When the king stormed out of the room in his familiar fierce manner, Nikita let out a long breath and stepped onto the balcony. From there, the vast palace courtyard lay spread out below.
From above, Nikita began to observe the king. As he walked among the maids and commoners, his gaze was anything but pure. Instead of the noble king she had seen in her flashbacks, she now saw a vulgar and lust-driven man. She watched how he stared at other women with crude desire.
Nikita's laughter:
Seeing this moral downfall, Nikita suddenly burst into laughter. She laughed at the thought that the man she had waited for six hundred years, the man whose memories she had cherished, was in reality so shallow and corrupt.
Helplessness:
Nikita was now just an ordinary girl. Though her grandmother had spoken of the past, Nikita had no magical powers in the present. She could not summon the blue serpent, nor could she punish the king even if she wanted to.
Grandmother's warning:
Her grandmother had warned her long ago:
"Nikita, the hero you see in memories may now be drowning in sin. What you had in your past life, you no longer possess in this one."
Clutching the balcony railing tightly, Nikita muttered,
"Your Majesty, you may not have that scar on your face anymore, but your character has become even filthier than before. Even without powers, I will correct you in this lifetime too."
She had no magic now, but she still possessed her strange sky-blue hair and fragments of ancient wisdom. She decided that this time, instead of magic, she would strike him through his own moral weakness.
At that moment, her grandmother appeared from the shadows, tapping her staff softly. She whispered,
"Nikita, don't look at his cat-like eyes. Look at the cruelty within them. Can you teach him a lesson as an ordinary girl?"
As Nikita stood alone on the balcony, lost in thoughts of the king's dark nature, silence engulfed the palace. The massive torches flickered faintly. Just then, a young maid quietly entered Nikita's room from the darkness.
Fear and anxiety were written all over the girl's face. She glanced around to make sure no one else was nearby, then whispered,
"Are you Nikita?"
Nikita looked at her, slightly surprised. Her bright blue hair spilled over her shoulders. Calmly, she replied,
"Yes, I am Nikita. Why?"
The maid nervously twisted her hands and said,
"King Kairen is summoning you to his private chamber immediately."
Nikita frowned. She remembered the ancient king full of dignity, and compared him to this present man whose eyes held only lust. Recalling her grandmother's words, she asked firmly,
"Now? Why would the king call me at such a late hour?"
Lowering her head, the maid replied,
"I don't know. But the king is heavily intoxicated tonight. He called for you by name. Please… be careful."
Nikita understood that this degenerate king might be planning something vile. She stood before the mirror and looked at herself once. Though she had no magic left, a stubborn resolve shone in her blue eyes.
In her mind she said,
"Your Majesty, if you think I am still that foolish girl, you are mistaken. Without any power, I will expose your rotten character before everyone."
She looked at the maid and said calmly,
"Alright. You may go. I'm coming."
When Nikita entered the king's private chamber, the sight inside filled her with even more disgust. There was not a trace of the noble king she had seen in her memories.
The room was thick with smoke. King Kairen lounged half-reclined on a massive royal chair.
The vile atmosphere:
His clothes were disheveled, his chest exposed. Behind him stood three young male servants, trembling in fear. In one hand, the king held an expensive cigarette.
The king's behavior:
As soon as Nikita entered, the king took a long drag and blew the smoke rudely into her face. The smoke blurred her sky-blue hair.
Those cat-like eyes:
Under the influence of alcohol, his eyes were bloodshot. He scanned Nikita from head to toe in an obscene manner.
With a mocking smile, he said,
"Oh, our mystical Nikita has arrived! I was wondering whether that strange blue hair of yours is real or some kind of magic. Come closer."
Covering her nose in irritation, Nikita replied in a calm yet sharp voice,
"Did you summon me just to display your drunken debauchery? If this is the state of a king, blaming the citizens is pointless."
The king laughed, tapping ash aside, and gestured toward the servants.
"See that? She's got courage. Just as grandmother said. Nikita, you may be ordinary now, but that arrogance of yours entertains me."
Nikita noticed an old wine bottle and scattered documents on the nearby table. Her grandmother had been right—this man was hollow from within.
Taking one last drag, the king ordered harshly,
"You three, leave. Lock the door from outside. No living soul except Nikita and me should remain."
The servants hurried out. The heavy door slammed shut, echoing through the silent chamber.
The king rose unsteadily and approached her. His exposed chest made him look even more grotesque. Nikita stood her ground. He came so close she could smell his foul breath.
Twisting a lock of her hair around his finger, he whispered,
"They say you were once a queen? My queen? That this hair was magical? Look at you now—so ordinary, so helpless. The door is closed. No one is coming to save you."
Staring straight into his eyes, Nikita replied coldly,
"You think a closed door makes you safe? Six hundred years ago, I killed this king myself. Forgotten already? I may have no power today, but I can still see the sin in your eyes."
For a moment, fear flickered across his face.
Enraged and intoxicated, the king moved closer. He cruelly tore open the upper part of Nikita's dress. She froze in humiliation.
Laughing, he blew smoke into her face. Her blue hair fell over her shoulders, tears trembling in her eyes.
She whispered,
"You are not a king. You are an animal. You may violate my body today, but my soul is still that of the sorceress."
At that word, his face twisted with rage. He roared,
"You dare call me an animal? Today I'll ruin you so completely you won't be able to face anyone again!"
Nikita backed against the wall, trembling. She was only eighteen, an ordinary girl with no magic left. She cried,
"Please… let me go…"
Ignoring her, he grabbed her hair and began tearing at her dress.
As she sobbed and tried to cover herself, despair consumed her.
But just as the king was about to lunge, a blue shimmer appeared in the ancient mirror in the corner of the room.
Hadn't her grandmother said the white cat was a servant of the ancestors?
Suddenly, the sound of shattering glass echoed as something burst into the room.The king's drunken lust was now coupled with his cruel power. As Nikita, an ordinary girl, tried to flee to save herself, the king unleashed that unholy force.
With a strange motion of his hand through the air, a supernatural surge swept the room, sealing all the windows and escape routes as if they had been embedded in stone. Nikita realized that this king was not merely lustful—he also possessed some dark, supernatural power.
Nikita's helplessness:
The king seized Nikita with a sharp tug and threw her directly onto the bed in the middle of the room. The eighteen-year-old girl curled up in the corner of the bed. Her long sky-blue hair spilled across the sheets. She wanted to scream in terror, but under the king's oppressive force, no sound emerged from her throat.
The king's assault:
King Kairen leaned over her aggressively, chest exposed. His bloodshot cat-like eyes reveled in her fear. Grinding his teeth, he hissed,
"Now tell me, where is your grandmother? On whose magic will you survive? Tonight, you belong only to me!"
Nikita clutched the bed sheet, eyes brimming with tears and a silent, deep cry from the heart. She had no recollection of who she once was, yet her subconscious sensed the danger and stirred with a desperate urge to survive.
At that very moment, the old locket she wore near her chest—dislodged when her dress had been torn—began to glow with a blue light.
Against the king's demonic power, the ordinary eighteen-year-old girl could no longer resist. She had no magic, no strength—only a heart full of anguish. The king, satisfied, lay down beside her, having sated his lust. The room was filled only with the sound of his heavy breathing and the lingering scent of cigarette smoke.
Nikita had lost the strength even to move. Her brilliant sky-blue hair lay scattered across the bed. She said nothing, cried out nothing—she just stared blankly at the ceiling.
Nikita's emptiness:
As she gazed at the ceiling, it seemed to her as though the pale blue expanse was slowly transforming into an immense darkness. Her sky-blue eyes remained fixed, tears rolling down to her ears. She wondered why her grandmother had fed her those false dreams, convincing her that she was once a mighty sorceress.
The king's contempt:
King Kairen lay beside her, a victorious smile playing on his face. Lighting another cigarette, he glanced at Nikita—not with love or remorse, but as if she were merely a plaything.
The shadow of the flashback:
A fragment of memory from six hundred years ago surfaced in Nikita's mind—when she had been a powerful queen. But the cruel reality of the present reminded her of her helplessness.
While staring at the ceiling, Nikita suddenly saw a blue snake slowly materializing in the corner. Was it real, or just a trick of her mind? She thought to herself,
"You came, snake? But you are too late. I have nothing left."
Her body was paralyzed, but a growing hatred began to rise within her mind. Was there no end to this tyranny?
The next morning, when the first light of dawn entered the palace's dark chamber, the atmosphere was oddly different. Her grandmother, trembling, pushed open the door, heart pounding with fear. But what she saw inside exceeded all her expectations.
King Kairen was no longer the beast-like figure of last night. His mood had completely changed after waking from sleep. Nikita still lay on the bed, inert, staring fixedly at the ceiling. Her sky-blue eyes were as hard as stone.
The king's 'cute' gesture:
King Kairen sat very close to Nikita. His fierce cat-like eyes now held a mystical glimmer. He gently brushed her disheveled sky-blue hair aside with utmost care.
The gift locket:
From his hand, the king produced a small, exquisite locket. With a tenderness completely opposite to the previous night, he placed it around Nikita's neck. After putting it on, he kissed her forehead, as if she were a cherished treasure.
Nikita's state:
Nikita offered no resistance, showed no reaction. The locket gleamed against her throat, but the wounds in her heart ran deep. When she glanced at her grandmother, the older woman noticed that the magical radiance in Nikita's eyes seemed extinguished.
Her grandmother tapped her staff as she stepped forward, saying,
"Your Majesty, are you satisfied? You have taken all you could."
King Kairen looked at her grandmother with a mysterious smile. His flawless face was calm as he said,
"She is no longer just your granddaughter. She is now the most treasured captive of my palace. Isn't the locket fitting her?"
Her grandmother noticed that the locket around Nikita's neck was slowly glowing blue. She realized that it was not merely a piece of jewelry—it was likely a magical chain meant to bind Nikita.