Cough!
Edna struggled to breathe, managing to speak through the suffocation. "You... have to destroy... your own soul to kill me... if you do, you won’t be reincarnated."
"My soul will ensure to trap you forever and obliterate you with me," Arlan responded through gritted teeth. "My soul will stand guard for eternity, eradicating every trace of your existence, even if it takes an eternity to do so."
Edna emitted a choked chuckle. "So... in the end, you are dying with me... you will be with me... you have always been mine and will be mine even after the end of this life."
Arlan closed his eyes, prepared to annihilate both of their souls...
’Oriana...’
His thoughts were consumed by Oriana. She was the last thing he wanted to hold in his consciousness before fading into nothingness.
"Stop... Don’t do it..."
A familiar voice echoed in Arlan’s ears, prompting him to open his eyes. He watched Oriana at a distance, appearing weak and standing outside that energy globe, attempting to enter. Her teary eyes pleaded with him.
"Don’t... Arlan... stop... Please..." Her voice choked, as if something were constricting her neck.
His heart wavered at the sight of her, making him want to go to her and hold her for the last time and feel her presence, but he resisted.
This was the final opportunity to end the witch’s life, and he wouldn’t let it slip away. Rather than releasing Edna and going to Oriana, Arlan tightened his grip around witch’s neck even further, his powers enveloping both of their bodies, poised for their destruction. But...
"Ughh..." Oriana suddenly struggled to breathe even more and she knelt on the ground. It was as if an invisible force were strangling her. Her hands moved to her throat in a desperate attempt to free herself.
The revelation shocked Arlan, causing him to loosen his grip around Edna’s neck. She seized the moment to declare, "If you kill me, my prince, your mate will die with me."
Arlan stared at Edna in disbelief, only to witness a mocking smirk on her face. "I have her blood, my Prince. I’ve cast a blood curse on her, knowing you might try to betray me."
He looked at Oriana, struggling and realizing that Edna’s claim was true. In an instant, Arlan released Edna, and Oriana ceased her struggle as well.
"Let her go," Arlan’s voice lacked any trace of emotion. He could not bear to see Oriana in pain.
"When I know how important she is to you, how can I make that mistake?" Edna chuckled, relishing Oriana’s pain. "I want to be your mate, and she is the one you have chosen. Won’t it be better to have both of our wishes come true? I will take that body, so in the end, you would at least have your mate’s body. Stop being stubborn."
An empty shell without the soul of the woman he loved was of no use. It would become a mere vessel for an evil parasite. Arlan needed to act carefully and find a way to free Oriana. He had to remain calm.
"To tell you the truth, my Prince, I need her more than I need you," Edna stated, locking eyes with Arlan, who was filled with anger. "Do you know what is the most important step before transferring my soul into her body?"
Arlan regarded the witch, harboring uneasy feelings about her revelation.
Edna continued, turning to gaze at Oriana still writhing in pain. "The most important step is to break the host’s body mentally, to make them suffer the greatest pain of their life and to make them feel they have lost everything and so does making them feel like not living anymore." She shifted her gaze from Oriana to Arlan. "And do you know what exactly is going to break her, my Prince?"
Arlan merely looked at Oriana, his eyes filled with concern, then heard Edna say, "Losing you will break her entirely." Edna chuckled, "While trying to protect you, that foolish girl ended up showing me the easier way to break her, and that way is you, my Prince. As I said before that I need her more than I need you, I won’t hesitate to sacrifice you to break her entirely."
So one of them was going to die, either Oriana or Arlan and this wicked witch was going to live once more after toying with their lives.
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