At night, the soldier stood alone guarding the boat, his eyes heavy from the endless darkness of the sea. Suddenly, he sensed soft footsteps approaching him, like a melody slipping into his heart. He turned—and there she stood before him… one of the Seven Knights. Her tall figure was wrapped in shadows, while a cold smile danced upon the only thing visible in the dark: her lips.
She stepped closer without a word, until only a single breath separated them. Slowly, she raised her hand, as though playing with an invisible thread in the air, then let it drift down to brush against his shoulder. It was no ordinary touch; it felt more like a string curling around him, pulling him toward her.
She whispered in a voice closer to an enchanting melody:
"Don't you think the night is unbearably long…? You're alone here, and no one knows better than I how to make time pass quickly."
The soldier swallowed hard, his heart pounding violently. He no longer thought about the watch, nor the boat. All he could see was her growing closeness and the strange scent mingling with his breath. She loosened a small knot in her dress—not to reveal herself openly, but to plant a thousand irresistible images inside his mind.
Her other hand slid gently to his wrist, drawing him forward step by step, as though even the earth surrendered beneath her dominion.
"Come… tell me everything. I won't hurt you… unless you refuse."
The soldier's lips trembled beneath the crushing weight of her presence as he whispered:
"They're… they're on the Isle of Rotting Death… Yan and her son… that's where they're hiding."
She smiled—a cold smile that held no joy, only the satisfaction of a hunter catching the final breath of its prey. She leaned even closer, their breaths intertwining, and lifted a hand to caress his face as though rewarding him for his honesty.
In a calm, intoxicating voice, she said:
"Well done… your tongue has not disappointed me."
Then she leaned toward him, her lips nearing his with deliberate slowness, as though weaving a moment destined to haunt a man forever. But the instant their lips met, the kiss transformed from a promise of pleasure into a deadly curse. The soldier felt his heartbeat race… then slow… then fade away. His blood was being drained, his soul pulled from between his lips like black smoke dissolving into her mouth.
He tried to scream. He tried to push her away. But his body froze in place like a puppet stripped of its strings. It did not last long—only moments—before he collapsed lifeless into her arms, an empty shell devoid of life.
She wiped her lips with the back of her hand and let out a soft laugh.
"The Kiss of Death… how foolish they are."
Then she turned toward the darkness, her emotionless eyes glowing with the whispers of the spirits she commanded, and said:
"Now… Centaurus will know where they are hiding."