Behind Elly's display of dominance and power, a sudden flicker of vulnerability emerged. She had intended to use the kiss to prove she was no longer his puppet, but Vladislav was no ordinary Incubus; he was the ancient sovereign of this cursed realm.
As Elly tried to pull away, she realized she was caught in a terrifying trap. She released his tie and pushed against his chest, trying to put distance between them, but she couldn't move an inch.
Vladislav's hands were now locked around her waist like iron shackles. His demonic smirk widened as he leaned in, whispering against her ear, "I didn't start this game, Elly... you did. And now, I will be the one to finish it."
Elly began to struggle, trying to blast him back with her magical energy, but Vladislav had already begun to drain her essence. A strange, paralyzing numbness crept through her limbs. The very power she had used to challenge him was now being turned against her.
The mystical purple light of the room slowly bled into a sinister crimson. The brilliant red glow in Elly's eyes began to fade as Vladislav grew more vibrant and powerful. She realized, too late, that she had stepped into a deadly trap of her own making.Just as Elly was making her final attempt to break free, the tide turned once more. Instead of releasing her, Vladislav pulled her even closer. His lips moved from her mouth down to the sensitive curve of her neck.
He began to kiss her throat deeply, with a primal intensity that brooked no resistance. A sharp, electric shiver raced through Elly's entire body. Her magical defenses shattered in an instant. The hatred and rage she had used to push him away were suddenly replaced by a dark, intoxicating trance.
Elly could no longer hold herself back. Her hands, which had been pushing against his chest moments ago, instinctively moved to embrace him tightly. She dug her nails into Vladislav's back, as if she, too, wanted to drown in this forbidden whirlpool of emotion.
The purple light in the room began to flicker violently. Elly's breathing grew heavy and jagged. There was a hypnotic magic in Vladislav's deep kisses that awakened the darkest parts of her Succubus nature. She knew she was making a mistake, that she was losing her grip on the memory of Adrian, but the pull of this ancient, dark power was becoming impossible to resist.As Elly began to lose herself in the intoxicating depth of Vladislav's kiss, another door to her past swung wide open. The dark chamber and Vladislav's touch dissolved like dust in the wind.
The Flashback: The Innocent Age of 17
In the vision, Elly is only 17 years old. She is a radiant teenager, her face glowing with a purity that has not yet been touched by sin or the shadow of a curse.
It is a golden afternoon. Elly and Adrian are walking side-by-side through a quiet, tree-lined street. They are accompanied by Adrian's father, a stern but kind man who is chatting warmly with Elly. Adrian, slightly taller now, is wearing his familiar spectacles and carrying a heavy book.
"Elly, what do you want to be when you grow up?" Adrian's father asks with a gentle smile.
Elly laughs brightly, "I just want to walk like this with you both forever, Uncle."
At that moment, they encounter a mysterious stranger at a street corner. The man is wearing a long black coat, and his eyes are unnaturally cold. He stops and fixes a piercing gaze on Elly.
The 17-year-old Elly didn't understand anything back then. To her, he was just a strange passerby. But Adrian's father suddenly froze. His face went pale, as if he had sensed an omen of death.
The stranger leaned in close to Elly and whispered, "The jewel hidden inside you, little girl... one day, you will pay for it with your own blood."
Adrian immediately stepped in front of Elly, shielding her. "Who are you? Don't you dare speak to her like that!"
The man gave a haunting smile and vanished into the crowdThe golden afternoon in Elly's memory took a sudden, bizarre turn. The 17-year-old Elly stared at the mysterious stranger in confusion. Though Adrian's father—Elly's uncle—had been terrified a moment ago, a hypnotic light in the stranger's eyes seemed to dull his senses.
The stranger leaned in close to Elly, bowing as if before a queen. His voice was as smooth as silk, yet bone-chillingly cold.
"Princess," he whispered, "I am no mere traveler. I am a devoted admirer of your purity. I wish to be your slave. I want to be the one to brush and style your hair every day, to obey your every whim. In exchange, I only ask to live in your shadow."
Young Adrian was fuming. "Father! Why aren't you saying anything? He's talking nonsense!"
But Adrian's father's eyes were clouded, as if under a powerful hypnotic spell. He looked at Elly and spoke in a strange, mechanical tone. "Elly, I see no harm in him. He only wishes to serve you. A princess needs a proper servant, does she not?"
To everyone's shock, her uncle agreed to the stranger's proposal. The 17-year-old Elly didn't understand the gravity of what was happening. She simply watched as the man knelt before her and began to adjust her hair with terrifyingly meticulous care.
In that moment, Elly had felt a shiver she couldn't tell if it was fear or something else. But Adrian's eyes were stinging with unshed tears; he could sense that a dark wall was being built around the girl he loved. Inside the palace stood a magnificent marble bathhouse, filled with the scent of rose petals and glowing candles. As the teenage Elly stepped into the warm bath (water), she thought she was alone. But suddenly, like a shadow forming from the steam, that mysterious boy (the stranger) appeared.
Elly was startled at first, but the boy's eyes held only a cold, hypnotic devotion. He stepped into the water without a word. With haunting precision, he began to wash and style her hair, assisting her with every part of the royal bath (help)—from applying scented oils to scrubbing her back.
At seventeen, Elly was too innocent to understand the sinister nature of this intimacy. To her, he was just a servant performing his duties.
However, standing behind a marble pillar at a distance, a young Adrian watched the entire scene. His heart felt like it was being ripped out. He saw the stranger touching the girl he loved, moving with a familiarity that Adrian himself had never dared to show. Adrian dropped the book he was holding, his eyes stinging with tears and helpless rage. He knew, even then, that this "slave" was a predator weaving a web around Elly's soul. The mysterious boy moved slowly and closer to Elly, his movements fluid like a shadow. He wasn't just washing her hair anymore; his fingers lingered near her shoulders and neck with a chilling intimacy. The 17-year-old Elly was too innocent to understand the danger, but she felt a strange, hypnotic pull from his touch.
At that exact moment, Adrian, standing behind the pillar, couldn't contain his agony any longer. Seeing the stranger so close to the girl he loved felt like a dagger to his heart. In his distress, he took a step forward, and the book he was clutching slipped, falling lightly into the water (making a splash).
The sound of the water breaking the silence startled Elly. She opened her eyes to see Adrian standing there, his face pale and his eyes brimming with tears. "Elly! Get out of there! He... he is not what he seems!" Adrian cried out, his voice trembling.
Adrian knew even then that this "slave" was a predator, but because his father had given the man permission, Adrian was powerless. He could only watch from a distance, his heart breaking with a sound as quiet as that splash in the water.In that sweltering and mysterious royal bathhouse, time seemed to freeze. The 17-year-old Elly was startled by the sound of Adrian's voice and the sight of tears in his eyes. For the first time, she sensed that something was deeply wrong.Awakened by the splash of the water, Elly realized how close the mysterious boy had gotten. She was wearing only a thin, white cotton dress (thin dress), which was now soaked and clinging to her skin.
In a mix of shame and a new, chilling fear, Elly quickly covered (shielded) her body with her arms, pulling her knees to her chest under the water. She remained frozen, staring forward (looking straight ahead) with wide, bewildered eyes.
But the boy didn't flinch. Instead of looking away, he kept his cold, unblinking eyes fixed on Elly's body. There was no remorse in his gaze; it was the look of a predator claiming its prize. He seemed to be mapping every curve of her form with a dark, silent intensity.
From a distance, Adrian screamed, "Elly! Get away from there! He's disrespecting you!"
At seventeen, Elly was speechless. She couldn't tell if this boy was truly a "servant" appointed by her uncle or something far more sinister. As the boy stepped even closer and touched a wet lock of her hair, Adrian felt his world crumbling in helpless rage.