Chapter 281
Chapter 281
When I blinked my eyes open again, I saw myself cornered at the end of an alley. The townspeople were armed with swords, axes, and other weapons.
I was still shaken from witnessing Kaichen’s demise, even though I knew it was just a dream. I would rather die myself than see him die. Even now, in this memory, I was running from them, only to end up trapped in a dead end and endure the cruel wrath of the mob.
It was the result of experiments conducted openly, without concern for morality.
Perhaps I wanted to experience death as many times as I had caused it. Even though I knew it would never help me, I longed to die repeatedly, hundreds of times over.
“Dalia!”
My eyes widened as I looked at Kaichen, who stood in my way. I used to cling to his Wide back when I asked him to carry me.
When my legs ached, I would complain, and Kaichen would playfully suggest using teleportation magic. Each time I begged him with a pout, he would reluctantly agree, rolling his eyes but always carrying me.
He was like that. He would do anything for me—whatever I desired.
“Don’t worry; I will always protect you,” he assured me, just as he did in the dream a moment ago.
Thinking that way, I trembled as I watched him confront the people’s anger alone. His broad back crumbled, his knees gave way, and blood poured out.
No, blood flowed from his entire body, forming puddles on the ground.
No matter how hard I struggled, my voice wouldn’t come out. I wanted to stop them from hurting Kaichen, but I couldn’t move.
I had never dreamt like this before. I had never experienced anything like it. I tightly shut my eyes, hoping this nightmare would end.
Yet, this time, when I reopened my eyes, I was on the execution platform.
The guillotine was ancient, gathering dust in the basement of the Alshine Mansion. It was only brought out once every few decades to execute the most heinous criminals.
I had been beheaded exactly thirty-seven times on this platform. The methods employed by the members of the Alshine territory for my punishment varied depending on the intensity of their anger.
Human rage required little time. Those who had lost their children, parents, or loved ones naturally went berserk and never forgave me. They stormed into the mansion, retrieved the long-unused beheading machine from the basement, and it took no more than half a day to sever my head.
Knowing that each day would repeat, I awoke early in the morning, driven mad, believing I had harmed someone, and always met my death around sunset.
I wanted to cleanse myself of my sins, something I had never been able to confess to Kaichen. I couldn’t forgive myself for committing unspeakable acts for a century and only regaining my senses now.
Even as I clawed at my eyes, tormented by the knowledge of my past deeds, my hands remained stained with blood.
Even if I couldn’t recall, even if they were unaware of what I had done, I remembered.
The blood on my hands grew darker and darker. A century of maddening years ended before I regained my sanity, yet the brutal memories of death and being k!lled haunted me.
Even when I did nothing, my perfectly fine hands looked soaked in blood. Was it indeed an illusion or real?
I had k!lled out of madness, whereas the people pursuing me had simply sought revenge. Could this be a sin that could be purged?
I couldn’t dismiss it as an inescapable circumstance or blame it on some kind of potion as these memories continued to torment me. I grabbed my throbbing chest unconsciously.
The sharp screams didn’t stop, and the pain in my eyes was nothing compared to the constant visions of waking up and having my eyes gouged out. The horrifying deaths and waking again and again. It was madness!
‘You losing your sanity wasn’t your will, Dalia. You were never mad. It couldn’t have been you.’Even though the madness of a hundred years wasn’t of my choosing, everything I did after regaining my sanity became my decision.
Despite the clouded thinking induced by poison, I couldn’t bring myself to claim that I had no control. Was every action I undertook in the past century truly a result of the poison?
My chest felt heavy. ‘Master… it was me.’
It was me.
I had spent a hundred years imprisoned, repeatedly envisioning murder and longing for an impossible death. I had chosen death’s embrace countless times until I could laugh without a care. Until no one saw me as insane.
“Dalia, don’t worry. I will protect you.”
No! You can’t be here! You shouldn’t come to save me, sacrificing your life for mine!
I wanted to cry out. I wanted to demand why he was on the execution platform where my head should be severed. Yet, my voice remained trapped; only a mumble escaped my lips.
Why? Why are you laughing like that?
I couldn’t breathe.
Please, just stop. Please, let me die! Please. Don’t sacrifice yourself for me!
I couldn’t see anymore. I raised my blood-stained hands to my eyes. Amidst excruciating pain and a deafening ringing, the world turned red.
I couldn’t see anything anymore.
As I endured the sharp ringing and the agonizing pain, I felt blood, which had clung to my cheek and lingered at the tip of my chin, slowly drip.
It felt as if that blood was akin to the blood Kaichen had shed while protecting me, and I knelt in despair.
Please, stop. I implored the sky. Let me bear any suffering, but please don’t allow anything to happen to Kaichen.