Chapter 128: Break the bond

Chapter 128: Chapter 128: Break the bond

Amelia turned her head just enough to look at him.

"You really like poking into people’s business. Is that part of your job, or are you just being a nosy bastard?"

Caleb didn’t look annoyed. He opened his mouth to reply, but Amelia cut him off again.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. You’re ’responsible for me,’ so you have to know every little thing about my business."

His expression remained controlled.

"Your ability is something I never thought possible. If it is real, it’s extremely valuable to the military. I’m starting to see you in a different light... a little. If you prove you’re as useful as people are beginning to claim."

"I don’t want to prove anything to anyone."

She turned and began walking away.

Caleb’s next words stopped her. "What about for your freedom?"

Amelia let out a short, sharp scoff and looked back at him.

"And what exactly could I offer that would get me my freedom?"

"If you make a major contribution toward winning this war," Caleb said, "you would earn it."

Amelia studied him for a moment.

"Do you think I’m dumb? Isn’t that the entire point of my punishment in the first place?"

Caleb stepped closer, voice lowering.

"Do you honestly believe you’ll survive the war? And even if you somehow get lucky and live through it, the people won’t spare you. The higher-ups won’t either. By then the brothers will have moved on. You’ll have no one left to support you... and you’ll still end up a cold corpse."

He closed the remaining distance between them.

"But if you agree to my deal, I’ll arrange a new identity for you. You’ll get a free, stress-free life. I can even connect you with a compatible partner to spend the rest of it with."

Amelia went still. Then she laughed—quiet, genuine, and completely without humor.

Caleb’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"What’s funny?"

"You," she said. "You’re very funny."

Her expression cooled as she continued.

"You should be more worried about whether you’re going to come out of this war alive. The only reason I allowed myself to be brought here instead of escaping is because I have scores to settle with the Underworld Territory. If I wanted to disappear from this place, none of you would be able to find me."

Caleb paused.

Something in her tone—and the quiet pressure of her aura—felt wrong for someone so young. It didn’t belong to a girl who had only recently gained powers or someone without real experience of war. For a brief moment he reassessed everything he thought he knew about her.

"I’d like to see you try."

Amelia didn’t bother answering. She simply turned and walked away, stepping into the elevator without looking back.

As the doors closed, her thoughts shifted.

If Kate had been able to see a memory from a past life... could her partners do the same?

She wasn’t certain. But she could try. If she found a way to help the brothers recover their own memories faster, it would benefit all of them.

***

Far from the academy, deep within the Underworld Territory, the atmosphere in the high chamber was thick with tension.

Zelda sat among the other higher-ups, posture composed, while arguments flared across the long stone table. In the center of the floor, the man who had been giving Rue her orders knelt with his head lowered.

The first man spat near him in open contempt.

"You’ve ruined everything. It’s only a matter of time before Amelia recovers her memories."

A second voice cut in.

"What Mark did wasn’t the real problem. The people he used were simply useless."

The first man slammed a hand against the table.

"Our aim was never to kill Amelia. She is a bank—holding more power than any of us can measure. We take what she carries. We distribute it. We do not kill her until we have drained every last drop."

Zelda’s gaze moved slowly across the room.

"You all know we cannot simply seize her by force. The only reliable path is through the people she loves most."

The first man’s expression tightened with something close to fear.

"I will not target those three. They are devils. Have you forgotten the destruction they brought down on us over the past century? It takes more than just our entire armies just to bring them to their knees."

Zelda’s voice remained calm, almost reflective.

"You seem to keep forgetting something important. In every one of Amelia’s past lives, she grew stronger. That means the power she holds has only increased. And the bond between her and the brothers has grown stronger with it."

She leaned forward slightly.

"If we find a way to break that bond, Amelia becomes ours for the taking. She may even be the one to eliminate the brothers herself—just as she has done before. And this time, we will not need to sacrifice a single fleet of our army to do it."

Zelda’s gaze shifted to the kneeling man.

"But you will still be punished for your disobedience. Every chaos you caused only pushed Amelia closer to her fated mates... and made it easier for her memories to return. I believe she has already recovered them."

The first man spoke carefully.

"Then what is your plan? We will punish Mark, of course—but he can still be useful."

Zelda rose from her chair and walked toward the center of the floor where Mark remained on his knees.

Mark’s voice cracked as he spoke.

"I’ve learned my lesson. I don’t want to become a pawn."

Zelda’s smile was cold and mocking. She raised one hand over him. Dark blue energy poured from her palm and wrapped around his body in thick, living strands.

Mark’s screams tore through the chamber.

"AAAHHHHH.."

Bones broke with sharp, wet cracks—then snapped back into place only to shatter again. The cycle repeated without mercy.

"Please stop, i’m begging!!"

He begged for the pain to stop, voice breaking into raw, desperate sobs while Zelda simply watched, the same faint smile never leaving her face.

When the screams finally died, Mark’s appearance had changed completely.

Zelda lowered her hand.

"You will be the one who causes the break between Amelia and her mates. And find out the secret on how to destroy the reincarnation ability that Amelia got."