Eva's body trembled. Lucien's words had gutted her.
"You always chose to kill me."
The truth burned inside her like a sickness. She had spent lifetimes running, believing Lucien was the one who had cursed her. But now, standing before him—seeing him as he truly was—she knew.
She had been the villain all along.
"What if I don't want to choose?" she whispered.
Lucien's expression softened, but his eyes—those impossibly golden, haunted eyes—held an unbearable sorrow.
"You already have."
And then he stepped forward.
Eva's pulse stuttered as his fingers ghosted over her jaw, his touch unbearably gentle.
"I love you," he murmured. "I always have."
Her breath caught.
"Then stay," she begged. "Break the cycle with me."
Lucien smiled—not with hope, but with heartbreak.
"Eva, you don't understand." His voice was so quiet. "The only way to break this is to end it."
Her stomach twisted. "No."
Lucien pressed his forehead to hers. "Yes."
Eva was shaking her head, denying it, refusing it. But deep down, she knew.
Lucien would have to die.
And this time, she wouldn't survive it either.
---
The Final Death
Lucien stepped back, spreading his arms. Waiting.
Eva stared at him, her heart breaking, her entire being screaming against what she had to do.
"Eva," he whispered.
Tears burned down her cheeks. "I can't."
Lucien smiled softly. "You already have."
And suddenly, the dagger was in her hand.
A blade she didn't remember grabbing. A weapon that had existed across lifetimes.
She felt its weight, the pull of fate guiding her hand.
Lucien's chest rose and fell, steady. Accepting.
"End it," he said.
Eva let out a ragged sob. "I love you."
Lucien's lips parted—as if he wanted to say it back.
But before he could—
She plunged the dagger into his heart.
---
The world shattered.
Lucien gasped—a quiet, broken sound.
Eva caught him as he collapsed, cradling him in her arms, blood blooming between them.
She wanted to scream. Wanted to take it back.
But it was too late.
Lucien's fingers brushed her face one last time.
"You did it," he whispered. His eyes—those golden, beautiful eyes—never looked away from her.
And then—
He was gone.
---
The Final, Cruel Twist
Eva collapsed over his body, sobbing.
She had done it.
She had broken the cycle.
She had—
No.
Something was wrong.
The air shifted.
Her hands burned.
And then—a voice echoed through the void.
"You think this is over?"
Eva's breath hitched. No. No, no, no.
She lifted her hands—and her veins were black.
Her skin was changing.
The curse had not been broken.
It had merely found a new vessel.
A choked sound escaped her lips.
Because in a final, brutal twist—
Lucien had been freed.
And now, she was the monster.
Eva screamed—but there was no one left to hear it.
---
The End.
Or rather…
The beginning of something much worse.