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I stared at him, horrified. The weight of his words sank in slowly, like a stone dropping into the pit of my stomach. Immortality—an ambition so dangerous, so fraught with peril and dark consequences. The idea was intoxicating, but it was also a path littered with ruin and despair. I had read enough ancient texts to know that immortality came at a price too high to bear.

"You were willing to sacrifice everything for that?" I asked, my voice trembling as I took a step back, needing to put distance between us. "To manipulate the kingdom, to experiment on Xandros Blackthorn? For what? A chance to live forever? This isn't protection, Father—it's madness."

"Madness?" He echoed, his voice rising with indignation. "No, Clarissa, it's vision! It's ambition! The world is full of those who cling to power, to life, at any cost. They are the ones who will be swept aside if they do not adapt and if they do not evolve. Our family deserves more than just a fleeting moment in history.

We deserve to be eternal."

"How do you plan to achieve this immortality, Father?" I asked, trying to understand the full extent of his plan. My heart pounded in my chest as I awaited his response. "How do you expect to accomplish something that countless others have failed to achieve? At what cost to everyone else?"

He paused, his eyes narrowing as he considered my question. The silence in the room became suffocating as if the very air was waiting for his response. When he finally spoke, his voice was low and measured, each word carrying a heavy weight.

"Xandros Blackthorn is the key," he said, his tone filled with a strange mix of reverence and obsession. "The experiments I conducted were not just on him but with the power that he harbored. He possessed a unique form of magic— Time Magic. But on prolonged use, it starts to consume the host's lifespan and deteriorate their body.

However, I found a way to harness it without the repercussions that destroyed him."

"W-What?" My voice faltered as the enormity of his claim hit me like a tidal wave. "You found a way to harness Time Magic without suffering its consequences? But how?"

He smiled a cold and calculating expression that made my skin crawl. "It was not easy. The key was to create a ritual that would separate the aspect of immortality from a Vampire—an immortal creature of the night known for its long lifespan and regenerative abilities.

By binding the essence of Time Magic to the core of a vampire's being, I could create a vessel that would withstand the power without degrading over time.

"The ritual involved merging the vampire's regenerative properties with the Time Magic, creating a conduit capable of maintaining the magic indefinitely without harming the host. The result is a vessel that can endure the immense strain of Time Magic, granting the bearer a form of immortality. It's the ultimate fusion of magic and life."

"S-So that's why you insisted on imprisoning those vampires in the war, you wanted to extract their essence for your experiment," I said, feeling a wave of nausea wash over me. The realization of the sacrifices my father was willing to make to achieve his twisted vision of immortality was both horrifying and overwhelming. "You used them as mere tools in your quest for power."

"Well you are half-correct, So answer me: What was the reason that the war started in the first place?" Father asked with his smile stretching wider, his eyes gleaming with a dark intensity.

I blinked, momentarily caught off guard by the shift in his tone. The question seemed to hang in the air, weighted with a deeper meaning. "The war... it was started over territorial disputes, political power, and the control of resources," I answered cautiously, recalling the historical justifications given for the conflict. "But what does that have to do with your experiments?"

"Everything," he replied, his voice dropping to a whisper. "The war was not just about land or power—it was a carefully orchestrated scheme to create the conditions necessary for my experiments. By instigating the conflict with the help of my accomplices, We kidnapped their youngest princess and seized the opportunity to capture and experiment on the vampires.

The chaos of the war provided the perfect cover, obscuring my true intentions and allowing me to carry out my research without interference."

The cold realization of his manipulation hit me with the force of a physical blow. The war, which had claimed countless lives and caused immense suffering, was nothing more than a smokescreen for his dark ambitions. He had orchestrated a conflict that had devastated both sides, all to pursue his quest for immortality.

"But... the princess? Why involve her in this?" I asked, my voice shaking with a mix of anger and despair.

"Ah, the youngest princess," my father said with a touch of pride. "She was a key component of the ritual. Her bloodline carried unique magical properties that were essential for the final stages of my experiment. Her capture and subsequent imprisonment allowed me to harness those properties and ensure the success of the ritual."

"I-Is she even alive?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper, the dread in my heart growing heavier with each passing second.

My father's gaze grew colder, a flicker of something unsettling in his eyes. "She's alive, yes. Her survival was crucial for the final phase. But... an unknown bastard ran away with her, I placed her in prison with three runic swords penetrating her from three different sections..."

The revelation was a blow that left me reeling. My mind struggled to process the implications of my father's actions. He had not only orchestrated a war but had used a young princess as a mere pawn in his twisted quest for immortality. The thought of her imprisoned, suffering, and used as a tool for his dark rituals was unbearable.

"You've gone too far, Father," I said, my voice trembling with a mix of fear and determination. "This is beyond redemption. The lives you've destroyed, the suffering you've inflicted—it's monstrous."

He sighed, his expression hardening. "You still don't understand, Clarissa. You see only the sacrifices and the suffering, but you fail to see the greater picture. Immortality is not a mere desire; it is the ultimate form of power and protection. Everything I've done has been for the preservation of our family and our legacy. In the grand scheme of things, the ends justify the means."

"No, they don't!" I countered, my voice rising with a fierce conviction. "You've lost sight of what truly matters. The world you're trying to build is one of darkness and tyranny. It's not a future worth fighting for."

My father's eyes narrowed with cold anger. "You speak of ideals and morality, but those are luxuries of the naive. You must be willing to make hard choices, sacrifices, if you wish to shape the world according to your vision. If you cannot understand that, then you are no better than the weak who will be swept aside."

"Maybe," I said, taking a step back, my resolve hardening. "But I won't be part of this. I won't help you with your plans, and I won't let you continue down this path of destruction."

He glared at me, his face a mask of anger and disappointment. "You're making a grave mistake, Clarissa. I gave you a chance to be part of something greater. If you choose to oppose me, you'll be seen as a traitor—a threat to everything I've worked for. I won't hesitate to deal with you if it comes to that."

A shiver ran down my spine, but I stood my ground. "Do what you must," I said, my voice steady despite the fear gripping my heart. "But I will not stand by and let you continue this madness."

With a final, disdainful look, my father turned away, his mind clearly already working on the next steps of his grand, sinister scheme. I knew that this was far from over; my father would not take my defiance lightly. His ambitions were too great, his obsession too consuming.

As I left the room, the weight of the truth settled heavily on my shoulders. I needed to find a way to stop him, to expose his plans and rescue the princess if she was still alive. Samael Ashwood might be my best chance—he had the strength and the resolve to challenge my father, and his own motivations could align with mine if he understood the full extent of the threat.

But reaching out to Samael would be risky. I had to be cautious, careful in how I approached him. Trust would need to be earned, and I would have to navigate the dangerous web my father had spun with utmost precision.

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..

...

[To Be Continued]

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