Chapter 94: Aftermath

The fair was unrecognizable. What had once been rows of wooden stalls and lantern-lit pathways now lay in utter ruin.

If those creatures had destroyed things, what stared at her was far worse—something no ordinary human or supernatural creature could do.

It looked… it looked like the handiwork of the Devil.

Splintered beams jutted from the frozen ground at broken angles, half-buried beneath frost and ash, covering the entire space. Smoke drifted in slow, ghostly ribbons through the night air, carrying with it the bitter scent of burnt wood and something far worse—something sharp and metallic that made her stomach twist.

Bodies.

No—creatures.

Her stomach sank, as her eyes drifted towards their shadowed forms scattered across the shattered earth. Some appeared motionless where they had fallen, as the others dissolved slowly into wisps of black smoke that curled upward and vanished into the starless sky.

O-Oh… oh gods…

Lucrezia stared, her breath catching painfully in her throat.

She had done this. She—

Her knees nearly gave out beneath her, her body trembling in utter mortification. A low ringing still pulsed in her ears, muting the world around her, but beneath it came the sound of her own ragged breathing and the frantic pounding of her heart.

“N-No,” She whispered. She’s taken her tonic. She’d taken them. Then why… how…

Oh no… She thought, the consequence slowly dawning against her. Her gaze dropped to her hands. They were shaking violently, as if something was being controlled by someone else. Her fingers curled inward as if they no longer belonged to her, as if some lingering remnant of that force still trembled beneath her skin.

That terrified her more than anything else. The power that still lingered somewhere inside her, flickering like a dying light. What… what was that?

Fear crept over her in a cold, suffocating wave. It was an effort to keep from shivering, as her teeth chattered violently.

This had not been anything she knew, nor did it feel like Vespera’s flames. It had entirely been something else. Something raw. Something that had not asked for permission before tearing through her. Something that felt… loose.

As if that wasn’t enough, something trailed down her nostrils and her breath caught. Slowly, Lucrezia reached for it, only to feel something liquid as crimson stained her fingertips.

Blood.

Her eyes widened.

A faint sound behind her snapped her out of it, eyes falling on the unconscious woman before her. “Vespera!”

The name tore from her lips as she stumbled toward where the woman lay still. She lay half against the broken remains of a collapsed stall, her body too still against the white ground.

Lucrezia dropped beside her so quickly her knees slammed painfully into the ice. “Just—hold on… you’ll be fine… I’ll get you out of here—just a little longer…”

Her trembling hands reached for her, one hovering near her face, the other pressing shakily against her shoulder. There was a faint uneven breath, something she would’ve missed if she wasn’t focused enough.

Relief struck her so sharply that it nearly brought tears to her eyes. “You’re alive,” she whispered, voice breaking. “Gods… you’re alive.”

Her chest tightened painfully as she looked at her. Blood still stained the fabric at her side yet the wound had not stopped bleeding. And now the cold was creeping in harder than before, biting through Lucrezia’s torn clothes and numbing her already weakened limbs.

Her teeth chattered from the cold night’s breeze but then, there was a shift in that same air that made her freeze.

Slowly, almost unwillingly, she lifted her head, eyes narrowing towards the creature that stood across the ruined fair, standing amidst the smoke and wreckage as if untouched by the destruction caused by her.

Those eyes glowed like fire from a distance, complementing his pale skin and the unsmiling curve of his lips.

Her breath caught.

The mere fact that he’s survived such destruction terrified the living daylight of her. If a power was able to transform the fair into ashes and smoke, leaving nothing or no one unchanged, then what could destroy him?

The creatures that remained had drawn back around the ember-eyed man, fewer now, but still enough to make dread coil through her chest.

He was still looking at her. It held no interest in the destruction she’d caused but at her, like she was a piece he needed. Something in his expression also changed. The cold, distant certainty from before had been replaced by recognition, sharp enough to still breathe from her lungs.

His eyes narrowed slightly, burning with a terrifying kind of understanding as if the chaos around them had only confirmed something he had already suspected.

Lucrezia’s blood ran cold.

He knows. Of her ability… he knew. The thought struck her with absolute certainty. He knew what had just happened. Perhaps even more than she did.

For a long, suspended moment, neither of them moved. The smoke drifted between them like a living thing, the only movement in the still night under a silence felt heavier than battle.

Then he took one slow step forward.

Lucrezia’s heart lurched. Instinct moved before thought and she shifted closer to Vespera, her body curling protectively around her despite the trembling in her limbs.

She knew no matter what she did, if they tried to attack once more, they’d win. Her body felt like jelly, the only atom of strength left was that of her failing sight despite her body’s plea. Whatever had burst out of her before had left her hollow and drained that she could barely feel her fingertips. If he came closer—she wouldn’t survive it.

Yes, you would. The assurance was like a lost hope. Lucrezia wished she could believe it. Hold onto it as her life depended on it. But she was stuck under sheer vulnerability.

Her breathing quickened at another step, dragging Vespera closer, barely an attempt to shield her away from the threat looming closer.

Finally, he stopped. His gaze flickered once toward Vespera, then returned to Lucrezia. A strange look crossed his face, carrying the weight of something darker. Something almost… possessive that made her skin crawl.

Move, she thought, her limbs protesting at the moment of an attempt. Then, to her shock, he stepped back.

The remaining creatures followed instantly, withdrawing like obedient shadows. One by one, they melted into the darkness beyond the ruined stalls until only he remained.

Her eyes widened. W-What? She thought, unable to resist the panic that crept up her chest.

For a moment longer, his ember eyes held hers, long enough she felt goosebumps on her skin, until he, too, disappeared into the night.

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