Reincarnated As The Villainess's Son

[Tamriel Kingdom, Alfheim]

A heavy dark cloud covered the kingdom of elves that completely covered the sun.

The capital city that had always been a beacon of happiness was eerily silent.

Tiny droplets of water fell from the sky, splashing on the blood on the ground that spread all over the burning palace.

And in the light rain, a girl walked towards the palace.

Her golden hair was disheveled and her meadow-green eyes were bulged out in shock.

Pasithea stumbled back, barely able to stay on her feet.

There were a few who moved to help her but couldn't even get close.

"…Ughh."

Her breathing quickened to the point that her head spun and pain assaulted her eyes.

Everything was blurred out of focus except for her parents… the one sight that she couldn't bear to watch.

But her eyes remained glued to their corpses hanging in the air with a black spike jutting through their backs.

Their arms and legs hung limply high up in the sky as blood trailed down the spikes that scaled over three stories high.

"Ughh…"

The worst part, though, was the fact that she could see their expressions.

Their eyes were wide and bulging, while their mouths hung open.

It wasn't just her parents there, she could see the royal knights hanging as well.

…Like they were some decorations.

They had all been positioned for everyone arriving to clearly see the pain that they had been in before their deaths.

Blood rushed to her head, pounding against her ears.

There was so much that happened in one night that she couldn't even overcome the shock.

"Argh."

A sob reached her throat and she couldn't bear it any longer.

Falling to her knees, she wept quietly amidst the crowd, mourning for different reasons.

Pasithea didn't move from where she knelt, sobbing at the death of everything that was dear to her.

She hadn't even realized her own breathing had become shallow again, her chest tightening with each inhale.

They were gone. All of them.

Her parents, her older brother, the knights who had once sworn to protect them all.

Gone.

"Pasithea."

A low voice broke through the haze.

She looked up slowly, blinking through the rain.

A woman clad in a silver gown stood before her.

A gust of wind rushed past her golden-blonde hair streaked with subtle olive undertones.

Her almond-shaped eyes, a mesmerizing mix of vibrant green and earthy olive, looked down at her.

"L-lady Nerissa?"

Pasithea whispered, her voice barely audible.

Nerissa stared into her eyes. "Stand up."

"H-huh?"

"You are not a princess now but the next queen." She reminded her. "You aren't allowed to show emotions."

Pasithea stared at Nerissa, her mind still fogged and barely able to process what she'd just heard.

The word queen didn't feel real. It didn't sit right. Not when her family was still up there, lifeless, impaled for the world to see.

"I can't…" Her voice cracked. "Not like this."

Nerissa didn't blink. "You must."

Pasithea's fingers curled against the soaked ground.

Her legs trembled, but she forced herself to stand, if only halfway.

Nerissa didn't offer her a hand.

She only watched her get back to her feet.

Rain continued to fall, thin and steady, but no one moved to interrupt them.

"You were born to lead, not to break." Nerissa's voice was quiet, but it cut through the noise in Pasithea's mind.

"This kingdom needs its heir to breathe, not break like this."

Pasithea finally stood, her balance still weak.

Her body protested every motion, but she held herself upright.

"I don't know what to do," she admitted. "There's nothing left."

"There's always something left," Nerissa said, glancing briefly at the palace ruins behind her. "And whoever did this… they're not done."

Tears once again began to fall down her eyes as she looked at her parents' dead bodies.

Nerissa turned around and walked towards the palace. "Come with me."

Pasithea hesitated at the first step, then she fell but picked herself up once again.

She barely kept up with Nerissa who brought her inside the palace.

Pasithea had her eyes closed most of the time as she refused to look at the bloodbath on the way.

Finally, she reached the throne room that had the door slightly open.

Nerissa pushed it fully and walked inside.

"…Oh God h-help."

Pasithea stumbled upon the sight in front of her.

The headless bodies of the elders of the elves lay in front of her.

Nuessa began to claw her skin but she forced herself to remain still.

Her eyes drifted towards Nerissa who stood close to a wall.

Pasithea slowly walked towards the same wall where a message was written in blood.

"We are coming for the lands that always belonged to us."

She stared at the message for a long time until Nerissa's voice echoed. "…It's the Demiurge."

Pasithea looked at her.

Nerissa continued, her voice soft yet burning with hatred.

"We have received an open challenge from them."

She stared dead into Pasithea's eyes.

"They want war."

Pasithea lowered her gaze as she didn't know what to say.

….A war.

She wasn't sure if she could even get through it.

Her heartbeat slowed down as her body began to turn cold.

"….Pasithea?"

A voice broke her mental breakdown.

She slowly turned around to find a boy with long pristine white hair with a purple undertone.

He walked towards her, eyes filled with concern.

Tears once again dammed down her eyes and her throat felt like being wrapped by barbed wire.

"…Himmel?"

She slowly walked towards him and hugged him tightly.

Himmel didn't say anything at first.

He let her cry into his chest, arms wrapping around her.

His mismatched eyes glared at Nerissa.

---

Pasithea cried in my arms for a long time.

She said a lot of uncorrected things that I couldn't make any sense of.

All I could do was help her calm down.

'…How did this happen?'

I wondered, rubbing her back softly.

'Nothing like this should have happened.'

Even though elves did face wars in the game, Pasithea's parents survived all of it.

…..Then why?

What changed?

My heart trembled as I remembered one reason.

….That is me.

[<Don't you dare blame yourself, it's not your fault.>]

'…I know.'

"Pasithea!?"

A sudden voice made me jolt back to reality.

The crying elf princess slowly separated from me and looked at the door.

Zenith, Siersha, Heather, Nymeria, and Elise all rushed inside the room.

I quickly took a step back as they surrounded the elf princess.

And as they consoled the crying girl, I looked at the woman who stood at the corner.

Taking in a deep breath, I walked towards her.

Nerissa looked into my eyes. "What?"

"Come with me." I said, grabbing her wrist and pulling her.

Was it perhaps my sudden aggression or something else?

She remained quiet for a long while before she jerked her hand away.

"What are you doing!?" Nerissa yelled, glaring at me.

But we were far away from Pasithea so I didn't care.

"What the fuck were you doing there!?" I barked, glaring at her. "Were you trying to fill hatred in a child who just lost her parents?"

Nerissa's eyes narrowed, her lips tight. "Hatred is all she has left to hold onto."

"That's not your choice to make," I snapped, taking a step closer.

"She needs time to breathe and to mourn. Not get dragged into a war she isn't ready for…"

"Do you think the Demiurge will wait for her tears to dry?" Nerissa replied coldly. "If we don't get ready now, we will only lose more."

"Then I will take care of whatever they throw at us." I replied, staring dead into her eyes. "You don't have to drag others into this."

Nerissa tilted her head, a mocking smile on her face.

"You think you alone can stop them?" She said. "You can't win a war alone, boy."

"...."

I stared down at her without any word.

Even I am aware that I can't take on an entire race alone.

She began turning around. "I will take care of her like my own daughter, you don't have to worry."

"Take care of your own daughter, first." I snapped, making her stop. "You can lose her like you lost your son—."

"Don't talk about him!"

Nerissa yelled, her head snapping toward me.

"Don't you dare talk about him."

I stared into her anger-filled eyes as she clenched her fist.

"You think you understand my pain?" she finally said, her voice cracking at the edges.

"I buried my son with my own hands. I held his body, still warm, and I couldn't save him."

"...."

"And you know why that happened?"

She took a step closer and poked her finger in my chest.

"Because I loved you like my own son."

"....."

I looked at her, stunned.

Nerissa's eyes burned with emotion—anger, sorrow, guilt, all tangled into one storm.

"I was warned," she said, voice trembling.

"Warned not to get close to you. That you'd bring destruction wherever you go. But I didn't listen. I let you in. I let my son near you."

She drew in a deep breath, her eyes turning colder now.

"I should have killed you back then instead of nursing you with my own milk."

Nerissa turned around and walked away, leaving me behind.

I stood there for a while, still confused with what I just heard.

'Why is she blaming me?'

I wondered, slowly lowering my body to sit on the ground.

Closing my eyes, I began to focus as I found myself in a foggy place.

In front of me was the same red door and behind it were my childhood memories.

"...."

I reached out for a doorknob before hesitating once again.

'…I can't.'

Even though I wanted to know what happened back then…

…I just can't bring myself to open it.

There is already so much guilt inside me, I don't want more.

My eyes opened up once again as I looked outside from the open window.

Elijah and Aimar were helping to lower the dead bodies that were impaled.

"..."

I stared at Aimar who, for some reason, noticed me from afar.

I blinked.

He stood in front of me now.

"You alright, Azariah?"

I looked into his eyes.

"I told you already." I replied. "Azariah is dead."

He nodded, unbothered by my words. "Are you alright?"

"No," I replied. "I am not."

He looked at me for a while before he opened his mouth.

"I need to talk," he said. "And it's important."

I stared at him without a word, but he didn't speak as his eyes drifted back.

"Himmel?"

A voice echoed from behind me, a really familiar voice.

The voice of the guardian spirit of the World Tree.

I closed my eyes. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you right now."

**

[A/n: Read Author's thoughts]