The accessory drew back her attention; it was giving off a bright light, and she couldn’t tear her eyes away. “What? What’s this light…?” she muttered weakly to herself.
All the strength left her body instantly. She collapsed to the ground like a puppet whose strings had been cut. From the shining band on her wrist appeared some sort of being with a woman’s silhouette. She—whoever she was—had no physical body and was composed purely of black mist. That mist stared down at Olivia, her two almond-shaped eyes curving into crescents as if she was smirking.
“I found you,” she said. “Finally, at long last.”
Unable to move, Olivia could do nothing to defend herself. She couldn’t even find her voice to speak. What? Is this some kind of monster? What does it want with me? Fear swept through her.
“O descendant of my lineage, only you qualify to inherit my power, spirit, and will!” As the figure spoke, the mist that composed her began flickering violently, until at last she flung it away to reveal an incredibly beautiful woman. She had long, flowing blonde hair that gave off a glow. Her crimson eyes were full of inner strength. Olivia was sure she’d seen someone like this before.
Wait. Isn’t she…?
The woman leaned down, cupping Olivia’s face in both hands. At least, she might’ve done so if she’d had a tangible physical form. But although she couldn’t truly touch Olivia, her hands were somehow chillingly cold, like pure ice—something surely not of this world.
“You poor, poor thing,” the woman said to Olivia, voice full of empathy. “They’ve tossed you away, deep into this dark cavern.” Her eyes glistened as if she might cry.
Olivia felt only terror. Stop it. Don’t delve into my psyche!
But the woman did just that. Her icy, unwelcome presence spread through Olivia, like acid corroding metal. Olivia knew instantly that she was in trouble.
“You’re such a sweet girl, too,” the woman added.
When their eyes met, the woman looked almost like a spirit, rather than a person. Olivia wanted to escape, but her body wouldn’t listen to her. She couldn’t do anything.
“So sweet and well-behaved. I feel for you, I really do. That’s why…” The woman smiled at her, but then her expression transformed into something utterly hideous. “I’m going to take your body for myself!” The woman’s eyes snapped wide open. She lunged forward, her arms wrapping around Olivia; then she disappeared.
She’s forcing her way inside me… No, please, stop! Olivia’s body emitted faint light, which seemed to allow her to move. Her hands shot to her head as she tried to withstand the sudden pain inflicted upon her.
“St-stop!” she cried aloud. “Please, don’t take my body… Somebody—Sir Knight—save me!”
Her head pounded fiercely. While she tried to withstand the agony, the woman’s voice called out from within her. “You hate them, don’t you? The people who tossed you down here—the aristocrats who looked down on you.”
“Stop it!”
“Be honest. You really do hate them all. Even the aristocrats who pressured you into entering the academy, only to abandon you when you needed support.”
“I told you, stop!”
“Fill yourself with fury! Let your resentment overwhelm you! Then ask yourself, who’s responsible for this? Yes—you already know the answer. It’s them—those boys! Embrace your hatred for the nobility! For those deplorable people’s descendants!”
An image of the boys in question, those of the aristocracy who’d been kind to her, popped into her head: Julius, Jilk, Chris, Brad, and Greg.
“That’s right. You hate them, don’t you?”
When the voice accused Olivia of that, she couldn’t bring herself to deny it. Why were they so preoccupied with her? Why did they keep getting in her way? Surely they knew how vast the gap was between an aristocrat and a commoner, yet they insisted on clinging to her. Because of them, she had to deal with all the fallout. Even Angelica, a duke’s daughter, had her eye on Olivia. Oblivious, the boys seemed not to care. They’d dote on her in their own way, but they wouldn’t actually protect her.
“Is…is that how I felt? I resented them?” This revelation shocked her into silence.
In the meantime, the spirit inside her kept egging her on. “That’s right. Let your hate for the nobility—for this very country—fester inside you! You have every right to feel that way!”
“Get out. Get out of me! Who…who in the world are you?!” Olivia demanded.
“Me? I’m the woman this nation once referred to as the Saint.”
“What?”
“As I said, the woman you all worship as the Saint…is me.”
Olivia was so shaken that, when the throbbing in her head gradually escalated, she relinquished her hold on consciousness. The last words she managed to force out were: “Sir Knight…save me…”
She toppled to the ground once more. A moment later, she lifted herself back up, and her eyes opened—but all the light was gone from them. Her lips pulled into a grin. Olivia—or rather, the spirit of the Saint that had possessed her—cackled.
“Finally, I’ve found a body for myself! A new body!” She stretched, testing her limbs and reveling in how novel they felt. “It’s been so long. Too long, really. But now I can finally take my revenge upon this kingdom. I’ll make those vermin who stole everything from Lier and me pay for what they did!”
She threw her arms wide, and an invisible force lifted her into the air, propelling her upward through the cavern.
“It was all too easy to steal her body after how much they’d worn her down mentally. This too must be fate.”
The broken cog on the ground briefly entered her vision, but the Saint ignored it entirely.
She picked up more and more speed, racing out of the dark abyss.
“Now, let the bells toll for the Kingdom of Holfort, hailing its coming end and the beginning of our revenge! I will see this country consumed in a sea of flames so that I may rebuild it!”