Back to Void Empire,
“What are you going to do, Dear Dora?” Master Snape asked, his voice dripping with amusement as if he was savouring the turmoil on Dora’s face. His wicked smile deepened, eyes glinting with cruel satisfaction. “Are you going to save your Academy… the entire people of the Empire… or will you throw everything away for just a single person?”
Dora clenched her teeth so hard that her jaw ached, veins bulging on her neck, “You fell too low… Snape,” she spat.
Master Snape merely shrugged, completely unbothered.
“Well, everyone falls eventually, don’t they? It’s not like anyone can stay on top forever.
No matter how powerful or righteous you think you are, one day, you’ll slip… just like I did.” His voice was smooth, almost mocking. Then, tilting his head slightly, he added,
“So, tell me, Dora. What will it be? Will you save your favourite disciple, the one who looks up to you more than anyone else in the world… or will you sacrifice him for the lives of millions?
Can you bear that weight?” His smirk grew wider, his expression laced with cruelty.
A chilling pressure radiated from Dora, her very presence exuding raw killing intent. The air itself seemed to tremble under the force of her anger, yet Master Snape remained utterly unfazed, watching her with calm indifference. He merely shrugged, as if her fury was nothing more than a breeze against his skin.
“Every second you waste, dozens die, Dora,” he continued his voice slow and taunting. “Tick-tock. Time is slipping away. You need to make a decision soon… or else, you’ll end up doing nothing… just like before—”
“Stop!!”
Mary’s sharp voice cut his words, as she stepped forward, “Enough with your mind games, Master Snape,” she snapped. Her gaze flicked to Dora, who stood frozen, staring blankly at the man who was forcing her into this cruel choice.
“Dora,” Mary continued, her voice firm yet filled with something softer underneath,
“You can go. I’ll handle him. Hell, I think I can kill him this time,” she said, her lips curling into a dangerous smirk,
“Last time, I couldn’t do it, and you have no idea how much that haunted me. I was so damn disappointed in myself.” Her fingers traced along the edge of her crimson sword as she licked the blade playfully, eyes gleaming with excitement. “But the gods must be smiling on me because they’ve given me another chance.” Her smirk deepened. “And this time… it’s going to be fun~” With that, she lunged toward Master Snape, her movements sharp and precise.
Yet,
Dora’s fingers dug into her palm, nails biting into her flesh as her hand trembled.
She never thought she would find herself in a situation like this. A choice so cruel, so agonizing, that it threatened to tear her apart from the inside. She had always been decisive, always known exactly what needed to be done.
But now…
Her disciple. The one she had trained, nurtured, and watched grow under her wing.
Or the millions of people who looked up to her, who placed their faith in the Sovereign.
Her breath hitched, unsteady and ragged, just like that day… the day she lost Luna.
She had hesitated then, and because of that, Snape had turned into the monster he was now—a nightmare responsible for countless deaths.
And here she was, trapped in the same twisted fate again. But this time, there was a difference.
This time… she had a choice.
One life against a million.
The people who believed in the Sovereign.
Or
Her student? No… The only person in the world who meant more to her than a mere student.
She bit down on her lip, hard enough to taste the metallic tang of blood. The warm liquid dripped down her chin, but she barely noticed.
Master Snape, meanwhile, was effortlessly dodging Mary’s attacks, weaving through her strikes with a fluid grace that made it seem like he was dancing. He barely looked like he was exerting effort as he glanced back at Dora with a sneer.
“Come on, Dora,” he taunted, dodging another slash with ease. “Time is ticking. Hundreds have already died while you stand there, frozen like a fool. Are you really this pathetic?” His voice turned sharp, “Make your choice, Sovereign!
Choose!
The gods didn’t give you that title just for you to stand around like a useless coward! It comes with responsibility, with weight, with sacrifices!” He spat the last word out like it was something disgusting as if he knew exactly what it meant to bear such a burden.
Each of his words echoed in Dora’s head, repeating like a merciless drumbeat.
But no matter how much they screamed at her, her body refused to move.
It was as if something massive, suffocating, was pressing down on her shoulders, locking her in place.
If this had been before he came into her life… she wouldn’t have hesitated.
She… She would have chosen the people.
Because that was the logical choice!
A Sovereign’s Choice!
The millions mattered more than the one.
That was the truth she had lived by.
As long as the people lived, so would the Empire. That had always been her belief, the foundation of her very existence.
If she were still that person, she would have already turned her back and left, racing to her Academy to save those children, to stop Alaric, to protect the Empire from the disaster looming over them.
And yet,
Her legs wouldn’t move.
Her body felt unbearably heavy like she was sinking into an abyss, her feet chained down by something stronger than any magic.
For the first time in her life, the title of Sovereign didn’t feel like an honour.
It felt like a curse.
A Sovereign must maintain peace between Empires.
A Sovereign must uphold justice.
A Sovereign must protect the people who placed their faith in the gods.
A Sovereign must obey the Trial Laws.
And yet,
Her… body refused to obey.
Because at this moment, more than being a Sovereign, more than being the protector of millions,
She was just a woman standing on the edge of a choice that would break her.
Because of the one she loved became a burden!
Ba-dump!
Her heart skipped a beat.
It wasn’t just a fleeting moment—it was an agonizing, crushing pain that tightened around her chest like an iron grip.
It was suffocating, unbearable, as if… as if something inside her had cracked wide open, spilling out emotions she wasn’t prepared to face.
Too much. It was too much to bear on her own…
And all because of a single man who had entered her life!
If not for him, she would have been stronger!
If not for him, she would have never felt this agonizing weakness!
If not for him… she would have never discovered what it truly meant to love!
He… He… He… had rewritten her entire existence.
He had carved his name into her heart, so deeply that no force in the universe could ever remove it.
One versus millions.
One versus millions.
One versus—
Step!
The sound echoed louder than thunder in the dead silence of the battlefield.
Both Mary and Master Snape raised their eyebrows in shock as Dora took a single, deliberate step forward.
Especially Master Snape.
He was utterly taken aback.
Dora… had chosen Victor?
Drip…
A single tear rolled down her cheek, slow and silent, tracing the contours of her face. Her expression was blank, hollow, void of light.
It wasn’t a sob, nor a cry of despair. It was quiet. It was numb.
She stared at Master Snape, her body trembling from the weight of her decision.
Master Snape’s lips curled into a devilish grin, his pupilless eyes glinting with an almost… feverish excitement?
He tilted his head slightly, his breath hitching in pleasure as he watched her.
“Yeah… now you feel it?” His voice dripped with sadistic satisfaction, a whisper full of venom and delight. “Now you can finally feel it?”
His words slithered into her ears like poison.
Then—
Boom!
In a flash, he struck Mary with a single punch. One swift, devastating blow. The sheer force of it cracked the very air around them, sending her flying back like a shooting star streaking across the sky.
But he didn’t even spare her a glance.
His focus remained on Dora.
His lips stretched wider, his grin splitting his face in half. “You feel it, don’t you?” His voice shook with exhilaration. “The pain… the fucking pain… that unbearable, suffocating ache clawing at your heart!”
He took another step closer, his breath uneven, his eyes blown wide with delight.
He tilted his head, watching her every reaction, “You feel it?”
Now, he was right before her.
He reached up, his fingers moving with eerie gentleness as they brushed against her cheek. Warm. Soft. Tender. Yet his touch burned like fire,
“Yes… my dear Dora, My… My child,” he whispered, his voice dropping into something almost intimate. His breathing grew heavier, his chest rising and falling with anticipation. “This face… this expression… this look of self-loathing… of disgust… of complete and utter loss…”
His fingers pressed slightly against her skin, revelling in her stillness.
“It’s exactly what I once wore,” he murmured, his voice shivering with twisted delight. “And now, now I see it on you.”
His breath came out ragged, his body trembling.
“It’s truly beautiful,” he rasped. “Like… like I’m passing it on to you—”
Chkkk!
A sickening, wet sound.
BURRRPPPPP!!!
Master Snape’s body exploded into pieces.
Limbs. Flesh. Blood.
Scattered… Shredded!!
Yet—
It wasn’t over.
Dora stood motionless, her expression unchanged as she watched.
Slowly… grotesquely… the shredded remains of his body began to shift, writhing, twisting, reforming.
Muscles knit together.
Bones clicked into place.
His body pieced itself back together, like a monster assembling itself.
And then…
Master Snape let out a slow, shaky breath before breaking into a grin—one so wide, so delighted, it sent a chill down her spine.
“Oh dear, oh dear…” he muttered, his shoulders trembling—not in pain, not in fear—but in sheer, unfiltered amusement.
“I… I didn’t expect that…”
His hands clenched into fists, his fingers twitching, his entire body humming happiness.
He never thought Dora actually broke like this… to be honest he just wanted to play around but it was going better than he thought.
“I never thought it would happen…” His breath was uneven, almost delirious.
“Oh, yeah… fuck!”
He shuddered, exhaling through gritted teeth, his grin stretching even further.
Those lifeless eyes…
Those trembling lips…
That ragged, unsteady breath…
He had seen them before.
He had worn them before.
And now…
Now Dora looked exactly like him.
Master Snape had never felt more alive.
For the first time in years, he forgot everything.
Fucking everything!!!
His schemes, his goals, his carefully laid-out plans—everything vanished, drowned beneath the pure ecstasy of this moment.
A broken Sovereign.
A shattered ideal.
A mirror of himself.
And what made it even better?
The very man she had chosen… the one she had given up everything for… was already on the verge of betraying her.
What kind of twisted, glorious world was this?
He let out a breathless chuckle, his shoulders shaking.
“Hahaha…”
Then louder.
“Hahaha… It’s even more fun than I imagined~”
His voice dripped with ecstasy, his entire being trembling with excitement, as if he could barely contain himself.
He gazed at Dora, his expression softening—not with kindness, but with something far, far worse.
“What are you waiting for?” His voice was smooth, coaxing, honeyed with sin.
“Go on… lose yourself…”
“Go rampage, just like I did~ Destroy everything before I fucking cut him into pieces~ Hahaha”
Dora’s fingers curled.
Her entire body trembled.
And then—
She raised her hand.
BBBBBOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!
The very foundation of the Void Empire trembled.
The entire land tilted, the air howled, and space itself cracked beneath the sheer force of her unleashed power.
No more hesitations.
No more doubts.
She was no longer holding back.
She was going all out.
