Her Rebirth.

Lilac’s eyes fell to the knife that was plunged into her stomach, silent as blood trickled down slowly, staining her clothes crimson red. Then her eyes went back up to Amelia, who was trembling in fear. Then she laughed it was twisted, filled with madness and pent-up craziness.

When she was done, she stood up weakly, a look of disappointment in her eye.

"I can’t believe you tried to kill me, Amelia," she whispered, voice shaking. "You deceived me... and then you wanted to leave me?"

She took a shaky step forward, gripping the axe tighter.

"It seems I really should maim you," she said coldly. "Maybe then, you’ll stay."

She raised the axe high above her head.

Amelia curled in on herself, arms over her head, her heart thundering in her ears.

As she was about to bring the axe down, a loud bang rang out.

The axe clattered to the floor and Amelia felt warm blood splatter on her face.

Lilac’s eyes widened. Her lips parted in shock as her body slowly gave out. She crumpled to the ground beside Amelia, her lifeless eyes still fixed on her.

Amelia stared at her in horror, the world spinning. Her breath hitched. Her limbs felt numb. The edges of her vision darkened, and before she completely blacked out, the only thing she could hear was Kai’s voice calling desperately for her.

---

Kai’s POV

He had never run this fast in his life.

The moment they had arrived in Country I, Kai didn’t wait. He had ensured they went straight to the location that had been sent to him. And when they had gotten to the duplex, his men had barely breached the perimeter when he stormed the house with his gun drawn, his mind blazing with every possible nightmare.

He had opened the door gently so as not to draw attention. The house was silent save only for the faint metallic scrape of something being dragged across the floor. An axe.

His heart nearly stopped.

Please be okay. Please, Amelia... 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

He followed the sound, and just in the sitting room was Eve’s dead body. His pupils dilated, and his breath became shallow. Then he heard the laugh. It was high and manic and it made the hair on his arms rise.

Lilac.

He saw her through the open archway, towering over a small, trembling figure curled on the floor, Amelia. His little butterfly

She raised the axe.

His body moved before his mind did. He raised the gun.

Bang!

Lilac dropped like a marionette with its strings cut. The weapon slipped from her fingers with a hollow thud. Blood pooled beneath her. It was thick and red.

Kai didn’t look at her again.

He ran to Amelia, his knees crashing against the ground as he caught her just before she collapsed.

"Amelia—Amelia, look at me," he whispered, one arm cradling her head, the other wiping the blood from her face. "It’s me. I’m here. You’re safe now."

But she didn’t respond. Her body was cold, limp in his arms. Her eyes were closed, seemingly unconscious.

Rage twisted in his gut, dark and violent. How dare she... how dare she touch her?

"Wen!" he barked over his shoulder. "Get the medics in here. Now!"

His voice broke at the end.

He looked down at Amelia again, gently brushing a strand of blood-matted hair from her cheek.

"I’m sorry," he whispered, voice raw. "I should’ve come sooner."

---

Amelia’s eyes fluttered open.

But something felt... wrong.

She wasn’t lying on the bloodstained floor of Lilac’s house, nor was she in a hospital bed. Instead, a warm breeze brushed against her skin, carrying the scent of blooming gardenias. The sun cast a golden glow across a sprawling garden, and she could feel the texture of an embroidered dress against her skin. It was delicate, heavy, and studded with what looked like a thousand tiny gems that caught the light like stars.

Her breath hitched.

Where... am I?

She tried to move, but her body didn’t respond. Panic briefly surged until she realized she wasn’t truly in her body. It was like watching a play from behind someone else’s eyes. She could feel, see, hear but she couldn’t act. She was... a passenger.

The girl giggled softly, her giggle, and crouched low, hiding behind a row of neatly trimmed bushes. Her dress rustled with every movement, and excitement radiated from her like heat off sun-warmed stone.

Then a pause.

She glanced left, then right, a slight frown forming. "Damn it... where am I?" she muttered. "Dad’s going to be mad again."

She stood up and started walking, her heels crunching lightly on gravel paths, her skirts swishing around her legs as she wandered through the labyrinth of hedges. Thirty minutes passed, though it felt longer in the haze of disorientation, and her shoulders slumped in exhaustion. She glanced around until her eyes landed on a stone bench tucked in the shade.

But someone was already sitting there.

A boy, perhaps her age, was perched alone amidst the misty swirl of gardenias. He had hazelnut hair that danced with the wind, eyes cast downward as though lost in thought. There was something otherworldly about the stillness that surrounded him, something that made even the birds seem to hush.

She—Amelia’s body—stood frozen, watching him breathlessly.

Then, a twig snapped beneath her foot.

"Damn it," the girl muttered under her breath.

The boy turned, and his golden eyes met hers.

Her breath caught in her throat, and Amelia could feel the girl’s cheeks burn.

"He’s... handsome," the girl whispered aloud.

But somewhere deep within, Amelia frowned.

Wait... what is this?

Her gaze shifted to the boy, as a chill crawled up her spine like a cold finger, dragging her back to the moment she wished and prayed every day she could wipe away from her life.

It was the moment she met him, the man she loved and hated the most. The man that dragged her into the deepest part of hell. The man responsible for her family’s deaths and all her suffering.

Aldric.