Her brows knit slightly as memory surfaced.

He hadn't been a king then.

Not yet.

Just… a demon.

A strong one, yes. Dangerous. Noticeable.

But not this.

Not the sovereign monster Lux clearly despised.

Back then…

He smiled.

A lot.

Yue remembered that clearly.

That easy smile that made others lower their guard. That tone… smooth, almost warm. He spoke like someone who understood people, not someone who ruled them.

He had approached her without fear.

Without reverence.

Without hostility.

Curious.

That was what she had thought at the time.

Curious, and… bold.

Yue's lips pressed together slightly as water continued to fall around her.

He had spoken of alliances.

Of mutual strength.

Of shared dominance between realms.

She remembered how easily she had listened.

How easily she had stood there, arms crossed, chin lifted, amused by his confidence rather than threatened by it. He had not come with chains. Not then. He had come with words.

And she, ancient, proud, untouchable, had entertained him.

That was the first mistake.

Her fingers tightened slightly as the memory sharpened, no longer softened by time.

He had smiled.

Always smiling.

That same smile that now, in hindsight, made her stomach twist.

"I have a gift for you," he had said back then, voice smooth, almost warm. "A token of respect. Between equals."

Yue had hesitated.

Not long.

Just enough to acknowledge the instinct warning her.

Then she took it.

Of course she did.

She was not afraid of demons.

She was Yue Xianlong.

The moment his hand touched her palm…

Everything changed.

The memory snapped into clarity.

The curse didn't creep.

It exploded.

It spread through her like wildfire, fast, invasive, unstoppable. Black veins erupted beneath her skin, burning, digging, claiming. Her breath had hitched sharply, golden eyes widening as her body rejected what her soul could not stop.

"What—"

She hadn't even finished the word.

Kaelmor had already moved.

His hand closed around her wrist… not forceful, not violent, just… precise.

Controlled.

And his smile?

Still there.

Still calm.

Still wrong.

"Careful," he had murmured softly. "You'll hurt yourself."

Yue's nails had dug into his arm, dragon strength surging, but it didn't matter. The curse had already rooted. Already locked into her core.

Her power.

Her soul.

Bound.

Her composure shattered in an instant.

"WHAT DID YOU DO—"

Her voice had echoed like thunder, raw and furious, nothing like the controlled tone she carried now.

And he…

He had laughed.

Not loudly.

Not cruelly.

Just… amused.

"You are my friend," he said.

The words had landed like poison.

"A friend should help each other."

Her body had convulsed as the chains, his chains, manifested around her. Not physical at first. Conceptual. Wrapping her authority. Locking her will.

"So you…" he continued, eyes gleaming faintly, "…will help me."

Yue's teeth clenched now even in the present, breath unsteady as the memory replayed.

She had lunged.

Rage had consumed her. Pride shattered. Trust betrayed in the most humiliating way.

But she couldn't reach him.

The chains held.

Her power surged…

Then redirected.

Drained.

Her own strength turning against her.

He had stepped back, watching her struggle.

Still smiling.

Then…

Gone.

Just like that.

Yue exhaled sharply under the now-silent shower, her chest rising and falling slowly.

After that…

Desperation.

She had tried everything.

Everything.

Breaking the curse.

Shattering the bindings.

Burning it out.

Cutting it away.

Every attempt ended the same way.

Failure.

Again.

And again.

And again.

Each time, weaker.

Each time, the chains tightening.

Each time, her power siphoned more cleanly.

Her consciousness had started to blur.

Her emotions became volatile. Unstable. Wild.

That scared her more than the pain.

Because Yue Xianlong feared only one thing.

Losing herself.

And worse…

Hurting her own kind.

Her family.

Her bloodline.

The thought had struck her like lightning.

If the curse spread…

If she lost control…

If she became something that devoured her own descendants…

No.

That was not acceptable.

So she left.

She remembered that decision clearly.

Not dramatic.

Not tragic.

Just… necessary.

She went to the Dragon Mountains.

To isolation.

To containment.

She chained herself.

Her own power sealing her body into stillness, forcing herself into slumber before the madness could take full hold.

Her consciousness lingered.

Detached.

Floating.

Watching.

A soul tethered to a body she could no longer control.

Her awareness dimmed.

Until… He came back.

Kaelmor.

Standing before her again.

Not as a wandering demon this time.

But as something… more.

Something colder.

Sharper.

He had looked at her with that smile.

It carried ownership.

Mockery.

"Still here," he had said lightly.

She had tried to respond.

Her soul had strained against the chains.

Nothing came out.

He had circled her.

Observing.

Evaluating.

Satisfied.

"You chose to bind yourself," he noted, almost approving. "Efficient."

Her anger had burned even without voice.

He felt it.

Then…

He changed the chains.

Replaced hers.

With his.

Stronger.

Deeper.

More invasive.

She had felt it immediately.

Her control… gone.

Her autonomy… gone.

Her existence… Converted into a system.

He summoned the Warden.

A construct.

A medium.

A siphon.

A watcher.

"Just to make sure," he said casually, almost bored, "you stay useful."

The memory made Yue's fingers curl slightly at her sides now.

That was when it became something else.

Not just imprisonment.

Exploitation.

Every drop of her power…

Taken.

Redirected.

Used.

She didn't know where it went.

Didn't know how much he took.

Only that it never stopped.

And she couldn't stop it.

Years passed.

Decades.

Centuries.

She felt them blur together.

Faded.

Returned.

Faded again.

Time became meaningless.

Until…

Lux.

Yue's golden eyes opened slowly in the present, water no longer falling, but memory still heavy in her chest, her chest tightening faintly as the memory faded.

Five hundred years of betrayal.

Of helplessness.

Of rage.

And then…

A demon walked in.

Smiled.

And broke everything.

Without asking for anything in return.

"Lux Vaelthorn," she murmured quietly.

The name felt different on her tongue.

Not like Kaelmor.

Not sharp.

Not poisonous.

Complicated.

Dangerous.

But not… hollow.

Her golden eyes lowered slightly.

"If you are lying," she whispered softly to herself, voice barely audible, "I will destroy you."

A pause.

Then her lips curved faintly.

"But if you are not…"

The thought didn't finish.