Now that I had finally checked my runes, it was time—time to stop drifting and actually plan. Time to go back to the Dark City. Time to finish what I started.
First, I listed what I wanted to do.
No—what I needed to do.
Kill Anderson and Gunlaug. Slowly. Painfully.
Kill the blood beasts guarding Wrath.
Destroy the Dark City itself.
…Simple goals. Horrible odds.
The worst part? I had no clue how the hell I was supposed to actually achieve any of them.
Sure, I was strong. Strong enough to scare most people. Maybe even strong enough to delude myself into thinking I could take on twelve blood beasts at once if I pushed my sin lineage hard enough. But realistically?
I struggle with one.
One.
Twelve would tear me apart like wet paper.
Ambushes? Maybe. But my chances were still low. And destroying the Bright Castle? Forget it. I literally couldn't hurt Gunlaug or his guards—not after what he pulled with our "deal." The bastard probably named half the castle as his personal guards just to make sure I couldn't even punch a random servant without blowing my own face off.
I could use Beast to fight for me… maybe. If he doesn't get obliterated the second he appears.
There was only one outcome left:
I needed an army.
Me. The guy who barely trusts himself with small decisions like "should I eat first or sleep."
Now I had to form an army to take down the Bright Castle.
Brilliant.
Well… it wasn't impossible. The outskirts were filled with chumps desperate for survival. Give them soul shards and memories, build loyalty, pretend I'm likable enough—they'd probably join. And I had Effie. Seishan. Seishan's handmaidens. Maybe this wouldn't be as hard as it sounded.
…Maybe.
But first I needed to get out of the damned castle once Wrath teleported me there.
Thankfully, I had the perfect memory for that.
[Starlight Cloak]
White sparks wrapped around me as the cloak materialized, settling on my shoulders like a judgment. I walked to the Sinner of Wrath.
"I'm ready. Go for it."
"Alright," Wrath said with a voice that vibrated through bone.
"Hold your breath."
Hold my—?
Suddenly I was drowning in blood. Thick, suffocating, burning blood dragging me upward at impossible speed. And then—
Light.
Stone.
Sigils beneath me flaring with demonic glow.
I collapsed to my knees coughing out something I hoped was blood and not my lungs.
And then— Spears. Directly in my face.
"Ah. Hello there."
"The demon is back! Go tell Gunlaug!"
That was my cue.
I backflipped away from the spears and threw my hood up mid-air. In an instant, their vision slid off me. Not invisible—not truly. Just unseen. Just out of notice.
A coward's cloak.
But right now, I needed it.
I slipped past the confused guards and headed through the castle's hallways. It was strange how much I had forgotten. Strange how I almost preferred to jump out a window rather than walk these halls again.
But I needed Seishan. Needed answers. Needed… her. And her handmaidens if I hoped to form an army.
Eventually, after too long, I reached a familiar door.
Seishan's.
I opened it.
And a war hammer nearly made me a pancake.
"Identify yourself."
I shot the hood back and raised my hands instantly.
"It's me! Seishan, it's me!"
Her expression—dead gods—it was a storm. Relief. Rage. Joy. Worry. All smashed together behind her eyes.
Then she punched me.
Hard.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?!"
"Oh really?" she snapped. "You're asking me that? You come back from the dead for the second time, stroll in here like nothing happened, and you ask why I punched you?!"
In anger, in stupidity, in pure reflex, I said the worst possible thing.
"Stop overreacting already. It's not that big of a deal. I'm back, right?"
I regretted it the moment it left my mouth. I saw the hurt land on her like a blade.
I deserved the second punch. Honestly, I deserved a dozen.
But the second punch didn't come.
Instead, something broke—quietly, heartbreakingly. Something fragile inside her. She pressed something cold into my hand. A memory transferred. And then shoved me toward the window.
"Seishan, wait—I'm sorry, I didn't mean—"
Her eyes were empty again. Emotionless. The way she looked at everyone else. Like I was nothing special. Like I meant nothing.
And for some stupid reason… that hurt more than any strike ever could.
"Leave," she whispered. "Right now. And never even look at me again. Understand? Take your stupid necklace and get out."
"Seishan, please, just listen—"
SLAP.
A burning line carved across my face. Not the pain of the hit—the pain of the meaning behind it. The end. The real end.
No dramatic goodbye.
No final gesture.
Just a slap… and a door closing in ways that might never open again.
Staying would make it worse. Apologizing more would make it worse. She needed space. Even if that space tore something out of me.
I jumped out the window, catching my fall with blood, and pulled the hood back over my head.
Good. Perfect.
A cloak meant to hide me from the world was now a cloak to hide me from my own shame.
I walked into the outskirts, into my broken house, and collapsed onto the floor. Exhausted. Empty.
So much happened. Too much.
Seishan. Sara. Wrath. Gunlaug. Anderson. My own damn stupidity.
So much pain.
So much trauma.
And so painfully little time to breathe.