Chapter 305: Chapter 305 : Desire (2)

Alex’s voice echoed through the quiet room. “Looks like I have to change the question.”

His grip tightened slightly on Charlotte’s shoulders as he leaned closer, eyes narrowing. “Who are you?”

Charlotte’s lips curled into a smirk. “Who do you think I am?”

“Don’t play word games with me,” Alex said, patience thinning. “Just answer the damn question.”

Charlotte giggled softly. “Why? You can do it, but I can’t? You were doing the exact same thing to me a few minutes ago, remember?”

She tilted her head, eyes glinting. “Gotta hand it to you, Alex. You really are something if you managed to drag *me* out.”

“Don’t play games with—”

Before he could finish, Charlotte moved.

Her body twisted with fluid precision as she slipped out of his grip using a clean, practiced technique. In the same motion—

BAM!

Her fist slammed straight into Alex’s jaw.

His vision flashed white for an instant as he staggered back, boots scraping across the floor. He caught himself on the edge of the table, rubbing his jaw.

“Fuck… that hurt.”

Charlotte didn’t give him a time to think.

She lunged, closing the distance in a blink, her heel arcing toward his ribs. This time Alex was ready—his arms snapped up, forearms crossing as the impact landed with a solid crack.

He absorbed it, boots sliding half an inch across the ground.

A slow exhale left him as his posture shifted—stance widening, eyes narrowing.

Charlotte spun—fast, fluid—but her dress snagged around her legs mid-motion. Her foot missed its mark, fabric wrapping around her like a stubborn leash.

She stopped just long enough to growl under her breath.

Then, in one smooth, vicious motion, she grabbed the hem and ripped a strip clean off, the sound sharp and loud in the meeting room.

Alex let out a low whistle. “Wow.”

Her foot drove straight into his gut a heartbeat later.

Air rushed out of his lungs as he doubled forward slightly.

[ Focus, Host.]

“Yeah why dont you try fighting her without harming her,” Alex snapped back in his mind, teeth gritted.

Charlotte didn’t stop. Punches and kicks rained down on him in a relentless barrage, each one faster and more precise than the last. Alex blocked and deflected as best he could—forearms, elbows, shins, shoulders taking the brunt of the blows.

Between movements he said, “The Charlotte I know is not this good at hand-to-hand combat.”

He parried a jab and slid back from a sweeping kick. “And she’s definitely not strong enough to *hurt* me. It takes a lot of strength to make me feel anything, and I know exactly how strong Charlotte is.”

“Then you don’t know her at all,” Charlotte replied coldly.

Her leg whipped up in a high arc. Alex barely got both arms up in time, blocking the kick. The impact still drove him back, his heels skidding a half-step.

This time, Alex’s expression changed.

“Alright, that’s enough,” he said firmly. “Stop. I don’t want to hurt Char.”

The entity only smirked. “How cute. So that’s why you keep defending, hm? Even though she’s incompetent, she did at least one thing right while I was asleep.”

Alex narrowed his eyes. “And what’s that?”

Charlotte’s smile widened. “Making friends with you.”

The air shifted.

Without warning, the gravity in the room spiked. The floor cracked under the sudden pressure, fine lines splintering out from beneath Charlotte’s feet.

Alex’s knees almost buckled. His body felt like it had been wrapped in lead and pulled down.

[ Host, the gravity in this room has increased to twenty times normal. But your physique is already starting to adapt. You just need to survive a few seconds. ]

’You think I was *dancing* with her until now?’ Alex shot back mentally.

His movements turned heavy. He tried to step aside from Charlotte’s next kick, but the enhanced gravity dragged at his limbs. A punch slipped past his slowed guard and clipped his ribs. Another caught his shoulder.

He winced, forced backward, boots grinding against the floor.

Then, slowly, his muscles responded. Bones adjusted, aura flaring, his body starting to accommodate the oppressive weight.

Charlotte lunged in with another punch.

This time, Alex’s hand snapped up and caught her fist in a firm grip.

His eyes had gone completely serious. “I really didn’t want to hurt Char,” he said. “But you’re making it very difficult.”

Charlotte’s other hand shot up and clamped around the side of his head, fingers digging into his skull.

Instantly, Alex felt a crushing heaviness slam into his mind, like someone had dropped an iron cage around his thoughts.

[ Skill – Unyielding Will (B) has been activated to resist mind domination. ]

The pressure in his head eased as the skill took hold, his consciousness locking down behind an unbreakable barrier.

Charlotte’s brows furrowed when she saw no change in his eyes—no haze, no dullness.

“Interesting,” she murmured. “You’re not affected at all.”

Alex’s voice dropped. “What are you trying to do?”

Charlotte’s smile returned. “You wanted to know the truth, didn’t you? I was just about to show you.”

“By dominating my mind?” Alex asked.

“Would you have let me in if I’d asked nicely?” she replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Alex didn’t answer.

Instead, he moved.

Using a quick shift of his weight and a precise twist of his hips, he broke her grip and stepped in close, hooking one of her legs and trapping one of her arms.

In a fluid motion, he turned her around and locked her into a firm hold—one arm behind her back, his other arm pinned across her chest, restricting her movement without crushing her.

Charlotte groaned in mock pain. “Whoa… seems you like it rough, huh?”

She chuckled, even as his grip tightened. “I haven’t even tried playing it rough yet.”

She tilted her head back slightly. “Tell me, Alex… have you even played a single game yet?”

Realizing what she was implying, Alex’s face flushed just a bit. “W-Well, no, but that’s not the point—”

“I knew it,” Charlotte said, laughter in her voice. “Still a virgin.”

Alex yelled, frustration boiling over. “Will you please shut up and answer me nicely? Without making me feel sad about my already screwed-up life!”

Charlotte smirked, clearly enjoying his reaction. “Alright, alright, stop crying… Now release me.”

Alex sighed, grip still firm. “And what’s the guarantee you won’t try to break my handsome face the moment I let go?”

“I won’t,” Charlotte said innocently. “I promise. I was just trying to dominate your mind to peek inside—find out some secrets. Is that a bad thing?”

Alex’s mouth twitched. He pressed harder on her arm, drawing a groan of pain from her.

“Alright, alright!” she gasped. “I won’t try anything. You can tie my hands if you don’t believe me.”

“Yeah,” Alex said. “That seems reasonable.”

Cosmic essence flickered at his fingertips, glowing threads of silver-blue energy weaving from his palms. They snaked around Charlotte’s wrists, binding them securely behind her back—strong as steel chains, unbreakable by normal means.

He released the hold and stepped back, both of them straightening up. They took seats across from each other at the table.

Alex’s expression hardened. “No more games. Tell me now—who are you?”

Charlotte flexed her bound hands experimentally, then met his gaze. “What do you know about Witche?”

Alex snorted. “Those who give poisonous apples to beautiful princesses because they’re ugly people.”

Charlotte’s smile strained. “So you really are just a handsome guy with a dumb brain after all.”

Alex’s mouth twitched again. “How rude.”

She leaned forward. “I *am* Charlotte. Or you could say… an incarnation of myself. A rebirth.”

Alex couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Keep going,” he said slowly.

Charlotte’s voice lowered. “Witches are cursed entities.”

“Cursed with what?” Alex asked.

“Immortality,” she replied softly.

Alex’s expression shifted to disbelief.

Charlotte continued, her tone measured and ancient. “Witches are not born—they return. To the world, they appear as mortals, but we are bound by something called the Thread of Rebirth. It’s a metaphysical law woven into the fabric of destiny itself.”

She paused, letting it sink in. “As long as the universe exists, a witch can never truly die. Our bodies perish. Our souls scatter to the winds. But over time, they reconstruct—drawn back to a newborn vessel strong enough to contain our power.”

“Memories don’t return all at once,” she went on. “They awaken piece by piece. Through trauma. Through mortal danger. Through deep emotion… or the presence of another curse more powerful than our own.”

“That can act as a trigger,” she finished, “bringing fragments of who we really are back to the surface.”

Realization dawned on Alex like cold water.

’A curse stronger than hers, huh…’ he thought.

His system chimed in.

[ Correct me if I’m wrong, Host, but don’t we still have four curses left to break? Looks like your presence is also the reason for her condition. ]

’Yeah, yeah,’ Alex replied mentally. ’Will you shut up for a bit now?’

He looked back at Charlotte. “So you know, huh.”

She smiled faintly, eyes tracing him. “That ominous energy pouring from your body? Filled with deadly curses? No, I didn’t notice it at all.”

A vein popped on Alex’s forehead. “Alright. Next question. Which Charlotte is real—you, or the one I usually know?”

“We’re both real,” she said simply. “It’s just that the incompetent girl you’ve known has made a huge mess. That’s why her personality split into two.”

Alex leaned forward. “What do you mean by that? What kind of mess?”

Charlotte sighed, as if explaining something tedious. “Well, the thing is… witches always tend to fulfill our desires. It’s our top priority. You could say it’s also a type of curse for us.”

Her expression darkened. “Whatever you desire… ours is many times stronger.”

“You mean…?” Alex prompted.

She nodded. “When that desire doesn’t get fulfilled, we prefer to destroy the thing we can’t claim ourselves. Rather than let someone else have it.”

Alex pretended to think for a moment. “So you guys are psychos, huh? Got it. I’ll remember that if I ever come face-to-face with another witch.”

Charlotte’s mouth twitched. “Let me finish first.”

She continued. “The Charlotte you’re talking about has been suppressing her desires since childhood. Desires for acknowledgment from her brothers and father. Desires to be loved by them. Desires to become better than everyone else.”

She shrugged. “Normal for any person to have those kinds of wants. But for a witch, as I’ve said—it’s like a curse.”

“And your friend over here,” she added, “is suppressing a *lot* of things. Building a dam out of all those emotions. Not letting them flow.”

“Lately,” Charlotte said, “when Edward died… the dam finally broke. Another personality was born from all those bottled-up desires.”

Alex’s expression turned grim. “Which is you.”

Charlotte smiled. “Correct.”

———

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