— Love Deformed into Violence —
The strange being stared at me. The dead air seemed to freeze for dozens of seconds before he finally spoke in a low murmur.
"I am Travis... the most renowned court painter of my time."
"The one who used bones for brushes, hair for bristles, and blood for paint?" Selene couldn't help but interject. "You painted the Portrait of Aya the Healer? That's... horrifying!"
Travis shot her a glare, his aura turning icy and malevolent. "The horror was the Emperor! He was the one who ordered Aya's death, then commanded me to paint her, so he could gaze upon her night after day!"
Jasper frowned. "But... that's not the legend. It's said the Empress Dowager had Aya executed because she and the Emperor were in love—"
"Absurd!"Before Jasper could finish, Travis erupted in a furious roar.
His robes snapped violently, fury surging around him like a sudden storm. He was like a signal fire set ablaze, clutching his own hair, his voice raw and tearing.
"How could Aya love such a man? She loved me! Me!"
My mind reeled—this was a version of history completely absent from any record.
"Those who slander my Aya shall die!"Travis suddenly made a clawing motion towards Jasper's throat from across the room.
"Travis! Stop! I was the one who told him!"I immediately stepped forward.
Travis turned his gaze to me. The murderous light in his eyes didn't fully fade, but he finally released his invisible grip.
Jasper collapsed to the floor, coughing violently, his face pale. Selene and Bella rushed to support him.
"You told him? Hmph." Travis's voice was cold. "If not for the peculiar aura about you, you would already be a corpse."
Fully aware of my own insignificance, I still met his gaze steadily. "Taking my life would be but a trifle for you. But what you truly seek is the truth of the past, not more killing. Am I right?"
Travis studied me for a long moment before finally scoffing. "Well spoken. What I want... is Aya's truth."
His gaze drifted into the distance, his voice sinking into memory.
"Aya's father was known as the 'Divine Hand of Healing.' That day, she accompanied him to the palace. I was in the hall, painting the Emperor. She wore a veil and robes of red... like an immortal descended. The Emperor, on a whim, ordered me to include her in the portrait."
A light flickered in his eyes.
"When the painting was done, Aya bowed to me... and in her eyes, I saw a smile. She must have... fallen for me."
In the next instant, the light died.
"The next day, she entered the palace again, summoned by the Emperor, they said. I waited outside the hall for two hours. What I waited for... was news of her death sentence."
His voice choked, his eyes filled with utter despair.
"Later, the Emperor commanded me to use forbidden arts to paint her, to capture Aya's spirit. I wanted to refuse, but defiance meant death. I did not fear death itself. I feared that in death, I would not find her... So I painted the Portrait of Aya the Healer that hung in the Emperor's bedchamber."
A realization struck me—so the palace painting was merely to 'manifest' her spirit, not to 'resurrect' it.
I asked, "Then... you later painted a new Portrait of Aya the Healer? Using the 'Skinbound Resurrection'?"
Travis nodded. "When I saw Aya's remains, I decided—I would bring her back. I took a portion of her skin, steeped it with Ghostgrass and Skyblossom for forty-nine days, forging it into an immortal canvas."
Ghostgrass and Skyblossom... as recorded in the Classic of Mountains and Seas, both could reverse decay and prolong the spirit.
"The Emperor died not long after. I stole the original painting containing Aya's soul. It took me a year to complete the second portrait. I transferred her spirit into the new painting, then used the Triple Thunder Invocation to seal my own essence... into her form within the canvas."
His tone grew agitated, even tinged with a long-lost frenzy.
"With just three hundred and sixty-four living souls, we could be reunited... together for eternity. I thought it would be soon... Who knew I would wait a millennium!"
The frenzy drained away. He fixed his eyes on me, bloodshot.
"Now I am finally free... so tell me—where is Aya? Where is my Aya!"
---
— Obsession Twisted to Madness —
Hearing his story left a chill in my chest. This man's love was obsessive, twisted—yet profoundly, terrifyingly deep.
I spoke carefully. "Aya has already been resurrected. She may just... not be ready to see you."
"Ready?" Travis repeated, soft at first, then exploded—
"I have waited a thousand years! How can she not be ready? Someone must be hiding her! It's you—you stand in our way!"
Before the words faded, a sharp motion in the air seized my throat.
Darkness pressed in. My windpipe crushed.
"Stop! Don't hurt Rhan!" Selene charged, talisman raised, but even before she reached me, Travis's gaze threw her across the room. She slammed against the wall, dazed.
Foolish girl... Even I could barely resist him. How could she hope to?
As his focus wavered slightly, the pressure on my neck loosened a fraction. I swung the Lumin & Umbra Sigil with all my strength.
"Boom!"
The grip shattered. I fell to my knees, gasping, choking, grasping for air.
I forced myself upright, locking eyes with him. "Your resentment is understood, but killing us achieves nothing. Calm down. Speak with us—"
"Speak?" His eyes flared crimson. "I waited a thousand years for her! I don't want to speak! I want Aya! I want—her!"
A malignant, bloody energy churned behind him.
Suddenly, his icy gaze fixed on Luna.
"Descendant of the Arcane Sect... Over a century ago, if not for your meddling ancestor, Aya and I would have been reunited! Since I spared him then, I will kill you now!"
The crimson energy coalesced into a jagged blade, shooting straight for her.
"Luna, look out!" Kai threw himself forward—
"CRASH!"
The energy slammed into him. He flew like a ragdoll, blood spraying from his mouth, crashing to the floor.
Horrified cries erupted around us.
"Kai! Kai!" Luna sobbed, clutching him.
He weakly called her name, fingers trembling, unable to rise.
Travis sneered. "Since he loves you, why not join him?"
Another wave of murderous intent surged toward her.
I could not let it succeed. I thrust the Sigil forward.
"CRACK—!"
The energy shattered.
Travis grunted, eyes narrowing, fury renewed on me.
I seized the moment, deliberately provoking him. "Travis! You are unworthy of claiming love for Aya! You have no right to speak of a thousand years!"
"How dare you!" His rage boiled, the air heavy with menace.
I pressed on. "Aya devoted herself to saving lives! You treat humans as nothing! Do you think she would approve? Would she want to see you? Stop dreaming!"
Travis wavered, a momentary crack in his fury.
I stepped closer, pressing the advantage.
"Now I understand why Aya won't see you—because you don't deserve it! Ten thousand years, a hundred thousand years... she will never see you!"
---
— Blade Light Shatters the Stalemate —
"SILENCE!"
Travis's roar rolled like thunder. A surge of violent force barreled toward me.
My chest crushed. Breath stopped. A buzzing filled my head—this time, I would truly die.
Then—a different presence brushed past my cheek.
Cool, sharp, precise.
A dark figure landed silently before me. Not tall, but solid as a mountain.
"Who are you?" Travis demanded sharply.
No answer.
"Are you mute? I asked—"
The figure remained silent, raising a long blade.
— A flash of steel.
"HUM—!!"
White light streaked through the air, a blur too fast to track.
"That... what kind of blade is that?" Travis stepped back, a flicker of fear for the first time.
The figure struck again, wordless.
The blade's energy cracked the air, forcing Travis to defend with everything. The clash rang deafeningly.
His face contorted, clearly at his limit.
Behind me, Selene whispered, "Rhan... who is that?"
I shook my head. "I don't know... An exorcist? Or something more."
"Can they defeat him?" Selene asked, worry etched on her face.
I watched, heart pounding—not just with fear, but a desperate, fragile hope.