Midnight Chimes and Madness
By @john1208
Yvelis is exhausted. Between raising her fragile younger brother Levin and navigating the venomous high society of Obregia, she has no time for prophetic nightmares. But when a terrifyingly vivid dream shows the dreaded Inquisitor Zilar executing them both, she decides the best survival strategy is absolute social ruin. After being publicly dumped and humiliated at the Chime Festival, Yvelis seizes the moment - smearing cake on her face, howling, and acting like an unwashed lunatic to ensure Zilar is thoroughly repulsed. Instead, her erratic outburst resonates with the city's ancient Soul-Carillon, magically tethering her life-force directly to Zilar's. Now, they share every bruise and heartbeat. Trapped in a melancholic alliance with her prophesied murderer, Yvelis tries to survive the deadly trials meant to 'purify' soulbound couples. But when she gets blackout drunk on gloom-wine and sarcastically blurts out the prophecy to him, their dynamic shifts from hostile to dangerously magnetic. As they grow closer, Yvelis uncovers a horrifying truth: the ultimate reward for surviving the trials isn't freedom, but a deadly trap. Can she rewrite fate before the chimes toll their end?
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