CHAPTER 206: SEPHRINA [6]

He looked back at Lewin as he pointed at Velyrian.

’Don’t tell me....’

If Sephrina could create anything from her mind....

What if—.

"Velyrian move!!!"

Velyrian didn’t ask questions.

The moment Akamir shouted, he shifted his weight and leapt to the side—just as a jagged spear of pure white light ripped through the space where his chest had been.

It slammed into the marble floor, cracking it like thin ice.

The priest yelped and stumbled back, nearly tripping over his own robes.

The guards froze, their eyes darting between the gaping hole in the floor and Lewin’s outstretched hand.

Except... Lewin hadn’t moved.

Akamir kept on staring at the ground that was slowly getting melted.

Bit by bit it was getting disintegrated into nothingness.

’...Well, this looks really bad.’

Akamir thought as he looked back at Lewin.

Lewin smirked, and another spear began forming in the air beside him.

The glow twisted unnaturally, like light and shadow were folding into each other.

He pointed the spear at Velyrian, who had just gotten up.

"I really used to like you, Velyrian," he said, his voice cold. "But you were always something that disgusted me."

When Akamir was trying to find a solution, Sephrina quickly rushed towards Velyrian.

"Hey—."

Sephrina quickly stood in front of her father as she glared at Lewin.

"Don’t touch my father!" she yelled, tears dripping down her eyes.

Lewin froze for a moment, his eyes narrowing at the girl now standing between him and his target.

"Step aside, child," he said, his tone dripping with irritation.

Sephrina’s legs trembled, but she didn’t move. "No!"

The second spear of light above Lewin’s palm began to pulse, its edges fraying like it was tearing the air apart.

The heat from it made the guards shuffle backward, their armor clinking nervously.

Velyrian reached forward, trying to pull Sephrina behind him. "Sephrina—"

But she shook her head violently. "I won’t let him hurt you!"

"Well, you know, Seraph," he said with a bright smile. "I won’t touch your father if you do as I say."

"..."

Sephrina remained silent as her legs trembled in fear.

Lewin walked forward as Velyrian quickly tried to move his daughter away.

"If you accept to marry me," Lewin continued, "then I will leave your father alive."

Sephrina’s breath caught.

Her wide eyes reflected the spear of light hovering in Lewin’s palm.

"Marry you...?" she whispered, her voice almost breaking.

Lewin tilted his head, smiling like a man making the most reasonable offer in the world. "It’s a fair trade. Your father’s life... for your hand."

"Don’t even think about it!" Velyrian roared, yanking Sephrina back behind him. His grip was tight, trembling with both rage and fear. "Over my dead body!"

Lewin’s smirk widened. "That can be arranged."

Lewin pulled his hand back as he prepared to launch the spear.

"That’s enough!" Sephrina replied, her eyes shut tight. "I will do as you say!!!"

Lewin stared at them for a while before he let go of the spear.

It vanished into thin air as he looked at the soldiers. "Throw them in a room," he ordered. "And priest, start preparing for our wedding."

"Y-yes, your majesty."

Two soldiers seized Velyrian by the arms, forcing him forward.

He struggled, but the magic-suppressing shackles they slapped on him dulled his strength.

"Let her go!" he shouted, twisting violently in their grip. "Sephrina! Don’t do this!"

Sephrina didn’t answer. Her face was pale, her lips pressed tight.

She was staring at the floor, fists clenched so hard her knuckles had gone white.

Lewin stepped toward her, his expression softening in a way that somehow made it worse.

He bent slightly, brushing his gloved fingers under her chin and tilting her head up.

"You made the right choice," he murmured. "You’ll thank me for it one day."

She met his eyes for only a second before tearing her gaze away.

’The fuck am I even seeing?’

Akamir thought as he gave them a weird look.

Even though it was a fake World created by a dead being.

He didn’t like how things were going in this place.

’ugh, what a pain in the ass.’

Akamir rubbed the back of his neck as he let the soldiers tie his hands.

’For now, I need to stay with Sephrina.’

Akamir had a lot of things in his mind, but the most important was to keep her safe.

’I would have liked if she could just one-shot Lewin, but it doesn’t seem like she can.’

From what Akamir had gathered, she has partial control over this World.

She is close to a literal god of this place.

But regrettably enough, it seems Lewin has some sort of authority as well.

’...Sephrina represents creation, so Lewin could have some ability related to destruction.’

As Akamir kept on thinking of it again and again, the soldiers brought them into a big room.

They threw them inside as Sephrina quickly ran towards her father.

’Are they stupid?’ Akamir thought as he picked the lock in his hand. ’Why would they let us be in the same place?’

The only thing Akamir could conclude was that Lewin doesn’t see them as a threat.

’...Well, that’s a good thing.’

Velyrian pulled Sephrina into his arms the moment the guards slammed the door shut.

"Sephrina, what were you thinking?!" he hissed, his voice breaking with anger and panic.

She clung to him, trembling. "I just... I couldn’t let him kill you..."

"That’s not your decision to make!" His tone was sharp, but his hands were gentle as he cupped her face. "I’d rather die than see you chained to him."

Sephrina shook her head, tears streaming down her cheeks. "You’re all I have... I don’t care what happens to me if it means you’re alive."

Akamir looked at them as he played with the lock.

’Come to think of it...this world seems like someone’s utopia.’

To be more precise, Akamir thinks this World is a mixture of both Lewin’s and Sephrina’s lifelong dreams.

In a World where Sephrina is free of her curse and Lewin is a king and can have Sephrina as his own.

’...but why did Kros choose only these two?’

Akamir couldn’t understand why Kros didn’t choose him or any other person’s dream world.

Why specifically these two?

With a soft click, the lock gave way.

He slipped one hand free, stretching his fingers before quietly working on the other.

’Can it be related to their mental power?’ he thought grimly. ’Does Kros want the body of both of these?’

There were thousands of questions but almost no answers.

For now, all Akamir could do was stabilize the current situation.

"You two can cry later," he said casually, leaning against the wall. "Right now, we need to figure out how to stop your future son-in-law from playing house."

Velyrian shot him a glare. "You think this is a joke?"

"I think this is an opportunity," Akamir replied, rubbing his freed wrist.

"Lewin doesn’t see us as a threat. That means he’s careless. Careless people make mistakes... mistakes we can use."

Sephrina wiped her tears, looking up at Akamir. "You... you can stop him?"

Akamir wasn’t sure, but he nodded confidently. "Anything for you, empress."

Sephrina opened her mouth to speak at his casual tone but chose to remain silent.

Akamir looked around the place as he then reached the window.

"You should look after your daughter, Velyrian," Akamir said as he sat on the edge of the window. "Make sure she is safe."

Velyrian’s brow furrowed. "And what will you be doing?"

Akamir replied with a smile. "Making sure our dear groom doesn’t live long enough to see the honeymoon."

Akamir didn’t wait for a reply as he let his body fall off the window.

He quickly grabbed the edge of the window a floor below as he used the momentum to jump in.

As he landed, he was quickly greeted by an empty room.

’Huff...’

Akamir drew in a deep breath as he closed his eyes.

’Focus the spirit eyes and it will lead the way.’

The world around him illuminated once again but this time in green and red.

’...Hmm, now this is interesting.’

Akamir thought as he stared at the red string that connected everything in the room.

He couldn’t have seen this with his normal eyes, but they were visible now.

Those strings were all attached to the ceiling or maybe to the being behind all this.

Akamir followed the nearest red string with his eyes.

It pulsed faintly, like it was alive—breathing.

Every few seconds, it gave a faint tug, as if something on the other end was checking to make sure it was still connected.

’Not creepy at all,’ he thought dryly.

He reached out and brushed his fingers along it.

The thread felt warm, almost like skin, and the instant his fingertip touched it, a flood of images hit his mind.

Flashes of white marble halls. A throne. Lewin. Sephrina, and much more.

Akamir pulled his hand back sharply. "Alright... so touching the murder strings is a bad idea."

Still, now he knew they were linked to Kros’ will.

Probably how he was keeping this fake world under control.

If Sephrina represented creation, and Lewin destruction... then these threads were the rules.

Maybe cutting them will tell him much more, but....

His eyes narrowed at the ceiling.

The strings... They were anchored higher up, above the physical space. Almost... outside reality.

’So I can’t just grab a knife and start snipping.’

Akamir let out a sigh as he noticed something else.

In one of the rooms adjacent to his own, he felt signs of life.

Not one but multiple.

Akamir quickly opened the door as he rushed into the room adjacent.

’.....’

His stomach twisted as he looked at the gruesome sight.

Six young boys lay on the bed... Naked.