The hospital alarms should have been screaming.Nurses should've rushed into the room.Someone should've reacted to the exploded wall and the dead demon creature lying on the tiles.
But no one came.
Not one sound.
As if time itself had been momentarily muted.
Amelia's breath shook as she slid off the bed, bare feet touching cold tile. The creature's corpse was already dissolving into ash—dark, oily ash that crawled across the floor like it was alive, then vanished entirely.
Like it had never existed.
Her voice came out a whisper."Am I… hallucinating?"
She knew she wasn't.Her soul—her reborn soul—was far too awake for lies.
She wrapped her arms around herself as the cold wind from the broken wall brushed her skin. Whatever had happened tonight… her death, her rebirth, the strange power inside her, that man—
Everything was connected.
And she hated how little she knew.
A sudden shimmer spread across the ruined wall. Amelia startled as bricks reformed, plaster smoothed out, and within five seconds—
The wall looked untouched.
Like magic.Deep, old magic.
Her heart pounded."He erased the evidence…"
Why?To protect her?Or to keep others from knowing she existed?
She didn't know which was worse.
The hospital corridor
Five minutes later, Amelia stepped out of her room, still shaken, the cold air clinging to her skin like a warning.
The hallway was silent.Too silent.
Then—
"You're awake."
A nurse approached, smiling warmly. "Your test results came back. The doctor said your vitals are stable today. Much better than usual."
Amelia forced a weak smile. "I… I see."
The nurse leaned closer, lowering her voice."And your father called to say he'll be picking you up tomorrow morning. He asked if you needed anything from home."
Her stomach twisted with a familiar resentment.
The man who wasn't her real father.The man who let others hurt her.The man who never protected the original Amelia—never cared that his daughter was dying, cursed, suffering.
"He's not my birth father," Amelia said sharply before she could stop herself.
The nurse blinked. "Sweetheart… are you feeling alright?"
Amelia swallowed. She needed to calm down. This world didn't know she had changed. She couldn't slip.
"I'm fine. Just… tired."
The nurse smiled again and walked away.
Amelia let out a slow breath.
Tomorrow, she would have to return to the Gao household—a house filled with secrets, greed, and the very people who helped destroy the girl who once lived in this body.
She curled her fingers into fists.
Not this time.
She would not be their puppet again.She would not die again.
And this time—she had a strange, deadly protector watching her.
Whether she wanted him or not.
Nightfall – Outside the hospital
A figure stood on the rooftop, long coat whipping in the wind. His silver eyes watched Amelia through the window, unreadable.
She couldn't see him.She didn't even know he was there.
But he watched her with the grim patience of a hunter stalking prey—or a guardian studying something far too precious to lose.
A second figure suddenly appeared behind him, stepping out of a shadow as if it were a door.
A young man this time.
Tall, broad-shouldered, with striking obsidian hair tied loosely behind him and a sword strapped across his back. His aura was calmer, more disciplined than the silver-eyed man—like a flame controlled by sheer force of will.
"Master," the young man said quietly. "You found her."
"Yes," the silver-eyed man replied. "Earlier than fate intended."
The young man stepped next to him, looking down at Amelia with a frown. "She looks… fragile."
"She is not," the master answered. "Not anymore."
His eyes narrowed, sharp as blades.
"The woman who cursed her bloodline is stirring again. We're out of time."
The young man's jaw tensed. "So… the prophecy is real."
"I never doubted it."
"And the girl… is she truly the one destined to—"
"Don't speak of destiny lightly," the master cut in. "Not when her soul is listening."
The disciple bowed his head. "Understood."
The master finally turned away from the window.
"She doesn't trust me," he murmured. "That's good. Trust will come later. Fear will keep her alive for now."
The disciple hesitated."…Will I be allowed to approach her?"
The master gave a small, dangerous smile."In time."
He looked back toward her window one last time.
"She doesn't know yet," he whispered, "that every power in the dark realms wants her heart."
The disciple's eyes sharpened. "To kill her?"
The master's gaze grew colder.
"To claim her."
Wind howled between them.
And far below, Amelia shivered—without knowing two supernatural men were discussing her fate under the moonlight.