Saving The Abandoned Empress

190 “The Past: Sacrifice”

Tears rushed out from Cathain’s red eyes as the small room become filled with his sobbing sounds.

But the girl on the coffin kept sleeping peacefully, with no care of the living world.

“I swear... I will let you make friends... I will express myself to you... I will support your every decision... I will know you better... I will treat you the best...”

Cathain wanted to hear her voice, but he knew he will never hear it again.

No matter what he does, she can never again reply to him or listen to his words.

Every words he says now, every regrets he has are all useless to her.

Cathain put down her hands above her other hands like it was, before he himself entered the coffin to lay beside her.

As the coffin was not big, it become stuffy as he laid down on it and hugged her body tightly in his arms.

His left hand was beneath her head, where the other one rested above her waist, as he burried his face on her neck.

.....

There was no longer the natural body odor coming from her, her body smelled of strong medicines.

But he didn’t cared.

His fire mana, which was passing into her body started to warm up her cold body, as the stitch mark started to fade away from her neck.

The colour of her lips returned and her body become soft like a normal person but she can never come back to life again.

This made him feel even more remorse, as he realized his love too late.

“...I-I love you... Empress, I love you;”

“I really love you...”

It was so late that, there was nothing he could do to wake her up again unless a miracle happened.

Tears continued to pour out from his eyes like rain water and his heart also continued to break into more pieces.

Which can never be fixed again.

“I regret it... Empress... I wish i wasn’t born as an emperor... I wish i was just a commoner, happily living with you and our little family...”

“I regret not realising my feelings earlier... Not telling you this earlier...”

“...I regret it all, Empress;”

~2nd timeline Cathain’s Pov~

(Four years after the execution of the late empress, the day of sacrificial)

Cedrick De Raven, become the fifth person who volunteered to sacrifice his life to turn back the time.

“Brother... You-”

Jennifer was surprised to find her brother to willingly sacrifice his life, who never did anything wrong.

But he might feel different as he couldn’t stop those wrong doinga from happening either.

“Am sure, Don’t worry... I regret that i was a coward and didn’t stopped our father even if i had some guesses about his plans.”

“As my life can help everyone to restart again and live happily... Then it’s worth it,”

Cedrick spoke as his green eyes fall on her, who was in the middle of the magic circle.

Her father was stroking her silver hair with his wet blue eyes, full of regrets.

I always knew that, Cedrick saw her differently.

His eyes contained more emotions then just admiration for her and this is why i never liked him.

But i think, if she could choose again, then she will definitely choose him over me.

Why would she like a cold blooded cruel person like me, who gave her nothing but pain?

Maybe she will ran into his embrace, as her heart will melt because of his gentleness.

Which i failed to give her.

If he somehow manages to remember this life, he will go after her for sure, he must be...

Why would he gave up on his love again, when he knows how worse i treated her?

I never knew that she had holy powers, the lady of the prophecy.

Maybe because she was afraid that i might hate her even more if she was supposed to have the rights to succeed the throne.

Thus, she always hid it for me.

And this was also why, the me, who was poisoned and controlled with dark powers felt attracted to her.

Craved for her touch; as the more intimate physical contact happens, the more powerfully it heals.

This is why i always acted like a lustful jerk towards her, who never complained and kept enduring my roughness.

Duke Richardo decided to use her body and her sword as the medium to return to the past.

Only the person with the highest powers will be able to remember this life, and i know it won’t be me.

It will probably be her father, who will remember it and am sure, he will never let me see her again if he can.

My all hopes are on Jennifer, i know that am using the guilt she feels towards me by asking her to help me after turning back the time.

But i have no choice either.

I can’t let my past self repeat the same mistakes i did and hurt her again.

As my powers are low, i don’t think i will remember or merge into my younger self.

And then, finally the ritual began.

Our body felt like it was being cut into pieces and our skin was being ripped off from our body, as our soul’s were forcefully taken out from our body.

Separate the body and soul, the body will die in this timeline and our soul will travel back in the past.

If someone fails, then he will be struck in abyss for all his life... With no way to turn back.

It was her father’s body, which fall down first and i was sure that he will be the first one to go back in time.

In this whole intolerable process, he didn’t made a single sound and endured this pain.

This showed how much he loves and regrets his actions, his strong will to save her.

After her father, Jennifer, Duke Richardo and Cedrick’s body also fall down.

The pain in this ritual process was nothing infront of my desires to see her alive again.

I started to panic as my body stood still, not losing consciousness like the others.

The room caught fire automatically and so her body, which i couldn’t stop from burning, no matter how much i tried.

‘No... I can’t see it... Please! No...!’

Right after that, Duke Raven’s man came inside as they wanted to kill me, the emperor for the throne.

He got angry as he watched Cedrick’s motionless burning body.

“WHAT- CEDRICK!!! THIS DAMN BASTARD!!”

“ATTACK THE EMPEROR! HE HAS GONE CRAZY! HE HAS SET THE PALACE ON FIRE!”

Duke Raven commanded his mens and all of them charged towards me.

But i didn’t cared a bit about that, all i had in my mind was to stop her body from burning by fire.

In desperate, i hugged her burning body tightly in my arms but then i noticed that no one seem to coming towards my direction.

And that was when i understood that my soul failed to merge into my younger self, as the past me probably had more mana and strong mentality then the current me.

They was heading towards my soulless body which was surprisingly still standing still.

So, I don’t exist in reality anymore... I am already dead in this life.

At least this was what i thought, until i watched my soulless body opening it’s eyes again and fighting against the duke’s men in horror.

“KILL THE EMPEROR!!”

“KILL HIM!!”

But my body moved on it’s own as it killed all of the duke’s people swiftly, before he beheaded the duke of Raven.

I was hugging her burning body as i kept watching my own body, moving without a soul.

But, then again realised that my body wasn’t moving on it’s own... Someone was controlling it.

.....

The same dark shadow, which used to linger around me... Encouraging me for destruction.

And as i had suspected, he was that same dark energy...

The last descendants of the black dragons, who turned my body and narrowed it’s eyes and a devilish smile appeared on its face as he glanced at her burning body.

“Finally... I can make you appear again, My saintess,”