark void had to be dangerous; chances were he was going to die without getting help from Tezen. That said, some of the gods would most likely not want him dead if his theory was correct.

"They don't want me dead because of the Witch God."

"The Witch God?"

A voice erupted beside him. Dorian looked to the side, where he could see Ciel standing there, her arms folded and back resting on the wall.

"Ciel…"

"I am glad to finally see you awake. You were asleep for so long I started to lose hope. A dragon such as myself doesn't fully understand how the human body works."

"How long was I asleep for?" Dorian asked, getting off the bed and sitting at the edge.

"It's been over a week, My Lord. The others have been worried about you as well. Despite the attempts of the King and her mage, your mana refused to be replenished." Ciel took a couple of steps forward.

"Which is strange, since a drop of Dragon Monarch mana is meant to be surplus, a thousand times more potent than any normal body of mana. I find it hard to believe you were drained so quickly."

'I've been asleep for a week? I could have sworn the discussion with the god only took a couple of minutes. Time dilation?'

Now that she mentioned it, he could feel how refreshed yet exhausted he was, as though he had been sleeping for a long time with no nutrients whatsoever. Not only that, but he could sense something was wrong, though it was still more of a guess than anything else.

Looking back at Ciel, he ignored her earlier comment and asked a question. "Where are the rest? And did Yaho—did the Witch God show herself again?"

"The rest are all somewhere in the castle, I guess. As for the Witch God, I assume you are speaking about the veiled woman who dared to lay her hands on you. She hasn't shown herself since she vanished."

Dorian stood up from the bed. "Okay then, that is good. Let me make sure everyone else is safe."

Before he could take a single step, Ciel stood in front of him, while Lili appeared from nowhere, turning into her human form and blocking the entrance of the room.

Dorian tilted his head to the side. "What are you doing?"

Lili glanced to the side, sweating profusely as she fought the urge to remain where she was. A part of her wanted to move out of the way as quickly as she could, while the other part chose to remain there for a while.

Ciel glanced to the side as well, but she quickly turned her gaze back to her master. "I feel you should rest for a while. You've only just woken up. It would be really bad for your health if you are walking around this early."

Dorian stared at her for a while. She was his summon, so he could easily tell when she was lying or not.

"Ciel, are you lying to me?"

Even though his voice was as calm as possible, Ciel and Lili still felt fear creep up their skin in that moment, one born from guilt and respect.

Immediately, they both went to their knees, their heads bowed.

"I am sorry, Master! I didn't want to!" Lili was the first to speak, her voice shaky with tears hanging at the back of her eyes.

Dorian simply watched, blinking multiple times.

"I am to blame for this. As the strongest summon, I should have cautioned her. Instead, I chose to join in. It is disgraceful. I should be punished for daring to deceive, and killed for thinking I could do it."

Silence settled for a while, and all through it, Dorian had a bad feeling about the entire thing. He was curious, but even more so, he was scared at what the reason could be. What could have happened that would make even Ciel want to lie to him just to keep him in this room?

Without uttering much of anything, Dorian began to walk towards the door, neither of the two daring to raise their heads in that moment.

With slow steps, Dorian approached the door, turned the doorknob, and exited the room, leaving the door open. Head still bowed, Ciel sighed, knowing there was nothing she could do to stop him anymore. She had done her part; the rest was left for them to handle.

As he walked down the hall, he could see the multiple elf maids staring him down with a strange mixture of pity, and an underlying layer of respect and love.

It was as though they wanted to run straight towards him and ask for his autograph; at the same time, it seemed as though they felt pity for him.

With each step he took, he didn't divert his gaze left or right. It didn't seem like he was searching for where they could be; he could already sense their presence, and they were all gathered at the same place.

The guest room.

After walking for a while, Dorian finally arrived at the guest room, and he opened the door.

The first thing he saw was Seraphina sleeping on the bed, with Alex at the side, running some kind of analysis on her.

They were alone inside, which made only Alex turn to check.

Immediately, he saw Dorian, and he flinched, falling to the ground.

"Lord Dragon!" he yelled, crawling on his butt.

At this point, Dorian was still confused. The reaction Alex gave out hinted that he was guilty of something, but Dorian didn't know what that could be, not until he finally got a good look at Seraphina.

When he saw her, the first thing that crossed his mind was rage. Pure, unfiltered rage.

Seraphina was not just unconscious. She was covered. A dark, pulsing virus clung to her body like a living poison.

It was a grotesque, throbbing mass of shadows, scattered all over her body and face like a divine plague. If it wasn't for the faint thrum of their bond, he would have never recognized her at all.

"Sera—phina!"

Dorian charged forward, but not towards her.

He ran towards Alex, grabbed him by the throat, and slammed his back against the wall with enough force to crack the plaster.

"What the hell did you do to my wife?!"

All Dorian did was squeeze Alex's neck, and his face had already turned purple, his breath getting cut short in an instant.

"Speak! What did you do to her?!"

"V-virus… errghh!" Alex was barely able to get a word out without choking.

It felt even worse since, in his moment of rage, Dorian assumed the young man was avoiding the question.

"You motherfucker! I asked you a damn question!"

Dorian pulled Alex back, about to slam him to the ground.

...

[A/N]

I saw a dream, a dream of long-lost lovers, born of pain, suffering, and sacrifice.

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.