[ The king's chambers ]
"You…" Maximus's eyes flared up, gazing upon Aries, who was standing before him. "... what did you say?"
"Let's end this."
"Aries." Maximus stomped his feet toward her, stopping a step from her. "Say that with your physical body here."
Aries didn't react strongly, assessing the anger plastered on his face. "I don't want to do this anymore, Maximus."
"Shut up."
"It's been two years since we agreed on this contract and I am on the brink of death. You already had my entire life and a lot of Maleficent's power. What else do you want from me?" she remarked calmly. "Don't tell me you had grown an attachment to me?"
Maximus balled his hand into a tight fist. His entire body was shivering in anger. Knowing he couldn't hurt her because she was simply a mirage — an ability she learned — added to his frustrations.
"Or… are you scared?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. "Was your current power still not enough to defend yourself from the real owner of our darkness?"
The corner of her lips curled up into an amused smirk. "It must be, isn't it, Max?"
"Did it have something to do with this fable you kept claiming to be untrue?" she added with a tinge of mockery in her voice.
Aries heard about this unpopular fable as the queen of the mainland. It was an unpopular tale because, for some reason, no one spoke about it. If not for the witches she brought in here, she wouldn't get the entire story.
It was no secret that the Grimsbanne Clan were the direct descendants of the devil. But before that, the Grimsbanne once owned the mainland and was originally a part of the world.
The mainland was once known as an empire: Hendrik Empire.
Back then, the Hendrik Empire, which was now known as the Mainland, had a prince. The crown prince. They said this crown prince was vicious and would stop at nothing to get what he wants. Only when he died did everyone, realize the crown prince wasn't as vile as everyone thought he was.
The crown prince simply did what he must to protect his family and his people from the vicious devil disguising himself as another prince. When the crown prince had a chance, he took advantage of the war between vampires and wolves to dissolve the curse cast upon their land.
But by doing so, he had to sacrifice his life and keep his end of the bargain with the devil. Thus, the reason the mainland disappeared from the rest of the world, and also, the existence of the two seeds.
The two seeds.
According to prophesy, the two seeds who were born by the blood of the crown prince and the devil would pass the devil's will to seven chosen seeds. And when those seeds were completed, they would destroy the world.
That was the prophecy and the crown prince knew that he would leave behind something no one would want. This was also the prophecy everyone knew but never talked about.
However, there was another side to this story, and it was something no one knew about. Aries guessed it was because someone wanted to keep this part of the story hidden so people's fears of the existence of Grimsbanne wouldn't disappear.
The other part of the story that everyone didn't know about was that the crown prince just didn't die, leaving two evil children behind. The crown prince died, asking his loyal subject, who became the new king of the mainland, to nurture these seeds with love, sincerity, and kindness so they wouldn't turn evil. And thus, that was the reason the new king took care of them.
Until the first child of these two seeds was born.
There weren't many details regarding this first child, but it was said that it was a troubled one. However, the first child died. No one knew the reason why he died, but the sudden deaths of a Grismsbanne weren't new, especially if they were not 'chosen'. People just deemed it as something like that.
That was where the unpopular story ended.
But after a thorough study in the royal library, Aries noticed that there was more in the story that wasn't told. Or rather, no one just noticed the gradual changes, for there were too insignificant to notice.
"I might be wrong." Aries fluttered her eyelashes ever so tenderly, smiling. "But at this point, I do not care about you or me anymore, Max. All I want is for everything to end. It doesn't matter if I have a year, a month, or even a day to live. I will die after you, not before."
Rage dominated Maximus's face as he glared at her. "The audacity after letting you live — "
"Stop talking as if I am the only person who gained something in this deal." Aries cut him off before he started spouting nonsense. "If you truly don't want this to happen, then you know what to do, right?"
She tipped her head in the window's direction. "Come and get me… if you can."
"Aries!" Maximus leaped to grab her, but her image simply distorted before she faded. "That wench…!"
His pupils dilated as his heart suddenly thudded, sensing this growing aura coming at him like a beast.
"Ma.Xi.Mus."
His breath hitched, turning his head at the window where the wind that was blowing past it carried Abel's will.
"Come out."
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[ FORBIDDEN FOREST ]
Aries slowly opened her eyes, taking a deep breath and breathing it out through her dry lips. She bent her knees as she leaned her back against the headboard of the bed. She turned her head to the balcony's door. It was slightly ajar. Her eyes were soft, but the dark bag underneath them slightly suppressed the beauty and life in them.
"Two years is a long time, Maximus," she whispered, feeling the soft gust of wind caress her face. "May the one that had tormented you for many years burn you forever in hell."
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