[Opening Scene: The Betrayal]
The first thing Lianna tasted was blood.
It coated her tongue like liquid iron, thick and cloying, as she gasped awake on the cold marble floor of the Veyra family mausoleum. Above her, the vaulted ceilings swam in and out of focus, the flickering torchlight casting grotesque shadows across the stone effigies of her ancestors.
Not my ancestors, she realized with a jolt. Hers.
Memories—two sets—flooded her mind in a dizzying rush:
Her past life as the Shadow Queen, the most feared assassin of the Black Lotus Guild, betrayed and left to burn in her own stronghold.
This body's memories—Lianna Veyra, the disgraced third daughter of Count Veyra, poisoned at her own engagement banquet by her fiancé and half-sister.
A boot pressed down on her ribs, forcing the air from her lungs.
"Still breathing?" A voice dripped with false sympathy. "How stubborn."
Lianna's vision cleared to reveal Selena, her half-sister, crouched over her with a vial of emerald liquid. Behind her stood Duke Armand, Lianna's now-ex-fiancé, his expression bored as he examined his signet ring.
"You really should have died quietly," Selena sighed, twirling the vial. "Now I'll have to make it messy."
Lianna's lips curled.
Wrong move.
[The First Kill: A Villainess Awakens]
The poison had been meant to paralyze. But as the last drops of it burned through Lianna's veins, something shifted.
Her body remembered.
The Shadow Queen had trained for decades in neurotoxins. Her muscles, her nerves, her very blood had adapted—evolved—to turn poison into power.
And now, so did Lianna's.
Selena barely had time to blink before Lianna's hand shot up, seizing her wrist.
Crack.
The sound of breaking bone echoed through the mausoleum. Selena's scream followed, shrill and panicked, as the vial slipped from her fingers—
Lianna caught it mid-air.
"You—!" Armand drew his sword, but Lianna was already moving.
In one fluid motion, she:
Drank the poison in the vial—all of it—letting it ignite her senses like wildfire.
Snatched the dagger from Selena's belt and flung it at the nearest guard. It buried itself in his throat before he could blink.
Rolled to her feet, her body humming with deadly energy.
Armand's sword swung—
And met empty air.
Lianna had vanished.
"Looking for me?" Her whisper came from behind him, her breath warm against his ear.
Before he could react, she rammed Selena's broken wrist into his face, smearing his lips with blood and poison.
Armand gagged, staggering back—
Lianna kicked his legs out from under him.
Thud.
The duke hit the ground hard, his sword clattering away.
Lianna stepped on his throat, her smile sweet. "Let's talk about betrayal, darling."
[The Aftermath: A Message Written in Blood]
Ten minutes later, the mausoleum doors burst open.
The servants outside saw:
Two guards dead, their throats slit with their own blades.
Duke Armand groveling on his knees, his fine doublet soaked in his own vomit.
Selena curled in a corner, cradling her shattered wrist, her face streaked with tears.
And at the center of it all—
Lianna.
She stood bathed in torchlight, her once-elegant gown torn and bloodied, her dark hair a wild cascade down her back. In her hand, she twirled Armand's signet ring—the symbol of their broken engagement—like a trophy.
When she spoke, her voice carried the weight of a queen's decree:
"Tell the Count," she said, flicking the ring at Selena's feet, "his true heir has returned."
Then she strode past them, her steps steady, her head high.
Behind her, the torches flared—then snuffed out, plunging the mausoleum into darkness.
[Next Chapter Teaser]
In Chapter 2: "The Crystal's Secret"
The Veyra family's annual talent test becomes a bloodbath when Lianna touches the Spirit Crystal—and it explodes.
The Phoenix Sigil appears above her, marking her as the lost heir of a forgotten dynasty.
And watching from the shadows—the Ghost Emperor, a man who should be dead… but isn't.
"You're not what you seem," he murmurs, his silver mask hiding a smile. "And neither am I."
Opening Scene: The Test of Shame]
The Grand Hall of Veyra Manor was a gilded cage.
Lianna stood at the center of the marble floor, surrounded by whispering nobles whose perfumes couldn't mask the stench of their contempt. The annual Spirit Crystal Test—a tradition where the Veyra bloodline proved their magical worth—was about to begin.
"Third Daughter Lianna Veyra," the steward announced, his voice dripping with condescension. "If you'd rather not embarrass yourself again..."
She remembered this moment from the original Lianna's memories. Last year, the crystal had barely flickered when she touched it. The court had laughed. Her father had turned away in disgust.
Today, they would learn.
[The Explosion]
The Spirit Crystal stood atop an obsidian pedestal, its surface swirling with trapped starlight.
Lianna placed her palm on it.
For three heartbeats—nothing.
Then the world shattered.
BOOM!
The crystal detonated in a storm of prismatic shards. A shockwave blew out the stained-glass windows, sending nobles diving for cover. The Count's prized peacock, perched nearby, squawked as its tail feathers were set aflame by falling embers.
And above the chaos—
A phoenix sigil burned in the air, its wings spanning the entire hall, its cry echoing in their minds.
The High Priestess fell to her knees. "The Lost Royal Mark... It's impossible!"
Lianna flexed her fingers. Interesting.
[The Ghost Emperor's Entrance]
The doors exploded inward.
Twelve black-armored knights stormed in, their cloaks bearing the imperial crest. At their head strode a figure out of nightmares—
The Ghost Emperor.
His silver mask reflected the phoenix's dying light as he surveyed the wreckage. When his gaze landed on Lianna, she felt it like a blade at her throat.
"Interesting," he murmured. Then louder: "The Imperial Council requires the Phoenix Bearer."
Count Veyra rushed forward. "Your Majesty, this is some trick! My daughter is—"
"Not yours," the emperor interrupted. His gloved finger pointed at Lianna. "Hers."
[Next Chapter Teaser]
In Chapter 3: "The Auction of Shadows"
The Black Pearl Auction House's three unbreakable rules will be violated—by Lianna herself
A forbidden herb needed for the Phoenix Elixir sparks a bidding war
And when the Alchemist Guild tries to cheat... they learn why no one crosses the Shadow Patron
"Twenty million gold," Lianna says, tossing a black token onto the stage. "And that's just for starters."