Chapter 58 — The Forbidden Room: Lust of the Architect
---
9:08 AM | The Hidden Vault Beneath the Fifth Mirror
The shattered glass behind Yuuto sealed itself with a fleshy hiss. Aika stood by his side—reborn, glowing with unnatural beauty, her soul muted beneath the binding ritual. She followed silently, obedient, too silent.
They entered the Forbidden Room.
It was not built of stone—
but flesh, marble, bone, and moaning memory.
At the center: a circular table carved from living vertebrae.
Three women lay naked across its surface—suspended, sleeping, glowing with soft pulses.
> Hana, her silver hair scattered like moonlight, lips parted in a soft breath.
Amariel, wings broken and curled like fallen petals.
And a third girl…
A stranger.
Aika's twin? No…
A prototype.
On the walls:
Portraits of every heroine Yuuto had touched, almost touched, or imagined.
Each canvas dripped.
Each frame whispered.
---
The Architect Appears
A figure rose from the darkness behind the table.
Cloaked in silk shadows.
A man with Yuuto's exact face.
Older. Smiling.
> "Ah… finally, the version of me that survived this far."
"Tell me, Yuuto… how many girls have you tasted? How many have you claimed?"
Yuuto stepped forward, fists clenched.
> "Who are you?"
"Who made this place?"
The Architect spread his arms.
> "I am you—
The part that dreams, craves, and corrupts.
I built the Tower, the curse, the girls—all for you."
---
The Forbidden Offer
The Architect gestured toward the sleeping girls.
> "I offer you perfection:
Three girls.
Three essences.
One body.
Fuse them. Create the perfect lover, the Eternal Womb."
He smiled coldly.
> "In return… you must let go of Aika."
"Her soul—what's left of it—can return."
"But only if you choose another to wear her body."
Yuuto's breath hitched. Aika stood still, watching him, lips slightly parted. Her eyes flickered—just once—with the faintest glimmer of her old self.
> Could he give her soul back?
At the price of fusing three girls into a single, eternally craving vessel?
---
The Decision
Yuuto looked down at Hana, Amariel… and the unnamed girl.
All still.
All warm.
All waiting.
> "You don't want a lover," Yuuto whispered.
"You want a prisoner."
The Architect shrugged.
> "Love is a beautiful prison, isn't it?"
---