The Villainess who has Reborn Five Times

Chapter 27

I was pacing in my room for the tenth times. It's four days after Rachelle's birthday party and four days since Yves last visit. Today was the day Rachelle would visit the temple of god of darkness. 

Should I perform that scrying spell Yves gave me before he left? I paced from one side of my room to another while thinking. I looked down to find side of my dress crumpled. Without noticing, I had been wringing my dress. 

What's Yves planning? I knew all I had to do was to perform the scrying spell, then everything would be clear. But I was scared... scared the scene in front of me would be Rachelle and her knights defeating Yves or worse killing him. 

Stop, Odette. It's no use killing yourself inside out like this, it would not help with the matter. Decided, I returned to my four poster bed and covered myself with my down quilt. I took out the crystal ball Yves gave me and muttered the spell he had whispered next to my ear. 

Mist began to fill the once clear crystal ball. When the mist cleared, the hall of the temple of darkness appeared. The hall with a throne. 

Yves was sitting on the throne, his face covered with his usual mask, his usual smile on his face. Facing him was Rachelle and her knights in shining armor. There were seven of them. It's eight against one, how's that fair? I began to fidget with my finger. No matter how powerful Yves was, it's still Rachelle with seven very competent sorcerers. Adding to the fact that Rachelle was nearly unbeatable. 

"Good day, the high priest of darkness." Rachelle curtsied with a sweet smile on her face. "I am coming for the shard that I believe is currently under your possession. Would you be so kind as to offer me that poor shard so that they can reunite again?"

Rachelle cupped her hands in front of her and after a shimmer, an object with a glimmer so strong that it hurt my eyes appeared in her hands. The object emitted rays of light in all colors but you cannot discern any color separately. The object was in the form of a heart, but it's missing one vital piece. Must be the last shard. 

A heart? An idea appeared in my mind, but before I could grasp it, it slipped away. 

Rachelle was still smiling sweetly and together with the shining heart in her hands, she looked like a saint coming to purify the world. It may look like a peaceful exchange if you omitted the fact that the seven knights surrounding Rachelle were all glaring at Yves, their weapons all brandished so they could attack any second. 

 "Reunite?" Yves asked with a smile on his lips. 

"Yes, reunite. The final shard is beckoning my soul. It earns to reunite with the other shards."

Silence soon followed. It's the longest few seconds I had experienced. Then Yves said, "Of course." He snapped his finger and then I could see the ground began to shake. 

The knights quickly surrounded Rachelle and started to throw spells at Yves. Yves tapped his foot and dark mist surrounded him. All the spells targeted at him dissolved as soon as they touched the mist. 

After a few seconds, the dark mist cleared. Yves shook his head, "Such impatience. You asked for the shard in my temple, so I give it to you." He gestured to a raise stone pillar in front of Rachelle, a shimmering piece of shard laying on top of a cushion. "Priests these days have such poor manners." 

Rachelle's eyes were fixated on the shard on the cushion. She walked forward, her hand out as if in a trance. Henri's hand grasped her on the shoulder and said, "Rachelle, it might be a trap!" 

"No, it's not. The shard is beckoning me. This is the last piece!" Her eyes turned frantic. 

"There might be traps near the shard, Rachelle! It can't be that simple!" cried one of Rachelle's knights. 

One by one, they tried to stop Rachelle. But Rachelle, with a frantic look on her face, walked closer and closer to the shard, omitting every caution from her knights, pushing away any hand coming in her way. Finally she had the final shard in her hand. As soon as the final shard melts with the heart-like object in her hand. Rays of light shone out, blinding me momentarily. 

When my vision returned, the now completed heart was now floating in the air. Yves was still sitting on his throne, with the same confident smile on his face. Like he was not surprise such thing would happen. Maybe he wouldn't as, like me, he had repeated his life again and again. 

Yves said he was killed in his first life. Was he killed because he refused to give Rachelle the shard? But never had Rachelle killed anyone in her quest. Yes, those high priests were severely injured, but not killed. 

And judging from his attitude right from the start, he did not care about the shards. Or to put it in another way, he did not care about the shards when they're still separated. He wanted them in one? And Rachelle, without knowing, was doing the job for him? He wanted to take the crystal heart from Rachelle's hand, but was killed by Rachelle and her knights? But why didn't he do it himself? He had the power. 

Could it be that only Rachelle can get hold of the shards? Rachelle was the only one in centuries to be able to break the wards surrounding the shard in wind temple. Rachelle was the key? Just who was she?

At that moment, the crystal heart started to shine once again and then it went straight into the body of Lucian. The silver haired man next to Rachelle. Rachelle's suitor. The man that appeared after Rachelle broke the curse on the stray dog she rescued. 

Lucian clutched his heart. And finally Yves left his throne. He knelt down, with his left hand over his heart and lowered his head. He said,  

"Lucian, the god of light, please accept my humble greetings." 

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Author's note

Action. Action. There are a few hints peppered in previous chapters. See if you can catch them! See you next time!