You Were My Sl*ve - Chapter 88

“Waaaahhh!”

A sudden eruption of cheers pulled him back into the real world. Kazan looked around in confusion.

Sindar’s god was nowhere to be seen. It seemed as if it had only appeared to his eyes.

The moment relief washed over him, Kazan realized something.

Despite having slain the king, despite having faced the god of death—he was still alive.

The deafening roar of the crowd filled his ears.

“He has survived! He did not die—he has received the god’s blessing!”

“Sindar has bestowed a blessing instead of a curse!”

A blessing? Favor?

Following the awestruck gazes of the people, Kazan looked down at his own body.

His once unmarked right arm was now spreading with dark crimson sigils—the symbol of Sindar.

Unconsciously, Kazan stumbled backward. As he stepped out of the pool of blood, something bumped against his heel.

The obsidian crown, once atop Shativ’s head, lay waiting for him.

The moment Kazan reached out and grasped it, the high priestess of Sindar murmured,

“Rule this land with the cold, unyielding law of wind and death. Eradicate all that is false and grant peace to those who wander. Our lives are yours to command.”

Gazing at the blood-soaked crown, the priestess spoke his name.

“Sindar Kazan Mileshatra. King of Ashatra.”

*

“And so, he lost all three hearts he had taken from me.”

When Lu, the god, finished speaking, Elona was utterly stunned.

‘Kazan, in the end… because of me…’

The three hearts that Rite had sacrificed to give Kazan—all of them had shattered because of her. Because he loved Elona. Because she had betrayed him. Because he wanted to see her again.

At this moment, having learned everything, Elona wanted to love him once more. She wanted to give him overwhelming love. To become his family. To live alongside him for a long, long time.

But what awaited him in the future was nothing but a cursed fate.

Lu, the god, saw through her heart and spoke softly.

“When he seized Shativ’s throne, he survived by stealing the last heart from me. But Sindar’s curse is strong—it only delayed his death.”

A storm of sorrow and despair raged in Elona’s heart. She pleaded desperately with Lu, the god.

‘Oh, divine one, please, save Kazan. I will do anything. I will trade my life for his if that’s what it takes. Just please…’

Tears welled in her eyes, but Lu’s voice remained calm and unwavering.

“You are mistaken. I do not want your life.”

‘Then… what must I give in return?’

[“Elona, think carefully about what you have accomplished.”]

Lu whispered gently.

[“You are the first human in 300 years to reach Luka. Ever since Sindar’s wrath buried my city beneath the sands, countless people have wandered the desert in search of this place. But none could find Luka. No one could overcome Sindar’s fury.”]

Elona recalled the massive sandstorm she had faced in the desert. That force of nature had been the wrath of the god of wind and death—Sindar. A rage born from the tyrant who bore Lu’s name, the one who had slaughtered the god’s priests and priestesses.

Only now did Elona begin to understand Lu’s intentions.

‘You… have something else you desire from me.’

If Lu had a face, Elona imagined it would be smiling.

As the god remained silent, she let her tears cease and steadied her heart.

Crying and praying alone would solve nothing.

If she wanted to save Kazan, she would have to offer the god of water and life what he desired.

Lu’s voice was as smooth as flowing water.

[“Kazan Mileshatra. Since he stole three hearts from me, if you wish to save him, you must return them to me with three promises. Elona de Parsion.”]

The moment Lu spoke her name, the dim water surrounding her was suddenly flooded with light.

Elona’s eyes widened as she gazed at the scene unfolding beneath her feet.

Luka—the first royal capital of Ashatra—lay submerged in deep waters, perfectly preserved in its ancient form.

This was Lu’s protection, shielding the city from the relentless sandstorms.

She recognized the primeval palace and the temple of Lu, ones she had seen in visions before. The currents quickened, and the god’s unseen hands guided her toward the heart of the city.

[“This is my first promise. When you return to the surface, seek out my city and restore it. Luka is right here. You will be able to find your way back.”]

Elona took in the sight of the pristine, blue-tinged ancient city.

She had once wandered the desert in desperation, nearly lost in madness.

And yet, in the end, it was here that she had found water.

No map, no guide—only relentless prayers had led her here.

So, one day, she would return here again.

‘I promise. I will restore Luka to his true form.’

As Elona gave a firm nod, the god of Lu spoke once more.

[“This is the second promise. I want your firstborn child. So, raise the child in your womb well and offer them to me.”]

Elona stopped in her tracks as she walked along Luka’s Grand Avenue.

To offer a child to a god—what did that truly mean?

Did it mean placing the child upon an altar as a sacrifice? Or was she to send them to Lu’s temple, dedicating them to the life of a priest or priestess?

Or… was it something else entirely?

As her thoughts churned, the god of Lu chuckled softly and spoke again.

[“Ah, the boundless imagination of humans. Do not fret so, Elona. I do not intend to take anything from this child. I merely wish to be with them for a very long time. I have taken quite a liking to them.”]

The god had already seen the child’s future.

Elona recalled Ashad, the Lu-king who had lived to a hundred and fifty under the blessing of the god. Though over a thousand years had passed since the founding of Ashatra, the god of Lu still held Ashad dear.

And so, Elona accepted the second promise.

‘I promise. I will offer my and Kazan’s firstborn to you.’

With that, she stepped into Lu’s temple.

She approached the grand white statue at its center—a figure forever pouring from an immense water jar. The water had long since flooded the temple’s floor, rising so high that even the inside of the jar now brimmed with it.

The moment her fingers brushed against the smooth surface of the statue, the god of Lu spoke again.

[“This is the third promise. And this, above all, I ask of you…”]

A whisper, soft as silk, slipped into her mind.

Unlike the first two, this final vow required no spoken answer.

The god simply entrusted her with an unshakable belief—one that resonated from soul to soul—that she would fulfill all three promises.

Holding them close to her heart, Elona lifted her gaze to the white statue.

Sunlight, radiant and golden, streamed down from above, bathing them both in its warm, divine embrace.

*

How much longer could he endure?

Kazan slowly moved his legs, which had long since lost all sensation. Even the desert horse, far more enduring than a human, seemed to have reached its limit. The beast, now protesting for water, had to be dragged forward by sheer force as Kazan trudged across the scorching sand.

Still, Elona was nowhere to be seen.

“Too much time has passed.”

A gloomy thought forced its way into his mind.

“Elona might already be dead. Swept away by the wind, buried under the sand—maybe she’s lost forever. Maybe… she’s beneath the very sand I’m standing on right now…”

At last, he stopped walking. It had been five days since he started searching for her in the desert. As his exhausted mind was slowly consumed by a terrible premonition—

“Ah…!”

The desert horse, which had been obediently following him, suddenly tossed its head, reared up, and bolted. Caught off guard for a brief moment, Kazan lost his grip on the reins and frowned at the horse’s erratic behavior.

But the moment he looked straight ahead, he fully understood its reaction.

“Already calling for me?”

A dark figure loomed over the golden sand, staring at him. A black beak, black wings, red eyes. The ominous form of Sindar, the god of death, had revealed itself—not in a temple, not at an altar, but here, in the middle of the desert.

Am I dying?

Kazan forced himself to respond coolly, trying to suppress his fear.

“Leave. I did not summon you.”

“That is merely your wish. Your delusion.”

“No. My heart still belongs to me.”

“Yes, and that too… is your delusion.”

As their eyes locked, Sindar suddenly grew enormous, towering over him.

Truly, it had been nothing but Kazan’s delusion.