Chapter 1181: The Truth [Part 1]

"LUX!" Lullaby’s scream snapped him out of his thoughts.

Lux looked down.

The marble floor beneath his boots had turned black.

It rippled like the surface of a bottomless lake, swallowing the intricate golden patterns of the ballroom. Something beneath it moved, pressing upward against the marble as though an enormous creature were trying to breathe through the floor.

"Oh, you’ve got to be—"

The floor opened.

Lux jumped.

A massive black spike erupted from the exact spot where he’d been standing, tearing through the air with enough force to impale a horse.

He landed on a banquet table.

Another spike burst upward.

Lux leaped sideways.

The table exploded behind him.

"F*CK!"

He landed on a chair.

The chair vanished beneath another spike.

Lux jumped again, caught the edge of a chandelier’s hanging chain, and swung across the ballroom.

The spikes followed.

Apparently the nightmare had decided that being stabbed was an essential part of his emotional development.

Lux released the chain, landed on a balcony railing, and immediately ducked as three black spears punched through the wall behind him.

Stone shattered.

Dust filled the air.

Lux rolled across the railing and dropped onto another table.

A silver platter bounced beside him.

He grabbed it. "Wonderful. More kitchen equipment."

The next spike lunged.

Lux swung the platter.

-CLANG!

The silver bent around the spike.

Lux’s arm went numb. He stared at the ruined platter. "Whoever manufactured this deserves a refund request."

He threw it aside and jumped backward.

The spike demolished the table.

Across the ballroom, Yue was having a similarly unpleasant evening.

A dozen black spears chased her across the marble. She twisted between them with terrifying grace, her long crimson gown fluttering around her legs as she kicked one spike aside and vaulted over another.

Without her dragon fire, she was relying entirely on physical movement. And judging by her expression, she was rapidly developing a personal grudge against architecture.

"LULLABY!" Yue shouted. "DO SOMETHING!"

"I’M TRYING!"

Lullaby raised both hands.

Violet Sloth magic spread outward.

For a heartbeat, the spikes slowed.

Then they tore straight through her formation.

Lullaby stared. "...That’s cheating."

Lux would’ve laughed.

Unfortunately, a spike attempted to introduce itself to his liver. He dodged. Barely.

The sharpened edge sliced through his coat, leaving a long tear across the expensive fabric.

Lux looked down. His expression darkened. "Oh, now it’s personal."

He’d spent considerable effort looking wealthy.

The nightmare had just damaged his presentation budget. Unforgivable.

Another spike erupted.

Lux seized a nearby chair and shoved it into the attack. Wood shattered, but the impact changed the spike’s direction enough for him to slip past.

Then he saw her.

Celestine.

Still kneeling in the center of the ballroom.

And the spikes... They weren’t attacking her. They were protecting her.

Hundreds of black spears rose around the beautiful Lucky Star, forming a grotesque forest of sharpened shadows. Whenever anyone approached, the nearest spikes immediately redirected toward them.

But around Celestine herself?

Nothing.

Not even a scratch.

She sat inside the nightmare’s protection, clutching her head with both hands. Her dress trembled. Her lips moved.

Lux couldn’t hear her at first. But then her voice reached him. "No..."

A spike struck the floor beside him. Lux jumped.

"It’s not my fault..."

Another spear erupted.

"Not my fault..."

Lux landed behind a pillar. The pillar exploded.

"I just..." Celestine’s voice cracked. "I just wanted to be loved..."

Lux froze for half a heartbeat. Then another spike came for his face. He twisted aside.

Celestine’s shoulders shook. "I just wanted to feel love once..."

The entire ballroom convulsed.

Every window shattered simultaneously.

Black spikes burst from the walls, ceiling, and floor, transforming the beautiful birthday celebration into something resembling the inside of a particularly murderous sea urchin.

Lux landed hard. His knee protested. He ignored it. His eyes remained on Celestine.

Love?

That wasn’t what he’d expected.

He’d expected possession.

Control.

Jealousy.

A twisted need to keep Aurelia dependent.

But this... This sounded different.

Celestine rocked slightly, her fingers digging into her hair. "I deserve it too..." Her voice became a broken whisper. "I also deserve to be loved..."

The spikes multiplied.

"I also deserve to be loved..."

Lux ducked beneath one spear and drove his dinner knife into another. The blade snapped, but the impact disrupted the shadow long enough for him to escape.

He threw the broken handle away. His mind raced.

’I also deserve to be loved.’

Why also?

Celestine was the Lucky Star.

Everyone adored her.

Her father practically worshipped her.

The town celebrated her existence.

So why would a woman surrounded by affection desperately beg to be loved?

Unless...

Lux looked toward Aurelia.

The blue-dressed twin hadn’t moved.

Not once.

She stood beside the shattered banquet table, staring at Celestine with tears streaming down her cheeks.

The spikes ignored her. Completely. One enormous spear erupted directly beside Aurelia, curved around her body, and struck Yue instead. Yue barely dodged.

Lux noticed.

Another spike crossed the room. It bent around Aurelia.

Another.

Same result.

The nightmare attacked everyone.

Except Aurelia.

And Celestine.

Lux’s eyes narrowed.

Two protected figures. One controlling the dream. One apparently untouchable by its violence.

Celestine kept muttering. "I also deserve to be loved..."

Lux looked between the sisters. Same face. Same hair. Same features. Different clothes. Different reputations. One adored. One despised. And the supposedly adored sister was begging for love.

Something was wrong.

Something fundamental.

Lux’s mind moved almost as quickly as his body.

What if the roles weren’t what they appeared?

What if the beautiful Lucky Star wasn’t actually the Lucky Star?

He remembered Aurelia’s warning.

’She’ll remember.’

Not ’she’ll become angry.’

Lux’s expression sharpened. "Oh."

A spike lunged.

He jumped over it. "Oh, you twisted little nightmare."

He didn’t know the full truth yet. But he had a theory. And the more he watched the spikes carefully avoiding Aurelia, the more that theory began looking disturbingly plausible. "LULLABY! YUE!"

Both women turned.

Lux landed behind a shattered table. "We need to get close to her!"