"The tri-soul mate bond is but a pale shadow of our golden bond. The darker side of the moon that can shine so bright."

Sseraphis turned over, kicking the blanket off his body. His body temperature has risen to the hottest level. It was becoming difficult to breath and sleep peacefully.

The black snake-like energy had grown the size of his hand. It swam around under his skin on his forehead in a circular pattern like it was trying to bite its own tail.

"Don’t fight me, Sseraphis. You know that I am the only one who can offer you relief," the voice continued.

Sseraphis tossed and turned. The fog in his head getting thicker with every sound tuned out except for the voice in his head.

"Nytherael betrayed you," it whispered, just then, the moment at the beast trial when he was summoned because Nytherael had invoked the death divorce trial came flooding in his mind.

The scene replayed in every angle and Nytherael’s voice echoed. "I, Nytherael Auryn, stand under the watchful eyes of the beastcourt to invoke the divorce by death trial!"

Sseraphis’ brows knitted together. He moved to the edge of the bed, eyes tightly shut in an uncomfortable agony.

"And Aeltharion? You gave him everything but he will never love you as much as he loves Nytherael," the manipulative voice continued.

Sseraphis arched his head against the pillow. The hammering in his head, the raising heat in his body was making him unsettled.

His shadow on the bed remained still, despite all the nine heads shadows, there was no movement. The snake heads lay motionless as though paralyzed and didn’t mirror Sseraphis’ despair.

Sseraphis tried to scream, to stop the voice from speaking against Aeltharion but his lips wouldn’t open and no sound would come out of his throat.

"How else would you explain how easy it is for him to forgive Nytherael after everything the fox has put you and him through?"

’No, my constant loves me,’ he thought, refusing to believe a word against Aeltharion.

"Is that so?"

The memory of Aeltharion standing by Nytherael. Supporting and defending him in Vessharn replayed in an endless loop in Sseraphis’ mind.

Sseraphis swayed his head side to side, trying to shake off the horrible memory and the bitterness that stemmed in his heart from rewatching it from the side like a bystander.

"He loves Nytherael more than you. He always has!"

’No... No,’ his stance started to weaken as the jealousy and sadness in his heart rushed to the surface.

More memories of Aeltharion and Nytherael together after the fox’s return into the picture echoed. It was loud and uncensored. Mostly focusing on the bond between Nytherael and Aeltharion in moments that Sseraphis felt excluded despite being present with them.

Sseraphis kept resisting. He rolled his body to another corner of his body. His mind struggling to make sense of where his real feelings ended and where the confusion began.

"If any of them loved you... they would prioritize you."

’They love me,’ he argued.

"Nytherael left you for that ice fox just like your mother left you for your brother," the voice sounded, Sseraphis’ body stilled. His mind froze in the moment that Nytherael chose to leave him for Ilyrien. "Aeltharion, he chose Nytherael over you... just like your father chose to forgive your mother despite the truth."

"There, there," he was taken back to the scene of Aeltharion hugging and comforting Nytherael, completely overlooking him like he didn’t matter.

The snake-like black energy stopped moving and those two moments froze in Sseraphis’ mind. On one side, Nytherael was holding Ilyrien’s hand and on the other, Aeltharion was hugging Nytherael forgetting all about him. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Sseraphis settled down on the bed. He lay lifelessly still, his body mirrored the state of his snake heads that could be seen in his shadow.

"That is why you left them... for me," the voice took a softer tone and as it finished resonating in Sseraphis’ mind, the snake-like black energy split into two and one of it oozed out of Sseraphis head and into the air.

It hovered over Sseraphis’ body for a full minute before a silhouette started taking shape from it. Soon, a whole body had formed from the small black energy.

"Huh," the beast breathed out. "Finally, after being trapped in that hourglass for a thousand years. I am free," he spoke.

His body looked like an ancient calamity given a physical form. It’s body was terrifying while rivers of molten fire coursed beneath his skin like liquid veins.

Every crack glowing along it’s body burns with a primordial infernal energy. His enormous wings resembled charred ravens forged from flame.

His scarlet eyes burnt like twin dying stars. one glance from him could reveal a beasts greatest fears. His serpentine dragon tail coiled around Sseraphis like living magma as he examined him.

"Sseraphis Noxveil. Well, that is an interesting name."

His fingers brushed the hair on Sseraphis’ face away. His scarlet eyes narrowed on his essence that had imprinted itself on Sseraphis’ forehead.

"Now how did I end up in you when you’re not the one who used the hourglass?" He wondered.

The cursed hourglass had held him captive for a thousand years, in all that time, he created many legends about the hourglass to get any beast to use it in order to free him but no one ever took a bite at his trap, until now.

However, he was surprised to come to and find that the person before him didn’t have the cursed crack of the hourglass effect. He examined Sseraphis’ face closely.

"Not bad," he nodded approvingly. "I don’t mind using you to get my physical body back," he added.

He released Sseraphis, his tail recoiling back. Sseraphis fell to the bed and still remained unmoving.

In his mind, the two memories kept replaying on repeat like a broken record and the him standing on the side watching was frozen in place, watching the two scenes without blinking.

"Our golden bond. It’s what has healed you from the trauma of your first marriage," he whispered, his essence in Sseraphis’ forehead glowed and new image formed in Sseraphis’ mind.

Blocking the view of Nytherael and Aeltharion and Nytherael and Ilyrien was one of a scarlet eyed beast handing him a large bouquet of a thousand carnivorous black roses wearing the sweetest smile and the softest gaze.

"I am glad I was able to come into your life and heal all that every beast that came before me broke in you," the beast declared, Sseraphis smiled like a fool in love.