Year 1202
Vampire Territory - The Great Demihuman Empire.
Inside the grand library.
.
The tip of the pen moved steadily across the page.
Scratch—pause.
Scratch—pause.
Seraphine's handwriting was neat …A bit too neat.
She stopped mid-sentence.
The ink pooled slightly at the tip before she resumed, continuing the line as if nothing had interrupted her.
'Loop 1615…'
Her gaze lingered on the number, making her thoughts drift again before snapping back to the page where she was recording her reflections in a bid to organize them.
The pen moved again.
Of course, all her thoughts, and thus, her annotation, were currently on Ashen's mental state, or what was left of it.
The only thing she was grateful for and even somewhat bewildered about was their relationship.
After all the hurt she hurled at him in her foolishness when she succumbed to depression and tried to end her life to force him to leave foolishly, she thought that their relationship would be permanently fractured.
Especially when he clearly was out of his mind right now.
But against all odds, none of that happened. In fact, the complete opposite did.
Maybe because she was not quite sane herself, but their wavelengths seemed to just click. For example, before, if she saw him lash out at a servant for sneering at her when he thought no one noticed, she would at least grow uncomfortable with the violence, even if she didn't reprimand him.
Now, she didn't even bat an eye.
Sometimes he had bouts of craziness, destroying rooms of the castle and tearing apart anyone who tried to stop him, saying that he was "training" his spells and that everything would reset anyway.
Seraphine was the only one who could get through him in that state, because no matter how crazy he got, one thing he never touched was her. So it wasn't rare for trembling servants to watch, eyes wide in disbelief, as she calmly walked up to the mad Primordial… and brought him to a halt with nothing but a few quiet words and some kisses.
Sadly for them, most of the time, she remained indifferent to the destruction and even the cries of pain. It was something that the old, optimistic, and good-natured woman would have never imagined herself doing.
But she just couldn't muster the energy to care anymore because just as Ashen said… everything will reset anyway, even herself, so what was the point?
Of course, it wasn't like she didn't care about anything. She cared about finding a way out of this hell. She cared about her friends back in the present. And above all… she cared about Ashen.
She cared about him so much that she recently turned into something of a stalker, documenting everything about him and his behavior. She told herself that she was studying his mental state, but she couldn't deny the deeper truth.
Slowly but surely… she was getting obsessed with him.
'Everything was pandemonium of madness anyway, so a little obsession wouldn't hurt, right?'
Ashen himself was mad about her. So she had the right to have her little own madness, no?
That was what she said to convince herself of her little, creepy actions
'Anyway, it isn't like Ashen minds. He loves me too much for that.'
…Or he is too mad for that, was the second thought she didn't voice.
But it was alright. Mad, sane, crazy, evil, or whatever. Right now, Seraphine felt like she could still love him, whatever he became.
A shy smile tugged at her lips.
'Now I understand what Alice was talking about… is this how she felt?'
She did not get an answer to that, but one thing was certain: because of all this, their relationship had evolved.
The main contributor to this evolution was his sick love for her, though.
And of course, that love manifested in many obscene ways… just like now.
"Aha! There's my baby girl, I missed you immensely!" Ashen announced himself, his tone exaggerated in that strange, playful way he had picked up.
"You mean, you missed this pussy." She rolled her eyes. They were together just this morning, so she wasn't buying his nonsense.
"Hehe, caught me~"
As she saw him approach with that glint in his eyes, Seraphine knew what was coming and opted to get herself in a comfortable position before she ended up on the floor again.
Without a word, she stood, turned her back to him, and bent over the table, presenting her plump dérriere without hesitation.
Her hands slid down along her thighs, fingers hooking the hem of her thin robe.
"Don't ruin my clothes this time."
She lifted the fabric just enough for her ass to show fully.
Ashen hummed in approval. She was offering herself this readily. 'It seems my passionate love had finally reached her. What a joyous event.'
He hummed even more cheerfully when he saw how her thong was already drenched.
"I like how we're on the same page, my dear Sera."
A light pat landed on her ass, drawing a faint tremble from her, though her voice stayed flat.
"Just get on with it. I want to go back to what I was doing."
"Aye aye."
Thrust—
"Hnn ꨄ︎"
"Ahh…" The sigh slipped out like he'd finally come home after a long, exhausting day.
Seraphine's hands instinctively held her asscheeks and spread them to ease herself for the upcoming ruthless fucking, but Ashen seemed to be in the mood for some slow sex.
He even began narrating his progress as she kept twitching under him with each slow thrust.
"The time bubble is finally big enough to engulf all your body, dear, so I'd say the couple hundred loops were well spent."
Plapp…plap…
"It's just that this entropy problem is still eluding me… everything goes poof! even when the spell is successful. The phenomenon is intriguing, but we don't want you to also go poof! when I cast it on you, right?"
"Hnng n-no… ahh…"
"That's what I thought."
Plap…plap…
"Don't worry, though, nothing a couple hundred loops won't be able to fix, right?"
"Y-yys… ohhh.."
"Uh huh… ugh…"
As he lost himself in her folds, Ashen noticed the discarded pages he saw her writing on and got curious.
A simple spell made the papers organize and land in his hand. He started reading while not slowing his hip movements.
"Let's see… 47 meltdowns during the last ten loops… 10% more than before…"
'What's this?'
Plap…plap…plap…
"291 injured due to lashing out… 45 deaths because of mood swings…"
'Oh this is about me!'
"120 rooms destroyed, with half the castle melting during loop 1522…"
'Oh dear… my love is paying this much attention to me… how sweet.'
"Got bent over at least three times a day… once every week, there's a day when I'm fucked in its entirety… the number of times increased by more than 50% in the last hundred loops…"
Plap…plap…plap…
"There's even mention of our clandestine meetings here, huh… what's this about, dear? Is it too much for you?"
"Hugnn, K-keep goin'... haam…"
That was all the answer he needed to know that these were merely observations and not veiled complaints.
"What about the other things tho? Are you getting worried about me? Or is it the poor vampires residing in this territory?"
Spank—!
"You seem to have some fascination with vampires after all~"
"Ahn… ahn… jeal-ous…? Ahh—! Don't be, I don't care about the-m… Hnng.. I only care about you…♡"
"That's how it should be!"
Spank!
"Now here's your reward~"
PLAP PLAP PLAP
Seraphine's small mouth froze in an O shape, finding it difficult even to breathe under the sudden assault. Even the fingers holding onto her asscheeks relaxed, but thankfully by now, she was molded to his shape perfectly, so only mind-blowing pleasure reached her.
Before she succumbed once more to that state where she could think of nothing but the cock ravaging her… she heard him mutter.
"Now that I think about it, it's been a while since I gathered the whole team… maybe they can give me some ideas…"
'Oh... this... is...
bliss. ♡'
*
*
*
.
"Welcome, everyone! …to my humble abode."
The dozen vampires gathered in the throne room all stared wearily at their lord, who was slouched on the throne with all the dignity of a dead man pretending to be alive. His legs were spread wide, one arm draped lazily over the armrest, while his consort lay comfortably between them, her legs crossed and her head resting against his shoulder.
She wore a deep red gown with crystal heels that clashed wildly with the throne's gloomy design.
The vampires here were not nobodies. Most of them were Elder rank, and beyond that, each of them governed a vital department in the vast vampire territory. Merely gathering them all in one place at the same time would have created a logistical nightmare.
Yet their lord looked far too relaxed to care.
"...You called us here for a reason, my lord?" one of the elders asked cautiously.
"Of course." Ashen smiled brightly.
Seraphine, who had been quietly writing in her notebook on his lap, paused and glanced up.
'Why is he doing this…?'
Ashen noticed her look and grinned wider.
"It's for brainstorming."
"I still don't get why they would be of any use?"
"Brainstorming is a team activity, darling."
"A team?" Seraphine repeated, deadpan.
"Exactly. A team." He pointed at the gathered vampires as if presenting a grand truth. "You know, a group of people working together toward a common goal. Fascinating concept."
The room went silent.
One elder frowned. Another exchanged a look with the one beside him.
Seraphine, still on his lap, blinked once.
Then, very slowly, she returned to her notebook.
Ashen's smile twitched.
"...What? You don't believe me?"
"I believe you," she said flatly.
"That sounded like a lie."
"It wasn't."
He hummed, almost offended. Then he leaned back, one hand drifting to Seraphine's waist as though to steady himself.
"Well, since my consort so gracefully agreed, let us begin."
He looked at the gathered vampires again.
"Today's topic is simple. Entropy."
A few of them blinked. One of the elders narrowed his eyes. Ashen continued as if he had not noticed.
"The universe hates things that stay fixed. It resists reversal. It pushes everything toward disorder. That little inconvenience is currently the reason my time spell keeps exploding in my face."
At that, he raised a hand.
A tiny flame appeared above his palm.
He stared at it for a moment.
Then, with a casual flick of his fingers, the flame became a spear of black fire that hissed through the air and burned a neat hole through one of the decorative pillars.
Ashen looked at the smoking ruin, then smiled.
"...Now for motivation."
The elder on the left twitched. "My lord, perhaps—"
"No no, hold your horses, I need a volunteer."
Ashen snapped his fingers.
The elder's body froze in place, locked in a grotesque half-turn. The spell took only a second.
Being wordlessly chanted, it only took a shift of mana and a subtle twist of will, before the man turned to dust.
Then Ashen looked at the room again, still smiling.
"All good?"
No one answered.
Seraphine lifted her head slightly and watched him with a faintly tired expression.
He was smiling. That was the worst part.
Because nobody in the room could tell whether he was in a good mood or one moment away from turning the throne room into ash.
Ashen's gaze drifted over them.
"Hmm… this is too quiet. Fine~"
'At least, now they'll take my task more seriously. I'm a genius!'
He leaned a little closer to Seraphine, his mouth brushing her ear as he spoke in a softer tone.
"Dear, do you think I should keep motivating them?"
Seraphine looked up at him, immediately suspicious.
The smile on his face did not move.
"...Ashen."
"Yes?"
The room tensed.
Very slowly, his mana began to gather, and it was just enough for every vampire in the hall to feel the air tighten around them like a noose.
What they felt would undoubtedly blow everyone inside the throne to bits.
Someone took a step back.
Ashen's expression remained sunny.
Seraphine stared at him for a beat, then sighed.
"Dear."
His eyes shifted to her at once.
She cupped his face with one hand and kissed him, a kiss that soon turned debauched and sloppy.
The gathered vampires collectively lowered their heads, knowing what awaited them if they gawked at the sight.
Ashen froze for a heartbeat.
Then the mana vanished, allowing the throne room to breath again.
Seraphine broke the kiss and sat back down with composure, as though nothing had happened.
Ashen blinked once, then broke into an easy smile.
"...Alright, alright. You all fell for it. It was just a prank."
No one spoke.
"Hey, why so gloomy? That's not the right reaction, right?"
"..."
"Ha"
"…hahaaha…"
"Hehehe…"
"Lord, that was a fine prank… huhuhuhu…"
Seeing the throne room turning in a circus, Ashen spread his hands, rolling his eyes.
"What? You thought I was actually going to blow it all up?"
He looked genuinely offended.
Seraphine lowered her eyes to her notebook again.
'He really is unhinged.'
It was only when she was beside him did he look remotely alive.
Ashen rested his cheek against her hair for a moment, then straightened.
"Now then. Where was I…? Oh right, Entropy."
The room straightened with him.
"Who can tell me why my spell fails?"
No one answered.
Ashen waited a beat.
Then another.
His smile stayed in place.
"Hmm."
He pointed at the first elder.
"You."
The elder stiffened. "M-My lord, I—"
"...I?"
"...I have no idea."
"Wrong answer."
Ashen's hand lifted.
"Drain."
Then the elder's body lurched, his limbs jerking in the air, then his hair went white at the roots, finally, the skin around his eyes dulled.
The elder cried out.
Seraphine's pen paused.
Ashen tilted his head.
"That one was harmless. Mostly. Try again."
The next elder swallowed.
"Entropy… is the tendency of matter to disperse, my lord. Disorder increases. Heat dissipates. States become less—"
Ashen waved a hand.
A translucent bubble formed around the man's head.
Inside it, the air reversed.
The man gasped as his breath tried to return to his lungs.
His own words froze in his throat.
Ashen smiled pleasantly.
"I said helpful. What would repeating my words possibly accomplish? Are you mad? tsk tsk. poor guy."
The bubble burst.
The elder staggered, coughing.
Ashen turned to the next one.
"Alright, you are up next."
No answer.
"Compressed Fire."
A beam snapped from Ashen's fingertip and split the space beside the vampire's ear. The shockwave shaved a strand of hair clean off.
The vampire flinched violently.
"I'm waiting."
"F-Forgive me, my lord… I do not know."
"Ahh shit not again."
"Bind."
A second later, his shadow detached from the floor and wrapped around his legs like a living binding spell, yanking him into a kneel.
Seraphine watched the scene in silence, only her pen moving. Somewhere between one note and the next, she let out another tiny sigh.
Not because she was worried for them. It's just that she could already tell where this was going.
Ashen kept going.
One by one, they were subjected to his "training."
That was what he called it whenever he started "pranking" the poor nobles anyway. A magician has to always demonstrate his magic to not get rusty.
It was all nonsense to Seraphine, though. She knew he was only letting off steam.
A man who gave a half-answer found his ears filled with a shrieking illusion of collapsing stars.
Another who tried to speak too confidently found his joints locked in place by a spell so subtle he probably did not even realize he had been punished until he was already on the floor.
A third got a clean slice across the cheek from a compressed blade of mana, precise enough to only slice the cheek off his face.
Ashen never stopped smiling, but the cheerfulness was horrifying to their eyes.
Whenever a response displeased him, he would nod thoughtfully and say things like:
"Good. Wrong, but brave."
"Not awful. Still useless."
"Interesting. I should keep this one for later."
And then he would demonstrate another spell.
Sometimes it was a binding spell. Sometimes it was a spell of pain without visible injury. Sometimes it was a burst of pressure that forced everyone in the room to their knees at once.
Sometimes it was nothing more than a flick of his fingers and a single word.
"Down."
The result was always the same. The vampires grew quieter, and their fear grew heavier.
Ashen watched them with mild interest, seeming to think their silence meant his motivation was working.
He was wrong. Or perhaps not entirely wrong.
They were afraid, yes. But fear alone was not the problem. The problem was that none of them understood what he wanted.
He could see it in their blank faces.
They had heard the word entropy. They had also seen him destroy a needle, reverse it, and then watch it collapse.
But they had not understood the concept.
So when the last elder offered yet another half-baked answer and was rewarded with a curse that made his own mana recoil from his body, Ashen finally stopped smiling.
His expression turned still.
Seraphine's pen paused yet again, as if mimicking his mood swings.
He looked at the room, then at the trembling vampires, and the realization struck him.
In this era, on this continent, entropy was not yet a concept that existed in their minds.
It was a name waiting in the future.
Back in the present, humanity had only properly formalized it much later, in the eighteenth century. Here, it was still just a pressureless void of ignorance.
Ashen exhaled slowly.
Then he smiled again. The curve of his lips was of understanding, but it did nothing but make them tremble anew.
"...I see."
He lifted a hand. The room stiffened again, expecting another punishment.
"My lord…" It was then that Regina, who had stood by the side all this time, hesitantly called.
"Oh?"
"I may not exactly understand your deep thoughts, but if there is something I know for sure… it is that will and intent are a force that could triumph against all."
"..."
"If the universe wants order to head toward disorder… then all we have to do is want that order to stand even more… at least in that small bubble."
Everyone held their breath awaiting another volley of spells, but this time none came.
Instead, the playful smile finally vanished. He looked at the surprisingly quick-witted head maid with unusual seriousness.
"Will… huh… You are right... How could I neglect that? The answer was within me all along."
He closed his eyes and imagined.
He imagined the scenario that was bound to happen by the end of this loop. He imagined her pain, her fear… and his unwillingness.
With the weight of every struggle he had endured pressing behind his eyes...
Her corpse in his arms.
The endless loops.
The failures.
The urge to wrench time by the throat and force it to obey.
...With unwillingness so dense it felt like a blade pointed at the universe itself-
He cast the spell once more.
His mana gathered around him in a tightly compressed sphere, and when he opened his eyes again, there was nothing playful left in them.
Only the ruthless will to make reality bend to his wishes remained.
He pointed toward one of the injured vampires. Then he began to chant.
"As the first breath was drawn, so shall it be drawn again—
...
...
Return me to what I once knew."
The mana threads pulled. The vampire's injury began to rewind.
Blood flowed backward.
The torn flesh knit shut.
A dropped bracelet leapt from the floor back into the man's hand.
Ashen held his breath. this time—
...The change stayed.
His pupils sharpened, then dilated.
Then he looked down at the healed vampire.
"...Did your memory rewind too?"
The vampire went pale.
He shook his head immediately, almost violently, fear flooding his eyes.
"No, my lord—!"
Ashen nodded once, unsurprised.
As expected.
Vampire blood was special in that way. Especially when it came to memory. He had known that much already.
His smile returned.
"Good."
Then he looked up at the room full of shaken elders, at the throne room that had nearly become a graveyard, and at Seraphine, still seated on his lap as the only calm thing in a world going mad.
He exhaled through his nose.
"Alright."
The vampires stiffened.
Ashen's smile widened.
"Brainstorming was a success."
Seraphine lowered her notebook a fraction and stared at him.
Then, very softly, she muttered.
"Crazy…"
And yet, the more crazed he became, the more she loved him.
She would only love him more.
After all, she was just as crazed... if not more.