**Chapter 22**
*Lucien's POV*
After I fell, a pool of blood slowly formed around me. I was in pain but still conscious. I watched as Diana rushed up to the platform in the arena, tears streaming down her face. She knelt beside me, crying uncontrollably.
"Why did you ignore me?" she sobbed. "You know what that will do to you if you use it. You know how bad you always feel afterward!"
"I'm sorry, Diana," I said, raising my hand to touch her face. "But it's fine now, right?" I added with a faint smile.
My body started convulsing, blood pouring from my mouth, and before I could hear her reply, I lost consciousness.
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*A few moments later*
I woke up in a pitch-black room filled with water. Right beside me was a little girl with blonde curls. She was dressed in a bloodied white dress. When I looked at my reflection in the water, I realized I was little again.
"Jane? What are you doing here? Am I dead?" I asked, tears welling up in my eyes.
"No," she replied with a soft smile.
I hugged her tightly, the tears now flowing freely. "Jane... Oh, Jane, I miss you so much. I know you're dead, and that there's no way to bring you back. I always see you when I use the Blood Sword and the Guiltbearer (black sword). I hate seeing this blank-eyed version of you. I miss your smile."
After crying for what felt like hours, I entered a trance-like state. A red dagger slowly materialized beside me. I watched in horror as my body moved of its own volition, picking up the dagger.
"Lucie, please don't do this. Lucie, please stop! I'm begging you," Jane pleaded, her voice trembling as she shuffled backward and fell onto her buttocks.
But my body didn't stop. It began laughing—maniacally, cruelly—before licking the dagger's blade. Then, with a sudden lunge, I slashed at her. Cuts began to appear on her delicate skin as she cried out in pain and agony.
Even though she begged, I couldn't stop. I kept lunging, cutting her deeper and deeper. After a particularly large gash, she stopped moving, but I didn't relent. My body climbed on top of her, slit her throat, and released a beastly roar before lapping up her blood like a ravenous animal.
As her lifeless body convulsed, it began to shine. A black sword hilt materialized above her, glowing with a mystical black light. Unable to resist, I reached out and grabbed it. The moment I touched the hilt, a powerful force pushed me back, and I jolted awake in my bed.
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I vomited on the floor near the bed, not immediately noticing the ensemble of people gathered in my room.
"Am I a celebrity now?" I asked weakly as I slowly scanned my surroundings.