"Alright, just tell me—what's wrong?" I asked, watching Selena frown at everything like the world owed her money.
"This place isn't safe," she muttered, scanning the street.
"What do you mean?" I looked around. All I saw were students heading back to campus and vendors closing up shop.
She turned to me, eyes narrowing. "You were already good-looking enough—why did you have to get more handsome?"
"What?"
She just looked away without explaining.
Whatever. I had bigger things to worry about than Selena's random mood swings.
The real reason I was taking alchemy wasn't just academic curiosity. In the novel, one of the heroines had made a breakthrough discovery: a potion that allowed temporary survival in corrupted zones. Normally, setting foot in one of those areas meant instant death—your mana pool would combust on contact.
But her potion changed that.
I needed to recreate it before the semester ended. It was the only way I'd make it to the Elven Empire alive.
Most people didn't know this, but corruption had already consumed the elven lands. Even the elves themselves were oblivious—they weren't in this world anymore.
If I could improve the potion's duration, extend its effectiveness... maybe I could find the heroine and convince her to help. Or manipulate her into doing it for me.
Not the most noble approach, but survival rarely was.
"Hey," Selena interrupted my planning, pulling me toward a street vendor.
"You want to buy something?"
My eyes landed on a hair clip with a delicate amber flower—the exact shade of her eyes.
"How much for this?" I asked the vendor.
"Twenty points."
Fair enough. "I'll take it." I transferred the points and turned to Selena, who was staring at me with wide eyes.
"Here." I pinned the clip in her hair.
Her cheeks went red as she looked down. "Thanks."
And just like that, psycho Selena was replaced by the docile version. How did she switch personalities so fast?
"What's this?" I asked, noticing she'd bought something too.
"My gift." She grinned and put oversized glasses on my face, topping it off with a ridiculous-looking cap. "Oh my god, so cute!"
You'll never look cuter than this! Hahahaha! Nelia's voice echoed in my head.
Great. I probably looked like an idiot.
"Wait, don't take it off!" Selena said urgently.
I paused, suspicious.
"I'll send you 500 points daily if you wear this every day."
I stared at her. "...When do I start?"
Knock, knock.
"It's almost curfew," Eloisa murmured, checking her watch. She was still in her bathrobe, having just gotten out of the shower.
Who could be visiting this late?
She opened the door to find Ariana standing there, tears streaming down her face.
"Ria?" Eloisa quickly pulled her inside, guiding her to the bed. "What's wrong?"
"I remember..." Ariana's voice was barely a whisper.
Eloisa's blood went cold. "You remember what?"
"Everything!" Ariana grabbed her hand, eyes blazing with fury. "Why?"
"I-I..." Eloisa couldn't meet her gaze.
"I trusted you! I told you those things because I thought you were my friend! I was scared of what I was becoming, and you—" Ariana's voice cracked. "You used forbidden magic on me! FORBIDDEN MAGIC, Eloisa!"
"I didn't know what else to do! Everything was falling apart!"
"Shut up! Just admit it—you're selfish! You knew what would happen if I told him, so you wiped my fucking memories!"
"Please, just listen—"
"Stay away from me, Eloisa. This is your only warning." Ariana stormed out, slamming the door behind her.
"I had no choice," Eloisa whispered to the empty room. "I had no other choice."
The voices in her head whispered their agreement, and the darkness in her heart grew a little deeper.
....
Premium from next chap🤗