Ellen stood at the end of the stairs, staring at the scene before her as many questions wandered through her mind.
It was nothing but a stone corridor a few meters wide, with some lights in the ceiling providing dim illumination for the passage.
Along both sides were many reinforced iron doors... with just one glance, she could tell those metals were not ordinary.
But what made her stop in place were two things.
The first was the smell... the very strong smell of blood.
Fresh blood.
But more important than that was the sound echoing from the far end, a familiar voice filled with amusement.
"All you had to do was obey me... wasn’t that simple?"
Her brother’s voice echoed through the walls of that place and reached her ears. It was faint and distant.
’What the hell is happening?’
Ellen swallowed as she stepped forward.
She walked between the reinforced doors, passing them one after another slowly.
With every step, her heartbeat grew louder until it felt as if someone was beating drums inside her head.
"Huff... huff."
Her breaths were heavy and filled with fear for some reason.
Even so, she kept moving forward.
Until she reached a sharp turn. At the same time, the sounds became louder and clearer... other sounds besides her brother’s voice.
Sounds she had never heard before.
But now she could hear them.
It sounded like muffled screams... like someone whose mouth had been forcibly shut.
Gathering what remained of her courage, Ellen moved closer to the turn before leaning against the edge of the wall and tilting her head slightly to see what was there.
At the end of the place was another reinforced door... but this time it was open.
The door was slightly open, letting strong light spill from inside into the corridor.
But light was not the only thing coming out from there.
Blood.
A lot of it.
So much that it had reached halfway between Ellen and the door dozens of meters away.
’Wh... what the hell is this?’
A powerful unbearable smell struck her nose, making her raise her hand to cover the lower half of her face.
"I do not understand what is difficult about that..."
The voice of Zen Asterval, prince of this empire and the person who would inherit the throne from her father, returned again. But it was not like what she was used to hearing... not like the Zen she knew.
No, perhaps it was... Ellen could not tell.
Nor understand.
"Most humans are just animals who do not even understand what they should do... do you not agree with me?"
Zen’s voice returned, sounding annoyed... but also excited.
’Who is he asking?’
The moment the question crossed her mind, those muffled sounds returned, from people unable to open their mouths, followed by more words.
"It is fine... there is no shame in making mistakes, but the shame is not paying the price for your mistakes."
With those words, the muffled screaming grew louder, but only for a few moments.
In the next moment, a disgusting sound echoed through the place... the sound of flesh being torn apart by force and bones breaking, followed by a soft thud on the surface covered in liquid... blood.
Without realizing it, Ellen stopped breathing, cold sweat forming on her skin while tears gathered at the edges of her eyes.
The sounds stopped coming, but the smell of blood became stronger.
The drums inside her head pounded harder than ever before.
’I need to tell Father.’
With that thought, Ellen took her first step backward.
Or so she thought, but she remained frozen in place.
Not because she did not want to go, and not because she was too afraid to move.
But because her body simply refused.
"Look who came to visit me... my sweet little sister."
A voice full of amusement slipped into Ellen’s ears.
Without realizing it, the source of the voice was standing before her.
There, with black hair and red eyes, stood her older brother with the same usual smile, staring at her with a small smile on his handsome face.
She tried to open her mouth, but she could not.
And she knew why.
Zen raised his hand... a hand dyed in pulsing red, and with every movement drops fell, staining the dark floor beneath them.
Zen’s hand moved closer to Ellen’s face while tears gathered at the edges of her eyes.
"Hmmm... hmmm."
All that escaped her lips was a muffled sound as she tried to step backward and avoid that hand which had already reached her face.
She felt moisture and stickiness on her face while some salty taste slipped into her mouth, and that hand she had tried to avoid gripped the lower half of her face and covered her mouth.
Slowly and without much force, Zen pulled his terrified sister close to him, their red eyes meeting.
One pair filled with madness and amusement.
The other trembling with fear.
Zen wore his usual smile as if everything were normal.
"So why is my dear sister here beneath my private palace?"
Zen waited some time for an answer... but he never got one.
When he saw that, he tilted his head slightly.
"No answer?"
It was not that Ellen did not want to answer, but she could not because Zen was restraining her... and he seemed to have forgotten that.
Slowly, Zen released his terrified sister’s face, leaving the imprint of his bloody hand on her beautiful skin before shrugging.
"Well, you do not have to answer if you do not want to."
But even after releasing her, she still could not move or even speak.
He looked at her for a few moments before turning his head toward the room he had been in moments ago, his calm voice echoing through the walls of that basement.
"Do you want to see what was happening in that room?..."
He asked the question like someone asking how much sugar she wanted in tea before looking back at her.
"Then come follow me, I will show my beloved sister... after all, there should not be many secrets between siblings, right?"
He looked at her while waiting for the answer he would never receive.
At that, he shrugged again before turning and walking toward the room, leaving her behind.
"Come on, do not stand there without moving."
With that, Ellen’s body moved as she walked behind him.
Not because she wanted to.
Because he wanted that.
’No... no, no, no.’
She screamed inside her mind, which had become complete chaos.
Slowly, she walked behind her brother through that underground corridor, and soon reached the beginning of the blood.
Her foot stepped into the red liquid on the ground, splashing it in every direction and soaking her shoe and part of the black dress she wore.
With every step, the smell became unbearable, and the blood beneath her feet increased.
Unlike her, Zen walked through all of it without care.
"Well, perhaps it is good that you came at this time, little sister..."
Blood splashed beneath his feet as he continued.
"You are also a princess, so you should learn how to deal with mistakes... I mean the mistakes of your followers."
Zen reached the heavy metal door standing wide open and entered, making room for Ellen, who followed without strength or will.
Ellen stepped inside while feeling the moisture and stickiness at the lower edge of her beautiful dress.
Before her was a large, brightly lit room.
But no matter where she looked, all she could see was that vivid red color... and corpses, many corpses.
Their necks and limbs had been torn off by force and ripped from their places before being thrown together in disgusting chaos.
Nausea... she felt an overwhelming urge to vomit.
But she could not do that either.
The clothes covering their bodies were soaked in red, ruining their appearance, but Ellen recognized them easily.
They were the servants... the servants and guards, and perhaps every person who had been in this palace.
’What the hell... what the hell... what the hell.’
Ellen tried to look away, but she could not turn her head or even close her eyes.
"Why?"
Her older brother’s voice echoed beside her in amusement.
"You are wondering why I did this to them."
His words were indifferent and direct, as if her discovering this did not matter.
He stepped in front of her and raised his index finger.
"One simple reason, Ellen."
The next words echoed so coldly that they sent a shiver down her spine.
"They did not obey me, Ellen."
A happy smile returned to Zen’s face.
"Or more precisely, they failed to carry out what I said in the way I wanted."
What had a group of humble servants and guards failed at... Ellen did not know.
And she did not even think about that.
Because at that moment, one thought filled her head.
’Madness... insane... he is insane.’