[Scene:] The "Silent Isle" in the Aegean Sea, surfacing once every ten years.
1.1 The Distorted Dimension
Deep in the Aegean Sea, the surface currents suddenly began to rotate in reverse, forming a massive, collapsing vortex. With the forced intervention of the Thorne family's Temporal Pulse, the "Silent Isle," meant to surface minutes later, prematurely breached the watery seal.
The island was tiny, covered in ancient, sea-eroded marble ruins. A powerful field of temporal distortion energy enveloped the area, the air heavy with a sense of historical weight and the vagueness of future time.
Alistair's helicopter hovered above the island. Dressed in all black, he looked like a shadow absorbing all light. He gazed out the cabin door at the forbidden land.
"Tutor, the island's temporal stability is extremely poor," Lydon said nervously. "Our timer shows we have only thirty-five minutes on the island. The Baglio Family's interference with the time warp cost us five minutes."
Alistair donned a specialized Algorithm Stabilizer, a Thorne family device used to maintain mental clarity in temporal disturbances.
"Thirty-five minutes is sufficient." Alistair's voice was icy. He leaped from the helicopter without hesitation, stepping onto the Silent Isle.
1.2 The Trap of Memory
The moment he stepped onto the island, Alistair felt a strong supernatural pull. The air here carried a suffocating sense of nostalgia.
He quickly moved through the ruins. Soon, on a Greek altar covered in vines, he found a bronze vessel half-buried in the soil.
The "Eye of Samos" lay within that vessel.
The surface of the vessel was covered in ancient Greek runes. As Alistair approached, a faint, yet pure love energy seeped from the vessel, attempting to penetrate the algorithmic armor he wore.
Alistair reached out, preparing to open the vessel by force. But just then, he saw a parchment scroll, soaked by the sea but still legible, pressed beside the container.
It was a letter left by Eleanor.
Alistair's body instantly stiffened. He knew this was Eleanor's final emotional trap for him. Yet, he couldn't resist. He picked up the parchment and began to read.
1.3 The Desperate Confession
The handwriting was Eleanor's familiar, elegant script, but every line was filled with absolute sorrow:
"Alistair (Tutor),
By the time you read this, I will have sealed all my uncontrolled feelings for you, and every supernatural imprint you left on me, within this 'Eye of Samos.' This is the last freedom I can give you."
"You taught me strategy, you taught me ruthlessness, but the one thing you forgot to teach me was how not to love you.
I cannot stand by and watch you be utterly destroyed by the Core Algorithm's backlash for this forbidden feeling, or watch you destroy the Thorne family's legacy to protect me. You won the curse, but you cannot lose to your own nature."
"You must understand the only two ways to break the seal: My willing love, or the sacrifice of my life. I will not give you my love, as that would only perpetually imprison you in your possessiveness for me. Therefore, I choose to use my life to secure your true freedom."
"Tutor, please let go. I have left my love to the Eye of Samos, and my life to the mortal world. Only by having nothing left of me will you truly be free.
Goodbye.
Your prisoner, Eleanor Vance."
1.4 The Tutor's Breakdown and Vow
As Alistair finished reading, the parchment slipped from his trembling fingers, caught by the wind and dragged into a temporal rift.
His body violently recoiled, hitting the altar's stone pillar. His perpetually cold, sculpted face showed an unprecedented level of agony and despair.
"You are insane…" Alistair's voice was ragged, filled with stifled pain. He finally understood Eleanor's ultimate plan—to use her own death to sever all ties between them, completing his salvation.
Lydon, seeing Alistair's condition, urgently reminded him: "Tutor! Time! Only twenty-five minutes left!"
Alistair abruptly looked up. His eyes no longer held cold calculation, but absolute, fanatical possessiveness. He would never allow Eleanor to enact this judgment of sacrifice.
He strode to the bronze vessel and seized it. The powerful love energy emanating from the container tried to repel him, but Alistair ignored it completely.
"Eleanor Vance, you have no right to decide my fate!" Alistair roared at the sky, his voice laced with desperate pain. "You left your love for the Eye of Samos, and I will use that love as proof that you will forever be my prisoner!"
He mustered all his strength and slammed the bronze vessel against the altar. The vessel exploded, and the blue light of the Eye of Samos shot into the sky, illuminating the entire Silent Isle.
The unsealing ritual was violently initiated amidst Alistair's rage and pain.
Author's Note:
Thank you for your continued readership and dedication to the consistent quality of this novel. The confession and violence on the Silent Isle have pushed the story to an extreme climax! Alistair finally understands that Eleanor placed a "dual curse of love and death" upon him. What consequences will his violent unsealing bring? In the next chapter, the power of the Reverse Seal will be revealed, leading us into an even more forbidden domain! Stay tuned!
BY : KHChing