MIDNIGHT PRINCE: Empire of Sin

⦗Xezbeth's physical body was destroyed but his soul has traveled back to hell.⦘

⦗Epic Ordeal: Black Knight is deemed to have failed…⦘

⦗You were not able to manage to save the cultists.⦘

⦗Epic Ordeal: White Knight is deemed to have failed…⦘

⦗You did not make a deal with Xezbeth and become his follower.⦘

⦗Epic Ordeal: Grey Knight is deemed to have failed…⦘

But the messages did not just stop there. They were merciless…

⦗You did not eradicate all the members of the Blue Sharks.⦘

⦗Major Ordeal: Black Knight is deemed to have failed…⦘

⦗You did not manage to make the leader of the Blue Sharks, Kang Ho, repent.⦘

⦗Major Ordeal: White Knight is deemed to have failed…⦘

⦗You did not make a truce with Kang Ho, the leader of the Blue Sharks.⦘

⦗Major Ordeal: Grey Knight is deemed to have failed⦘

As if mocking him for his own indecision and hesitation, one message after another mercilessly manifested before his eyes at the fluttering book before him. Showing him the results of his work and the consequences of his actions.

Nothing.

They all had one thing in common.

Failure.

One word that encompassed all the feelings that were currently running through his mind.

"How much Karma do I have currently?"

He had nearly nine thousand Karma points the last time he had taken a look but now…

⦗Remaining Karma Points — 3333⦘

"...."

Once again silence settled in the air as Adam came to grips with his current circumstances. In the end, he lost so many Karma Points but got none back in return. It was a total loss, his loss…

The saving grace here was that all those points had been invested in accelerating the absorption of the power of Death.

But even then…

'The holy dagger was destroyed as well…'

⦃Adam…⦄

"Not now."

His body was soon covered in illusory clothes with a gesture of his hands and he floated until reaching the edge of the barrier where the body of Hae-Won should have been located. He had safely transported her body over during the fight so that it didn't get wrecked by the collisions of his and Xezbeth's aura.

Sadly, of her body, there was nothing left aside from her head. It seemed that what had saved this was the small vial of pure holy water he had left with her. That was the only thing that was not completely annihilated by the previous atomic explosion.

'I can still work with this.'

Though her body was destroyed, Adam's intuition was telling him that it was still not late for him to be left helpless. Even a fraction of her body was enough for what he had in mind.

But he had no hesitation. Unlike the previous power of ❰Death❱ that he had used which was only focused on absolute eradication, Adam felt like his control over the power of ❰Death❱ had so much more in store for him and that he would be able to step on a completely new Domain of understanding of this power if he so wished…

After all, his wish had been to defy Death itself.

Cradling her head in his arms, Adam focused silently, searching for the feeling he now understood deeply with his body and mind but was still not attuned to it enough to instinctively invoke it.

What he was about to do was without a doubt a taboo of the highest order. He was trying to enter a boundary that no human or supernatural creature should step into.

When he opened his eyes once again, he was greeted by a world in the achromatic state of Black and White.

He could see a link between Hae-Won's head and somewhere far beyond, a place that was still out of his reach, as if it was about to break through a certain limit and enter the place of no return— the place that he couldn't influence even with his power of Death.

He brought his arm forward and muttered,

"Come back."

Her soul had not left the physical world yet. It still had not entered the beyond, the world out of his reach.

He tugged at the link and yanked back the soul for a lack of better analogy.

A dark light flashed in his eyes that were dotted with a pair of black stars and his prana was being devoured like a flood breaking through a dam. Even his arm shriveled up slightly, as if time had been stolen away from his body.

Adam had no doubt.

The laws of the universe were fair. True resurrection would be impossible without a greater price to be paid.

Even with a price paid, it might not be enough for him to truly resurrect the woman in his arms.

But it was alright. He had somehow succeeded right now in bringing back her soul. He could work on truly bringing her back to life later.

When the light finally vanished, a beautiful woman with a pristine white naked body was floating in a fetal position in front of him.

"Hae-Won."

He muttered slightly. Her eyelashes moved before she opened her eyes wide at his voice.

At first, confusion was present in her eyes but soon, a certain understanding dawned upon her as she muttered in a weak voice.

"Am I in Hell?"

She asked first thing after waking up as she looked at her surroundings bathed in the darkness above the sea.

But soon, as she looked at Adam, her eyes widened into saucers before a radiant smile of happiness formed on her face.

"Cinder. Is that you? Am I in heaven then? Or is this the start of endless torture?"

Her voice was ethereal, as if coming from the whisper of the wind and Adam quietly looked at her, feeling complicated in his head.

"This is still Earth. Though I guess in some way it's also Hell."

"I see."

She spoke quietly while looking at his face.

"You were really the one I met at the Church."

"Yes."

"I guess you are also part of the supernatural world then?"

"That… I am, yes."

She looked down slightly at the vast expense of the sea below her and could see her head in Adam's arms,

"How did it end?"

"Everyone is dead."

"Even my son?"

"...Yes… Even your son."

"I see."

She could only give a sad smile in return at those words, "I guess this is the end of a small but stupid family that was created on a mountain of lies. Is it weird that I cannot feel sad right now?"

Hae-Won asked quietly to Adam. Even though she should feel sad at how her son died and at her own death, she was able to accept everything with a calm mind.

Was it because she had been freed from her mortal shell? Or was it because she had made peace with herself at the last moments of her life?

She didn't know. Perhaps she would never be able to know about that. But it was fine…

"Cinder… No, not that… Can you tell me your real name…? Please?"

"It's Adam."

"Then Adam… Could you give me one last gift?"

Adam opened his mouth to reply… There were so many things he wished to say to her, so much he wanted to ask from her. So much he wished to convey…

But… In the end… He simply nodded his head.

"I will do everything you ask of me."

(AN: https://youtu.be/bRrP3ESM6sQ → Antonin Dvorak Serenade for strings E major )

A few moments later, Adam could be seen covered in an attire that was not alike his usual self. He was now wearing a beautiful suit, with a pocket watch, a cane, and a top hat.

Hae-Won, meanwhile, was covered in beautiful evening gown and the two of them were standing inside of a large ballroom.

Obviously, all of this was nothing more than illusions created by Adam's powers over Dream. Illusions that were so intricate that they were nearly impossible to distinguish from reality as Adam had poured all of his soul and concentration into creating them and making it so that they lasted long enough to fulfill all of Hae-Won's wishes.

Music began to flow out into the air… soothing, beautiful music full of grace and elegance that would touch anyone's heart. Under the illusory light of the ballroom, the two of them danced in a silent waltz of love and passion.

"I am surprised you know how to dance so well."

"I took a few lessons back when I was young."

The conversation was sparse, but the smile never left Hae-Won's face. Not even for a single moment throughout the whole performance. Up until the very last note of the symphony played, she simply looked at him, with infinite love and unimaginable joy shining deep in the depths of her eyes.

For Adam… There was no greater poison than what he was being put through right now and what he was made to witness deep in her eyes.

Why don't you hate me? He wanted to ask out loud.

Why don't you resent me? He wanted to scream till his lungs could scream no more.

"Is dancing with me really that difficult for you? You are making an expression that is worse than crying, you know?"

She joked lightly under her breath after seeing the devastated on Adam's face,

"Just why…"

"I already told you, right?"

Her smile was beautiful, ethereal, beautiful, benevolent, and so much more

"You never lied to me. I knew from the start that I was just being used by you and I have accepted that. Just like Icarus flying toward the radiant sun, I was happy by the lies that you fed me with. Even if you had not existed, my end would have been the same as what you are seeing now. Though it might just have happened at a later date. My fate was set in stone from the moment I met my husband."

Her inner beauty made his inner ugliness all the more evident to himself and he was feeling miserable the more he was made to come face to face with that fact. She placed her hand on his face, even though she could not directly touch him, Adam felt infinite warmth coming from her ethereal touch.

"My last few days were the most beautiful days of my life. And you… are the one who brought them to me…"

A mischievous smile finally replaced the serene one covering her enchanting face, "But I am still quite a petty woman you know? After all, you only brought me back so that I would relieve your guilt by cursing you and venting out at you. Just so you can feel at peace, knowing that I at least resented you for all you've done…"

That was the irrefutable truth. Deep down, he wanted her to berate him. To insult him. It was a deep desire born from all the guilt that was gushing from the depth of his heart at having used such a wonderful woman for his goals and the fact that… even now… he felt nothing for her other than the guilt gnawing at his heart for using her as he did…

"So let me fulfill that wish yours. Let me give you the greatest curse a weak and feeble woman like me is able to give to a powerful man like you."

She gently placed her forehead against his head, closed her eyes, and muttered quietly; just enough so that only he could hear her in the entirety of the world…

"It's called the curse of forgiveness and I… forgive you… my dear Adam…"

On those last words and a dazzling smile full of enchanting allure on her face, Hae-Won's soul slowly started to dissipate like sand under the wind before it completely vanished along with the illusion that Adam had enacted for her, returning everything back to normal.

The price Adam had paid was used up and the small miracle of bringing a soul back had now come to an end with her departure…

Until the very last moment… Hae-Won never added a single word of rebuttal.

She knew that by doing so, she would let a mark inside him that would never be able to vanish from his heart.

It was a small little vengeance from a woman who only gave her love to two men who never loved her back and would never love her back.

Adam had now found himself again in the dark depths of the sea, all alone, with no one around him…

Xezbeth had been right.

On this night, as ironic as it was, perhaps the only true winner was none other than Hae-Won herself… The weak woman who didn't even have the power to protect herself…

As for Adam… This was without a doubt a night he would never forget.