[Scene:] The Penthouse Containment Chamber of the Thorne Estate.
1.1 The Activation of the Reverse Seal
The return from the Silent Isle in the Aegean Sea took only a few hours, but to Alistair, it felt like millennia.
After violently unsealing the Eye of Samos, the love energy did not bind Eleanor's supernatural imprint back to his algorithm as he intended. Instead, that energy surged through him like an invisible, fierce algorithmic virus.
Alistair stood in the center of the penthouse chamber. He was impeccably dressed, appearing calm, but sweat beaded on his forehead, and his body trembled imperceptibly.
He felt the backlash of love. The Core Algorithm that sustained his mastery over everything was being eroded. Whenever he attempted to wield supernatural power, what surged forth was not cold calculation, but his agonizing pain and intense possessiveness for Eleanor.
Eleanor observed this from the mirror at her vanity desk. She knew the "Reverse Seal" she had planted was active—the rune ensured the love energy did not return to Alistair but attacked his most potent weapon: the algorithm.
"Tutor," Eleanor's voice was soft, carrying a hint of victorious mockery. "You look cold. Is your algorithm weeping for you?"
1.2 The Vulnerability of Power
Alistair abruptly turned and strode toward Eleanor, bracing his hands on the vanity desk, completely eclipsing her in his shadow.
"What did you do?" Alistair's every word was strained with extreme repression; he couldn't let Eleanor witness his suffering.
Eleanor looked up, meeting his eyes that burned with fury.
"I merely ensured you can only love me as a mortal." Eleanor's voice held defiant finality. "You can no longer use algorithms to calculate my freedom, nor power to constrain my heart."
Alistair suddenly felt a sharp wave of dizziness. He closed his eyes tightly, clutching his chest. The room began to distort; time itself seemed to lose meaning in that instant.
This was the side effect of the "Reverse Seal": it not only destroyed his algorithm but forced him to feel all the pain Eleanor had endured for his sake.
"This is the 'Love Curse' you set upon me." Alistair gasped, his voice choked with desperate agony. "Did you think this would make me let go?"
"No," Eleanor reached out, lightly touching his trembling fingers. "I simply want you to understand that the price of losing your heart to me is heavier than the curse I bore for the Thorne family."
1.3 The Prisoner's Ultimate Taunt
Eleanor shoved him away and stood up. Her eyes were filled with lofty contempt.
"You used five energy fields, forbidden temporal technology, and the knowledge of the Baglio Family to chase me. Yet, all you gained is your own despair."
Eleanor walked to the window, turning her back to him.
"Tell me, what can an Alistair Thorne—stripped of his algorithm, governed by emotion—possibly do?"
Alistair felt his inner self crumbling. He was now not just a supernatural master stripped of his power, but a mortal consumed by extreme possessiveness and pain. The shell of the Tutor was gone, leaving only the raw Tutor-Style possessiveness.
He lunged toward her, embracing her tightly from behind. His grip was an act of possessive desperation nearing collapse.
"What can I do?" Alistair's voice was laced with a pained sob, a vulnerability he had never shown anyone. "I can kill you, Eleanor! I can make you mine forever!"
1.4 The Final Hook and Counter
Eleanor did not struggle. She felt the pure human agony emanating from him now that the algorithm had receded.
"If you kill me, Tutor," Eleanor's voice was cold, "My life sacrifice will take effect. The Eye of Samos will permanently shut down all your supernatural channels. You will become a mortal stripped of everything, forever living in mourning for me."
She abruptly broke free from his embrace, turned, and without hesitation, delivered a resounding slap!
SLAP!
The blow shattered Alistair's last vestiges of control. Blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.
"You think you won?" Alistair wiped the blood from his lip, his eyes instantly regaining a terrifyingly dangerous calmness.
"You are wrong, Eleanor." Alistair leaned in, whispering in her ear, his voice cold enough to freeze blood. "While the Eye of Samos seal was activated by you, I already used the healing of Father Rafferty to secure his secret on the only way to break the 'Reverse Seal.'"
Eleanor's face instantly paled. Had her most trusted priest betrayed her after all?
"My algorithm may vanish, but my intellect and power will not." Alistair straightened, his eyes filled with extreme fanaticism and the will to conquer. "Eleanor, I will never allow you to threaten me with death. Next time, I will force you to willingly return to my side in a way you absolutely cannot refuse."
Author's Note:
Thank you for your continued readership and dedication to the consistent quality of this novel! To boost the novel's appeal, this chapter fully ignited the conflict between Alistair and Eleanor: the slap, the blood, the desperate embrace, and the ultimate betrayal of knowledge! In the next chapter, we will reveal the secret to breaking the "Reverse Seal," which will entirely change the rules of Alistair's Atonement Arc! Stay tuned!
BY : KHChing