It was the most terrifying night of my li—... of my existence. Huddled in a corner and clutching the sash from my dress, I lived through battle after battle. But not in the real world; somewhere just beyond it. And I knew who was bound to win in the end, because the monster constantly whispering bloodthirsty thoughts into my ear was far stronger in that astral realm.

It tore the human part of me to pieces with almost no resistance, while my only defense was to feed the enemy various feelings and memories. They stalled the creature briefly, but it made short work of them in two bites and attacked again.

And with every lunge, I—watching all of this from the sidelines—was thrown further and further into the darkness. A darkness very much like the one I had plunged into that afternoon when I passed out in the alley. But this time, I doubted I could ever come back if I disappeared into it for good.

Wouldn't it be better to give up? my otherworldly voice coaxed. Why put yourself through this? You can forget all this suffering once and for all. Take the chance. You can't bring anything back anyway. You won't be alive again. You won't return to your family. Why even exist?

There was something inherently right about that. What was the point of my senseless thrashing when I had no one to ask for help or support? I would have to hide from everyone for the rest of my days. How long can an undead even exist? And what would ultimately become of me?

Wouldn't it be easier to stop fighting for God knows what? To detach from everything that causes pain, to fade into the shadows. I had lived. Not for long, but it had been a beautiful life, no matter how you looked at it.

Are you completely out of your mind?! And who is going to deal with the murderers? With the ones who stripped you of everything? Are you just going to let them walk free, basking in their victory?!

And besides... I had actually talked that necromancer into listening to me. He would return in the morning, and here I’d be—just a standard undead. He'd probably think to himself, Just as I suspected, and go back to his necromantic business. Maybe he'd remember the curious case for a few days, but he'd soon get caught up in his daily routine and put it out of his mind. He would never even know how I had suffered here, fighting my own self.

Absolutely not! If I had come back to life, it meant I was going to fight to the bitter end, until this second chance ran out. I thrashed in the darkness, struggling to swim back to the surface, back to where almost nothing human remained. And yet, the monster simply couldn't finish it off.

With a sheer effort of will, I pushed myself out of the void completely. The creature howled in indignation, but then seemed to accept it. It didn't plan on disappearing anyway, no matter how much I wanted it to.

The darkness retreated, but I knew somehow that this wasn't permanent; it would always be lurking nearby. Constantly.

I snapped my eyes open. Everything around me was much the same. Gray and silent. The torches had already burned out, meaning several hours had passed. I checked my inner state. It seemed I was still... me. In a sense.

Unfortunately, I still had a strong urge to devour someone.

I didn't feel sorry for myself anymore. And I knew I never would again. That had been a final surge, one that had briefly made me the old Noemi Amatto.

Too much introspection and self-pity now seemed like a pointless endeavor.

It was those who had so recklessly crossed my path who needed to rush and light candles in the temples of the Most Radiant. Might as well light them for the dead right away, to spare their relatives the trouble later.

I returned to that state of cold rationality that had seized me last night, but now it felt as if that terrifying part of me I couldn't control no longer wanted to fight. It watched from the sidelines, without trying to seize control.

I tied the sash around my dress. The item no longer drew me with such desperate magnetism, having lost most of its appeal, but it still felt incredibly important.

A strange pulse rippled through my body, snapping me out of my vengeful reverie as I shifted my attention to it. Focusing on the sensation, I heard a faint rustling outside the closed crypt doors. Someone was trying to trigger the unlocking mechanism. Someone who was definitely not a necromancer—of that I was certain. That meant I urgently needed to get back into the coffin to avoid arousing suspicion.

That part was easy enough, but sliding the lid back over myself proved rather awkward. I think I even pinched a couple of fingers in the process, accidentally locking myself in as I heard the click of the grooves snapping into place.

I fell silent, deciding to deal with that later. Any second now, I wouldn't be alone.

Cautious footsteps approached.

"Noemi..." I heard my younger brother's sniffling voice. "I can't believe you're really in there. I'm so sorry."

Dominik sniffled, shifting from foot to foot.

"Martin says I'll get to say a proper goodbye tomorrow, but I don't want to. They'll all be standing there with such stern faces. And no crying allowed. Mother said we have to keep our composure. And that fiancé of yours... he only sent a letter of condolence and hasn't visited us once. And he hasn't even come for the funeral. It's a pity that..."

He trailed off, blowing his nose. Into a handkerchief, I hoped, and not into his sleeve, as was his habit.

"Although none of that matters anymore anyway."

What do you mean, it doesn't matter?! I was practically seething with impatience. No, no, no, don't you dare just up and leave now!

"I mean," Dominik babbled, as if making excuses, "you don't care what kind of man the Duke is anymore. Although, for some reason, I feel guilty that I never got to tell you..."

My little brother fell silent again, fighting back tears, and meanwhile, a new actor entered the crypt. Right on cue!

"Forgive me, Noemi." A faint tap echoed on the lid, as if something had been dropped onto it.

I had a sudden urge to climb out and smack him on the head. Who apologizes to the dead? What's done is done, no matter how sad it makes anyone. On the bright side, no annoying older sister to bother him anymore. Wasn't that a good thing? But finding out about the fiancé would have been extremely interesting.

Dominik's nerves finally gave out, and he hurried out of the crypt. I bid him a silent farewell. It's all right, little brother, everything will be fine. Even without me.

Good thing I would never feel the urge to cry again.

I had to call the necromancer—who was standing frozen somewhere by the entrance—closer to help open the coffin lid. The man easily obliged, tossing it aside in a single motion.

I graced him with a brilliant, thirty-two-tooth smile.

"You've grown some nice fangs," the mage noted. "I've figured out what I'm going to do with you."