1 | THE BINDING FATE OF ELYSE

As Sarah touched her forehead, her body turned numb, and eventually, she fell down to her knees. In her eyes, Elyse saw a flash of light entering her body. She couldn't move an inch and was frozen in time while she felt the strong wind as the darkness became the body of her old memories flashing back speedily in her eyes. Her heart and mind stopped as she watched them with frozen eyes and the cold and warm wind embracing her. The voices in the background echo through her head as she travels down underneath the abyss – the voices of her old and painful memories.

The scenario stops and Elyse fell into a world of full darkness. She blinks once and twice, yet she still couldn't see anything. The darkness surrounds her and it felt her stomach churning and her body trembling in fear of the dark.

"Hello?" She spoke and her voice echoed in the black void. Elyse starts to panic, but she tried to calm herself — reminding her. Every time she blinks, her anxiety wouldn't go away and she starts to panic even more. The silence reigns her over and she starts to cry and tremble more.

"Is... Anyone there? Please, don't leave me alone..." She sobs. A sudden flash of light came out of nowhere in front of her and it appeared Sarah.

"Your Highness?" Elyse spoke softly and Sarah nodded her head.

"I know you're wondering where are you now. The darkness is your fear. And it remained your fear until this day," Sarah spoke in a soft tone.

"You are inside a void. A similar void that my mother, Tina created when you first met her. Although her void is white, this is black. This void is connected to the God of Death, Anubis which is a bridge between Life and Death. It is also a bridge where spirits cross through the other side." Sarah explained and Elyse wipes off her tears.

"I thought I will be regressing back...?" She asks in confusion.

Sarah sigh and smiled at her.

"I told you, it is no easy feat. If ever, you truly find Tina and convinced her to go back, then I will congratulate you for being fast to find Tina and convince anyone else. However, the starting point is not that easy. To continue your journey, you must find who you are."

"That is an absurd thought! I am Elyse. What are you saying?" Elyse exclaimed.

"Yes. You are right. You are Elyse. What you were in the past doesn't matter in the present. However, you are going back to the past. And I don't want to make this harder for you." Sarah explained but Elyse was still left in question with her eyes looking at her.

"Do forgive me if I may be so bold, Your Highness. But I do not want to waste any more time! My family is in danger and I needed to find Tina immediately or else my family will be killed by the hands of Mara." Elyse said.

"I know," Sarah answered. "But this will be fast," She continued.

"Do you really believe you are Elyse?" Sarah asks once again.

"That is absurd, Your Highness. I am Elyse." Sarah smiled at her question.

"That's great to hear then, Aniya." Elyse flinched hearing that name and with that, swift burning light burst in front of her, and an unfamiliar scenario came in front of her. A baby who was just born in the arms of a woman who looks like Duchess Vierra with a man alongside her looks like Emperor Amir of the old Rahania Kingdom.

"You were Aniya," Aniya's voice echoed in the background but she saw nothing when she turned around. As if Aniya is communicating with her using telepathy.

"You were born in Rahania, yet you were raised in Olympia." The scenario changed and it looked like little Aniya who looks like a bright child, balancing a book using her head as the maids in the mansion cheers her up. Her beautiful long silky white silver hair and golden eyes made Aniya looks cute with her chubby smile.

"Your Father was Emperor Amir who was Duchess Vierra's lover because of her own greed. Even though Aniya was born from a mistake — her father loves her nevertheless except her mother, Duchess Vierra." The scenario changed again and little Aniya was seen to be sitting on the cold floor of a tower. She was locked up by Duchess Vierra on the coldest nights of December.

"You were never loved by Duchess Vierra. She would constantly brainwash you, hit you, insult you, mistreat you, and do many things that Duchess Vierra believed to be a mother's love. You knew that Duchess Vierra is only using you as a bridge between Rahania and Olympia if ever a problem arises and so she molds you into something perfect — like a doll she ever took care so. But it is not something of a normal doll but a destructive one." The scenario changed again and this time, Aniya looks much more mature and turned into a beautiful lady. Her bright smile disappeared and only a cold stare and stern face were to be seen as she looks down into the Ishtar Kingdom being burned down by the war.

"When you thought the gods must've hated you for what you are, you've met someone the opposite of you. A pure, gentle, and kind-hearted person who reached out to you and became your one and only true friend. You two were never close, but that one faithful morning as she saw you shedding tears without a single thought of who you are made you feel a warm emotion that you lost ages ago." The scenario then changed to Tina who is wearing her orphanage clothes, giving Aniya who was sitting in the grass with tears on her face, a handkerchief. Tina even smiled at her while handing the handkerchief and Aniya was only there gazing at her.

"Yet you betrayed her." The tone of the voice changed and one scenario flashbacked into you. It even transported you back to its memory. The smell of blood and fire is covered in your nose as you cough away the bad smell. Her heart fell to pieces when she saw a young boy screaming for help while he was holding his mother's dead corpse in his little arms.

"You killed many thousands of people. You betrayed Tina. You know fully how stupid you were while following the orders of your mother. 'I can just abandon the order' you said to yourself. And when you finally did, more people died because of you. Emperor Amir is one of them. Remember that stormy night, Elyse (Aniya)?" The tone of the voice became even more different and distorted as the scene changed again when Aniya was running in the woods trying to catch her father — saving him from death coming near to him. Even though she knows he is miles away, she still tried to save him on that stormy night. And when she saw him die using the owl's eyes, she fell to her knees and scream while crying.

"Am I... not her descendant?" Elyse whispered to herself. Then, a piece of the shard soul of "Aniya" hugged her from behind and said, "You are not her Descendant. Aniya is not even your Ancestor." Elyse quickly turns to look at it and the scenario changed back again.

Now, the flowers withered and the sky isn't beautiful anymore. The sky looked bloody red while the flowers withered underneath her. There is no happiness that you can feel in this place and only Aniya who's looking at her with lifeless eyes is all you can find.

"I'm sorry I lied. You are not my Descendant, nor am I your Ancestor. I am but just a shard of Aniya, a piece of her broken soul. The one who carried all of her burden and pain throughout the years she lived."

"Due to a curse that has given me centuries ago, I must repeat my life all over and over again until the curse is satisfied is what she said. And... I am sure that everyone else is also not a descendant of their own Ancestors but an Alpha themselves — in a different time, in a different body. Everyone suffered from the endless painful cycle of rebirth." Aniya continues to speak.

"You are my present, and I am your past. If you want to turn back time to find Tina, are you willing to take the gamble of remembering your past life as Aniya?" Elyse stood there with eyes widened in shock. She couldn't believe what she saw in her eyes.

She doesn't know what to feel. Is it guilt? Is it regret? Or is it pain? It was mixed feelings she felt as she watches her memories naturally flow back at her like water. But Elyse was wiser than this.

"I do admit, I am shocked to know the truth. Finding out who I really am doesn't really pain me to remember. Maybe I am indeed heartless, but somehow, I felt like I already knew this will come one day. The past me is a coward, and I am Elyse in the present like you said. So please..." She pulled Aniya closer to her and said, "Stop this Sarah and bring me back to the past. I know what you're worried about, but don't worry I will be okay. I do have regrets about the past, so this will be a great time for me to rewrite history once and for all. Even finding Tina will rewrite history."

"Sarah" smiled and nodded her head.

"You have never failed to amaze me, Aniya." Elyse scoffed.

A magic circle was drawn beneath her and tell beaming light burst from below.

"May the wind guide you to your journey, Elyse..." Sarah said softly and everything went white fast. Then, all of the sudden, it's dark. It's silent.

When Elyse opens her eyes, she found herself lying in bed with a ceiling that looks like it will break anytime or smash her head. She sits down and found a mirror beside her. She quickly stood up, even stumbling on the floor with her knees weak — she saw herself waking up as "Aniya" her past self in her past timeline.

As she looks into the mirror, her memories flow right through her head remembering each detail as if it has been lost in a very long time. And finally, she shed tears remembering her long-lost memories. She remembers the curse that Tina put on her.

It was a stormy night back in the castle where Tina lived. A castle that was once adorned with jewels and gold, The Olympia Imperial Palace. Tina, who was looking at her with such hatred in her eyes — Aniya was kneeling before her with a sword pointing at her head.

"Any last words, Aniya?" Tina asks in a soft manner.

"There is one last confession that I must make before you kill me,"

"It is true, I indeed betray you. I have no words for that, nor ask for your forgiveness. But I want to let you know that those times — those precious moments you've given me. Not a single moment I ever cherished it. I cherish it deep inside my heart — and will always be in my heart. Tina..." Aniya stood up and cupped her face which made Tina flinch and back away a little.

Aniya shed tears for one last time as she cried. "I'm sorry... and thank you," Aniya whispered. Tina's eyes widened in shock to see her being stabbed by herself using Tina's sword in her stomach.

"Give me a punishment so you will know how true I am to you with those memories we shared." She spoke before closing her eyes. Tina was left dumbfounded and frozen in her spot. As she raises her left hand, she put a curse on Aniya as she wished. But this time, something felt different. The curse felt ingenuine as Tina shed tears for one last time.

"What have I done..." Elyse whispered to herself while crying in front of the mirror.

'What have I done'. Is the first words that came out of her mouth right after a long slumber in her bed. Elyse remembered that it was the time when she was once Aniya who became sick because of the cold temperature in the isolated tower inside the manor's territory.

She was then brought back to her room 2 days later as she was freezing to death. Duchess Vierra, heartless as ever, only said that it was just a normal fever and there was nothing to worry about. The workers in the manor didn't say anything but obey her words, even though they know that Duchess Vierra is heartless to her one and only daughter.

And it is the same time that Elyse woke up as Aniya again so it is also the reason why her knees were weak — she was sleeping for as long as she can remember. She cried for hours in the corner of her dirty room contemplating what she has done in the past.

"Aniya?" A maid came knocking on her door she only sits there with her emotionless and cold eyes.

"Aniya, I have brought your dinner — AHHH!" The maid shrieked when she saw Elyse sitting on the floor like a corpse as she ran away.

"What's happening?!" A butler came and opens the door of her room quickly and cringes to see Elyse sitting there like a corpse.

"Your Grace, Aniya?" The butler took a few steps to approach her and check if she is breathing. When he confirmed that she is indeed breathing, he felt a sigh of relief.

"Jonathan," Elyse spoke and the butler gazed at her.

"Your Grace?" The butler named Jonathan answered.

"You hate me, don't you?" He was taken aback by her question.

"How dare I —"

"Years from now on, you will hate me. And by that, your hatred will drive you crazy enough to put the blame on me when Mistress Vierra's necklace was missing. Although, you were the one who took the necklace. You even when to limits of selling it and leave the manor being rich." She spoke and it made Jonathan leave in a shiver.

"Mistress Vierra does hate me, but she believes me anyway because I am the perfect daughter she's molding. Do you get my point, Butler Jonathan?" She glares at him.

"Your Grace, how can I? Sigh. Let's get you a bath, Your Grace. I am sure you're the young masters and Mistress will be happy to hear the news about you waking up." Jonathan was about to touch her when she glares at him. And by that just glare, Jonathan backs away from her.

"Do not touch me and leave." She spoke in a threatening manner leaving the workers of the mansion trembling in fear, finally leaving Elyse alone in her dirty room.