Yet everything changed in a single night. My mother disappeared, and the faint, metallic scent of blood filled the air, suffocating the room. In the chaos, my nanny scooped me up, clutching me tightly as she hurried to the hidden passageway within the palace. She ran and ran, the dark corridor seeming endless as she raced toward the exit, desperation etched on her face.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuxFJT1W5zh
But just as we neared the exit, a figure awaited us—a strange woman whose form began to shift before our eyes. Her charred, cracked skin softened to a pale, almost porcelain texture; her four eyes faded into two, and her twisted horns transformed into long, silky hair. In moments, she looked almost human, yet something sinister lingered in her gaze.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsGlOjWJHh2
"Hand over the child," she demanded, her voice as cold as ice.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJqZrQMsbet
"This child does not belong to you!" my nanny said firmly, holding me protectively.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4uNQsFSIUM
The woman sneered, her expression darkening. "Foolish human. Do you truly believe this child is either human or demon?"
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG2aieP7kuE
My nanny’s grip tightened as she glared back. "This is the child of light, blessed by the goddess herself!" she proclaimed, her voice unwavering.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA3CfX0Ouhl
The woman laughed, a sound sharp and mocking that echoed through the cold stone passageway. Her smile was unsettling, filled with a dark promise.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlNqyjJ6yGa
"A blessing?" she scoffed. "Or perhaps a curse. Light and dark are two sides of the same coin, after all."
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ84s4h2jDqa
My nanny’s breath hitched, but she kept her stance firm, shielding me with her body. "The goddess’s light is beyond your grasp, creature," she declared, though I could feel her heart racing.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMVaJ7ODgwz
The woman stepped forward, each movement as graceful as it was dangerous. "Brave words, but you’re wasting them. That child is meant for greater things than you can imagine."
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiMrEs93HN0
My nanny took a step back, eyes darting around, perhaps looking for a way to escape. But the woman raised her hand, and shadows danced at her fingertips, curling and twisting like living smoke.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRH2Clcm57w
"Enough of this. Give her to me, and I may spare you," she said, her tone laced with menace.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHZhF49KAj1
But my nanny stood her ground. "Never," she whispered fiercely. With a sudden, determined movement, she pulled a small charm from her pocket, a delicate, glowing pendant that shimmered in the dim light.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNzDyk5Auoi
At the sight of it, the woman hesitated, her smile faltering.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8pKIUEKbPG
"By the light of the goddess, I banish you from this place!" my nanny cried, thrusting the charm toward her.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡviLsA4QiH7
The pendant flared with blinding light, and the woman hissed, recoiling as shadows wavered around her, disrupted by the radiance. She snarled, her eyes flashing with fury.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhuo2dYBpPz
The woman pretended to be affected by the light as she then laughs. "Pathetic human!" She said as her shadows devour the nanny leaving only the princess on the demons hands.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQcqS1nzfKU
"Now it's between you and me, daughter of moon" the creature said. As her eyes glow together with moon.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡldyjQiyCfD
My body felt so heavy as I didn't realize I shut my eyes and I don't know what happened after that.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQoNhYnJo5F
---
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡABSVTbJtJS
"Hey, wake up!" I heard a man's voice, and suddenly, when I woke up, I found myself in a strange place... Not entirely strange, but rather familiar.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdw8n7TJlsL
I then realized, based on some gossip I overheard from a maid who comes here to "take care" of me, that since the mother of demons suddenly appeared, they had found me at the back of Ashengil Castle, completely clueless—no emotions, like I was alive but my soul wasn't there.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIXwh4wljAi
My father didn’t visit me after my mother’s disappearance. They said that while the emperor was busy dealing with the creature, someone saw my mom leaving with another man.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡumzhnajrIY
I thought that man must have been my father, not the emperor. Afterward, I learned the emperor made Saraphina the queen, but not the empress.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsRNSD4QWPU
I saw them in the garden, where my parents and I usually stayed. That's when I realized that I... had been reincarnated in the book titled "Roses of Thorns", as Sienna, the female lead, and Aeron, the male lead. This world would soon be invaded by dark creatures.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCziWsxrARE
The mother of demons is superior among all creatures. Once a beloved goddess, she later turned into a demon because of her betrayal.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtmQ57AGZqX
Sienna holds the light, and Aeron is the knight of the light, which is Sienna. Together, they fight side by side against the dark forces of nature.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcunnTYAHe5
Yet... this book... has many twists. One is the real Goddess of Light... and how I, Lethyxia, became an extra character who never even appeared or was born. How Caelum became the Young Headmaster of the Magical Tower. How Valen became a greater swordsman. And some hidden characters, such as the son of shadows.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7mIUANIt15
But... still, this feeling... Why? Why did my father and mother... just easily break their promises? Am I not worthy of love?
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqGsAyXYzKR
Every morning, I feed myself because my caretaker is too lazy to do so. I didn’t even realize that I could see my brother, Caelum, face to face. But suddenly, I felt strange and ran away before he could notice, as he was talking to Aeron and Valen.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVvwauJmLw7
Suddenly, a woman—a strange woman—grabbed me by the neck. I couldn’t see her face, but her mouth widened as if to scoop my soul.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrzDXx0O33Z
I couldn’t breathe. My body felt numb... It was so cold, suffocating... I couldn’t even scream for help. All I could do was let the woman take my life.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRkPOKrMTsd
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ01hIMYwM4s
---
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm7Ru6iWW00
Meanwhile, at the holy temple, one of the relics of the Empire—a crystalline fragment said to be a remnant of a star that fell from the heavens—held the power to allow the wielder to see into the past, present, and future.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdVZlzscSNQ
By placing the shard under moonlight, it reflects visions of future events, sometimes showing multiple timelines and potential outcomes.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWVuT1GmRvL
It is rumored that the Shard of Eternity has a mind of its own, subtly guiding those it deems worthy to the path of prophecy.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmR7rJNEyTg
A flash from the crystal suddenly appeared.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz9EoQ8gOSd
"When shadows dance under the blood moon, two souls within one body shall rise. The Empire’s fate will rest in the hands of she who commands darkness. Salvation or ruin—her choice alone. The right soul shall bring salvation; the other will deliver judgment."
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV7Iow5oUMT
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwrkHgLXQWN
---
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkNKbGrArVB
That’s when I woke up and found myself back in my real world. “Was it all just a dream?” I said, a pinch in my heart.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMFw2P60L4J
Huh? Where am I? This isn’t Ashengil Castle... I suddenly heard the sound of a kid in the back of the room. There, I saw a group of kids bullying another child.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡukqK1u4FfM
“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?” I shouted.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiZGlx326Bg
“Ohh... Little missy ain’t afraid, huh?” one of the children said.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfHLI0DxicR
“Continue bullying that poor child, and I’ll inform the adults,” I said proudly, not even realizing what I had just done.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgWbeNMwh1a
Luckily, the children got scared and ran away. And that’s when I met Ermis, my only friend.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8LZCLZKduA
_____
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD4d4GKXLsY
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgIZGbgK9P8
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEptr6qsfBQ
Ermis and I became close friends. At first, he was so cold, but later on, he warmed up. Maybe it's because I'm too cute, hehe. I accepted my fate of reincarnating into another body. This body’s name is Xia. Ermis and I are in an orphanage called Sere of Hope, where unfortunate children are given a chance at a better life. Here, they teach children etiquette to help them be adopted by noble families.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQKDQk0ZdJC
Yet, there's a dark side to this orphanage, as beneath its sweet exterior lie dark secrets—the underground arena. In this arena, skilled children fight monsters, and nobles bet on them for money. It's all just entertainment for them, and Ermis is one of those skilled children.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdYSoIPCZ9z
Although I kept telling him to escape with me, he just said, "In the right time." Fine, I'll just wait. After a few months, my nightmare began. The temple found me and used me as their vessel. That's when I learned that the temple's high priestess was a psychopath. She takes children’s blood for her rituals. Who knew that a priestess, a follower of God, was actually a devil?
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrTPcJUEXeZ
This happens every three months, the same as Ermis, who goes to the arena to fight every three months. We only have one week to be together and play. I didn’t tell Ermis about the temple, but I think he already knew and was just waiting for me to open up.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8yH9KSuZY4
"Ermis, if anything happens... don’t forget about me, okay?" I said.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAtMS5gqEZg
"I promise I won’t," he replied.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTgsuvDS04O
"Instead of saying you promise, prove it, alright? Because if you forget about me, i promise I'll never talk to you ever or even be blind just so I can't see you," I said.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxUNGUDEBdP
We laughed and enjoyed our night together. And that was the only memory I have left with Ermis. Because, at that time, Ermis went to the arena, and the high priestess took my life.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmCVg6r1UxH
I have died again.
---
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZVIrcRtJM7
The weight in my chest lingered as I sat up, breathing in the cool air around me. The familiar yet distant feeling of the real world seemed so out of place compared to the vivid, agonizing reality of what I had just experienced.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvgnfVN4pgW
It all felt so real—so alive—yet now, as the light of my room softly illuminated my surroundings, it seemed like a distant memory.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDU64fV37rW
"Was it all just a dream?" I whispered, the words tasting bitter on my tongue. But I could still feel the raw emotions from my past life—the confusion, the betrayal, and the haunting vision of the woman who nearly stole my life. The weight of her cold grip still lingered on my skin, like a shadow from another world.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC5CB8hrUjI
"Hey! You're not dead yet?" Jellay mockingly said.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpaZ28jDgdw
"Why not try it yourself so you know how it feels to die?" I sarcastically replied.
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXN5SCzO7r6
10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3do85Mt4ba
