Chapter 5
I instinctively struggled, my nails desperately clawing at his wrists. But those hands–so cold, so firm–showed no mercy.
*Joseph My voice came out broken, echoing in the bathroom like a final, desperate cry before death.
He looked down at me, his gaze eerily calm. “Don’t waste your strength, Elisa.”
A sharp pain exploded in my throat. My vision blurred.
My consciousness faded, inch by inch, like the tide pulling away.
“I should’ve been dead a long time ago.” Joseph leaned in close, his voice disturbingly gentle. “You were… a fortunate coincidence. But in the end, just a tool.”
I struggled, my lungs burning for air, but Joseph’s grip on my throat tightened. My nails dug into his hand, desperate to loosen his hold, but my strength was draining fast. His dark eyes gleamed with eerie amusement, watching me struggle as if he were merely toying with a captured insect.
“You thought what you saw was my death’s countdown?” His lips curved into something between a smirk and a sneer. “Wrong. That was yours.”
I wanted to scream, but no sound came out.
“There was another girl before you,” he continued, his voice slipping into my mind like smoke creeping through cracks. “She was just like you. She could see my countdown. But unfortunately, she didn’t last long. Even after I took her time, I only managed to live another ten years.”
His fingers twitched, pressing harder against my throat. My vision blurred.
“I was supposed to die at eighteen, Elisa. But people like you–the ones who can see the death’s countdown–are the key to my survival.” His gaze darkened, voice turning almost reverent. “The moment you set your eyes on me, you were already dead.“%
Panic clawed at my chest, my body weakening with every struggle. My breath teetered on the edge of collapse. My limbs, once so full of defiance, now felt like lead.
Just as my consciousness began to slip away, he exhaled slowly, as if savoring my impending death. “Strange, though- why do you still have a day left?”
He turned his head toward the bathtub. The water inside was still, shimmering under the light.
“To be safe-” he murmured, as if talking to himself. “I’ll just end it myself.“”
Gripping my hair, he yanked me forward, forcing my head down toward the water.
I thrashed, my body reacting on pure instinct, but I was no match for his strength. My reflection distorted in the rippling water, a ghostly image of my pale face. Behind me, Joseph’s silhouette loomed like a nightmare.\
The cold surface touched my nose. My lips. My breath hitched.
Suddenly, –
Bang!
The bathroom door was kicked open. The force sent it crashing into the wall with a deafening crack.§
Joseph’s hands froze. His head snapped up.
I collapsed onto the floor, gasping, my throat raw and burning. The world spun, my vision swimming in a haze of tears and water. I barely made out the figure standing in the doorway, but I heard it-
A voice, sharp as a blade, cutting through the suffocating air.
“You should’ve been dead a long time ago.” A man’s voice. Low. Steady. Merciless. “Let’s correct that now, shall we?“”
A shadow moved. Before Joseph could react, something slammed into him with brutal force.
Bang!%
His body flew across the room, crashing into the tiled wall with bone–shattering impact. A strangled grunt escaped his lips, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.
The intruder stepped forward, his presence overwhelming. The glow from the hallway cast long shadows over his white suit, the fabric fluttering slightly as he moved. His gaze was razor–sharp, his expression unreadable.\
“You…” My voice came out hoarse, barely above a whisper. “Who… are you?“”
He didn’t answer. Instead, with a flick of his wrist, something glinted in the air–a golden coin.
The coin shot forward, embedding itself firmly on Joseph’s forehead.
Joseph’s entire body stiffened. His limbs jerked once, then went rigid, frozen in place. His eyes widened in shock, but he
couldn’t move.%
The mysterious man turned to me, crouching down. A warm palm pressed against my back and a strange, soothing
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energy surged through me, easing the burning in my throat.”
“Do you remember who you are?” he asked softly.”
His words sent a deafening boom through my mind. My breath hitched. Something buried deep within me stirred, a long–lost memory clawing its way to the surface.
“Her fate defies destiny. She’s The Unbound. A once–in–a–century phenomenon.“”
The voice was distant, but I knew it. I had heard it before.”
“If she can be drawn into the game, she can break the dark witchcraft.“}
The scent of incense. The soft rustling of robes. Atop the Southern Peaks, within the old temple, my master sighed as he looked at me.
“She’s destined to face the chronopage. The only way to survive–is to enter the trial and emerge alive.“”
A sharp pain pulsed in my skull. Images flooded my mind–shattered memories rearranging themselves like broken glass forming a picture.”
“Seal her memories with oblivion spell. Send her into the Gray Family for three years. She will break the dark witchcraft.”
My entire body trembled violently. And then, I remembered everything.
I was The Unbound. The only person in a hundred years with the power to break dark sorcery.”
Three years ago, to destroy the Gray Family’s life–extending witchcraft pact, I had entered the fray as bait.\
I had always known that Joseph used those who could see the death’s countdown–as vessels to extend his own life. He was a chronopage.
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