The Imperial Library was a labyrinth of cold stone and forgotten sins, but to Kaelen, it was becoming a workshop. He stood in the dim light of a flickering mana-lamp, the forbidden file on the "100th Harvest" still burned into his retina.
If he was the Scythe, and the world was the Field, then the Imperial Family were the highest-yielding stalks.
"Kaelen, the Princess is calling for you," Elara whispered through their soul-link. Her voice was taut, vibrating with the anxiety of being surrounded by Level 40+ Imperial Guards. "She had another 'episode'. She screamed so loud she cracked the windows in the North Tower. Valerius is on his way there now with a contingent of Holy Knights."
"Perfect timing," Kaelen murmured, closing the ancient tome. "The stage is set. Elara, go to the apothecary. Fetch a vial of 'Aether-Bleed'—the slow-acting poison that mimics mana exhaustion. I need her to look like she's dying, not just dreaming."
[System Notification: Strategy Initiated - 'The False Assassination'.]
[Target: Princess Seraphina & Prince Valerius.]
[Projected Despair Yield: 8,000 Points.]
By the time Kaelen reached the North Tower, the atmosphere was thick with the scent of ozone and holy incense. Two Holy Knights stood guard at the door, their silver armor etched with sun-runes that pulsed with a rhythmic, golden light.
"Stand aside," Kaelen commanded, his voice carrying the weight of the [Abyssal Throne].
The knights hesitated. They had been told to let no one pass, but the "Saint of Oakhaven" had a presence that bypassed their military training. It felt like standing in front of a bottomless pit. They stepped back, their gauntlets creaking.
Kaelen entered the chamber.
Seraphina was slumped in her high-backed chair, her silver hair tangled around her face. She looked like a ghost. Across from her stood Prince Valerius, his hand white-knuckled on the hilt of his massive broadsword.
"I told you, sister," Valerius growled, his voice like grinding stones. "The shadows have rotted your brain. You're talking about 'Administrators' and 'Cycles'. You're sounding like a heretic."
"I saw them, Valerius!" Seraphina shrieked, her eyes wide and bloodshot. "I saw the man in the grey robe! He was standing right where Kaelen is now! He told me the Empire is just a farm!"
Valerius turned as Kaelen approached. "You. You've done this to her. You've filled her head with these 'Abyssal' delusions."
Kaelen didn't flinch. He walked past the Prince and knelt at Seraphina's feet. He took her cold, trembling hands in his. "Your Highness, forgive me. I should have been here. The dreams... they are manifesting because your mana is being drained by an external source."
"What source?" Valerius demanded, stepping forward. His [Eye of Judgement] flared, a golden beam of light scanning Kaelen's body.
Kaelen pointed to a small, ornamental dagger sitting on the table—a gift Valerius had given his sister years ago. "That blade. It's been enchanted with a 'Leech-Rune'. Every night she sleeps near it, her soul is fed into the Abyss. And who gave you that gift, Princess?"
Seraphina looked at the dagger, then at her brother. The [Abyssal Seed] in her heart flared, twisting her memory. She didn't see a childhood gift; she saw a weapon meant to slowly hollow her out.
"You..." she whispered, looking at Valerius. "You've been waiting for me to go mad. You wanted the throne that badly?"
"This is madness!" Valerius roared, the holy aura of his sword erupting in a burst of golden flames. "I gave her that blade when she was ten! Kaelen, I will cut the tongue from your mouth for this slander!"
[System Warning: 'Extreme Mode' Event Triggered.]
[Target 'Valerius' is entering 'Berserker State'.]
[Note: A Level 16 Player cannot survive a direct hit from a Level 45 Holy Knight.]
Kaelen didn't move. He looked up at Valerius with a calm, almost pitying expression. "Strike me down then, Prince. Prove to your sister and the Empire that you solve your problems with blood instead of truth. But know this: if I die, the only man who knows how to close the rift in her soul dies with me."
Valerius lunged. The broadsword swung in a massive horizontal arc, the golden fire singeing the air.
System. Activate 'The Scythe's Eye'.
[Skill Active.]
In Kaelen's vision, the world slowed to a crawl. He didn't see the sword or the fire; he saw a thin, glowing thread connecting Valerius's heart to the 'Star of the Sun'—the holy artifact that granted him his power.
Kaelen leaned back, the blade whistling a fraction of an inch from his throat. As he moved, he didn't counter-attack. He reached out and grabbed the ornamental dagger from the table.
With a speed fueled by his recent Agility investments, Kaelen didn't stab Valerius. He stabbed himself.
The blade sank into Kaelen's shoulder. He let out a sharp cry of pain, letting the 'Aether-Bleed' poison he had hidden in his palm coat the wound.
"Kaelen!" Seraphina screamed.
To anyone watching, it looked like Valerius's aura had forced Kaelen to stumble into the blade. Kaelen collapsed to the floor, his face turning a sickly purple.
"Look... at the blood..." Kaelen wheezed, pointing to the floor.
His blood wasn't red. It was a shimmering, dark violet—the color of the Abyss.
"He's infected!" Valerius shouted, triumphant. "I told you he was a monster!"
"No," Kaelen gasped, looking at Seraphina. "The blade... it's reflecting... the corruption in this room. Valerius... his aura... it's not Holy. It's a mask."
Kaelen used [Phantom of the Past] one more time, but he didn't project a memory. He projected a 'Resonance'. He forced the 'Abyssal Pheromones' he had stored in his system to flare out, but he timed it perfectly with Valerius's next shout.
When Valerius opened his mouth to speak, a wave of dark, suffocating pressure filled the room. The Holy Knights outside fell to their knees, clutching their heads. To them, the pressure was coming from inside the room—from the Prince.
"Valerius... stop it..." Seraphina choked, her lungs seizing. "You're... you're the monster..."
[System Notification: CRITICAL DECEPTION SUCCESS.]
[Target 'Seraphina' has entered 'Total Mental Collapse'.]
[Target 'Valerius' has been 'Branded' by the Princess's Guards.]
"Guards!" Seraphina screamed, her voice cracking with the last of her strength. "Arrest the Prince! He is an agent of the Abyss! He has poisoned the Saint!"
Valerius stood frozen, his sword still flaming. He looked at Kaelen, who was lying in a pool of his own "corrupted" blood. For a split second, the Prince saw Kaelen's eyes.
Kaelen wasn't in pain. He was winking.
"You..." Valerius whispered, the horror finally setting in. "You're not the Scythe. You're the whole damn plague."
The Holy Knights burst into the room, but they didn't stand by their Prince. They saw their Princess dying and a "Saint" bleeding out, and their Prince standing over them with a flaming sword.
"Drop the weapon, Your Highness!" the lead knight commanded, his voice trembling.
"Get out of my way!" Valerius roared, realizing he was being framed in real-time. He swung his sword to clear a path, but that was the final nail in his coffin. To the guards, it was a confession of guilt.
As the room erupted into a chaotic battle between the Prince and the Imperial Guard, Kaelen lay still. He felt the Despair Points pouring in like a torrential rain.
[Despair Points Harvested: 9,500.]
[Current Balance: 10,330.]
[Level Up! Level 16 -> Level 19.]
Elara slipped into the room amidst the smoke and shouting. She knelt by Kaelen, her hands glowing with a minor healing spell to keep up appearances.
"Is it done?" she whispered.
"The siblings are at war," Kaelen said, his voice barely a breath. "The Emperor will have to choose between a 'mad' daughter and a 'traitorous' son. And while they tear each other apart, I will be the only person left to lead the 'Saint's' followers."
He looked at Leo, who was still standing by the door, untouched by the chaos.
"System," Kaelen commanded. "Spend 5,000 points. I want to upgrade [Soul-Bound Possession]. I don't want to just influence dreams anymore. I want to control the Emperor's shadow."
[Upgrade Confirmed. Skill 'Soul-Bound Possession' evolved to 'Umbral Puppet Master' (A).]
Kaelen closed his eyes, a feeling of absolute, cold triumph washing over him. The Administrators were watching. The 'Hard Mode' was active. But the Scythe didn't care about the difficulty of the harvest.
He only cared about the size of the Field.
"Tomorrow," Kaelen murmured as he was carried out on a stretcher, "the Empire will wake up without a leader. And I will be the one to give them a King."
[Status Update]
Name: Kaelen
Level: 19 (Exp: 500/25000)
Current Despair Points: 5,330
New Skill: Umbral Puppet Master (A) - Attach your soul-threads to a target's shadow. They will unknowingly follow your commands while believing the ideas are their own.
Status: 'The Bleeding Martyr' - The entire city is praying for your recovery.
Next Objective: Subjugate the Emperor.