"Stay with me, Jin."

  The words lingered between us, soft yet absolute, spoken as if she had already decided for me.

  But I didn’t hesitate.

  "No."

  The throne room fell silent.

  Reika’s violet gaze darkened slightly, her fingers pausing mid-motion against the golden embroidery of her kimono. For the first time in our conversation, there was something new in her expression—not just amusement, not just detached superiority.

  A flicker of displeasure.

  "No?" she repeated, tilting her head slightly. Not angry. Not yet. But intrigued, perhaps even challenged.

  I swallowed hard but forced myself to hold her gaze.

  "I can’t stay here, Reika. Not after everything I’ve seen. Not after—" I gestured vaguely at the vast pace of bck stone and gold, at the tiny human servants who moved wordlessly beneath her, at the city she had left in ruins just hours ago.

  "You murdered them," I said, my voice sharper than I had intended.

  Something in her expression shifted.

  Not quite anger. Not yet.

  But her posture straightened slightly, the air around us suddenly thicker, heavier.

  "I ended them," she corrected, her voice measured. "They were in my way."

  "They were people, Reika!"

  "So?"

  Her tone didn’t rise, but the sheer weight of that single word sent a cold shiver through my body.

  She leaned forward slightly, her massive form casting a long shadow over me, her gaze sharp, unblinking.

  "Jin."

  The way she said my name—it was warning and indulgence, affection and disappointment all wrapped into one.

  "You need to get used to this world."

  She reclined back again, exhaling slowly, as if calming herself.

  "This world is not like the one we came from," she said. "You still think in human terms—fairness, mercy, morality. Those things don’t matter here. The only thing matters here is power."

  She lifted a single delicate hand, and for a brief second, bck tendrils of energy flickered to life, coiling zily around her fingers before dissolving again.

  "There are beings here who could burn entire cities to the ground. Demon lords who rule kingdoms of fire and war. Creatures that existed before time itself. Some of them are even powerful enough to challenge the gods."

  She smirked slightly.

  "But I am stronger than all of them."

  She said it so simply, like it wasn’t even a boast—just fact.

  "And the human world?" I asked warily.

  "The human realm is vast," she admitted. "There are empires, kingdoms, warring factions all fighting for power. Some are foolish enough to challenge the Demon Realm."

  Her gaze flickered with something coldly amused.

  "None of them ever win."

  She let that statement settle before continuing.

  "I’ve seen all of it. I’ve ruled over it. I’ve crushed those who thought they could stand against me. And yet…"

  She smiled then, slow and dangerous.

  "I still got bored."

  "That’s why you went back?" I asked.

  "I had no reason not to," she replied smoothly. "The human world is fragile, Jin. But you… you were different."

  Her fingers tapped against the armrest, her long nails clicking softly against the bck marble.

  "That’s why I’m asking again."

  Her eyes locked onto mine, unwavering, commanding.

  "Stay here, with me."

  It wasn’t a request.

  It was a statement of inevitability.

  But I shook my head.

  "I can’t."

  Her amusement faded slightly, repced by something quieter. Darker.

  "Why?"

  "Because I don’t belong here, Reika," I said, my voice steadier than I felt. "Because this world… the way you rule it… I can’t be part of it. Even if I can not go back to the world we came from, I still wouldn't approve what you are doing now."

  A long silence stretched between us.

  She studied me for a moment, her amethyst eyes searching my face as if waiting for me to change my mind.

  Then, after what felt like an eternity, she sighed.

  "You’re stubborn," she murmured.

  "You knew that already," I muttered.

  She chuckled softly, shaking her head. "I did. But I thought, perhaps, after seeing this world, you’d understand."

  "I do understand," I admitted. "And that’s why I can’t stay."

  For a moment, I wondered if she would simply keep me here anyway.

  If she would trap me in this throne room, force me to accept my pce at her side whether I wanted to or not.

  But then—she sighed again, slower this time, almost reluctant.

  "Fine."

  I blinked. "Fine?"

  "Fine," she repeated, stretching slightly, her long limbs moving with sensual ease, the golden embroidery of her kimono catching the dim violet light.

  Then—she raised her hand, and for the first time, I saw her magic take true shape.

  A small bck gem formed between her fingers, swirling with shadows and gold light, pulsing faintly as if alive.

  She lowered her hand, offering it to me.

  I hesitated before taking it.

  The moment my fingers brushed against it, a cold pulse ran through my body, the stone almost vibrating against my skin.

  "If you ever find yourself in danger," she said, watching me carefully, "crush it."

  I swallowed.

  "And you’ll come?"

  Her lips curled slightly, a slow, unreadable smile.

  "Just once."

  Her gaze softened—just for a moment.

  "For old times’ sake."

  I didn’t know what to say.

  So I just nodded, tightening my grip around the gem.

  For a moment, we simply stared at each other—the st remnants of our old world cshing against the reality of what she had become.