All Chapters of Better a God Than You: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

Without the Chalice of Calm, I coughed up blood every two hours. Each time, it came as a black liquid streaked with a silvery sheen.I tucked my bloodstained handkerchief beneath my pillow after every fit. By the end of the night, the pillow itself had already been soaked through with my blood.…On the third morning, an imperial clerk came to my quarters."Congratulations, Lady Undine! Your wedding will take place seven days from now. I have the record of your measurements so we can tailor your wedding dress. Please, have a look."I could not, in fact, have a look. Instead, I reached out and felt the fabric he offered. It was soft, silky, and cool beneath my fingertips. From the texture of the embroidery alone, I could tell the needlework was exquisite.The clerk continued fussing over the record. "The future queen shall have gold trim, while the royal consort shall have silver trim..."I froze. "The royal consort?"The clerk realized he had let the secret slip."U-Um, well..

I could hear neither the wind nor my own heartbeat. In that silence, the third fragment of my soul shattered. I felt as though I had already lost my life and been abandoned in my empty, silent quarters.…It was now the seventh day. I knew because I had counted my heartbeats to measure the passing days.Today was the day of my death... and my supposed wedding.My body had already become half-transparent. I touched my hand and felt the edges of my fingers beginning to blur. They were losing their solidity.My breathing had grown so shallow that even I wondered whether I had stopped breathing altogether.The door swung open.I could not hear a thing, yet I somehow sensed his presence and recognized his scent. I smelled ambergris, musk, and every perfume he never usually wore. I knew he must have been dressed in his wedding attire.He cupped my face in his hands. They felt almost searing against my skin. I could feel his fingers trembling.He must have noticed my half-transparent

Emile dragged Giselle into a secret room in my quarters while I watched coldly from behind him.There were no torture devices inside, only a chair and a single gaslight.Giselle was forced to sit on the floor. Blood still clung to the corner of her lips as she trembled in fear. Emile settled into the chair opposite her with effortless elegance."One thing bothers me, Giselle. Did you know she would die if she performed Soulforging for the third time?" he asked softly.She froze. He caught the reaction and answered it with a dangerous smirk. "You don't need to answer so quickly. Allow me to remind you what happened."The day before you demanded that I lend you Undine's Quintessence Bracelet, the Hierarch sent his apprentice to deliver medicine for her. Your handmaiden stopped him in his tracks."He told her that the High Priestess' soul had been reduced to only three fragments by that point. If she were separated from the bracelet, she would die."Your handmaiden received the mes

He raised the items cradled in his arms toward me: a bloodstained letter, a stick snapped in half, and a handful of shattered beads. His hands trembled uncontrollably."Let's go home, Undine," he croaked. Joy, grief, and ecstasy tangled in his broken voice. "I have my life back because I have you back! You're back... You're alive..."I studied the strange, bloodied old man before me. I could not remember who he was. His face, his voice, and even his name stirred nothing within me. He was an unimportant stranger. Nothing more.He reached for the hem of my robe, but I stepped aside. My priestly attendant immediately kicked him back into the snow.He quickly scrambled to his feet, then looked up at me from the ground. Blood streaked his face, now marred by tears. His lips moved as he recited something. It was the last letter I had written to him.With each line, his voice broke a little more. By the end, the words had dissolved into a pitiful whimper."I see," I replied with such ca