Ace blinked.
Once.
Twice.
And thrice.
Then his shoulders slumped as he exhaled a slow breath.
"…You really rehearsed that whole 'It was , Sa Rah' bit, didn't you?"
Sarah's smug grin twitched, ever so slightly. "What?"
"I an," he gestured lazily, "the dramatic pause, the lean-in, the villain monologue with that smug little smirk, everything is textbook stuff. You've clearly been dying to say that line for months."
Her eyes narrowed. "Mock all you want. It doesn't change the truth and your situation."
"Oh, I truly believe you," Ace said with a solemn nod. "Clearly, you have planned everything well. Like let's say, how you definitely ant to blow up and leave half dead in a ditch. Or how you absolutely foresaw awakening a system and surviving multiple assassination attempts with zero cultivation."
She opened her mouth, but Ace wasn't finished yet.
"No, no—don't get wrong. Ten out of ten for effort. But here's the thing…"
He straightened up, cracking his neck with a wince. "You're trying too hard. If you were really in control, you would have killed already. No need for all this monologues. Nor the theatrics. No 'Ace, it was all along.' But you didn't. Or correction, you won't. Because you're not really in control, are you?. You just want to believe you are."
Her gaze flared with cold fury, but Ace pressed on.
"You're scared, afraid that if you kill now, you might not even get to hold the Qiong Qi in your arms. You're afraid of, what if the divine garden disappeared along with him?", he said, voice soft, almost pitying.
"Tell why you need the Qiong Qi, and I'll help you. If you can guarantee my life, we might have a deal."
Sarah's smile vanished. She leaned in, whispering with venomous amusent.
"Ningen… I can read your thoughts."
She tilted her head. "You are not getting out of here alive."
And with that, she struck.
Ace was hurled like a ragdoll, his body crashing into the far wall with a sickening thud.
The space around them shimred, then snapped, revealing its true form.
They were trapped in a box. A confined dinsion. A trap.
Groaning, Ace pushed himself up and then he froze.
The bodies.
All around him lay corpses. Dozens of them even. Their limbs thodically arranged in grotesque patterns.
Their faces were frozen in horror.
No. No, no no no…
His breath caught. He recognized them, who won't? They all wore each of the signature dress.
Red, blue and green.
Azu Clan. Boa Clan. Xiao Family.
Sarah's voice echoed, calm and sharp like broken glass. "Oh, don't look so surprised. They're sacrifices. Needed sothing fresh to bind your precious system, do we not? Or should I say… the Divine Garden?"
Her laugh was cold, sharp, unfeeling.
Ace turned to her, horror twisting in his gut.
"The Hua family's children, they could have been one of them too. Are you not their ancestors?"
Sarah snorted. "Please. Don't go around flexing that laughable IQ of yours. Ofcourse I know, that's why I made sure your entrance into the Abyss was in exchange for every Hua family seat. Clean trade, wouldn't you say?"
She took a step closer, eyes gleaming with cruel delight.
"One might assu the twin elders are in on this right?But they can't be any more oblivious. They are just driven by loyalty, by so naïve hope that helping you, you will return the favor. Oh boy, they didn't know their ancestor have planned sothing else ha ha."
She waved a dismissive hand. "I did miscalculate one thing, though. I didn't expect the Xiao Matriarch to wise up. She refused to send in her best, just tossed in so trash to maintain appearances."
She leaned in again, grinning wider. "But don't worry. The future of your noble houses is still intact... for now."
Ace opened his mouth, but Sarah cut in before he could speak.
"Oh wait," she said, mock-pouting, "you don't even have a family anymore, do you?"
She laughed, pure and venomous. "They banished you. Cast you out like the worthless gamble you were."
Ace stood in silence, his heart thudding painfully against his ribs.
His mind raced. His body ached.
I thought I could bluff…
But what the hell was this?
A sealed space. A monster disguised as a woman. Corpses everywhere.
How the fuck am I supposed to escape this?
His fists clenched.
Gods, at least give an opponent I can beat…
His breath caught in his throat as the laughter echoed around him, sharp and mockin
Sarah stepped forward, the hem of her robes brushing against the bloodstained floor, unfazed by the mutilated corpses surrounding them.
Her eyes burned, not with madness, but with purpose — cold and calculating.
"You were always slippery, Ace," she said, voice low. "Too clever and slippery. That was your mistake."
Ace staggered to his feet, blood trickling from his mouth. "You think this... this makes you victorious? You sacrificed children for a seal —"
She cut him off with a flick of her wrist. A crushing force clamped around his throat and lifted him into the air like a puppet.
"Spare your morality play," she hissed.
"These weren't children to . They were leverage. Bargaining chips. at with nas. You think power cos without a price?"
Ace's body convulsed, fingers clawing at the invisible grip on his neck.
"They were alive!" he rasped. "They— they had futures—!"
"And you didn't care until now." Her gaze narrowed. "So don't pretend you're the hero in this story, Ningen."
She dropped him.
Ace hit the ground hard, coughing, wheezing.
He barely had ti to react before her hand was already outstretched again, now glowing — not with spiritual energy, but with sothing darker.
Black threads of corrupted qi spiraled around her palm like hungry serpents.
"This isn't just about you," she said. "The Qiong Qi... the Divine Garden... they're keys to my ascension. And unlucky yo... You were a placeholder. An accident. Those were ant to be mine, for my goal to reach the divine step."
She placed her hand over his chest, right where his heart beat.
Ace's eyes widened.
"No—"
"I don't need you alive anymore," she whispered.
A crack like thunder echoed through the room as her palm sank into him.
Ace's body jerked violently. Pain tore through his core as the system flared, desperately trying to shield itself, but the corruption had already taken root.
His vision fractured, veins turning black under his skin as the seal ignited.
A whisper — the system's voice — weak, fading.
[Core damage critical...]
"Shhh," Sarah cooed mockingly. "Don't fight it. Let go, Ningen."
Blood spilled from his lips. His fingers twitched, reaching out, grasping nothing.
He looked up — not at Sarah, but at the ceiling of this cursed place, as if searching for a star, a thread of hope.
But when he needed it, there was none.
"Is this how I die?"
A final, shuddering breath escaped him.
Then silence followed.
Sarah stood over his corpse, brushing a lock of hair from her face.
"Hm," she muttered. "He lasted longer than expected."
She then turned away without another glance.
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