Chapter 108 - The Ritual [3]

The oppressive solitude of the Vespera manor had built a quiet horror around Ixion from birth. Without allies, human contact, or warmth, her childhood had withered within four walls—a life so devoid of interaction it was a miracle her vocal cords could even frame words. That prolonged physical and social isolation was merely the prelude. At just six years old, she had been subjected to the atrocious "gift ceremony," forced to select two people out of ten, only to watch the remaining eight slaughtered where they stood. The gore was designed to be traumatic, and the phantom blood that stained her hands was worse—a crushing, perpetual guilt designed to shatter a child's mind.