Seraphina's shadow tendrils coiled menacingly around the room, her presence suffocating and unyielding. Her blue eyes burned with hatred so intense it felt tangible, like daggers piercing through his resolve.
For all his efforts to remain calm, Aric knew there was no escaping this moment—not without enduring the full brunt of her wrath.
Just stay calm Aric. She can't hurt you if you don't allow it.
"You think silence will save you?" she hissed venomously, stepping closer until her face was inches from his.
"Answer me, Vayne! Why won't you fight back!? Are you too much of a coward now?"
When Aric didn't respond, she lashed out physically, slapping him hard across the cheek.
PAK!
His head snapped to the side, but he made no move to retaliate.
Bear with it. Bear with it. She's hurt by Vayne. She just wants to see a reaction.
Instead, he stood frozen, staring at the floor as if willing himself to disappear.
[Aric!] Ivy whispered urgently in his mind,
[You can't let her keep doing this! Fight back—she's crossing lines here!!]
Ivy, I promised her I'd endure whatever she wanted. Aric thought bitterly, his jaw tightening.
This is what torture looks like—it's what I said to her. What else am I supposed to do?
[Fucking fight back!? What else Aric!?]
Seraphina struck again, grabbing him by the collar and slamming him against the wall.
DUSH!
Pain exploded across his back, but still, he refused to meet her gaze.
"Pathetic!" she spat, her voice laced with disgust.
"Do you even remember the things you've done? Or has that convenient amnesia erased everything? Tell me, Vayne—is this your way of pretending you're innocent? Doing all this renovations and things with your magic?"
I have told you so many times already. You refuse to listen to me dammit!
She leans in close enough for him to smell the faint scent of rose soap lingering on her skin. Then, with deliberate cruelty, she began listing his crimes in rapid succession:
"Gambling… starving entire villages… buying slaves off the black market…hiring prostitutes, throwing orgies in our halls, poisoning servants."
Each accusation came faster, sharper, punctuated by another blow.
"And then there's Claire—you think I don't know what you did to her? You groped her, degraded her, kicked her, slammed her face into walls, threw glass at her, put your foot on her head, demanded she wear revealing clothes for your pleasure! Do you have any idea how broken she is because of you!?"
Aric flinched visibly at the mention of Claire's name, guilt twisting painfully in his chest. Even though he couldn't recall committing those acts, hearing them recounted aloud filled him with shame.
Groped...? Assault...? Abuse...? What the fuck...WHAT IS WRONG WITH VAYNE!?
He clenched his fists tightly, trying desperately to hold himself together.
"And yet here you are." Seraphina continued,
"Acting like some reformed fucking saint because you suddenly forgot how to be a monster. Well, newsflash, 'darling', you're not fooling anyone. Nobody believes your little act. Nobody's buying into your good deeds. Your attempt to be sober. Not showing your face in dinners. No fucking body."
With that, she tore open his shirt, exposing his bare chest. Before he could react, her fingernails raked across his skin, leaving deep gashes that immediately began bleeding.
Aric bit down on a scream, refusing to give her the satisfaction of seeing him break.
"Oh, poor 'baby'." she mocked
"Does it hurt? Maybe now you'll understand just how much pain you've caused others."
Her shadow tendrils tightened around his wrists and ankles, pinning him in place as she leaned closer.
Her breath was hot against his ear,
"Why don't I just give this pathetic excuse for a body to Callista when she arrives?"
[Aric. PLEASE! SAY SOMETHING DAMMIT. THIS HAS GONE TOO FAR!] Ivy shouting in panic.
Seraphina continued, "At least she knows how to handle trash like you."
Something inside Aric snapped.
Trash? I'm fucking trash? ME? THE ONE WHO HAS BEEN TRYING TO FIX THIS FUCKING MESS!? IM THE TRASH!?
His grey eyes flashed with anger and tears streaming down his face as he finally looked up at her.
"I don't fucking remember jack shit!" he shouted, his voice cracking under the weight of emotion.
"Whatever disgusting filth you're accusing me of—I wasn't there! I'm not him! I'm stuck in this fucking bod-"
"Liar!" she slapped him again.
"Stop hiding behind that fake persona! You're still the same selfish, manipulative bastard you've always been. Admit it!"
"NO! NO!" Aric yelled back with desperation.
"I'm not Vayne! I'm trying to fix what he broke! To make things right! But you refuse to see it! You hate me so much that you'll never believe anything I say or do! I AM not him dammit!"
Seraphina laughed bitterly,
''Oh how sad. Feeling misunderstood? Maybe you should go drink yourself into oblivion like you used to—or better yet, bring girls into your room while I'm not looking. Isn't that who you are, Vayne? To degrade everyone around you until there's nothing left?"
Her words stung like acid, but they also ignited a spark of defiance within him.
''I'm NOT him!''
Aric manifested an armoured gauntlet using his creation magic and shoved her away off him. She stumbled backward, caught off guard by the sudden resistance.
"You think you can hurt me however you want!?" he growled, his voice trembling with rage and pain.
"Fine, go ahead! Beat me! Humiliate me! Call me every name under the fucking sun! But don't pretend for one bloody second that you're the only victim here. I am not him! I'm stuck in this God FUCKING forsaken body and none of this changes the fact that I'm not the man you hate!"
Seraphina sneered, regaining her composure quickly.
"Keep telling yourself that. It doesn't make it any more true. 'Stuck in this body'? Give me a break."
She shot her shadow tendrils wrapping around his legs and yanking him to the ground before throwing him onto the bed and sealing him tight.
''Why can't you see that I'm not him? I've done nothing bu-''
Before he could continue, she ripped off his pants and boxers too, leaving him completely naked. She grabbed his hair forcefully, striking his chest with her tendrils and forcing him to look at her.
"This is what you deserve!" she snarled,
"A worthless bastard like you doesn't get to walk away unpunished!"
Summoning every shred of magic he possessed, he created layer after layer of armour, pushing her tendrils repeatedly despite her relentless attacks.
There was no progress at first, Aric tanking the full force and her leaving lashes and bruising on his chest.
COME ON! COME ON!
But by the hundredth attempt, he finally succeeded. Breaking free from her grasp and staggering toward the door.
Blood poured from fresh wounds across his chest, staining the bed and the floor beneath him. Tears streamed down his face as he turned back to look at her,
"When this is over, when I make amends to everyone, when all the debts are done. I promise you—I'll be gone. You'll never have to see me again." he said hoarsely, his voice breaking with sadness.
He opened the door and bolted into the hallway, bleeding and running naked as fast as his legs would carry him.
James and Alden were the first to witness the horrifying sight—a naked man sprinting down the corridor, trails of blood marking his path. Both servants froze in shock, their eyes wide with disbelief.
"What in god's name…?" James looked behind,
Alden also had his head turn around, "That's...Master Vayne… isn't it?"
Meanwhile, Seraphina stood motionless in her bedroom, staring at the bloodstains on her bed and the empty doorway where Aric had disappeared.
Her hands trembled slightly as she sank onto the ground, her mind racing with conflicting emotions.
Did I cross the line? she wondered silently, guilt gnawing at the edges of her resolve.
No. she told herself. He deserved every bit of it. Every single wound, every ounce of humiliation—it was nothing compared to what he'd done to others. He doesn't understand the pain he caused to Claire, to me, to everyone, it was nothing compared to that.
But deep down, a tiny part of her doubted whether she'd truly punished Vayne… or destroyed whatever chance remained for redemption.
I'm not Vayne! I'm trying to fix what he broke! To make things right! But you refuse to see it! You hate me so much that you'll never believe anything I say or do! I AM not him dammit!
As she remembered Aric's word, she thought to herself,
Did I...go too far? Was he...telling the truth? But...how can he not be Vayne?