Harem Stealer: Reborn with the God-Tier Sharing System Chapter 458 Snapped

"Can you even picture it, Elijah?" Idalia murmured. She then sank her sharp teeth into the tip of his right ear, drawing droplets of golden blood that she proceeded to lick away.

Her hips continued their rhythmic motion, rising and falling as the damp, rhythmic slapping of skin against skin filled the room with a repulsive, carnal resonance.

Elijah remained motionless, his golden eyes wide and vacant as he struggled to process the revelations he had just heard.

But the comprehension wouldn't come.

The weight of Idalia’s words hit him with the force of a crashing storm, nearly shattering the final remnants of sanity he had clung to since his downfall.

That fateful day of betrayal, when Gold Eagle had handed him over to Idalia’s mercy.

Trembling, he shifted his gaze without moving his head, catching sight of Marigold as she smiled down at him.

Elijah was far from blind. With his immense level of power and his unique Aspect, he saw everything with painful clarity.

He could easily recognize the love Idalia felt for him. Yet, if it were mere affection, it would have been a simple matter to handle.

It was far more complicated than that.

Idalia’s love was entwined with a perverted longing—a hunger to mend a hollow space within her soul. A void.

A profound, terrifying emptiness she believed his love could fill. However,

"I," Elijah rasped, his golden eyes flickering as his mental state frayed at the edges, "never loved you. I do not love you now. And I will never love you."

Marigold froze instantly, her gaze fixed on Elijah as her pupils expanded.

The sheer intensity of the loathing in his eyes was palpable. Each syllable he uttered felt like a spear thrusting directly into her heart.

The pain was agonizing.

Idalia bit her lip, fighting back a visible shudder.

His jaw was clenched so tightly that a grinding sound echoed within his mouth. Elijah Lightbringer—the Jugular of Light and the Trusted of the Gold Phoenix—spoke once more,

"You will never get what you want from me, Marigold. Mark my words, and never let them slip from your mind."

He leaned toward her defiantly, their lips nearly touching as he challenged her.

"You are a broken thing," he spat. She flinched almost imperceptibly. "And there is no one—absolutely no one—who can fix you."

He paused for a second, letting out a dark, cynical laugh,

"Though perhaps your brother could—!"

"Don't you dare," Marigold hissed. Her hands moved quickly, wrapping first gently and then with a crushing grip around Elijah’s throat. "Do not you dare speak of my brother in my presence, Elijah."

"Is he your brother or your lover?" Elijah countered with a mocking grin.

Idalia’s grip tightened further, her eyes overflowing with a mixture of rage and agony.

Elijah’s neck snapped with the sound of dry wood breaking. Despite the injury, it mended itself almost instantly.

"I feel sorry for you, Marigold," Elijah continued as soon as his voice returned. "I truly do. You were victimized by your own brother, used only to satisfy his depraved lust. How truly pathetic."

SNAP—!

His neck broke again, only to heal once more.

"And that's not all. You bore his child and then murdered that infant just to conceal your shame. You are a tragedy."

"Tell me, who remains by your side? You are starved for true affection, Marigold. You possess nothing and no one. If you believe your power can force someone to love you, you are tragically mistaken."

"You will simply revert to the person you were as a child. A miserable, wretched creature—!"

"Shut... up!" Idalia snarled, her entire frame shaking with suppressed fury.

SNAP—!

Once again, she broke his neck.

Elijah responded with a chilling, heartless laugh as he recovered.

"I wonder what Soleil would think? How would he react if he knew the mother he respects and fears is nothing but a shattered who—!"

"Have it your way, Elijah," Idalia interrupted, her voice turning cold as ice. Within her eyes, her pupils split until twelve distinct pupils appeared in each socket, resembling miniature, multicolored suns.

Elijah’s smirk vanished instantly. A heavy frown took its place as he felt Idalia activating her Birthright.

"The Mother of Dragons informed me that she is currently in the Spirit World. Your beloved Justicia, that is."

A spark of hope ignited in Elijah’s eyes, but it was quickly overshadowed by a dark, looming realization.

Idalia’s next words confirmed his worst fears with terrifying clarity.

"For years on end," Idalia Marigold growled, her volume rising with her agitation, "I have sacrificed everything for you! I offered you my heart, my body, and my very soul! I risked my life to break away from my brother! I defied his commands and slaughtered his followers one by one! I even went so far as to provide Justicia with a clone of you because I wanted the real you for myself!"

"AND FOR WHAT? IT WAS ALL FOR NOTHING!"

Idalia’s scream was fueled by a white-hot rage.

The entire mansion exploded, reduced to nothing but smoldering debris that the wind scattered across the horizon.

They were now surrounded by a chaotic sea of multicolored flames that consumed everything in sight.

In the sky above, twelve suns ascended, reflecting the state of Idalia’s pupils and bathing Elijah in a harsh, unforgiving light.

Elijah’s mouth was set in a firm line as he felt a primal fear; his body sensed a mortal threat.

The Gold Phoenix within him was screaming in alarm.

Marigold finally rose, pulling herself away from him. She retreated a few paces.

The fires on the ground began to swirl, crawling up her legs and enveloping her entire body.

As the flames settled, she was adorned in golden, burning garments that covered only her essentials, leaving the rest of her form exposed.

Elijah met her gaze, and in that moment, the true extent of Idalia’s mental collapse became clear to him.

He realized his rejection had been the final blow to her crumbling psyche.

Though her love was twisted and toxic, she had been using him as an anchor to keep herself from falling into total madness.

He had failed to save her.

And through that failure, he had awakened a monster.

"You claim I have no one?" she asked, her voice echoing like the blast of a hundred exploding stars. "You say I am unloved and broken?"

She wore a vacant, hollow smile that made Elijah tremble.

"Perhaps that is the reason you cannot love me. Because I am damaged. But what if..."

Her voice dropped to a sinister whisper, "...you were just as broken as I am?"

"What—!"

"I am going to find her," Marigold interrupted. "I will track down Justicia, but I won't kill her. No, no, no..."

She shook her head with the frantic energy of a madwoman. "Death is too kind. I will break her spirit. And I will make sure you watch every second of it, my dear Elijah."

"You said you could never love a broken soul..."

Marigold’s face twisted into a wide, manical grin.

"Let us see if that holds true, my love." She turned and began to walk away, each of her footsteps heavy enough to crush worlds.

Behind her, Elijah’s expression was paralyzed. He wanted to scream or fight back, but he was choked by his own silence. He knew without a doubt that Idalia would follow through on her threat.

She intended to shatter him and Justicia both, turning them into the very wrecks he had mocked her for being.

For the first time since becoming Idalia’s prisoner, a genuine sense of panic seized him.

Previously, he had remained passive, believing Justicia was safe and fearing the consequences of provoking this cursed faction. That hesitation was gone now.

"Don't move," Idalia called out, her voice laced with a cruel, mocking mirth. "The next time we meet, Justicia will be with me. I truly hope you appreciate the lengths I go to for you."

She stopped and glanced back at him over her shoulder.

"I hope you will eventually love me as much as I love you."

With a sudden burst of fire, her form erupted and disappeared.

Elijah was left alone, naked and bound in chains. However, his gaze had turned as cold and hard as steel. In the silence of his mind, he began to call out.

A desperate plea directed at a sleeping power.

A call to...

'Icarus! Icarus! Icarus!'

'ICARUS, WAKE UP!'