Reincarnated as a Background Character — Boss Fell in Love With Me
Chapter 11: The Pact, the Poison, and the Portrait of a Dead God
Raze jolted awake, his chest heaving with desperate breaths.
It wasn't the remnants of a nightmare that brought him back to consciousness.
No, it was the unmistakable echo of Velzeria's anguish that sliced through the veil of his sleep, a distress that resonated deep within him.
The soul tether that connected them felt like ice-bound fire creeping along his spine, a raw reminder that somewhere within the tower's hollow halls, she was enduring unbearable torment — not of the body, but of the spirit.
As the moment of clarity washed over him, Raze shot out of bed, urgency surging through his veins. He hastily laced up his boots, the familiar motions grounding him even as the world felt topsy-turvy, and began to follow the pulsating connection that linked them.
He raced through the vast, echoing marble corridors of the Ash Court, the pale, moonlit stone illuminated by the dim glow of ancient sconces. Shadowy figures—guardians of the court—stood sentinel, their eyes downcast in a show of quiet respect as he passed. Each step quickened his heart, the tension rising within him like an impending storm, and yet, the oppressive silence felt like a cocoon, wrapping him in a sense of purpose.
Finally, he reached the ancient gallery, a secluded realm buried in the depths of the Ash Court, a place where time itself seemed to have stalled in reverence of its history. The air here was sharper, imbued with a chill that curled around him like smoke. Its heaviness bore the weight of forgotten magic, a mingling of charcoal and iron that lingered like a distant memory.
There, standing before a mural, Velzeria was motionless, lost in thought. The mural, ravaged by time, stood out against the stones: its surface cracked and scorched, but still, the outline of its central figure remained clear.
A towering form cloaked in the dust of stars, eyes hollow and void of light. A crown lay fractured upon its brow, and its hands were bound tightly with crimson threads.
[Identified: Mural – "The First Empress. The Godbreaker."]
Raze hesitated, his heart clenching as he took in the haunting image. "That's not you," he stated, his voice a soothing anchor that sought to bridge the rising tide of despair.
"No," she replied softly, the quietness of her voice tinged with bitterness — an ageless bitterness, like wine that has long since lost its sweetness and soured. "That's the one who came before me. The one the world erased."
Curiosity mingled with dread as Raze stepped closer, standing by her side. "Who was she?" he asked, seeking to unravel the threads of the past.
"She had a name once," Velzeria unveiled, her tone laced with a haunting sorrow. "But it became feared by the gods. So they razed it from the world, as if it had never existed."
As he gazed at the mural, Raze couldn't shake the feeling of familiarity. "The crown looks like yours," he remarked thoughtfully, his brow furrowing.
"It was. But I broke it," she declared, the weight of her admission hanging heavily between them.
A pregnant pause enveloped them, the air thick and charged with a sense of foreboding.
Then, almost as if a dam had burst within her, Velzeria continued, "She tried to defy the script of her existence. And the gods, in their ire, chose to write her out."
[System Notification: Hidden Lore Fragment Discovered]
[You've seen what was meant to be forgotten.]
[Warning: Divine Interference Detected.]
And just as the words left her lips, a surreal phenomenon unfolded: the mural seemed to breathe, animating in a way that defied nature itself.
Raze stumbled backwards, nearly losing his balance as the wall before him rippled like liquid glass, arcane symbols fleeting before his eyes in a language that felt both foreign and disturbingly familiar.
Velzeria's gaze sharpened, narrowing as she tried to decipher what unfolded before them.
But uncertainty gripped her, and suddenly, she staggered as if pulled by an unseen force.
"Vel—!" Raze exclaimed, instinctively rushing to her side just in time to brace her against him before she could crumple to the floor. The heat radiating from her skin felt searing, while her breath was erratic and shallow.
> [Status Condition: Soul Poison – Traced Source: Court-level Intervention]
[Your Pact has been compromised.]
Time blurred as they returned to the sanctuary of their private chamber several moments later, the weight of what had just transpired lingering in the air. Velzeria flopped into the throne-like chair beside the flickering fireplace, her jaw clenched tight against the unseen pain coursing through her.
"They slipped poison through the tether," she said, her voice taut with anger and resignation. "Subtle. Slow. Cowardly."
Raze's brow furrowed deeply as he muttered, "They're trying to unravel it. But who?"
"All of them. Or none of them," she replied, a dark resignation coloring her words. "It's how the Court plays its games."
His hands trembled slightly as he rummaged through their inventory, desperately searching for some remedy. Basic potions, null charms; all of which proved inadequate against the creeping threat. Nothing seemed to ease the tumult brewing within her.
His hope waned until—
[Trait Triggered: Anomaly's Presence]
[Soul Interference Initiated… Poison is rejecting system logic…]
In a moment of instinct, Raze's tether pulsed like a responsive heartbeat, his soul extending toward hers, chaotic and raw, yet instinctively determined to protect.
In that heartbeat, for an exhilarating breath, he was no longer just an observer of her suffering, but a part of it — inside her pain in a way he could never have anticipated.
Not merely experiencing it, but rewriting it, remaking it.
The poison quivered against his push, then suddenly recoiled, retreating as Raze poured his will into defending her.
Velzeria gasped, her lungs expanding at last as she took in a deep, life-giving breath.
Then, silence settled between them, a reverent stillness that held the weight of their shared experience.
"…You rewrote me," she whispered with awe, staring into his eyes, vulnerability shining through the thundercloud of her grief.
"No," Raze corrected gently. "I just pushed back against the darkness."
She looked up at him then, and in that moment, she was no longer just the Empress, or even a formidable force of nature; she was simply a woman caught between the awe of divinity and the stark reality of her sorrow.
"Raze… this tether… it's becoming something the world won't understand," she murmured, her voice heavy with the burden of acceptance.
"Good," he replied softly, settling down beside her, a silent promise grounding them both. "The world's overrated anyway."
The sound that escaped her lips was a fragile laugh, a broken melody that echoed through the quiet like bittersweet music.
Then, in a barely audible breath, she added, "Don't let me become her."
His gaze drifted back to the mural, fixating on the nameless figure of the godkiller, the reminder of what lost potential could become.
With unwavering conviction, Raze responded, a promise rooted deep in his soul, "I won't."
[Pact Strengthened: Bond Level II — Shared Resistance Unlocked]
[Unlocked Joint Trait: Divine Rejection – Passive resistance to system rewriting and external fate interference.]
To be continued...