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

"Can you picture it, Elijah?" Idalia murmured, her sharp teeth sinking into the edge of Elijah's right ear until golden blood welled up. She licked the wound clean.

Her hips continued their rhythmic motion, rising and falling as the wet, rhythmic slapping of skin against skin filled the chamber with a repulsive, carnal melody.

Dazed, Elijah remained still, his golden eyes wide as he struggled to process the revelation he had just endured.

The realization was beyond him.

Like a thunderous tidal wave, Idalia's words crashed over him, threatening to annihilate the final remnants of sanity he had clung to since that fateful day.

The day of the great betrayal, when Gold Eagle handed him over to Idalia.

With trembling effort, he shifted his gaze within his sockets, refusing to turn his head as he looked up at Marigold, who was smiling down at him.

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

The love Idalia felt for him was unmistakable. Yet, if it were merely love, their situation would have been simple.

It was far more complex.

Idalia’s love was entwined with a perverted craving. It was a hunger designed to fill a hollow space within her soul—a void.

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

"I," Elijah began, his golden eyes flickering as his sanity teetered on the edge, "did not love you. I do not love you. And I will never love you."

Marigold froze instantly, her pupils expanding as she stared down at Elijah.

The sheer intensity of the hatred in his gaze was palpable. Each of his words felt like a spear-thrust through her heart.

The pain was real.

Suppressing a shudder, Idalia bit her bottom lip.

Elijah Lightbringer, known as The Jugular of Light and the Trusted of the Gold Phoenix, clenched his jaw so tightly it creaked. He spoke once more,

"You won't get what you're looking for from me, Marigold. Listen closely, and never forget it."

He tilted his face toward hers in a final act of defiance, their lips nearly touching,

"You are broken," he spat, causing her to flinch slightly. "And nobody—absolutely nobody—can put you back together."

He took a breath, letting out a dark, mocking chuckle,

"Or perhaps your brother could—!"

"Don’t you dare," Marigold hissed. Her hands moved, first coiling gently and then tightening like a vice around Elijah's throat. "Do not dare mention my brother in my presence, Elijah."

"Your brother, or your lover?" Elijah asked, a smirk playing on his lips.

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

A sound like snapping timber echoed as Elijah’s neck broke. However, the injury mended itself almost instantly.

"I pity you, Marigold," Elijah said as his voice returned. "I truly do. You were abused by your own brother, used only to satisfy his depraved lust. How pathetic."

SNAP—!

Again, his body healed.

"Furthermore, you even bore his child. A child you murdered just to conceal your transgressions. Truly pathetic."

"Tell me, who is left for you? You are starved of love, Marigold. You have nothing and no one. If you believe your power will help you find someone to love you, you are in for a rude awakening."

"Just as it was before. You will revert to the child you once were. A miserable creature—!"

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

SNAP—!

She broke his neck once more.

Elijah's response was a cold, mocking laugh as he healed.

"I wonder what Soleil would think? What would he say if he knew the mother he respects and fears is nothing but a broken wh—!"

"Have it your way, Elijah," Idalia interrupted, her voice turning icy. Within her eyes, her pupils split into twelve distinct circles, each one a miniature, burning sun of a different hue.

The mockery vanished from Elijah's face, replaced by a deep frown as he sensed Idalia activating her Birthright.

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

A spark of hope ignited in Elijah's eyes, only to be eclipsed by a grim, sinking realization.

Idalia Marigold’s next words confirmed his worst fears with chilling precision.

"For years and years," Idalia rasped, her volume escalating with every syllable, "for years, I have sacrificed everything for you! I offered you my heart, my body, and my very soul! I risked everything to sever ties with my brother! I defied his commands, slaughtering his faction piece by piece! I did all I could, even providing Justicia with a clone of you because I wanted the real you for myself!"

"BUT IT WAS ALL FOR NOTHING! ALL OF IT!"

Idalia's scream was a roar of white-hot fury.

The mansion exploded, reduced to smoldering debris that the wind scattered into the void.

They were now surrounded by a kaleidoscope of fire—a vast ocean of flames consuming everything in sight.

Above them, twelve suns ascended into the firmament, reflecting Idalia's pupils and bathing Elijah in a merciless glow.

Elijah's mouth was a grim line; he could feel a lethal threat to his existence. His Gold Phoenix was screaming in alarm.

Marigold finally rose, pulling herself away from him as she stepped back.

The flames on the ground surged upward, crawling over her skin from her feet to her head.

As the fire receded, she was draped in garments of golden flame that covered only her essentials, leaving the rest of her form exposed.

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

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

Though her love was tainted and warped, Marigold had been using him as an anchor for her sanity.

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 broken and unloved?"

She gave a hollow smile that made Elijah shudder.

"Perhaps that is why you don't love me? Because I am damaged? But what if..."

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

"What—!"

"I will track her down," Marigold interrupted. "I will find Justicia, but death would be too kind. No, no, no..."

She shook her head with a manic intensity. "I will do something far worse. I will break her. And I will do it while you watch, my love, Elijah."

"You said you couldn't love a broken soul..."

Marigold's grin widened into a terrifying mask.

"Let us put that to the test, my love." She turned away, her footsteps heavy enough to crush worlds as she walked off.

Elijah stared blankly at her back. He wanted to scream, to protest, but he was speechless. He knew with absolute certainty that Idalia was not lying.

She intended to shatter him. She intended to shatter Justicia. She was going to turn them into the very pathetic creatures he had just mocked.

For the first time since becoming Idalia's prisoner, a desperate sense of urgency seized him.

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

"Stay here," Idalia commanded, her voice laced with cruel amusement. "Our next meeting will include Justicia. I expect you to appreciate the effort I'm making for you."

She stopped, glancing back at him over her shoulder.

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

With those words, her body erupted into flame and she vanished.

Left behind, Elijah remained naked and bound in chains. However, his gaze was now as hard as tempered steel. Deep within his mind, he began to call out.

He whispered to a force. He whispered to a name.

He whispered to...

'Icarus! Icarus! Icarus!'

'ICARUS, WAKE UP!'