Chapter 38: I Would Never Betray You… Unless I Already Have

Chapter 38: Chapter 38: I Would Never Betray You... Unless I Already Have "What did you just say?" Seris’s voice was sharp, low, like the wind before a thunderclap. Liora didn’t blink. "I said it’s you in Chapter Fifty." Kai stood between them, his fingers twitching at his sword hilt, unsure whether to draw or run. Seris stepped forward, fire in her eyes. "You’re lying. This is some kind of trick." Liora didn’t move. Her silver hair fluttered like ribbons in a storm. "I wish I were." [System Alert – Affection Bond: Seris Veyron] Status: Unstable Trust Sync: 62% → 47% Warning: Divergence detected Emotional response: Hostile / Defensive / Denial Kai looked at Seris, searching for something — anything — to prove Liora wrong. But doubt moved like a shadow between heartbeats. "Seris..." he said carefully. "She said you’re the one who kills me." Seris laughed. It wasn’t a kind laugh. "That future-slut shows up out of nowhere wearing my name like a badge of shame, and you believe her? I followed you into exile, Kai." He wanted to believe that. But the System didn’t lie. And neither did patterns. Liora stepped forward. "You didn’t kill him because you hated him," she said softly. "You killed him because you thought you were saving him." Seris’s jaw clenched. Kai noticed the way her hand hovered near her waist — where her flame chakrams usually rested. Not drawn. But not resting either. [System Prompt – Loyalty Prediction Test Running...] Analyzing: Seris – Timeline Variants Probability of Future Betrayal: 84% Cause: Emotional Overload + System Manipulation Conclusion: She will kill him out of love. Kai stepped back. "Is it true?" Silence. Then: "If it was... would you still want me here?" Kai said nothing. Because in truth? He didn’t know. Elsewhere... A rooftop cloaked in shadows. Nyx crouched like a panther, her violet eyes glowing faintly. The vial was gone. Swallowed. The deal had been made. [System Update: BLACK LOTUS Protocol Activated] Target: Kai Veyron Modifier: Critical Soul Wound Authorization Reward: Bond Rewrite, Total Recall Immunity Mission Start: 24 hours. Nyx whispered into the cold: "One day left, Kai. Say something worth saving." And then she vanished. Back at Arkveil... Kai sat on a half-fallen column. Seris was pacing. Liora leaned against a wall, her eyes closed, whispering to herself names and regrets. He felt them all pulling in different directions. One had already broken. One would break him soon. And yet he still felt the bond humming beneath it all — the invisible chains of fate and affection that had once seemed like blessings. Now they just felt like knives with names. "Seris," he said finally. She stopped. "If you had to kill me to save me, would you do it?" Her eyes flared with something raw. Anger? Grief? Maybe both. "I’d die before I let someone else have that choice." Wrong answer. [System Response – Trait Updated: "Love As Weapon" Unlocked] Affection Path: Seris – Branching Trait Effect: Seris will now consider mercy-killing as salvation in endgame. Danger Rating: Elevated. Kai nodded slowly. "Then maybe I should start sleeping with my eyes open." Seris blinked. Then she walked away. Liora approached, quieter now. "I wasn’t trying to break you," she said. Kai exhaled. "Then why tell me?" "Because I had to choose between warning you and saving her." "And you chose me?" "I chose the truth." The sun began to rise — pale orange over broken towers. Kai stood, brushing dust off his coat. "We need to regroup. The others won’t wait forever." Liora tilted her head. "What’s the plan?" Kai’s eyes were cold. "I find out who’s already betrayed me... before they get another chance." [System Alert: Chapter 39 Will Begin the "Shadowed Bonds Arc"] Key Trigger: One harem member must choose truth or silence. Risk: One betrayal accelerates. One salvation flickers.