Chapter 1: God’s Will (4)

Life is but a series of fleeting moments. Joy and ecstasy are ephemeral, fading away as quickly as they come. At the end of life, only pain and loneliness linger long.

To witness the witch’s final moments, the citizens gathered in the central square from early in the morning. Each covered their mouths with their hands, murmuring words towards me. Whether it was a comforting pity or disdainful reproach, I couldn’t tell.

“The punishment of the sinner shall be carried out.”

Kneeling before the gallows, I gazed up at the towering structure.

“’The sinner’s body shall hang in the interrogation tower of the palace until it is consumed by fire and scattered by the wind.'”

The autumn breeze gently brushed through my hair, as if lamenting the pitiful end.

“Furthermore, the soul of the sinner shall be swallowed by the flames, becoming a wandering specter for eternity, unable to reincarnate.”

It was said that not only would the condemned sinner’s body be consumed by fire, but their soul would also be condemned to eternal wandering, unable to find peace. This was the punishment decreed for the Empress, a witch who sought to harm the empire and insult its citizens.

“Alicia Sossilion! Have you any final words?”

My lips trembled, parched from hours without water, and my voice failed me.

“If… if I am truly a witch as you claim, then I shall become a cursed spirit, wandering the realms for eternity, cursing the downfall of the empire.”

Struggling to speak with my cracked throat, I continued.

“Furthermore, should anyone dare to insult my lineage and my father, they shall be blinded, and their limbs shall rot, suffering slowly until death!”

In an instant, the square erupted into chaos at the chilling proclamation.

‘Witch.’

‘She was indeed a witch.’

I stared back at their mocking lips without blinking. Almost as if I had witnessed something incredibly amusing, I returned their gazes with a smile that felt like it could tear apart.

‘Witch…’ 

To become the Empress of the empire, only to meet one’s end as a witch. How absurd and ludicrous it all seemed!

‘Cut out the witch’s tongue!’

Did someone say it first, or did the crowd collectively decide? Even at the command to cut out my tongue, I continued to smile at the crowd, never losing the ‘smile of the saint’ they once adored.

“Yes! Cut out the witch’s tongue!”

“Cut the tongue of the witch who curses the empire!”

The roaring cheers abruptly turned into a chilling silence as the once-raised hands fell limply.

[‘Merciful Saint! Please hold the hand of our child just once!’]

[‘Beautiful Saint, you are the reincarnation of a goddess!’]

[‘Just brushing against the hem of the Saint’s garment cured our soldier’s ailment!’]

As I lowered my eyelids heavily, I caught glimpses of the desperate citizens calling out for the saint.

 “Cut out the sinner’s tongue!”

However, what pierced through my ears was the deafening roar of jubilation.

Forced open, my mouth was invaded by sharp shears. Like slaughtering freshly hunted prey, warm, moist flesh tumbled out of my mouth.

“Aaah, aaahhhh!”

My limbs contorted in agony, and my severed tongue writhed below. Thick streams of blood flowed incessantly from my mouth.

“Burn the witch!”

“If we don’t burn her to death, she will reincarnate and cause chaos in the empire again!”

“Burn her, burn her!”

As if my death were an entertaining spectacle, they cheered fervently.

“Kuh…!”

Drenched in agony so intense that even screams couldn’t escape, my mind drifted further away. The executioners began to move busily. Their aim was to hang my body upside down on the scaffold before the witch’s breath was cut off.

Streaks of blood-stained golden threads poured down to the ground. Through sparkling blue eyes, flashes of my short life passed like a shooting star.

And soon, flames engulfed the scaffold. The heat, barely scorching the tips of my hair moments ago, now consumed the entire scaffold, swallowing my entire body.

In the flickering red flames of death, I desperately sought him.

[Victor…] 

Yes, Victor. The flames closely resemble your fiery red hair.

[Alicia… My beautiful goddess.]

Even if everyone else condemns me as a fraud, you swore to believe in me.

My gaze, filled with tenderness, turned to anger in an instant. Soon after, thick black smoke rose, announcing a miserable end.

The charred scaffold no longer held the radiant golden locks or the dazzling blue eyes. All that remained was resentment, unspoken and swallowed.

Oh, if you truly exist, my God.

If given another chance,

then, I will surely…

I will surely…

With my own hands…

With.. my own hands…

I will lead the one I passionately loved..

to destruction.