At the edge of the sea of fire, tears dripped from Ophiel's chin. She stared blankly at the raging flames, then finally collapsed to the ground as though all the strength had been drained from her body.
In the glow of the fire, she suddenly buried her face in her hands and wept, muffled sobs escaping her throat.
She did not know why it had come to this.
More than twenty years ago, at the height of Clockwork City's glory, those two had always followed at her side. She had never imagined a day like this would come-that her two closest students, the ones she had relied on most and once regarded as the heirs to Clockwork City's entire future, would meet their end before her in this way.
The raging flames were reflected on Lin En's face, his gaze flickering.
"He chose this."
He had been capable of breaking free of the girl's grip and her tearing hands, but in the end, he had chosen to give up.
He still had not been able to turn the sword in his hand against the person he loved most.
Perhaps he understood, too.
Perhaps what he had pursued had always been an illusion, and dying at his wife's hands might have been the best fate he could hope for.
"Why did this happen?!"
"Why did everything turn out like this?!"
Ophiel cried out toward the sea of fire, sobbing uncontrollably, almost completely broken.
Lin En watched the flames burn, his gaze unchanged.
"Because that student of yours was the mastermind behind all of this. I don't know whether she ever imagined that the man she married would go so mad for her, but her actions were the direct cause of everything that has happened. She was the Red Moon's vessel. She