Zhen Xue hated how his heartbeat faltered and how quickly he lost his resolve.

“You have two choices,” she continued, nudging the broken fragments with her sandal. “You can locate the bomber carrying the switch in the crowd, or rescue your siblings who are bound on the bottom floor.”

He nearly crumpled to the ground at her words, struck dumb by the thought the worst night of his life would repeat. Too much was happening at once. He was certain that by rescuing them, he’d be playing into her hands, but that didn’t stop him from losing to his damn emotions. 

He bursted into a run, practically throwing himself down the staircase to reach the next floor. On every floor he descended, Zhen Xue’s mind raced with desperation until he reached the last step. 

His heartbeat rattled inside his chest as he pushed open the slightly ajar door at the bottom. His hands shook with nerves. The rotting stench of mold and methanol overwhelmed his senses, enough to make someone pass out. He held his breath, pushing forward into the hidden caverns where the bodies were being kept.

The floor, wall, and ceiling changed into rock with moss protruding from the cracks. Darkness loomed ahead, the path illuminated by torches mounted on the walls. Just as Zhen Xue reached a crossroads, he froze at the glint of steel hurtling towards him from his right. 

A pair of bright blue eyes sharply stared him down, a sword now angled under his throat. “Calisaya,” he gasped, eyes widening at the sight. He hadn’t expected to confront his main character now from all times to make an appearance.

Her head of long blond hair tilted, sharp eyebrows furrowing slightly, clearly confused why he knew her. “I always believed in giving people the benefit of the doubt,” she murmured, shoulders sagging as she spoke. “But you’re at fault for their deaths, aren’t you?”

A terrible chill encompassed his person as eyes from dozens of citizens emerged from the darkness to stand behind Calisaya. “You’re at fault for their deaths, aren’t you?” her words repeated, echoing in his mind. They send him into a frenzy to explain, but he knew nothing he said would ease their grief. He looked away with an invisible weight threatening to crush him. “Hurry and leave. The palace is going to explode soon,” he breathlessly managed.

An older man stepped forward, his features struck from exhaustion. “You orchestrated the event that killed them. You knew the relationship between us and the sorcerers, how they’re greedy for the core’s power, yet you let them inside the palace, around our children and loved ones.” His words raised similar reactions from those behind him. 

“You’re right!” Zhen Xue finally shouted, his frustration bursting at the seams. “You’re right...” he said quieter this time. His head slumped forward, a knot in his throat. “Nothing I say can bring them back. I’m so sorry,” he choked out. “I’m sorry for being the one to survive. Just please, get out of here before you end up dying too. I can’t bear to lose anyone else.”

The hardness in Calisaya’s expression softened into pity as she observed him and eventually lowered her blade. With a sigh, she turned towards the gathered citizens, facing them with the air of a leader. “From our mistakes, we learn to do good.”

“No,” a woman countered, stepping forward. Her eyes were red from crying, brown hair a mess around her rigid shoulders. “Not him,” she hissed. “He’s filled their bodies with explosives to erase the evidence.”

Zhen Xue watched the woman’s palm lift to reveal a small blinking device. Shock registered on everyone’s faces, including Calisaya, as they swallowed the lie they were told.

Suddenly, everything he experienced so far made sense. The blind woman upstairs was using him to start an uprising against the royals, or rather, from the look of things, she already started one.

And Calisaya... Zhen Xue could see her inner battle that crossed her features, torn between saying revenge was wrong and unable to dismiss their grief. Thus, she didn’t stop the citizens from rallying their rage, nor when they shouted in agreement for his death. 

Not surprisingly, the end of Calisaya’s blade gradually lifted at him again, blue gaze reluctant but resolute this time. “It’ll be quick,” she said with reassurance that Zhen Xue didn’t quite absorb.

Footsteps deep within the cave suddenly rushed forward. “Stop!!” Xu Yang shouted, bursting into the scene. Dozen of royal guards follow his lead, standing nearby with their swords drawn. 

Perhaps because she got surprised by their interruption, Calisaya stood immobilized as Xu Yang quickly maneuvered in front of Zhen Xue, raising his blade against her. 

Someone bumped into Zhen Xue, an action so subtle that he noticed too late.

A feeling washed over him, one that made him think this person was odd. 

While watching them rejoin the others, Zhen Xue inhaled sharply that he recognized her. She was the woman who revealed the bomb!

Tick, tick, tick.

As though having an out-of-body experience, Zhen Xue looked down at himself. The sound was coming from his front pocket. 

He nearly screamed as he realized. Without hesitation, he grabbed the damn device, before shouting, “Everyone get down!”

The citizens flinched in unison, gaze breaking away from the tension of what almost turned into a fight. Calisaya and Xu Yang froze, looking towards him with an equal understanding of what was about to happen.

Tick, tick, tick. Zhen Xue didn’t wait. His heart raced, throwing the bomb with all his might deep into the cave.

Boom.

The cavern shook, rocks falling from overhead, toppling everyone present. In the last moments, Xu Yang lunged for Zhen Xue, knocking them both to the ground before they, too, got buried beneath the rocks.

What felt like hours pass before light flickered from within the darkness. Ming Yi arrived at his side, digging them out. “Dianxia,” he whispered, pulling him into a hug when he got freed. 

Ming Yi soon pulled away, looking over his injuries with tears falling down his face, but Zhen Xue felt too numb to comfort him. He could only feel a wave of relief at finding Xu Yang alive and passed out at his side. Around them, the royal guards that arrived with Ming Yi were helping the others that were buried.

After much trial and error, everyone got taken to the hospital wing for treatment, Zhen Xue included, where they stayed the night.

Only when morning arrived, and news spread that all six hundred bodies were unrecoverable, did Zhen Xue realize how that single event turned the entire kingdom of Cassanova against him, painting the Alistair children as proper villains.