The Amnesiac Sovereign

Chapter 13: The Woman in Crimson

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

The footsteps echoed softly through the ancient tunnels.

Unhurried.

Steady.

As though their owner had no concern whatsoever for the powerful beings gathered inside the chamber.

The surviving guard collapsed completely.

His face had turned deathly pale.

"She's coming..."

Nobody paid attention to him.

Every gaze remained fixed on the darkness.

Ethan noticed something unusual.

Aurelius looked tense.

Very tense.

The First Betrayer, a man who had faced the Sovereign himself in battle, was tense.

That alone revealed how dangerous this mysterious woman might be.

Even Fenrir's crimson eyes narrowed.

The giant beast stopped smiling.

Orion's grip tightened around his spear.

The atmosphere became heavy.

Then—

A figure emerged from the darkness.

Red robes.

Black hair flowing to her waist.

Skin as pale as moonlight.

Her features were breathtakingly beautiful.

Not the kind of beauty that inspired admiration.

The kind that inspired silence.

The kind that made people instinctively lower their voices.

She appeared no older than twenty-five.

Yet her eyes...

Her eyes carried an age that seemed older than history itself.

The moment Ethan saw her—

His heart skipped a beat.

Not from attraction.

From recognition.

A memory exploded inside his mind.

A palace balcony beneath a sky full of stars.

The same woman standing beside him.

Smiling.

Warm.

Gentle.

Then another memory.

A battlefield.

Blood.

Fire.

The woman screaming his name.

The vision vanished.

Pain shot through his head.

The woman stopped walking.

Her gaze locked onto him.

For several seconds, neither moved.

Neither spoke.

Then tears slowly appeared in her eyes.

A single tear rolled down her cheek.

"Ethan..."

Her voice trembled.

The sound alone sent a strange ache through his chest.

Nobody had spoken his name like that before.

Not Luna.

Not Aurelius.

Not anyone.

As though the name itself carried precious memories.

Ethan frowned.

"Who are you?"

The question seemed to wound her.

For a brief moment, sadness flashed across her face.

Then she smiled.

A beautiful smile.

Yet one filled with pain.

"So you really forgot everything."

Aurelius suddenly stepped forward.

"Lady Selene."

The woman's gaze shifted.

The warmth immediately disappeared.

Coldness replaced it.

A terrifying coldness.

"You still breathe."

Aurelius remained calm.

"Apparently."

The woman laughed softly.

There was no humor in it.

"Perhaps I should correct that mistake."

The temperature throughout the chamber dropped.

The surviving guard immediately fainted.

Orion moved forward.

Not aggressively.

Protectively.

Positioning himself closer to Ethan.

The woman ignored both of them.

Her attention returned to Ethan.

For several moments, she simply looked at him.

Studying him.

Confirming something.

Then relief appeared in her eyes.

"Good."

Ethan frowned.

"Good?"

She nodded.

"Your soul survived."

Her voice became quieter.

"I wasn't sure."

Those words struck him strangely.

Who exactly was she?

And why did she sound so relieved that he was alive?

Fenrir suddenly spoke.

"You should tell him."

The giant beast's voice echoed through the chamber.

The woman became silent.

Aurelius also remained quiet.

Nobody seemed eager to answer.

Ethan's patience finally began wearing thin.

"Tell me what?"

The woman looked directly into his eyes.

Then she spoke words that shattered his expectations.

"I was your wife."

Silence.

Complete silence.

The entire chamber seemed to freeze.

Even Ethan stood motionless.

His wife?

The woman in red robes?

The memories flashing through his mind suddenly made far more sense.

The balcony.

The smiles.

The shared moments.

The emotions.

They weren't random memories.

They belonged to a relationship.

A deep one.

A real one.

Yet another question immediately surfaced.

If she was his wife...

Then why wasn't she among those searching for him?

Why had Luna found him first?

Why had she appeared only now?

Ethan voiced the question.

The woman's expression darkened.

Not with anger.

With sorrow.

"I was trapped."

The answer came quietly.

"For five thousand years."

Aurelius closed his eyes.

Fenrir looked away.

Neither seemed surprised.

Selene continued.

"The night of the betrayal..."

Her voice trembled slightly.

"...I fought."

Images appeared in Ethan's mind.

A woman in crimson robes battling countless enemies.

The sky burning.

Stars falling.

Blood staining the heavens.

The fragments vanished before he could see more.

Selene slowly raised her hand.

Ancient scars covered her wrist.

Scars that should have healed long ago.

"After you fell..."

"They imprisoned me."

The chamber became silent again.

Ethan studied her carefully.

Something felt genuine.

Her pain.

Her relief.

Her sadness.

None of it seemed fabricated.

Yet he couldn't simply trust her.

Not anymore.

Not after learning about betrayal.

Not after discovering how little he actually remembered.

Selene seemed to understand.

She smiled sadly.

"You don't need to believe me."

"I wouldn't either."

Then she took a step closer.

The atmosphere immediately changed.

A powerful aura radiated from her body.

Not hostile.

Protective.

Ancient.

Familiar.

The fragment inside Ethan's soul reacted instantly.

Resonating with her presence.

As though recognizing someone important.

Someone trusted.

Someone loved.

Ethan's heart tightened unexpectedly.

Then—

BOOM!

The entire tomb shook violently.

Everyone turned upward.

A terrifying pressure descended from above.

Far beyond the mountains.

Far beyond the sky.

Something had arrived.

The feeling was vastly stronger than before.

Far stronger.

The Sovereign Flame inside Ethan reacted immediately.

Warning him.

The second fragment pulsed violently.

Even Fenrir's expression changed.

The giant beast slowly stood.

Every chain attached to his body rattled loudly.

Aurelius' face darkened.

Orion lowered his spear into a combat stance.

Selene's eyes narrowed.

For the first time since arriving, genuine concern appeared on her face.

Ethan felt it too.

That same presence.

The one that had briefly noticed him earlier.

Only now it was much closer.

Much stronger.

And no longer merely observing.

A voice suddenly echoed throughout the tomb.

Ancient.

Majestic.

Overwhelming.

A voice that seemed to come from the heavens themselves.

"I found you."

The words caused the entire underground realm to tremble.

The rivers of starlight froze.

The ceiling cracked.

Reality itself seemed unstable.

Then the voice spoke again.

This time directly to Ethan.

"Sovereign."

Every hair on Ethan's body stood up.

The voice continued.

"Five thousand years."

"I wondered whether you would return."

Silence followed.

Then came a single sentence.

A sentence that caused even Aurelius to pale.

"Come outside."

The pressure intensified.

And for the first time since his rebirth—

Ethan understood.

The being responsible for everything.

The hidden enemy behind the betrayal.

The master manipulator.

The watcher beyond the Nine Realms.

The Celestial Emperor.

Had finally spoken to him directly.