Free Web NovelChapter 153: Before The End
Kai sat on the cold stone bench as the final night dragged on endlessly.
This holding cell felt noticeably smaller with every passing hour.
Stone walls seemed to press inward, suffocating the space around him.
Dried blood still clung to his skin in dark, flaking patches.
It cracked and pulled at his chest whenever he shifted his weight.
He purposefully refused to wash it off.
He wanted a constant, visceral reminder of what he was capable of doing.
He needed her to see that violence when she finally dragged him to her sacrificial altar.
Guards pacing outside his iron bars grew increasingly nervous as midnight approached.
They whispered constantly among themselves, trading terrified rumors in the dark.
"They are taking hundreds down there," a young soldier muttered.
"I saw them dragging the kitchen staff away," another guard replied, her voice shaking.
"She is slaughtering everyone just to charge those ancient runes."
This entire palace hummed with an unstable, throbbing red energy leaking from the celestial array.
It felt like living inside the heart of a dying, desperate beast.
A new translucent system window materialized in the dim torchlight.
[System: Final Countdown Active]
[Ritual Array Initiation: Twelve Hours Remaining]
[Absolute Zero Mastery: 94%]
[Warning: Target will attempt full core assimilation upon activation]
[Recommendation: Maintain physiological composure to avoid premature triggering]
Kai read the glowing blue text with a tight, calculating smile.
He dismissed the interface with a lazy wave of his bare hand.
He finally stood up from his hard stone bench.
He reached for the black silk robe his crazed host had sent him earlier.
He slipped his muscular arms through the delicate, expensive sleeves.
He intentionally left the golden sash loose so the fabric hung wide open across his torso.
He wanted to show off every single scar and fresh bruise he had earned in her service.
He looked exactly like the dangerous, untamed prize she so desperately craved.
Dawn eventually broke over the desert, casting long gray shadows down the stairwell.
Heavy boots echoed loudly as a full squad of elite guards came for him.
"It is time," their captain announced, her voice trembling slightly.
"You look terrified," Kai noted, stepping out of his cell without a hint of hesitation.
"I am just following my queen’s orders," she replied, keeping her gilded spear pointed toward the floor.
"You should probably be running for the city gates," Kai suggested with a cold smirk.
"We cannot outrun her magic," the captain whispered.
"Move out," she commanded her squad, ignoring his advice.
They marched him through the winding palace corridors under a remarkably heavy escort.
Air grew noticeably thicker and much hotter the closer they got to the royal sanctum.
Red light pulsed from the stone walls like infected, throbbing veins.
Servants dragged fresh, weeping slaves toward the lower levels.
Their terrified screams echoed up from the hidden basements below, filling the halls with pure despair.
"Are you really going to let her do this," a younger guard whispered to him as they walked.
"I do not control your queen," Kai answered smoothly, not looking back.
"She is going to kill us all if that array fails," the guard pleaded, tears welling in her eyes.
"Then you better hope I know exactly what I am doing," Kai promised her quietly.
Heat radiated intensely from the floorboards, making the guards sweat under their heavy armor.
Kai felt nothing but the comforting, endless chill of his own freezing mana.
He let that cold energy circulate through his limbs, preparing his body for the coming war.
They finally reached the massive brass doors of the central ritual chamber.
Guards shoved the heavy doors open but adamantly refused to step inside.
Kai walked into the sprawling, circular room entirely alone.
A glowing celestial array dominated the massive floor, carved deeply into the polished marble.
Hundreds of ancient runes pulsed aggressively with stolen star power.
Bound slaves were chained tightly around the outer edges of the magic circle.
Their life force was actively being drained to fuel the massive, greedy ritual.
Their bodies were already shriveled, weeping softly as their vitality faded away into the glowing lines.
Scarlet Matriarch stood waiting for him in the very center of the array.
She wore nothing but a sheer crimson robe that dragged gracefully across the glowing runes.
Her glowing red veins covered most of her pale body now.
She looked exactly like a dying star barely holding its unstable shape together.
She smiled when she saw him approaching her altar.
It was a wide, unhinged smile that showed far too many teeth.
"You came," she whispered, her voice trembling with manic joy.
"Did you really think I would miss my own coronation," Kai teased, walking closer. freёwebnovel.com
"My beautiful butcher," she panted, reaching her shaking hands out toward him.
"My perfect, endless ice."
Kai stepped right into the center of the array without a single ounce of hesitation.
Runes flared much brighter around his dark boots as her magic instantly recognized his presence.
’This is it,’ Kai thought, feeling the ancient trap pulling testingly at his core.
’She is going to open the mental link very soon.’
’I just need to wait for the exact moment she drops her internal defenses.’
She stepped closer, pressing her burning body flush against his chest.
Her hands roamed greedily over his exposed torso.
Sharp nails dug deep into his skin as she kissed him with desperate, starving hunger.
"You feel so incredibly cold," she moaned right into his mouth.
"You always say that," Kai chuckled softly, gripping her narrow waist firmly.
"Because I need it so badly," she sobbed, arching her spine to press closer.
"The fire is eating my mind, Kai."
"Then let me put it out," Kai whispered, tracing the curve of her hip.
"I will," she promised, kissing his jawline with frantic energy.
"After tonight, you will never leave me again."
"You seem very sure of yourself," Kai challenged her, biting her lower lip gently.
"I am sure of the magic," she answered, running her fingers through his dark hair.
"It will bind your soul directly to mine."
"Your thoughts will become my thoughts." frёewebηovel.cѳm
"I do not share my thoughts very easily," Kai warned her.
"You will not have a choice," she laughed, a breathless, chaotic sound.
Kai kissed her back, taking dominant control of the physical exchange.
He fed her just enough freezing mana to keep her addicted and thoroughly distracted.
He needed to buy precious time while the massive array finished charging its core.
He pushed his tongue past her lips, exploring her mouth while his hands wandered down her back.
She whined helplessly, grinding her hips against his thigh.
She was so blinded by her own lust she could not even sense the trap he was laying.
Around them, the final sacrifices screamed out as their remaining life force was ripped away.
"Listen to them sing for us," she laughed maniacally against his neck.
"They are dying just for you," Kai whispered, stroking her spine.
"They are dying so we can live forever," she corrected him swiftly.
Her crimson eyes glowed brighter than he had ever seen before.
"Are you ready to surrender your independence," she asked, panting heavily.
"I never surrender," Kai promised her, his voice dropping to a dangerous purr.
"You will," she swore, her voice shaking with pure lust and untamed madness.
"The celestial power demands submission."
"I only submit to things stronger than me," Kai countered smoothly.
"I am stronger than you," she insisted, gripping his lapels tightly.
"Prove it," Kai challenged, letting a layer of frost spread across her crimson robe.
She shivered violently, her athletic body spasming from the sudden temperature clash.
"I will," she gasped, burying her flushed face in his solid chest.
"Just wait until the array reaches its peak."
Kai looked down at the complex geometric patterns glowing beneath their feet.
He analyzed the flow of mana, tracking the specific points where the magic pooled.
He knew exactly where he needed to strike to cause a catastrophic overload.
"You are shaking," Kai noted, rubbing her back in slow, rhythmic circles.
"It is the anticipation," she lied, though he knew it was her failing nervous system.
"You are terrified," Kai corrected her softly.
"I am not afraid of anything," she hissed, looking up at him with sudden anger.
"You are afraid this is going to fail," Kai pushed further, testing her fragile sanity.
"It will not fail," she screamed, her voice echoing loudly across the massive chamber.
"I have sacrificed too much."
"I have bled too many people."
"It has to work."
"Shh," Kai shushed her, kissing her forehead to calm her down.
"Do not waste your energy yelling at me."
She practically melted against him, desperate for any shred of comfort.
"You are the only thing that makes sense anymore," she whispered brokenly.
"My mind is so loud, Kai."
"I hear their voices constantly."
"Whose voices," Kai asked, playing the role of a concerned lover.
"The people I drained," she confessed, her glowing eyes welling with manic tears.
"They scream inside my head all day long."
"But when you touch me, everything goes quiet."
"Your ice freezes them out."
"Then let me freeze them forever," Kai offered, sliding his hand up to cup her cheek.
She leaned into his palm, closing her eyes as a sigh escaped her lips.
"Midnight," she promised, her voice dropping back to a desperate whisper.
"When the clock strikes midnight, I will open the gates."
"I will let you inside my core."
"Make sure you do not lock the door," Kai smirked, though she could not see his face.
"I will give you everything," she swore blindly.
Kai stood there in the center of her magical web, holding the woman he was about to execute.
He listened to the rhythmic chanting of the dying slaves surrounding them.
He felt the oppressive, suffocating heat of her corrupted magic trying to break his will.
But his internal core remained an endless, unyielding blizzard.
’You think you are absorbing a cooling breeze,’ Kai thought, staring at the glowing runes.
’But you are actually swallowing a winter storm.’
’When those gates open, I am going to freeze your heart until it shatters into dust.’
He held her tightly, feeling her heart racing against his own chest.
He waited patiently for the final hour to approach.
