Chapter 0.66 The Sun Sets on the Truth

The echo of memory faded like the last breath of wind across the silent moon.

The cold white of lunar mana, the burning red of wrath, the green pulse of life—all dimmed into the present moment.

Rina sat alone beneath the grand obsidian spire of the Rocchi estate's garden balcony, her eyes red from tears long shed, her breath shallow. The sky before her was painted with gold and blood, the sun folding itself behind the jagged silhouette of the capital's spires.

Behind her, a quiet footstep.

She turned.

There he stood—**Jin rochei**

His black hair tousled gently in the breeze. His skin pale as marble, his crimson eyes catching the fading sun like twin garnets.

He looked at her for a long moment.

And then, softly, he spoke.

> "Miss Rina… now you understand, don't you? Why I am the way I am."

His voice was gentle, almost tender. It betrayed no anger. No resentment. Only truth.

> "I don't care if people die. I don't care about being a hero. I'm not someone you should admire, Rina.

> Because once—just once—I watched the only person I ever loved… die for others."

He looked away, toward the dying light on the horizon.

> "She was kind. She healed their sick. She shielded them from monsters. And when the time came… she gave her life for them."

He laughed—softly, bitterly.

> "And do you know what they did, after she died?"

> "They cursed her. They spat on her grave. They called her a witch and tried to tear down the stone I placed for her with my own hands."

A long silence stretched between them.

Jin's voice lowered, a storm cloud in silk.

> "That's why I became a monster. Not because I wanted to destroy the world—but because I couldn't bear to be part of a world that treated her like that."

He turned back to her now, his crimson eyes searching hers. The light of the sunset glinted off his lashes. For a moment, he didn't look like a villain. He looked like a boy—shattered by a love he could never reclaim.

> "Miss Rina," he said, voice steady but soft. "You know the truth now. You've seen the kind of man I've become."

He stepped closer, but did not touch her.

> "I am not a hero. I am not kind. I am not good. But I will never lie to you."

And then, with a quiet sincerity that pierced deeper than any blade:

> "So tell me… are you truly ready to marry someone like me?

> Someone broken? Someone cruel?"

> "If your answer is no—I will not be angry. I will not try to change your mind. I'll accept it. Freely. Quietly."

He gave her a small smile. Fragile. Honest.

> "The choice is yours, Miss Rina."

And then… silence.

The sun slipped fully behind the horizon. The sky turned violet. And all that remained between them was the weight of truth—and her answer.

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Heat: Sorry I posted an incomplete chapter a while ago. This is the chapter I should have posted.