Chapter 25: Lucien’s Death: Nothing Deserves to Remain (2)

Obsession is not evil by nature. It is a force. What matters is direction.

There are two sides to an obsession. Just like a coin.

One side builds. It is devotion with a leash. It says, "I will sacrifice, but I will not lose myself."

A side that fuels your determination in a good way, making it in life, not disappointing those who put hope on you. It was gentle.

Then you flip the coin.

The other side burns and destroys. Like fire burning wood into nothing, it burns all emotions in your heart, making you concentrated on the obsession. This side has no brakes. The gentle wife whose world was her husband, after losing him, does not weep – she laughs, and the laugh is a blade. The line between passion and possession disappeared the moment death knocked.

Is it killing? Enjoying torture? Not always. But dark obsession kills joy, peace, the ability to feel anything except hunger.

If the first side fuels goals, the second side brings addiction. Addiction is the dark side’s chain. You cannot let go, even when the fire starts burning you.

"Lucien..."

Seraphina’s shattered cry rang through the forest. And with it, something was unleashed.

The assassin mysteriously appeared behind her, blade aimed at her back. He intended to kill her while she was still holding Lucien’s body.

But Seraphina did not turn. She did not flinch.

Her hand shot back and caught the weapon mid‑thrust. Barehanded. Blood flowed from her palm, staining the steel. Her expression did not change.

She slowly stood up, Lucien still in her arms. Then, gently, she laid him on the grass.

The assassin chuckled under his cloak. "Seraphina Drax, number one genius of the dragon race. Didn’t expect you would fall for a human."

Her expression remained unchanged when her identity was exposed. No surprise. No fear. Only a deep, bottomless emptiness.

"Since you dare kill him," she said, her voice soft as silk over a blade, "I will make sure you taste hell on earth before destroying this world."

Her eyes turned dark. Then she laughed. A low, hollow laugh – the laugh of a mind that had crossed the line.

She stretched her right hand to the side. Her spear appeared in her grip.

She slammed the butt of the spear into the ground.

Flames erupted. Not a gentle fire – a wildfire. It spread rapidly through the forest, devouring trees, grass, shadows. The assassin leaped back, but the flames followed.

Red, flaming draconic scales spread across Seraphina’s body. Across her arms, her neck, her face. Draconic horns curled from her temples, burning with ember light. A tail, thick and scaled, whipped from behind her, its tip wreathed in fire.

Her eyes were no longer human. They were slitted, golden, blazing.

.

If Lucien saw this scene, he would have been surprised by how beautiful his wife was.

She looked perfect.

The assassin chuckled, not bothered by her change in form.

Seraphina’s burning gaze was on and She moved.

\\\

Death had knocked again.

And he had been swallowed by its jaws.

How many times had he died like this?

This was the third time.

Thinking of how he died, he felt regret. He was engrossed in being able to cultivate, forgetting how cruel this world was.

Even though his father had blocked the news, not every fortress is perfect.

Everything now clicked in.

The chills he felt when he killed the pack of Mistfang Wolves were clearly from the assassin.

The change of the Thornback Boar should be the assassin’s work.

This meant the assassin had detailed information about their movement and the mission that they chose.

All this pointed to the fact that the assassin had a grasp of his movement since he left the clan.

And the patience taken to make sure he was gone in one hit.

He didn’t think that his father wouldn’t have put a protection on him, but for it to not be effective showed that the assassin came surely prepared and had information from the clan.

With what happened recently, it meant there were still spies in the clan.

All these thoughts happened in a second as his life slipped away.

He looked at the rising moon with unwillingness and regret.

He didn’t want to die.

Ding!

[Detecting Host is in a near-death state. Preparing countermeasures to preserve Host’s life.]

Ding!

[Countermeasure found. Forcefully claiming Host from the jaws of death.]

The system message came like a saviour. He felt excited.

The system interface was like light in the darkness he was in. He saw his HP: 1.

At the edge of death.

Ding!

[Linked Target experienced Host’s death. Regret flooding in as Obsession increased.]

Ding!

[Linked Target: Seraphina Drax. Obsession has reached 100. Resonance has reached 100. Absolute Devotion achieved.]

Ding!

[Seraphina Drax has become an early-stage Yandere.]

Ding!

[Host has completed the first stage of the chain mission – Sovereign Ascension.]

---

Stage 1: Awaken the Throneheart Seed.

• Condition: Achieve Absolute Devotion (100% Obsession) with one linked wife.

• Progress: 1/1

---

Ding!

[Beginning awakening of the Throneheart Seed.]

Ding!

[Detecting that Host’s current body state cannot undergo the awakening process.]

Ding!

[Redistributing Host’s stat points equally.]

Ding!

[Host’s individual stats have reached 300. Automatically leveling up Host.]

Ding!

[Host has leveled up. +5 to all stats.]

When Lucien saw he had leveled up, he watched as his HP skyrocketed from 1 to 150. The flood of system notifications grew, sounding like music in his ears.

Ding!

[Stats parameters have been met. Awakening the Throneheart Seed.]

Ding!

[Stats parameters have been met. Awakening Host’s bloodline.]

Ding!

[Stats parameters have been met. Origin Anchor Body limits have been partially removed.]

Ding!

[Stats parameters have been met. Awakening Host’s Origin Soul]

Ding!

[Detecting Seraphina Drax’s obsession has reached Absolute Devotion. Awakening of Pillar of Obsession proceeding.]

Ding!

[Seraphina Drax has awakened the Pillar of Voracity - The Insatiable Maw]

Ding!

[Conditions met. Proceeding with the Unsealing of Host’s memory]

Ding!

[Due to the Host’s death, Seraphina Drax’s obsession of hunger for the world’s destruction is increasing. Lives of billions are at stake. Host, tame your obsessive wife before her obsession engulfs the world.]