Chapter 96: Cleansing.
The night had grown unusually quiet.
Dark clouds drifted lazily across the moon, swallowing its silver light little by little until the entire mansion seemed wrapped in an unsettling darkness.
Neither Xandros nor Kiel spoke as they walked through the western corridor.
Their footsteps echoed against the marble floor before gradually fading as they descended a narrow stone staircase hidden behind an old bookshelf inside the library.
The moment the secret passage closed behind them... The warmth of the mansion disappeared, cold air rushed through the tunnel like an invisible tide.
Moisture clung to the ancient stone walls, and the deeper they descended, the stronger the smell of damp earth, rusted iron, and old blood became.
The staircase seemed endless.
The only source of light came from the blue flames burning inside iron sconces mounted along the walls.
Unlike ordinary fire, these flames produced no warmth.
Instead...
They made the underground prison feel even colder.
Water continuously dripped from somewhere within the darkness.
Drip...
Drip...
Drip...
The sound echoed endlessly through the tunnels.
After several minutes, the staircase finally ended.
Before them stretched a long corridor lined with heavy iron doors.
Every door bore ancient runes carved into the metal, glowing faintly beneath the blue flames.
Some cells were empty.
Others...Were not.
Low growls, Mad laughter, Whispers, Prayers.
The voices of forgotten prisoners echoed throughout the underground prison.
Yet Xandros never once looked toward them.
Neither did Kiel.
It was as though none of them existed.
Eventually, they stopped before the final cell at the very end of the corridor.
Unlike the others, this prison was surrounded by several glowing magic circles layered on top of one another.
Heavy chains wrapped around the thick iron bars.
Countless talismans had been nailed onto the walls surrounding it.
Even the air around the cell felt different.
Dangerous... Kiel stepped forward first.
With a wave of his hand, one of the magical seals faded away.
Only one.
The others remained intact.
"She won’t be escaping anytime soon," he said calmly.
Xandros simply nodded.
The heavy iron door groaned loudly as it slowly opened.
Inside...
A young woman sat against the stone wall.
Her wrists and ankles were tightly restrained by thick enchanted chains that extended into the walls themselves.
At first glance...
She looked exactly like Lily.
The same delicate face, brown hair and petite figure.
Yet...
The moment she slowly lifted her head...
It became obvious.
Those eyes.
Instead of Lily’s gentle gaze...
Golden-yellow eyes stared back at them.
Sharp and Arrogant but still filled with amusement.
A slow smirk spread across her lips.
"Well..."
She lazily stretched her neck.
"I see you’re still alive." She said as her smile widened. "And breathing quite well." Tilting her head she continued,"You really do enjoy life, don’t you, Xandros?"
Xandros remained completely expressionless.
"I could say the same."
His grey eyes calmly swept over the restraints binding her.
"You seem awfully comfortable for someone who failed."
The smile on Lily’s face never disappeared.
"Oh?"
"I failed?"
She chuckled.
"I’d hardly call surviving a failure." She tried to brush him off.
"You were trying to possess Lily’s body." Xandros stated flatly.
"And yet..." He glanced meaningfully at the glowing chains.
"Here you are."
Silence followed.
Then...
The woman laughed.
A rich, confident laugh echoed throughout the underground prison.
"So you’ve already figured it out."
She leaned her head lazily against the wall.
"I suppose introducing myself would only be polite."
She smiled.
"My name..."
"...Christophine."
"I doubt you’ve forgotten it." The name lingered inside the prison.
Even Kiel’s expression shifted ever so slightly.
Christophine.
A woman whose soul had refused to disappear even after death.
Her golden eyes slowly drifted toward Kiel.
She frowned dramatically and then burst into another amused laugh.
"My goodness..." She clicked her tongue.
"Kiel... What exactly are you trying to accomplish?"
She slowly looked him up and down.
"Why are you dressed in white?"Her lips curled mischievously.
"Were you hoping to build some saintly image?"
"Or are you pretending to be holy now?"
Kiel glanced down at his white robes before looking back at her.
"I simply enjoy the color."
"How boring."Christophine sighed dramatically. "I expected a better answer."
Xandros folded his arms.
"You’re awfully smug for someone sitting in chains."
She turned back toward him.
The corner of her lips lifted once again.
"And you’re awfully calm for someone whose life keeps attracting disasters."
A dangerous silence settled between them.
Then...
She laughed. Not because she found him funny.
Because she enjoyed provoking him.
Xandros, however, refused to react.
Instead, he calmly walked toward the wooden chair positioned inside the cell.
He pulled it forward.
Sat down, Crossed one leg over the other and only then did he finally speak.
"It isn’t time yet." Christophine raised an eyebrow.
"I still need Lily."
"For my wife."
That single sentence caused something to flicker across Christophine’s face.
Recognition.
Then...
Realization.
"Oh..."
A slow smile spread across her lips.
"It seems..."
"You two found each other again." The amusement in her voice became unmistakable.
"So fate truly is persistent." Xandros’ gaze remained unwavering.
"My wife’s name is Rosaline."
He corrected.
"Not the name you’re thinking of." Christophine stared at him.
Then suddenly laughed..Louder than before.
"In no fucking way." Her laughter abruptly stopped.
"She..."
"...Will never be Rosaline." The certainty in her voice echoed through the prison.
Xandros remained seated.
Completely unfazed.
"It doesn’t matter."
He answered calmly.
"If Lily’s body becomes unusable..." His voice remained frighteningly steady.
"...Rosaline will simply take it."
Silence.
For the first time since they entered the prison...Christophine’s smile disappeared.
Her golden eyes narrowed sharply and every trace of amusement vanished from her face.
The chains around her wrists rattled violently as she unconsciously struggled against them.
"...What did you just say?"
Xandros leaned back slightly in his chair.
His expression remained unreadable.
"You heard me."
"No..."
Christophine’s voice dropped into something colder.
Much colder.
"You wouldn’t."
"I would." He assured in a low voice.
"You’d never allow her soul to leave her own body." She tried to make her point.
"I said..."
Xandros slowly met her gaze.
"...If it becomes necessary."
That answer struck something deep within Christophine. Something she had been carefully hiding.
For the first time...She looked genuinely unsettled.
The smug smile was gone and the playful mockery had disappeared.
Only anger remained.
A dangerous anger.
"You bastard."
she whispered through clenched teeth.
The chains binding her wrists suddenly tightened as powerful spiritual energy erupted from her body.
The runes surrounding the prison walls immediately flared to life, suppressing the surge before it could spread any farther.
Kiel watched silently from the doorway.
His expression remained calm.
But inwardly... He finally understood.
Xandros hadn’t come here merely to question her.
He had deliberately chosen the one subject capable of breaking Christophine’s composure.
And judging from the fury now burning in her golden eyes...
He had succeeded.
Silence lingered inside the prison.
Christophine’s golden eyes remained fixed on Xandros, searching his face for even the slightest hint that he had been bluffing.
She found none.
Xandros had never been the kind of man to make empty threats.
A slow smile gradually returned to her lips.
"So..." she drawled, tilting her head ever so slightly. "You’re saying she’s going to become your mate?"
Xandros’ expression remained impassive.
"She already is."
"No."
His voice was calm, yet carried the certainty of an undeniable fact.
"Rosaline is my mate."
The confidence in his tone made Christophine’s smile twitch.
She slowly rose to her feet, the enchanted chains around her wrists and ankles clinking loudly against one another.
The metallic sound echoed through the underground prison.
She walked as far as the restraints allowed before placing one hand against the chain binding her wrist.
Instead of looking at Xandros...
Her gaze settled on Kiel.
She stared at him for several long seconds.
Then...
"Fine."
She shrugged lazily.
"If that’s what you want to believe."
Her eyes slowly drifted back to Xandros.
"But tell me something..."
A dangerous smile curved across her lips.
"What happens if I kill Rosaline?"
The air instantly became heavy.
For the first time since entering the prison...
Xandros’ grey eyes sharpened.
Before anyone could react... Christophine suddenly stiffened.
Her body jerked violently.
A strange current surged through her veins.
"...!"
Her pupils contracted. She grabbed the chains around her wrists as another sharp jolt coursed through her body.
Her breathing became uneven.
"What..."
She frowned deeply.
"What did you do to me?" She glared at Xandros.
"What exactly did you do?"
Xandros calmly watched her struggle.
"I merely cleansed you."
"That’s all."
"Cleansed?" She spat the word as though it disgusted her.
Her golden eyes narrowed dangerously.
"You call this cleansing?"
She could feel something foreign spreading through her body.
It wasn’t painful.
Not exactly.
But it was stripping away the dark spiritual residue she had accumulated over centuries.
Like clear water washing over old stains.
She hated it.
Absolutely hated it.
The sensation alone made her skin crawl.
Kiel finally stepped forward.
With a small movement of his fingers, the enchanted chains surrounding Christophine loosened slightly.
Not enough for her to escape.
Only enough for her to move comfortably.
The iron restraints slid across the floor with loud metallic scrapes.
Christophine immediately rolled her shoulders and flexed her wrists.
"...Much better."
She rotated her neck before shooting both men an irritated look.
"I swear..."
She muttered under her breath.
"I hate whatever the two of you are."
Her voice carried genuine annoyance.
Xandros ignored the complaint.
"You’ll remain under observation."
Christophine rolled her eyes dramatically.
"I assumed as much."
Then she glanced around the filthy stone prison.
Her nose wrinkled in visible disgust.
"I need a bath."
She brushed invisible dust from her sleeves.
"And a room."
She paused before adding with deliberate emphasis,
"A proper room."
The last two words dripped with dissatisfaction.
She had seen the room where Lily was after she occupied her body earlier that afternoon.
Which meant she also knew exactly where Lily had been staying and how it looked, before Kiel had kidnapped her to this filthy place.
Compared to this underground prison...
The maid’s room looked like a step forward.
Xandros stood.
"You’ll get one."
Christophine looked genuinely surprised.
"...Really?"
"As long as you cooperate."
She studied him carefully before smiling.
"Well..."
"I suppose I can tolerate your company for a little while."
Kiel simply sighed.
"I wouldn’t get used to the hospitality."
Christophine clicked her tongue.
"Spoilsport."
The three of them walked through the underground corridor in silence.
The blue flames flickered against the damp stone walls as their footsteps echoed through the prison.
Christophine lazily observed the cells they passed, occasionally glancing at the prisoners hidden behind the iron bars.
Most remained silent, Some simply watched.
Others lowered their heads the moment Xandros walked by.
She clicked her tongue... She had expected nothing less from him after all.
Then...
"Xandros."
A deep, aged voice suddenly echoed from one of the cells.
Xandros didn’t stop.
Not even for a second.
He continued walking as though he hadn’t heard it.
Christophine, however, turned her head toward the voice, curiosity flickering in her golden eyes.
Behind the thick iron bars sat a lone prisoner, his figure barely visible beneath the dim blue light.
A man the entire Dagon Empire believed had died not long ago.
The late Emperor of Dagon...
Was alive.
And imprisoned beneath Xandros’ mansion.