Chapter 191: The Price Of Love
A crimson tide rose in the grand hall, each swing of Alexander’s sword adding another life to the bloody tapestry. Screams echoed through the chamber, pleas for mercy lost in the cacophony of death. The Duke, his face a mask of terrifying rage, moved with a horrifying efficiency, his blade a reaper’s scythe.
Even his own mother, the Duchess, fell victim to his blind fury. Her desperate pleas were silenced with a single, brutal swing. Princess Vixara, her face twisted in a macabre parody of shock, met the same fate.
But amidst the carnage, there was one curious exception. The Crown Prince, kneeling on the ground, eyes wide with terror, was left untouched. Alexander passed him by, his gaze locked on a singular purpose – reaching Bernice.
He stumbled to her lifeless body, cradling her in his arms. His manic rage subsided, replaced by a soul-crushing grief. Tears streamed down his face, each drop a searing brand of regret.
"Bernice," he choked out, his voice raw with emotion. "I love you, Bernice. I do. Maybe I never said it, but that doesn’t mean you meant any less to me. I was trying to prove them all wrong... but why? Why did you leave me?"
His sobs echoed in the deathly silence of the hall. As if in answer, a soft, ethereal light descended upon him. A voice, ageless and powerful, resonated in the air.
"What are you willing to do to be with her again, Duke?"
Alexander looked up, a desperate glint in his eyes. "Anything! I’ll die a thousand deaths if it means holding her again. Just bring her back!"
"Very well," the voice boomed. "You have shown the depth of your love. Here, I return the Duchess Bernice to life. But for this transgression, your memories will be fractured. You will return to a point lost in time, with no recollection of this moment."
A blinding white light engulfed them, then just as swiftly, vanished. A dark aura settled over the scene, a tide of time reversing itself. People gasped, wounds knitting themselves shut, the dead rising with bewildered expressions.