She opened her eyes.
The sky was crimson. Not red like a sunset, but deep—like blood mixed with wine. Beneath her was a marble floor carved with glowing runes. The air tasted of ash and roses.
She sat up, dizzy. She wasn't in her uniform. She wore a velvet dress the color of spilled ink, with long bell sleeves and silver embroidery. Her hair, once short and black, now cascaded down her back in silver-white waves.
A mirror stood before her.
The girl staring back wasn't Yui.
"…No way," she whispered. "This… This is Lilliana Evernight."
Her mind raced. She knew this face—it was the villainess from Crimson Pact. The noble girl who was arrogant, cruel, and fated to die in the first quarter of the story. The one who—
Suddenly, a searing pain tore through her chest.
A sigil glowed over her heart—dark red, shaped like two wings folding into a crown.
A voice echoed from behind.
"You've awakened, my soul-bound."
She turned.
A figure stepped out of the shadows. Seven feet tall, cloaked in black and crimson armor, silver eyes like frozen fire. Horns curled from his head like a crown.
Azazel, the Demon King.
Her heart stopped.
"I…" she stammered. "This can't be real."
He stepped closer. "You carry the mark. You are Lilliana Evernight. My soul is bound to yours now. Speak, and I shall obey."
Yui's hands trembled. She couldn't breathe.
She wasn't just inside a novel.
She was bound to the most dangerous being in it.