Free and Unfettered

Acadia looked in the mirror, meeting eyes with her murderer. She smiled coldly. She had long known this day would come, but she was weak. She had deceived herself – again and again, lying to herself even if she knew deep down what would happen one day.

"Yashiro," she said for the last time, asking even though she already knew the answer. "Why are you here?"

Through the mirror, she notices how the man's features twist a little before settling into something that he had perfected over the years.

"Acadia," he says, stepping right behind her. He wrapped a hand across her waist and she momentarily felt a stab of sadness, which she allowed herself to feel. This was the last time, after all.

The man, his face as charming as ever, dipped his head low to whisper in her ear. "I'm here to kill you."

Acadia saw the flash of silver but made no move to avoid it. She feels the steel slide into her with dispassion, nary an expression out of place. She had long grown numb to the pain and chill. Instead, she watches as the man's genial features twisted into something she'd never seen before. The hatred flashed in his eyes as resentment twisted his face, showing her the true nature he had been concealing all those years.

He stepped back, as if disgusted with her mere presence. Acadia feels a flash of surprise at her own feelings. She had thought that she would feel more emotional than this, but she guessed that part of her just died, like how she was slowly bleeding out now.

"Do you know? You killed my parents all those years ago. I've bided my time and waited – getting close to you, exchanging kisses. All of it disgusted me. I hated you."

Acadia's lips curled. "I know," she said simply.

Her indifference drove the man insane. "You slut – don't think I don't know how many lovers you kept by your side all this time. You never loved me anyway. At least now, your death belongs to me. If I could never have you in life, then at least you belong to me in death."

In fact, all the fake lovers had been a cover for him – she was simply too afraid that she would bring harm and tragedy to him, so she had laid her bait and traps, drawing out her enemies one by one. But it was too late – she could already feel her lifeforce fading quickly. Yashiro had been quick and decisive in his movements. She could have avoided it, but she felt like she owed him this. She had already taken so much from him, so she would repay him with his life. Since she had loved him, then she would leave him this last gift.

What Yashiro didn't know was that she was already dying. She would have lived a few more months at most. The poison inside her was already eating away at her vitality. Soon, she would have turned into a bed-bound individual. She couldn't stand the thought of being seen by Yashiro in the weakest moments of her life, so she had planned for her own death, never letting him know the truth. But since Yashiro wanted her dead so badly, then she would oblige.

In fact, she knew what Yashiro felt for her treaded along the thin line of love and hate. Since he wanted to kill her, then she would let him know the price of his actions. She would leave him the gift of everlasting regret.

A peal of laughter broke out of her mouth, the laughter sending a chill up Yashiro's spine. The knife lodged in her stomach drove itself deeper. Acadia nonchalantly pulled out the knife, speeding up the process of her death. The blood flowed down unceasingly like a wave. The red bled out in little spurts, making a blazing trail down her body. "I simply didn't know how stupid you were. But I loved you anyway. I was going to leave you everything, but I changed my mind. Arcana can't be left in the hands of someone as stupid as you."

Acadia pressed a bloody hand on the mirror, opening a small compartment. She pulled out a book and tossed it at him with deft movements, almost like she had never been stabbed.

"Ha," Yashiro sneered. "I would take what I want anyway, I don't need you giving it to me. With this, Arcana is dead. All your wealth and power belong to me."

Acadia's lips curled mockingly. "Arcana will never die. You, who hasn't understood this even after all these years, disappoint me."

Yashiro's eyes flashed with a hint of worry before he stomped it out. Why was he taking the words of a dying woman seriously? He had already decided on his plan of actions after this. He watched the woman walk across the room dispassionately with eyes like he was watching someone dead.

Acadia settled herself on the armchair, crossing her blood-stained legs with an indifferent expression as she watched Yashiro leaf through the book she tossed at him. She watched as his features changed unceasingly, finally settling on pale white.

She took a slow breath as she could feel her heartbeat slowing down, trying in vain not to pump out more blood from her wound. The world was getting fuzzier. This was her revenge. He wanted her life, fine. But in exchange, she would made sure he lived without ever being able to forget about her. She wanted him to be consumed with regret for every lasting moment, regretting until the day he died.

Yashiro could think what he wanted, for Arcana would never die. Acadia was a title, not a name. She had long lost her name the moment she had inherited the title, reigning above her 78 subordinates. At the moment of her death, a signal would be sent to all 78 members who would then choose the next Acadia, nurturing him or her from birth.

The book she tossed him like it was worthless contained a list of crimes against Yashiro's family. The real person who had ordered his family's death, leaving him alive and susceptible to her manipulation.

Ashleigh Howe. She was the one who had commissioned Yashiro family's death from the Arcana group. Everyone but him. This was also the woman he had gotten into an affair with 5 years ago. He had taken the money she gave him and spent it all on her. He had managed to boost her to a position in society that he wouldn't be able to touch without Arcana's power. She was originally going to leave him a position in Arcana, but not anymore.

She wished she could watch the despair on his face when he realized he had built up the power of a woman who had ruthlessly snatched everything away from him. His parents, his siblings, his stature, power and wealth. Everything had been inherited by her. She had scammed his parents of his money before viciously making a move to prevent them from telling anyone else. She hired an assassin to kill everyone but Yashiro, leaving a single pawn she could make use of in the future. Acadia only discovered this recently – she was going to tell Yashiro everything tonight, but the moment he walked in, she knew he had already sentenced her to death.

The love in her had already died. But she would make sure that he continued to love her even after her death. She would make him suffer for as long as he breathed. Every time he saw Ashleigh's face in the newspapers, he would remember that he was the one who had singlehandedly helped his family's murderer. Had slept with her, had listened to her bewitching words.

"No. No – it's a lie. You're lying!"

Laughter spilled out of Acadia's lips uncontrollably. The sadness that welled up inside her only caused a slight inflection in her laugh, but as usual, the man took no notice. Time for the last act. She stood up unsteadily, stumbling out of the door, her steps leaving blood in their wake.

A hand grabbed her wrist and she shuddered with disgust inwardly. She looked at him with unfocused eyes as she crumbled to the floor, clutching her stomach.

Yashiro's heart shook when he saw how vulnerable and fragile she really was. All this while, he had only ever seen the unaffected and cold part of her. He never realized how she had been caring for him in her own way. But it was too late. It was all too late. Shakily, he pressed his hands to her stomach in a futile attempt to stop the bleeding.

Acadia breathed faintly, her eyes dimming. She reached up with a bloody hand to imprint a mark on his face. He would never be able to get rid of that feeling no matter how hard he tried.

She repressed her disgusted feelings as looked at him with sad and slightly bitter eyes. "I love you, Yashiro," she murmured. Her words would forever echo in the recesses of his mind. They would haunt his dreams and shadow his footsteps.

"Don't die! Acadia, I'm sorry, okay! You can take revenge on me, just don't die."

Her hand dropped as she lost all strength, her vision becoming blurrier as time passed.

As blood pumped out of her wound in spurts, it dyed the white dress she had been wearing, blooming like a flower in the snow, painting a chilling and haunting picture. A woman as beautiful as this was slowly wilting away in her prime years. This sight was burned into Yashiro's retinas, renewing his desperate stoppage of the blood.

She tuned out the desperate cries of Yashiro, her last thought being that she hadn't lived long enough yet. In her next life, she wanted to be unfettered and free.