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Chapter 72 – The Door of Sacrifice
Terakhir Diperbarui:
2025-04-12 04:57:43
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Sacrifice Of The Heart Chapter 73 – Veins of Fire and Frost
The ground trembled beneath their feet.Cracks webbed across the stone floor like veins, glowing faintly with molten light. Selene stood frozen—not from fear, but from the weight of what was coming. A sister once loved. A future once imagined. All of it shattered in one whispered threat.Aurelia raised her hand again, this time drawing a blade of blackened crystal from the air. It pulsed with corrupted magic—magic that had clearly fed on something dark and ancient. Her eyes, once soft like moonlight, now held the chill of the abyss.“Do you remember,” she whispered, “when we used to hide in the Winter Garden, pretending we were the last queens of the world?”Selene didn’t answer. Her pulse roared in her ears.“You were always the dreamer,” Aurelia continued, stepping closer, the tip of her blade trailing sparks across the marble. “I was the one who saw the world for what it was. And still, you became the one they adored. The one he chose.”Damien’s hand tightened around Selene’s wrist
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-15Sacrifice Of The Heart Chapter 74: “The Crownless Pact”
The storm broke just before dawn, casting jagged shadows across the ruins of the old cathedral where Elira now stood, her cloak soaked through, her heart thundering with the weight of truth. The rain didn’t cleanse—it drowned, heavy with ash and memory.She hadn’t spoken to Arian since the night he revealed himself. Not because she was angry—but because she was terrified of what she’d say if she did.Behind her, footsteps echoed across the marble floor, soft and certain.“You’re early,” Silas said, his voice lower than usual, hands tucked behind his back as though the secrets he carried might fall out otherwise.Elira didn’t turn to him. “There’s no time to be late anymore.”Silas came to stand beside her, both of them facing the shattered stained glass window where the first light of morning bled through in fractured color.“He would let himself burn for you,” Silas said quietly.“I know,” she replied.“And yet you’re standing here with me.”“I need you both,” she admitted, her voice
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-15Sacrifice Of The Heart Chapter 75: “Thorns Beneath the Throne”
The royal court gleamed with polished lies and gilded betrayal.Elira stood just beyond the golden archway of the Hall of Judicium, cloaked in muted crimson. Not the bold blood-red of victory, but a shade that whispered defiance under restraint. Her crown was absent. Her gaze, razor-sharp.The whispers started before she even crossed the threshold.“She returned?”“After vanishing into the shadows?”“She dares—”Yes. She dared.Every noble, every scholar, every member of the high houses present turned their gaze to her. But it was only one gaze she sought—and when it met hers, the room ceased to exist.Arian.His expression was unreadable. A fortress carved in silence. But his fingers curled tightly around the edge of the throne.“Elira Virellian,” the High Arbiter announced. “You were summoned under charges of desertion, political sabotage, and fraternizing with marked traitors. Do you deny these claims?”She stepped forward, voice steady, spine straight. “No.”Gasps. Ripples of outr
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-15Sacrifice Of The Heart Chapter 76: The Blood-Bound Oath
The storm that had raged outside Kael’s estate all night had now given way to a brooding silence, the kind that settled just before the air cracked with change. Inside the ancient halls, Elara stood frozen before the old relic chamber, her fingers brushing the edge of a sealed scroll—its wax stamped with the crest of House Vael. A symbol of war. A blood-bound oath made centuries ago… one that had just been reactivated.Dain stepped beside her, his jaw tense. “That scroll should never have been found,” he said, his voice low, eyes darting to the shadows creeping along the marble pillars. “You’ve awakened something that’s been dormant for a reason.”“It found me,” Elara countered, her voice trembling not with fear, but with the weight of knowledge. “And it’s not just a warning. It’s a command. A prophecy laced in vengeance.”Kael entered, cloaked in silence, his expression unreadable. For the first time since their bond deepened, he felt distant—as if torn between duty and desire. He to
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-18Sacrifice Of The Heart Chapter 77: Sisters Divided
Elara’s breath hitched in her throat as her gaze locked with the woman before her—an impossible reflection twisted by time and darkness. Her sister.Not a dream. Not a memory.Alive.And standing among the corpses of those who had tried to stop her.Kael moved slightly in front of Elara, but her fingers caught his arm. “No,” she whispered. “This is mine.”The woman smiled. “Still stubborn, little star. Always thinking you can control the chaos.”“You’re not her,” Elara said slowly, stepping forward. “My sister wouldn’t murder innocents just to get my attention.”“She’s dead,” the woman snapped. “You watched her die, remember? On that altar, sacrificed for your future. But I survived in the only way I could. I embraced the prophecy instead of running from it.”Kael’s blade hummed softly with restrained power, but Elara shook her head. “Why now? Why reveal yourself like this?”“Because the seal weakens,” her sister said, lifting a pale hand. Power pulsed in the air like a second heartbe
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-18Sacrifice Of The Heart Chapter 78: Echoes of the First Flame
The scent of wild jasmine and smoke drifted through the air, clinging to the edges of memory.Elara was just a child again—barefoot, wild-haired, and fierce-eyed. She stood at the edge of the sacred circle deep within the ancient woods of Valemir, watching her mother’s silhouette move gracefully through candlelight.“Do you know what power costs, Elara?” her mother whispered, her voice woven with firelight and sorrow. “Everything. Especially when it’s real.”Young Elara shook her head, clutching a rusted dagger too big for her hands. “I don’t want everything. Just enough to keep Dain safe.”A flicker of pain crossed her mother’s face. “You’re already thinking like a queen. But remember, blood cannot be unraveled once bound to the Circle.”The ritual began.Moonlight spilled through the canopy, bathing the forest floor in silver. Her mother chanted in the old tongue—words that tasted like iron and ancient fire. The runes glowed crimson, the air turning dense with magic.Elara’s fingers
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-18Sacrifice Of The Heart Chapter 79: Aethermoor’s Hollow Heart
Aethermoor rose like a wound in the earth—its spires of dark stone twisted against the sky, a city not built, but exhumed. The ancient capital had once been the throne of magic, before the blood wars. Now it stood as a ruin draped in illusion, the facade of grandeur barely hiding its decay.The closer they rode to its gates, the heavier the air became. Magic pulsed beneath the cobblestones, old and waiting—like something breathing beneath the soil.“We shouldn’t be here,” Dain muttered, his hand resting near his blade. “This place isn’t just cursed. It’s hungry.”Kael didn’t reply, but his eyes scanned every rooftop, every silent archway, every shadow too thick for the hour. He’d been here before—years ago, in blood and betrayal. And even then, Aethermoor had whispered his name like it wanted him to stay… forever.Elara dismounted, her boots crunching over the ash-coated ground. The creature that had bonded to her—whom she now called Ashmane—trailed at her side, eyes gleaming with sup
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-18Sacrifice Of The Heart Chapter 80: Whispers of the Bloodstone Pact
Aethermoor had never known silence like this.The city’s soul felt bruised—its streets dimmer, its sky overcast with more than just weather. It was as if the land itself held its breath, anticipating what would come.Elara stared out from the tower balcony of their temporary safehouse, her thoughts a storm of uncertainty and dread. Kael and Dain hadn’t said much since their return, each man lost in his own thoughts. Celene’s brief appearance had shifted the scales, and now, the game they were playing was no longer just between factions.It was blood against blood.Below, movement stirred. Dain had gathered the rogue Sentinels—those who had broken free from the High Circle’s leash. Their loyalty to Elara was growing, but not without friction. Not everyone trusted her. Especially now that she had stood before the Obsidian Altar and walked away changed.Kael stepped in quietly behind her, setting a hand on the railing beside hers. “You didn’t sleep.”Elara didn’t glance at him. “I couldn
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2025-04-18
Bab terbaru
Sacrifice Of The Heart Chapter 112: The Realm Between
The fall was endless.Elara’s scream was stolen by the wind as she plunged through the rupture of the shattered gate. Light and shadow twisted around her like serpents, clawing at her skin, whispering half-formed truths.Then—silence.She landed hard on black marble, the air knocked from her lungs.Above her, the gate had sealed.Around her… nothing.No stars, no sky. Just a vast, endless hall of mirrors, each one reflecting a different version of her: Elara with burning eyes, Elara on a throne of bones, Elara drenched in blood. Her own fear stared back at her from every angle.Footsteps echoed.She whirled, heart racing.Vesper emerged from the darkness, blood trickling from his temple, eyes wild. “You shouldn’t have done that alone.”“I had to,” she whispered. “If I didn’t—”Kael’s voice cut through the stillness. “She would’ve died either way.”He stepped into view, dragging Dain behind him. Dain’s lip was bleeding, but he was conscious—and furious.“What is this place?” Elara aske
Sacrifice Of The Heart Chapter 111: Beneath the Obsidian Court
The sun had yet to rise when they reached the mouth of the forgotten passage—a jagged, rune-cracked staircase descending beneath the roots of the Obsidian Mountains. The air was thick with magic, the kind that pulsed beneath your skin and whispered madness in your ear. Elara felt it the moment they crossed the threshold.“This was built by the First Blood,” Dain murmured, running his fingers along the stone etched with forgotten sigils. “The original rulers—before the kingdom, before the laws.”“Before the prophecy,” Vesper added, his eyes narrowed, calculating. “Which means what’s hidden down there isn’t just powerful—it’s older than all of us.”Kael had said nothing for the past hour. He didn’t trust any of them—not Dain with his convenient knowledge, not Vesper with his secrets, and lately, not even himself.The path narrowed as they descended, their torches casting twitching shadows on the walls. Elara walked at the front, not because they let her, but because she had to. The pull
Sacrifice Of The Heart Chapter 110: The Crown Beneath the Flames
The sky ripped open.A thunderous roar echoed over the palace as golden lightning split the heavens, crackling through the enchanted dome that had protected the capital for centuries. Panic surged in the city below—citizens screamed, magic flared, and guards rushed to defend the walls. But inside the throne room, silence reigned, thick and paralyzing.Elara stared at the glowing parchment in her hand, its light pulsing like a heartbeat—her heartbeat.Kael stepped in front of her instinctively. “What did you do?”“I didn’t choose,” she whispered, stunned.Vesper’s voice sliced through the room like a blade. “You did. The moment your blood touched the truth, the magic reacted. You’ve awakened the weapon buried in the kingdom.”Dain unsheathed his blade. “Then this is war.”“No,” Elara snapped, raising her hand. “This isn’t war. Not yet. But it will be… if we don’t control what’s coming.”The parchment’s light dimmed suddenly, curling into ash between her fingers. But the rumble above di
Sacrifice Of The Heart Chapter 109: The Return of the Kingmaker
The air cracked like thunder as Elara stepped into the ancient ruins—the site the prophecy had led her to. Dain’s warning still echoed in her ears, but Kael’s hand was firm on her arm, his presence grounding her in the moment.She thought she’d felt everything a heart could endure. She thought she’d buried Vesper Moretti with the ruins of their forbidden love.But then came the shadow.Not magic. Not monster.Him.Clad in black, eyes like dark steel, Vesper Moretti emerged from the archway as though the kingdom itself had carved him from vengeance. His face was sharper, more dangerous—but the hunger in his eyes when they found hers was unmistakable.“Elara,” he said, voice low and lethal. “I told you once—nothing keeps me from what’s mine.”Her breath caught. The world tilted.Kael stepped in front of her. “You were dead.”Vesper didn’t blink. “You only kill what you understand. And you never understood me.”Then his eyes cut to Dain, who stood frozen with guilt carved into his expres
Sacrifice Of The Heart Chapter 108: The Bargain Beneath the Ashes
Kael carried Elara through the crumbling halls of the ruined citadel, her body limp in his arms. Ash rained from the vaulted ceiling like gray snow. The vault behind them had collapsed entirely, burying Dain—and the Ardent Mirror—beneath ancient stone and cursed light.Her skin was cold.Too cold.“Elara,” he whispered, brushing her hair back, smudged with soot and blood. “Don’t do this to me.”But her eyes remained shut. Her pulse fluttered weakly at her neck, like a thread unraveling.They had no time. He had no options.Except one.Kael turned toward the east chamber—the forbidden crypt beneath the old sanctum. No one went there. Not even Elara.Not even Dain.But Kael wasn’t just a warrior. He was raised by men who trafficked in blood oaths, trained by shadows who knew how to barter with things older than gods.He descended the narrow staircase two steps at a time, breath ragged, Elara cradled tightly in his arms.At the bottom stood a rusted iron gate carved with sigils no human
Sacrifice Of The Heart Chapter 107: Velvet Blades and Vows
Kael’s hand was still wrapped around Elara’s wrist as he pulled her through the dim corridor of the fortress, every stride radiating tension. The weight of silence between them was louder than screams.“Let go of me,” Elara hissed, twisting her arm in vain. Her pulse was pounding—equal parts fury and something far more dangerous.Kael turned, his face shadowed in the torchlight, eyes burning gold. “You walked into the lion’s den alone. Again. You think Dain would have spared you this time?”She yanked her hand free. “I didn’t need you to save me.”He laughed coldly. “No, you needed someone to die for you, apparently.”The air thinned between them. Elara stepped back, but he followed—always one step closer than she wanted, or maybe exactly where she needed him.“Why do you always do this?” she whispered, voice trembling.“Do what?” His voice dipped low, rough, intimate. “Follow you into danger? Break rules for you? Want you so badly it makes me lose my mind?”“You don’t want me,” she s
Sacrifice Of The Heart Chapter 106 – The darkness between us
Kael’s grip tightened painfully around Elara’s wrist, forcing her to wince.“Kael,” she said softly, “it’s me. It’s Elara. Let go.”But his eyes — gods, his eyes — they weren’t just wounded anymore.There was a storm swirling inside them, a violent force pressing against his soul, clawing to the surface.“I can feel them,” he rasped, voice cracking. “Inside me. Twisting.”Dain stepped forward cautiously, blade drawn but low.“He’s been tainted. The ritual—you weren’t the only one marked, Elara.”Elara knelt closer, ignoring the way Kael’s body shuddered under her touch.“Fight it,” she whispered. “Stay with me.”Kael’s fingers spasmed, finally releasing her wrist.He sagged against the wall, breathing in shallow, broken gasps.“I tried,” he muttered. “Tried to keep them out. But they promised me…” His voice broke. “They promised they’d spare you.”Elara’s stomach twisted violently.“Who?” she demanded. “Who promised?”But Kael’s head slumped forward, and for a terrifying moment, she t
Sacrifice Of The Heart Chapter 105: The Blood Price
The first rays of dawn barely kissed the horizon when Elara stood at the ancient altar hidden deep within the cliffs.The place reeked of old magic, of broken promises and shattered souls. Dark vines twisted through the stone, pulsing faintly as if remembering every curse ever whispered here.Dain arrived silently, his cloak trailing ash behind him. He carried a small obsidian blade — the kind crafted not for battle, but for sacrifice.“This is your last chance to turn back,” he said, voice low.Elara shook her head, her fingers curling into fists. “Kael wouldn’t give up on me. I won’t give up on him.”A brief flicker of emotion crossed Dain’s face — admiration, maybe grief. Then he drew a circle of salt around the altar and motioned for her to kneel.The ritual began with a chant — low, guttural words that made the very air vibrate. Shadows lengthened unnaturally, coiling around them like curious serpents.Elara pressed the blade to her palm without hesitation. Her blood spilled onto
Sacrifice Of The Heart Chapter 104: Ashes of Trust
The world was not the same.Elara staggered to her feet, coughing through the settling dust. Dain pulled her up roughly, his face bleeding from a cut above his brow, eyes burning with rage—and something worse. Fear.The ruins around them groaned and cracked. Whatever Kael had awakened, it was spreading like a sickness, bleeding through stone and earth alike. The once-familiar walls now felt hostile, every breath of air tasting of metal and ruin.“We have to move,” Dain barked, dragging her forward.“But Kael—” Elara tried to turn back toward the shattered altar, the spot where he had disappeared.Dain shook her hard enough to rattle her teeth. “He made his choice. Now we have to survive it.”Behind them, the ground caved in completely, swallowing the last remnants of the altar in a deafening roar. Dark vines slithered from the abyss, twisting and coiling like living nightmares.Elara didn’t realize she was crying until she tasted the salt on her lips.Kael.She had seen him—truly seen
