Transmigrated as the Villainess Princess - Chapter 54

Chapter 54: Rebirth

Her body went rigid, her breath caught in her throat as the thorn embedded itself deep. Pain radiated from the wound, spreading like wildfire through her chest.

Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, staining her lips crimson.

“Ahcehera!” Richard’s voice, distorted and strained, reached her ears.

She forced her head to turn, her fading strength fueled by the sight of him. His wolf form was disintegrating into sparks of black and violet light as the core consumed him from within.

His claws raked the ground, and his eyes were wide with terror and pain.

Ahcehera’s vision darkened, but she refused to give in. Her thoughts were a chaotic swirl of fear, anger, and desperation.

This can’t be the end. Not like this.

–

Richard desperately tried to force his way out of the cage, but the chains that bound him refused to yield.

He growled in frustration, his every movement only serving to intensify the torment Ahcehera endured.

She can’t die…

The core, glowing with malevolent energy, pulsed one final time before it forcefully plunged into Richard’s body.

I need to save her…

A sharp, searing pain erupted through him, and his vision went black. His body convulsed violently before slumping to the ground, motionless.

In the infinite darkness of an abyss that seemed to stretch forever, Richard found himself standing alone.

Where am I? What is this place?

The silence was deafening, the void around him oppressive. In the distance, a solitary figure stood with his back turned, shrouded in faint, shifting shadows.

Richard’s voice echoed through the emptiness. “Who are you?”

The figure didn’t move at first, but a deep, resonant male voice filled the void. “Don’t you know how you woke up after the accident?”

The figure began to turn slowly, his movements deliberate and haunting. When his face came into view, Richard’s heart froze.

It was a face he knew well, one that mirrored his own in ways both comforting and unsettling. My idol.

“Brother…” Richard whispered, his voice trembling filled with confusion and disbelief.

Am I also dead?

Standing before him was Riezekiel, his eldest brother, whose presence radiated an otherworldly aura.

“You were a fragile child,” Riezekiel began, his tone calm yet edged with something unspoken.

“Grandmother feared you wouldn’t survive after birth. Mother was unconscious, and Father was preoccupied with the affairs of the fief.”

Richard’s brows furrowed in confusion. “Brother… I don’t understand.”

Riezekiel’s eyes darkened as a faint, bitter smile curved his lips.

“Grandmother sought a solution. She hired a magician, a practitioner of forbidden arts, and made a choice no one else would dare. She shattered my soul into two fragments, using one to fill your lifeless body and bring you back from the brink of death.”

The words hung in the air like a heavy fog, suffocating and cold.

Richard staggered back, his hands trembling. “Are you saying… my soul isn’t my own?”

Riezekiel’s smile widened, but it held no warmth. His gaze pierced through Richard with an intensity that sent chills down his spine.

“What’s mine is yours, little brother. And what’s yours… is also mine.”

The abyss seemed to ripple with Riezekiel’s words, the darkness growing heavier, as if the truth itself was a weight Richard could no longer bear.

Am I also him?

Richard’s mind drifted back to a time that felt like a distant, bitter memory, a time when his eldest brother, Riezekiel, was sent on a mission.

It was the final mission of the Night Owls Squad, the elite team renowned for their skill but shadowed by secrecy.

He recalled the day vividly.

He had been walking home after a grueling day of classes, his bag slung over his shoulder, thoughts filled with mundane worries about assignments and exams.

The butler told me something was happening at home and the hovercar that was tasked to escort me home was delayed.

The evening air was cool, tinged with the scent of rain-soaked earth. Then, out of nowhere, the ambush came.

Blinding lights, rough voices, and the sharp crack of pain that exploded in his skull.

The world spun into darkness, and when he awoke, he was confined to a sterile hospital bed, surrounded by the hum of machines and the faint scent of antiseptic.

A month slipped by, stolen from him in the haze of unconsciousness. When he finally regained his senses, the news hit him like a thunderclap.

His brother, Riezekiel, was gone, lost in the line of duty.

The grief in Richmond’s eyes, his second brother and Riezekiel’s twin was a mirror to the ache in Richard’s chest.

Richmond mourned openly, his raw cries echoing through the halls of their once-lively home.

The house, once filled with laughter and warmth, now seemed lifeless. The shadows stretched longer, the silence heavier.

The absence of Riezekiel was a gaping wound that refused to heal.

As the days turned into weeks, Richard’s life settled into an uneasy rhythm. The day he returned to school, something unusual happened.

He met an old woman by the school gates, her presence both unsettling and strangely familiar.

Her eyes glimmered with an otherworldly light, and when she spoke, her voice carried the weight of ages.

“You survived, child,” she said, her words laced with an eerie satisfaction. A chuckle escaped her, more knowing than joyous. “But your soul… it is incomplete. A portion of it is missing.”

Her words sent a chill racing down his spine. Richard’s breath hitched as the realization dawned on him.

Richard stood there, the old woman’s laughter fading into the wind, consumed by questions he might never have answers to. His journey, it seemed, was only just beginning.

The truth, horrifying and miraculous, began to unravel in his mind. His brother, Riezekiel, had sacrificed more than half of his life.

He had given away a part of his very soul to save Richard, a selfless act of love and duty.

The weight of this revelation pressed on him. His thoughts spiraled as one question surfaced, gnawing at his conscience.

Was he truly Ahcehera’s mate, the one destined for her? Or had that bond been meant for his brother, the man who had given so much of himself to ensure Richard’s survival?