Chapter 900 THAT VOW
"HAVE YOU still not figured out why Nero is obsessed with you?"
Dahlia felt it was surreal to see herself call the Crown Prince intimately.
The other version of herself only looked a few years older than her current age, but the aura that Empress Dahlia gave off was very different from hers.
[I look like a child next to her.]
But that wasn't the right time to worry about that.
"Is there supposed to be a logical reason as to why Prince Nero is obsessed with me?" Dahlia asked the empress nervously. "Isn't it because you were His Imperial wife in the first timeline?"
"Ah, so your memories were suppressed."
"I've only seen some pieces of my past memories through random dreams."
"And what did you interpret those dreams as?"
"That Prince Nero and I shouldn't end up together?"
Empress Dahlia fell silent for a moment before she spoke again. "Young Dahlia, we can't live without Nero."
"H-Huh?"
"Do you know why the Black Witches who took care of you just vanished one day?"
Dahlia was raised by five Black Witches on the island that was home to her. They taught her everything she needed to know as a Black Witch. And they also taught her how to survive alone by teaching her how to read the Stars.
Then, one day– a few weeks after she turned seven– the Black Witches just disappeared.
She remembered her guardians saying goodnight to her.
But when Dahlia woke up the next day, the Black Witches were already gone.
"The Black Witches who raised me often said that they would disappear someday and return to Nature," Dahlia said carefully. "They told me not to be sad about their passing because returning back to Nature is a dream come true for them."
That didn't mean she didn't mourn her guardians, of course.
"I never found out how they passed away, though," Dahlia added. "If my investigation was correct, then there was no foul play that took place. I believe they died in their sleep."
Peacefully, at that.
"The Black Witches who raised you died because they didn't devour a de Moonasterio's Lunacy."
"W-What?"
"Do you know the true reason why the de Moonasterios have hunted us down since time immemorial?"
"Isn't it because we can kill the de Moonasterios?" Dahlia answered, quite unsure. "And, during the early times, the de Moonasterios spread a lie that the Black Witches possessed malice-infused Darkness attribute. Hence, the humans shunned our clan."
"It's true that our power resemble the Darkness attribute, but we really don't possess Darkness attribute," Empress Dahlia said. "What we have is Pure Darkness. What separates it from an ordinary Darkness attribute is that we actually have divine power, too. But it's overshadowed by the fact that it's similar to Darkness attribute."
It was surreal to discover more about her lineage from the empress.
"I wonder why my guardians didn't tell me about the source of our power in a clearer way?" Dahlia wondered out loud. "I am not judging them, and I will always be grateful to them for raising me. But I just find it odd that they kept many secrets about our true origin."
"They probably hid things from you to avoid rousing your interest towards the de Moonasterios," the empress said. "Perhaps, they hid the real history from you because they did not want you to avenge our clan."
That was quite true.
The Black Witches who raised her used to tell her to be careful of the de Moonasterios, but they had never once told her to hate the Imperial Family.
She was grateful that she grew up without hate in her heart, and she never craved revenge.
However…
"They said the road to hell is paved with good intentions," Dahlia said, smiling cynically. "And now I believe them. It doesn't feel good to know that I've been kept in the dark for so long, even if it was for my own sake."
"I felt the same back then."
She clenched her hands tight, then changed the subject because there was no use sulking over spilled milk. "Empress, please tell me more about what you said earlier. Are we supposed to devour the Lunacy of the de Moonasterios in order to survive?"
"As I said earlier, what we have is Pure Darkness," Empress Dahlia began her explanation. "But the law of this world dictates that a vessel couldn't contain both divine power and Darkness."
"Yes, I remember that," Dahlia said, nodding. "That's why Princess Neoma's existence is an enigma to the world. After all, Her Imperial Highness has the purest divine power of all, and yet, she also has demonic power in her. That never happened before."
Emperor Nikolai's mother was a Quinzel and yet the emperor didn't inherit the Darkness attribute of his Quinzel side. It was because the emperor's divine power was too great that it overpowered and automatically purified the Darkness attribute in him.
The same thing happened to Prince Nero.
That didn't happen to Princess Neoma who got to keep her demonic power despite possessing overflowing divine power, though.
[So, in conclusion, Princess Neoma is the best de Moonasterio ever.]
"Unfortunately, the Black Witches aren't as special as Princess Neoma," Empress Dahlia said. "Our Pure Darkness attribute is the reason why we have short lives. Other witches could live up to three hundred to five hundred years. But our coven, the Black Witches, could only live up to one hundred to two hundred years. And since the de Moonasterios of the past had put a bounty on our heads during the early times, our ancestors died even before they reached a century."
"Why?" she asked curiously. "Why do we have short lives, Empress?"
"It's a curse."
"A curse? But we're the master of curses…"
"I suppose it would be better to call it a punishment."
"Who punished us then?"
"The one who benefits if the de Moonasterios remain shackled by their Lunacy."
Dahlia could only think of one person at the moment. "Callisto de Luca?"
"When Callisto de Luca discovered that the Black Witches could devour the de Moonasterio's Lunacy, that was when he began spreading the lie that we exist to kill the de Moonasterios."
She clenched her hands when she realized why Callisto de Luca did that. "Callisto de Luca didn't want the de Moonasterios to be cured of their Lunacy."
"Curing a de Moonasterio from their Lunacy is complicated as there are requirements that need to be met first," Empress Dahlia explained. "First, the only de Moonasterio we can cure is the one taking the throne. Once the emperor is officially crowned, only then can we begin devouring their Lunacy little by little. However, not all Black Witches could do so. Only one can have a matching rate with the emperor. That Black Witch will then be hailed as the 'Giver.' The Giver's job is to share the Lunacy she devours to her coven."
"Since we're the last Black Witch, you automatically became the 'Giver' when Prince Nero ascended the throne in the first timeline. Is that correct?"
"It wasn't only because I was the last Black Witch," the empress said. "It was because I had a high matching rate with Nero."
"Am I going to die early if I don't devour Prince Nero's Lunacy? Can't I just wait for Princess Neoma since she's destined to become the empress regnant anyway?"
"If you won't unseal your power yet, then you can wait for Princess Neoma to ascend the throne. But if you're going to unseal your power now, then I'm afraid you cannot wait for the Imperial Princess to become the first empress regnant."
Oh.
She needed to unseal her power to save Prince Nero…
"Child, our Pure Darkness is incomplete," Empress Dahlia said, then she smiled sadly at her. "You need to make a vow with Nero to save him and extend your lifespan."
Dahlia could only sigh and close her eyes.
[A vow, huh?]
***
"WHY does it matter whether Neoma is the real First Star? We're twins. There shouldn't be an older sibling between twins because it's stupid."
Nero couldn't believe what Emperor Nero said just because the latter lost their argument. "Why are you trying to downplay it when you were obviously shocked to find out that Neoma is the real First Star?"
"If you have time to worry about stupid things, then why don't you start worrying about yourself?" Emperor Nero, that sore loser, said. "Do you know that your Lunacy has just taken over your physical body, huh? Now combine it with the centuries-old grudge that the Rosehearts who possessed you carry with them. What do you think will happen once our ancestors take full control of your body?"
"I'll probably go on another killing spree?"
Because his instinct to kill was pretty much... strong.
"Correct," the emperor said. "In the first timeline, I knew it was wrong to free the Soul Beasts. But I didn't have enough power to even fight a small fry like Sergius de Moonasterio. And I even failed to warn Neoma to not let the Soul Beasts out to the human world. After all, people who fail the Cage's trial are meant to forget what happened there."
"You were weak, huh?"
"And so are you."
He couldn't refute that, so he just glared at the emperor. "Are you only hear to nag at me? Since you're already here, why don't you make yourself useful? Tell me how to overpower the male Rosehearts that are trying to control my physical body."
"It's too late for you to do anything. I brought you here in order to delay your Lunacy from getting controlled by the male Rosehearts. But I can't protect you here for long."
He scoffed. "So, you're useless."
"Hey, you better start praying that the Dahlia of this timeline is still as nice as my Empress Dahlia."
"Why are you suddenly bringing up Dahlia into this?"
"Only Dahlia can stop your Lunacy, you foolish child," Emperor Nero said, scoffing at him. "The only way for the two of you to survive is to make the same vow that my empress and I made in the past."
Oh.
He remembered that vow from the dreams that he had seen before.
But…
Nero's body suddenly went cold. "Isn't that vow similar to a marriage vow?"
***
"PRINCESS HANNA, change of plans."
Huh?
Hanna was just starting to process what Captain Ruto had said.
But, the next thing she knew, she was already falling into the huge warp hole– the one that was covered in ice.
[Did Captain Ruto just push me…?]
"I'm sorry, Princess Hanna," Captain Ruto said, but he didn't look apologetic at all. "You might get hurt a little. Please use your shadows to cushion your fall."
The captain didn't have to say that.
Hanna already used her shadow to protect her back when she crashed into the ice. Since it was Nero's ice, she had to summon her Hebi– the seven-headed serpent. Fortunately, her Shadow Beast was able to destroy the ice.
She got a few scratches, though.
[I won't forget this, Captain Ruto.]
Hanna set aside her personal feelings first as Hebi carefully wrapped her tail around her body.
The serpent did it in a way that she wouldn't be crushed.
"Thank you, Hebi," Hanna said softly while patting Hebi's tail. "You did well."
Hebi let out a hiss, but it was a happy hiss and not an angry one.
When Hanna's feet landed on the snow-covered ground, she sent Hebi back to the Shadow Realm to conserve as much energy as she could.
[This is like a huge graveyard for animals…]
Hanna felt sad while looking around, seeing corpses of dead animals who died from getting pierced by ice daggers.
[It's Nero's ice…]
"P-Princess Hanna?"
Hmm?
Hanna finally found Dahlia who seemed like she had just woken up from a long nap.
The Black Witch while sitting on Lapiz, the Blue Whale Elemental Guardian that shrunk in size, while watching Nero who was acting like the lunatic that he was.
Uhm, by that, Hanna meant Nero was trying to break the barrier he was trapped in.
And the Crown Prince didn't look himself.
Nero was usually grumpy, but the anger he was emitting at the moment clearly wasn't his.
"Did you trap Nero in there, Dahlia?"
"I-I did, Princess Hanna," Dahlia said nervously while getting down from Lapiz. "Y-You're here…"
"Captain Ruto pushed me down."
The Black Witch's eyes widened in surprise. "C-Captain Ruto did what?"
"I'll explain later," Hanna said, then she looked at Nero worriedly. "Is there a way to snap him out, Dahlia? You're looking at him like you know what to do, but you just don't have the courage to go through it."
To be fair, that was just her assumption.
Hanna based it on the fact that Lord Yule specified that it had to be Nero and Dahlia to stop the Third Calamity.
"That's right, Princess Hanna."
[Oh, I'm right.]
Hanna turned to Dahlia. "What's stopping you then, Dahlia?"
"I have to make a v-vow with Prince Nero…"
The way the Black Witch stuttered and avoided her gaze made her nervous.
"What kind of vow is it, Dahlia?"
Dahlia lowered her head this time. "A vow that binds my soul with Prince Nero's soul– a vow that will make us unable to live without each other."
Like a marriage vow, then.
Hanna, right at that moment, saw her future with Nero slowly crumbling away.
[I don't have a place here.]
***
[WHAT the heck happened?]
Nero was surprised when he finally opened his eyes and found himself back in the Cage when he was just talking to Emperor Nero a moment ago.
He didn't expect to wake up in his body with his consciousness intact.
[And the male Rosehearts inside my soul seem to have disappeared…]
"Are you awake, Nero?"
Ah.
Nero was both happy and nervous to see Hanna and Dahlia standing side-by-side.
Obviously, the two ladies saved him from getting devoured by the male Rosehearts. But the two ladies also looked like they were attending his funeral when he survived.
Hanna spoke up first and broke the awkward silence. "Nero, let's break up."
Nero's eyes widened in shock. "What?"
[Seriously, what happened before I gotout…?]
***
HAPPY 900 CHAPTERS TO US! Thank you for staying for this long. The end is really near, for real. T_T
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