Rivik's voice snapped, sharp, scolding, full of authority he barely still had.
"Cain! You worthless brat! Useless!" he roared, pointing a trembling finger from the coffin. "How dare you stand there! How dare you just stand there as if you belong here! You dare come here, disturb this moment, bring yourself into my daughter's breakthrough—my Ivira's breakthrough! Something that only happens once in a lifetime?"
His voice became even louder as it echoed against the stone walls. It shook the blood slaves into silence. "You have contributed nothing," Rivik continued, chest rising and falling with anger. "Not to this family. Not to our survival. Not even to your own wife! Useless! Useless! Useless! I should have thrown you out the night you married into this family!"
Cain stood still. Silent. His eyes lowered.
But inside, his thoughts were burning.
This decrepit old weakling dares scold me? Me? An Overgod that even far higher planes would bow down before my presence and my name? How bold you are, you little mosquito… Rivik Moonshade. How bold for someone who should have been dust beneath my feet.
Cain's jaw tightened for a moment.
Then he remembered.
The blood pact.
He couldn't touch Rivik nor anyone in the Moonshade family. He couldn't harm him. He couldn't even raise his voice at him. The pact locked around his soul like invisible chains.
"I need to sever this," he muttered under his breath. "I need to sever this connection between us…" His voice was soft and almost broken, and Rivik didn't even bother to listen.
Rivik's anger only escalated.
"Get out!" the wounded patriarch shouted. "I do not want your cursed presence ruining this auspicious day! Ivira has just stepped into the Eighth Stage Blood Infusion Realm! Do you think I will allow the Moonshade Family's hope to be tainted by a failure like you?!"
Maids shifted nervously. Blood slaves lowered their heads. Whispers rose.
"There he goes again…"
"Master Rivik is angry…"
"Poor Cain… but he really is useless…"
Cain heard every single whisper. Every breath. Every insult. Just to know his position in this house.
Suddenly, he felt his slow mind go back—back to the lifetime he already lived once.
He remembered it all.
Every humiliation.
Every cold stare.
Every moment where he stood by the palace gates for hours because they "forgot" he existed.
Every banquet where he sat behind a pillar because the family didn't want him seen.
Every time the sisters walked past him as if he was made of smoke.
Every moment Ivira—his wife—looked through him instead of at him.
Every night he waited for a word from her, a glance, anything… only to realize they never considered him part of them at all.
He remembered giving up his own blood mana core for more chances so Ivira could attempt a breakthrough, only for her to fail and treat him like dirt afterward.
He remembered taking a hit from a Blood Viscount invasion to protect her, only for Rivik to call him a fool for getting in the way.
He remembered kneeling on that cold marble floor for hours, begging Rivik to cure Ivira. She never even looked at him. Never said thanks.
He remembered the servants laughing. The family looking right through him. Treating him like a servant. His own home.
And he remembered being tortured for something he didn't do. Forced to take the blame.
A cold burning fire flared up in his chest.
He lifted his head. His eyes… They weren't the same anymore. There was something dark hiding in them now.
He looked at Ivira.
She was breathtaking.
White hair that shimmered under mana light.
Crimson eyes still glowing from her breakthrough.
Delicate vampire features shaped with noble grace.
She looked like a figure carved from moonlight.
For a moment, he almost softened.
But then he scolded himself sharply.
This is the blood pact. This is not love. This is not devotion. I remember now. I was a dog. I acted like a dog. So of course they treated me like one. I should have left them long ago.
He pulled himself from those thoughts.
An idea flashed through his mind.
The blood pact is still weak in this timeline. I can break it. I know the ritual. But it requires something important…
She must despise me.
The more she looks down on me, the easier it will be to sever the pact.
So… act like a fool. Act like a simp. Act like the naive husband I once was. I remember they hated that. Now, let them hate me more.
Cain, the once Overgod, slowly raised his head.
His expression softened artificially, and abnormally, his voice trembled like a devoted fool.
"M-Master Rivik…" he stammered. "I… I only came because I sensed something was wrong with Ivira. She seemed depressed earlier. I became worried. I… I know I'm useless in everyone's eyes. I know I'm nothing. But she's my wife… and that's the only role I have. So I came. I thought maybe… I could help… even if only a little with my presence."
Rivik scoffed loudly.
Maids rolled their eyes.
Blood slaves exchanged pitying looks.
Inside Cain's mind, however, a very different voice cackled.
Yes. Hate me. Despise me. Treat me like nothing. Perfect. Absolutely perfect. Once I sever this pact I will be free.
Imaginations unfurled inside his head.
Wild, insane, Overgod thoughts.
After this, I will impregnate a thousand royal vampires—strong ones, beautiful ones, all of them begging for my Overgod blood. I will create an empire of my own. I will crush anyone who annoyed me in my last life. I will flatten rival clans, play with kingdoms, and laugh while doing it. No chains. No humiliation. No Moonshade shackles. Freedom. Pure freedom! And as for this Moonshade Family, I'll turn them into a pill. Especially this weak old mosquito.
He nearly burst out laughing but held it inside.
His inner laughter twisted like a demon's cry.
Meanwhile, Ivira was perspiring because she heard every word.
Her heart shook violently.
Her pupils contracted.
Cold sweat ran down her spine.
He… he wants to impregnate thousands? He wants to crush clans? He wants… what? He's insane! He's a monster! Is he really… is he seriously… an Overgod who came back in time?! If he breaks free… if he escapes the pact… he will destroy our Moonshade Family too?
Rivik noticed none of that.
He was too busy mocking Cain.
"Your care?" he said with a cruel laugh. "You brat, you are nothing but an ornament in this palace. You stand here only because my daughters wished to avoid political marriages. They chose you because you are harmless and have no background. You were selected because you are easy to control. Even your concern means nothing. So spare me your pitiful devotion!"
Cain lowered his head again, keeping his expression soft and defeated.
Inside his skull, he was smiling like a devil.
His gaze slid toward Ivira.
Meanwhile, she stood there frozen. Looking confused and fearful.
Rivik waved his hand.
"Blood slaves," he ordered harshly. "Throw him out. Kick him if you must. Today is a great day for the Moonshade Family. I will not tolerate this useless man ruining it. Remove him at once."
Blood slaves stepped forward.
Ivira's eyes widened. Her lips parted.
Right as they reached Cain, they heard Ivira's call
"Wait."