Reborn To Be The Imperial Consort [BL]-Chapter 72: Thalassotélos — XII

The whispered words of the devil could not be resisted, true temptation, true lust for anything and everything rose from the darkest depths of a person’s heart.

A heart with light in it, a heart with goodness in it; it was a heart that could not be corrupted.

A heart which could not be influenced, a heart which could not be blackened. Such a pure heart belonged to none but the most benevolent of men, of beings.

But what if a heart like that, a heart which once knew kindness, which once knew gentleness, is a heart that has been broken.

Not by love. Never by love.

What if such a heart has been broken by the world? By the cruel hand dealt to them by the heaven above?

What if a heart like that has been treated like a toy to be played with, a commodity to be put to use?

For nothing but enjoyment.

Nothing but to relieve the tedium of those who lived an eternal life? Then what?

It would break. It would shatter into nothing but small pieces. Reduced to void of the encroaching dusk.

Ah. What a pity would it be!

Theoretically, Hu Lijing knew not to be tempted, not to be enticed in the thrall, the lies and the allure of the words whispered to him by a being who knew nothing but enjoyment of his own.

Whose enjoyment was nothing but the pain, the misery of the chaos he caused to another.

He should know better. He should know better than to fall for such a facetious thrall.

But—

But his heart was in ashes, his heart was a dark place which now knew neither right nor wrong, neither good nor bad.

The only thing his heart—his beating, his weeping heart knew was—

—He wanted vengeance. He wanted revenge. He wanted the price of blood to be paid in like. He wanted the cost of misery, the cost of destruction to be paid in destruction.

Nothing less. But by all means, his heart wanted everything more.

Was this his true nature? Was this the true face of his heart, his essence, his being? Was the kindness, the gentleness he had shown up till this very moment nothing but a flimsy facade he wore to conceal the darkness his hidden beneath?

Was it so? He did not know.

His heart was a cold place, his heart was a dark place. It beat out a frantic rhythm, the deepest vaults of his desire, his want rearing their hideous head as he considered the hand, the branch of opportunity extended to him.

He wanted this. He wanted revenge.

But his mind was silent.

As his heart beat against his chest, something akin to excitement, akin to thrill, to anticipation coursed through his veins.

For a moment, Hu Lijing could think of nothing. But feel? Oh heaven, he could feel everything in this world!

As he supported himself with his both hands planted on the bloody and wet ground under him, dragging his claws through the dirt as his shoulders trembled and tears gathered in his eyes, he bit his bloodied lips again, his teeth chewing on the flesh as he swallowed his own blood, throat moving up and down.

It hurts.

He thought. It hurts so much.

Why does it hurt so much? I wanted revenge, I should accept this aid extended towards me.

Hu Lijing whimpered again, entire body wrecked by tremors as his threadbare morals and his malice warred against one another.

He wanted everything destroyed! He wanted everyone gone! Obliterated as his kin had been—

No. This was wrong. This feeling, this cruelty, it all was so, so so wron—

Revenge. Revenge. Revenge!

No. No. No.

He should accept this. Whatever the conditions may be, he should accept this trade.

Slowly but surely, his mind faded away, all good, all rational thoughts wasting away and flying into dust as his howling, his bleeding heart took over his instincts.

Heart was a dangerous little thing, posing as the pinnacle of kindness, it hid away all the malice, all the darkness, waiting for the right time.

He could think of nothing, his mind was in daze, completely empty as his thoughts died down, he could feel himself growing numb to anything and everything.

Everything.

"What—" after a long time, the ten-tailed fox heard the nine-tailed fox spirit speak, his voice a broken symphony as he looked down at the ground.."—what are the conditions that you have?"

The ten-tailed fox shifted, watching from his imprisonment as the trembling fox stilled.

"My conditions?" He replied, voice rumbling as he canted his head. "Oh dear child, my conditions are perfectly simple."

"I did not ask how difficult they are. I asked what they entailed." Hu Lijing’s head snapped up, icy glare in his tearful eyes as he growled, looking around for the voice.

"Oh, oh dear. How beautiful. Such a defiant attitude. You amuse me, fox." The ten-tailed fox chuckled, his grating voice menacing as he crooned. "I suppose you are not so useless, after all."

"Cease your idle chatter, you demon!"

"How hurtful of you, Hu. Li. Jing." The ten-tailed fox smirked, increasingly amused by Hu Lijing’s countenance. "Let us see if you can keep up this behaviour once I am done with you, dear child."

The rattling voice, the words filled with warning sent a chill down Hu Lijing’s spine as his fists clenched around the murky dirt, goosebumps rising all over his body as the licks of that voice, the animalistic intonation of it caressed his ears.

"Do you want my soul?" He snapped, voice laced with caution. If so, he was willing to make this trade.

His eyes flickered all over the ruined landscape around him, the bodies of his kin, the blood of his people.

His soul was damned anyway.

"Oh, dear child..." The ten-tailed fox shifted, his voice dropping into an alluring purr that he did so often. It sent a jolt of fear in Hu Lijing’s heart. "What is your pathetic little soul of use to me? Your soul is nothing. Your eternity is but a short span, longer than which I have lived my life. I have no want for your soul."

"You could have said so in a single sentence." Hu Lijing sneered, ignoring the primal fear in his soul.

"HAHAHA—" The fallen deity burst into a loud laughter, enjoying the idle back and forth as though Hu Lijing was not collapsed on the battlefield. "—hahaha... Keep this up, little fox. I shall relish in seeing you broken once I’m finished." His tail swished in delight.

"Ahem. I want not your soul, where is the joy in that, hm? I wish to see you broken, crying over everything once I’m through. If I take your soul, how will I spectate your grief, poor child...?" He shifted forward, chains clinking as he growled. "However... I will need your body. I want your body for as long as the child in your womb lives when I possess it."

Silence.

Suffocating silence.

"You want my what?!"