“Aria, my angel,” the emperor said earnestly.

“Come and save me.”

Salvation.

The emperor seeks salvation from the monster.

‘How absurd.’

It was so funny that she could no longer laugh.

Aria stared at him as he stretched out his hand towards her cage, but she didn’t move.

“Please sing!”

“……..”

“Aria! If you don’t sing, I’ll make sure you’ll never be able to walk again,” he fumed, threatening her into submission.

His strength was quickly ebbing, his madness near. After tons of threats and persuasion that lead to nowhere, he finally resorted to begging.

He was completely insane.

“Please sing for us. Siren. I beg for your mercy.”

“Please, Siren…,” the dancers pleaded.

Until just a few months ago, these were the people who wouldn’t hesitate to bring her misery. They laughed at her and whispered behind her back.

The musicians and conductors who played the song for the Siren. Even the knights who guarded the emperor.

They called her a monster.

But here they are now, begging on their knees, waiting for Aria to open her mouth.

Aria caught her breath as something lunged painfully up her neck.

“…cough!” she spewed.

It was blood.

The pain throbbed in her chest and the blood slumped all over her body

She looked at her hands which was now coated in blood, the red fluid loosening her grip.

With teary eyes, she clutched her chest.

‘Ah.’

‘So this is how I die.’

Aria smiled.

‘At long last.’

She can finally have her eternal rest.

Her tightly closed lips opened and she finally sang.

“Come to me, sweet death.”

As Aria began to sing, the whole audience became silent. Nobody could take their eyes off her.

She’s been abusing her voice so it became rough and tired over time. Nonetheless, everyone was still mesmerized at her singing. Her voice rolled over the hills in sorrowful waves. It was raspy and quiet yet so powerful as it was brought out in a fit of pain.

“Come and guide me into peace.”

The song, which started calmly, wrapped around them like a warm ray of sunshine.

They echoed amongst the masonry and up to the rafters, then comforted and stroked them tenderly as if it were the voice of an angel.

“Oh, my lord….” Someone said as they shed tears with a serene smile.

The melody purred to the soul, piercing through and touched their hearts from within.

“I am tired of this world…,” Aria continued singing.

This song she sang was a hymn about seeing heaven through death.

However, due to Aria’s dark tone, it became a completely different song.

It turned into a song to call upon the devil.

“Come, the blessings!”1

The irresistibly sweet sound that reverberated in the silence instantly clutched their hearts.

Aria’s songs were like poison, slowly devouring their entire being from within.

“Come!”

The murky voice grabbed their ankles and dragged them straight into the swamp.

Into the swamp of the abyss,

Into the swamp of death,

Into the swamp of hell.

The sound spread violently as Aria continued to sing at the top of her lungs.

“I am waiting for you!” she shouted.

She begged to God who had abandoned her.

She begged to God but ended up getting hurt, cursed, and left alone again.

Eventually, she lost hope in God.

“Come and close my eyes.”

If there’s no God, then she sincerely prays that the devil will take her instead.

“Gasp, gahk!”

Suddenly, the emperor let out a strangled scream as he felt overwhelming pain. He couldn’t breathe, it was as if someone was strangling his neck, squeezing the life out of him.

A second later, he lost strength in his feet and he fell to the ground. The impact of the fall shuddered all the way through his body, which only made the pain ten times worse.

“Blessed sabbath, come!” Aria sang as she let the last note of the song curl slowly from her lips.

The song was over. The ritual was finally finished.

“Gasp, cough….!” The emperor choked as he gasped for air.

His hands were shaking and his whole body was soaked with cold sweat.

Puzzled, the fallen emperor slowly got back to his feet.

“Wha-what on earth is going on?!”

When the emperor looked around, he realized that most of the audience had fainted. Turns out, it wasn’t just him that had to endure that unbearable pain.

Some of the knights that regained consciousness drew out their swords, but their aim was negligent and their feet staggered.

The emperor was appalled. If he had a sword in his hand, he would have carelessly ended his own life because he couldn’t withstand the pain.

“Thi-this…..”

The dread creeps over him like an icy chill, numbing his brain.

“How dare this b*tch….”

But when he came back to his senses, that fear quickly turned into anger.

“How dare you try to kill me!”

Aria had little to no rights as she was the only Siren remaining on the land.

“I saved you from the brink of death, and this is how you repay my kindness?” he ranted.

Sirens live for the purpose of singing. They are not allowed to do anything else.

“Today, I will surely break your will to live. I shall punish you for disobeying me!”

He took one of the knight’s sword and lunged towards her.

Suddenly, a black shadow cast over her.

After living inside the cage her entire life, she finally gained freedom.

She closed her eyes.

‘Sweet death, blessed rest.’

It was then that the door suddenly swung open.

A man with black hair said, “What a sad song.”

He moved closer with those hollow eyes that stared so deeply into her own, and as Aria raised her head, their eyes met.

‘The Grand Duke of Valentine….’

The man who sold his soul to the devil.

The man who was not supposed to be here actually came.

His red footprints stained the white marble floor as he approached her.

‘He really came.’

Aria couldn’t believe it.

The duke took out his sword which was drenched in blood.

The blood on his sword danced merrily as he drew a semicircle on the ground.

“If you seek salvation from the devil, then now is the time.”

Beyond the wide-open door, the blood-stained imperial palace was as serene as a tomb.

Just like it was in the beginning.

“You’re welcome.”

* * *

The devil killed the emperor.

“The sabbath has come,” he said indifferently.

Then he took the key out of the emperor’s arms and unlocked Aria’s cage.

Creak—

The cage slowly opened.

Standing underneath the chandelier, the devil shone brilliantly. His eyes, which looked like burnt ashes, glistened underneath the lights and when they reflected it, they made tiny stars.

In this dark night, his eyes are like the moon, scattering the nascent rays, ever illuminating her soul.

‘How stunning….’

For the first time in Aria’s life, she was mesmerized by a person’s eyes.

“The birdcage is open. Fly anywhere you wish to go.”

It was a memory that she would never forget even after her death.

Aria looked at her shackled ankles with a blank face.

Then she raised her head.

6

‘The Grand Duke of Valentine….’

A traitor who killed the emperor.

Yet, he was her savior.

Her cage was wide open.

As the grand duke said, if she had wings, she’d gladly fly away.

But.

“I can’t fly anywhere,” Aria said as she laughed and wiped her bitter tears.2

Her death was near.

‘Put an end to my life…’

As Aria was about to open her mouth to make her last will, she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her vocal cords.

She bent over as drops of blood splattered on her lap and knees. By slow, torturous degrees, the coughs eased in intensity and then slowly, slowly passed.

She glanced at the violent red that stained all over her body before her eyes went blank.

“You are a bird with a broken wing…”

The Grand Duke’s languid gaze briefly touched her twisted leg.

“Siren, I’ve heard that listening to your songs drives people crazy.”

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Aria collapsed.

Her body slowly becoming weak.

The grand duke held her dying body in his arms and said, “Then I guess your song won’t affect me. Because I’ve always been crazy.”

“…….”

“If there is a limit to madness, you must prove it yourself.”

The devil smiled and carried her body.

Having no strength left in her frail body, Aria finally closed her eyes in the devil’s arms.

“Aria, my angel.”

The Emperor spoke desperately

“Hurry up and save me.”

Save what.

The son of a Deity was hoping to be saved by a monster. It was a funny sight, even though all her laughter has dried up. Aria stared past the bird cage at the extended hand, unmoving.

“Hurry and sing!”

“………..

“Aria! If you don’t sing now, I’ll make sure you’ll never be able to walk again.”

The Emperor roared like a beast.

He got angry, sad, laughed, then threatened me. In the end, he fell on his knees and begged.

He had gone completely insane.

“Please sing. Miss Siren. Please show us your mercy.”

“We beg you, Miss Siren……”

Even the dancers present there, begged, falling to their face while rubbing their hands together. It was only a few months ago that these people used to behave coquettishly and mockingly towards Aria. The conductors, the musicians who were playing the instruments, and even the Knights guarding the Emperor were all holding their breath just waiting for the Siren to open her mouth and sing.

Cough

At that moment, Aria coughed out blood. She coughed and coughed until her whole dress was covered in blood. Her heart clenched.

Ah.

‘I’m going to die soon.’

Aria laughed.

*Finally.

She can now welcome eternal rest. Her tightly closed lips finally opened.

“Come, oh sweet death.”

Her overworked, rough voice cut through the air like a knife. The silent atmosphere fell like a blanket as Aria began to sing softly. Nobody could take their eyes off her, it was as though they forgot how to breathe.

“Come quickly and guide me into the arms of peace.”

“Oh my God…….”

Somebody in the crowd smiled while shedding tears. The song started calmly, floating in the air like warm sunlight, touching their hearts and wrapping the crowd gently, sweetly comforting.

“Because I have become tired of this world.”

The song was a deeply religious song sung by those who hoped to go to heaven after death. However, with Aria’s dark and deep tone it sounded like a completely different song, as if it was a sensual whisper of the devil.

“Come, oh blessed rest!”

The once sweet and calm comforting song suddenly became like sweet poison making everybody gasp and ensnared their hearts violently.

“Come!”

The raspy voice formed a chain around their ankles and dragged them into a swamp. Into the swamp of the netherworld, Into the swamp of death, Into the swamp of hell. Aria’s voice became even rougher, springing and spreading all around.

“I am waiting for you!”

This wasn’t a song but a scream, a cry for help. She begged the Deities who gave up on her, then she cursed them, gave up on them, then begged again…. In the end, letting go of everything, collapsing.

“Hurry and come close my eyes.”

If the Deities weren’t going to come, she hoped that at least the devil would appear and take her away.

Gasp

The Emperor fell to the ground on his knees and started to choke.

Blood rushed to his eye. He was in so much pain, it was as though his heart was being pulled out of his chest.

“Oh blessed rest, come!”

The song had just come to an end. With it, the ceremony of trying to summon the devil had also ended.

The Emperor let out heavy breaths, it’s as if he had just escaped being choked to death. His whole body was shaking and covered in sweat.

‘W-What on earth was……’

Looking around him, most of the people present there had fainted. Some knights, who were still a little conscious, were drawing their swords trying to end their own life. The Emperor’s blood ran cold. If he happened to have a sword on him, he might have also been like them, trying to end his own life because the pain was

too much to handle.

“T-T-This……”

Fear that rose from the overwhelming difference of power.

“This wench, you dare…..”

His fear suddenly turned into anger.

“You dare attempt to kill me!”

Being the only remaining Siren, He took care of her. But, there was a limit to his patience.

“I saved you from burning to death, yet this is how you pay me for my kindness?”

TL/N: sigh…throw yourself off a cliff and do us all a favour ^^

The Emperor murmured grimly. A Siren should just be able to sing and nothing else.

“Today is the day I will break your will. I will make you obey me.”

He grabbed a knight’s sword and moved forward, towards the cage. Just like a bird who had been trapped in it’s bird cage for so long, it can only gain freedom after it’s death. Aria was also looking forward to her death and freedom. She slowly closed her eyes.

‘Sweet death, blessed rest.’

It was then. The doors of the Emperor’s chambers suddenly opened.

“You were singing so desperately.”

Aria opened her eyes and slowly raised her head. Hollow grey eyes were staring at her.

“The Grand Duke Valentine…’

The man who was said to have sold his soul to the devil. The man who wasn’t supposed to be here was walking towards her, with death following him. He left red shoe prints with each step he took.

‘He’s really here.

Aria could not believe it. The Grand Duke lightly brushed down the sword that had been soaked in blood making it splatter everywhere like rain droplets

“If you were hoping to be saved by the devil,”

The bloodstained palace resembling a graveyard, became completely still.

“Then I’ll give you what you want.”

The devil killed the Emperor.

“Looks like you’ve found your blessed peace.”

He spoke indifferently. Taking the key from the deceased Emperor’s arms, he moved towards Aria’s bird cage. Soon, the sound of the cage’s door being opened could be heard.

Creak

The devil stood there, in front of the chandelier with a thousand colors, shining brightly. Light fell on his face making his eyes shine brighter than the moon.

‘Like a light shining through a dark tunnel.’

Aria, for the first time, ever realized that a human being’s eyes could be this pretty.

“Your bird cage has been opened. Get up and fly away.”

That was the memory of being saved that could never be forgotten.

Aria blankly stared at her legs that were free from chains, and

raised her head.

‘Grand Duke Valentine…..!

The traitor that killed the Emperor. Her saviour. The bird cage had opened, and just like the Grand Duke’s words, if she had wings, she wanted to fly up in the air. However.

“I can’t fly anywhere.”

Aria smiled bitterly while crying. She’s dying anyway.

‘Just please kill me.’

It was when she was about to open her mouth to make a final request. Unbelievable pain took over her, it was as though someone had stabbed her over and over with a knife. Aria’s vision darkend.

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“Were you a bird who has already lost its wings?”

The Grand Duke’s gaze briefly turned menacing.

“Siren, I heard that people go crazy if they heard you sing.”

Aria’s body collapsed on the floor, she was slowly losing consciousness, her body slowly freezing. The Grand Duke held the dying Aria in his arms, saying.

“Then I guess it won’t affect me because I’m already crazy.”

…….

“If there’s a limit to one’s madness, then I want you to prove it.”

If you have something to say, then you can whisper it to me. The devil smirked while carrying her and heading off to some place. Aria closed her eyes while she was in the devil’s arms.

“Shh, Aria. You must never speak, alright?”

Aria’s mother, Sophia, had been feeding her potions ever since she was born.

After drinking the potion, Aria was not able to say anything. She became mute.

She couldn’t even cough.

“You’re a pathetic failure who should’ve never been born!”

Aria’s expression sank.

Why did she have to be beaten and cursed by her own father?

His facial expression was one of absolute disdain. He abhorred her. To him, she was nothing but a burden on his shoulders.

‘I can speak. I have a name, too…’

She blamed her mother.

The mother who would never visit unless it was to deliver potions.

The mother who would scold her when she didn’t drink the potions.

The mother who had never read her fairy tales or sung her a lullaby.1

The mother who had never even embraced her…

‘Does she even love me?’

Aria knew nothing.

She could only watch her as the days went by.

When she turned 10 that spring, she learned everything.

Sophia had passed away.

Her vocal cords were completely torn.

“She took her own life. It was said that she committed a violent crime.”

She knew of the truth only after she overheard the maids’ conversations.

Sophia tried to protect her from Count Cortez.1

‘I was a Siren….’

Siren.

Named after an ancient creature, it was an ability that ran through Sophia’s veins.

The ability to charm, lure, control, and heal others by singing.

Sirens were mythological creatures that only existed in legends.

However, 12 years ago, Count Cortez found out that they truly existed. So he kidnapped a Siren and introduced her to the world.

That Siren was Aria’s mother.

‘Is that how I was born?’

Her whole body trembled.

The news pained her, but it was incomparable to Count Cortez’s domestic violence towards Aria.

“How dare you run away from me, you b*tch! I won’t be your nanny!”

It hurt. A lot.

That day was the worst day of her life.

Aria sat there, tears pricking her eyes, pale hands trembling with fear and sadness.

She tried to block out the screams, but it was impossible, the noise kept ripping her heart.

She felt more pain than the human body could bear and she genuinely believed she would die.

‘I have to run away.’

She had thought of escaping before.

But she was only ten years old.

Furthermore, It had only been a while since she discovered her mother’s true intentions, which were to protect her.

Suddenly, Aria let out a scream.

“Agh!”

She wailed because she couldn’t endure the pain any longer.

“Haha, yes! There’s no way that a Siren’s daughter can’t speak. How dare you try to deceive me?”

“No! Stop it!!!”

“How beautiful… like the voice of an angel, as clear and as soft as a feather….”3

In the end, Aria ended up following her mother’s footsteps, living the life of a Siren.

The powerful nobles begged her to sing, offering her all of their wealth and shamelessly kissing her feet.

The secret social parties of the imperial family and aristocrats turned into a gathering to listen to the songs of the Siren.

They did terrible things.

She saw many things she shouldn’t have seen.

She heard things she shouldn’t have heard.

‘I didn’t want to know any of this…”

She prayed to God every day.

‘Please save me.’

But God never responded.

Due to her overwhelming talent, the Siren’s songs became even more popular.

The people worshipped her as if she were a deity.

They begged her to save them.

Until… the worst comes to the worst.

Rumors began to spread throughout the empire.

The Siren was rumored to be a monster, not an angel of salvation who borrowed the voice of a God.

“The legendary monster deceived all of you…,” Saintess Veronica said with teary eyes in front of the believers.1

“I also got addicted to her songs and most of the palace officials went crazy. The Emperor too….”

Her tears seemed so real that the congregation in the square became agitated.

The nobles went crazy.

The emperor became a tyrant.

The empire fell to ruin.

‘And it’s all the Siren’s fault.’

The Siren was a fake.

Not a sacred being, but a horrible monster.

The real one was Veronica, the saintess from the Holy Empire.4

They shouted in anger, “The imperial family is over because of the monster!”

“We must clean up the imperial palace that has become a den of heathens!”

“Be in power, oh Holy Being!”

“This is not just treason. It’s blasphemy! The Siren’s declaring a holy war!”1

The benevolent saint shook her slender shoulders slightly.1

War was inevitable.

She raised her head as if she had made a decision.

Their eyes rest upon golden arcing rays that fell behind Veronica’s fluttering blonde hair.

“I will save all of you.” Veronica pledged.

“Wow!”

“I will purify the palace and grant God’s grace so that no more innocent sacrifices will be made.”

Saintess Veronica.

The protagonist of a perfectly woven heroic narrative.2

And Aria, the villain who ruined the empire, the root of all evil.

‘I drove them to madness? Really?’

Even Aria herself was confused.

The imperial family, the aristocrats, the commoners… They all said that it was her fault.

The war had begun.

Men and women of all ages were mobilized for war.

They were dragged unconditionally, unable to refuse the conscription.

From the street outside came a peculiar, blood-chilling sound. It was like the low snarling of many voices, and it grew louder and louder until it became a sullen, muttering roar.

The knights called the scene a ‘purification process’.

“Execute the monster!”

When the public sentiment arose, the emperor hid Aria in the depths of the palace.

“Execution? No. You have to sing like a bird for your entire life.”1

Then he broke her leg, covered her mouth, and held her captive inside a small birdcage.2

‘How long have I been here?’

Aria burst into tears.

“……”

This is how she dies.

She gazed upon her bloody palms and clenched her fist.

‘Yes, I’ll just die.’

Once the last remaining Siren dies, no one will have to suffer like her.

Aria gave up everything.

But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t stop her emotions from coming out of her rotten heart.

“Do you want me to kill you?”

Aria shifted her gaze to the source of the voice.

Lloyd Cardence Valentine.

The devilish Grand Duke who was said to have murdered all of his relatives and cut off their limbs at the age of 18.

Here he was, staring at a woman with a broken leg, trapped inside the emperor’s cage and dying.

“Because you called for me.”

“I called for you?”

“The Devil.”

The Grand Duke of Valentine.1

A despicable tyrant like the emperor, but he was also a murderer, and he worshipped the devil.

Rumors said that he sold his bloodstained soul to the devil.

“Call me when you need me.”

“……”

“Your songs can be heard everywhere.”

It was as if the devil had offered her a contract with her soul as collateral.

‘He’ll kill us all…’

Aria was dying anyway. What else would she rather do than revenge?

A bird with a broken wing will not be able to fly again even if its cage was opened.

But at the brink of her death, Aria chose to…

“Come, sweet death.”

Call upon the devil.

The Grand Duke, who barged into the palace, murdered all those who stood in his way, with a single sword.1

Everyone last one of them, all…

…except for Aria.1

The screams tore through the room like a great shard of glass. They were the kind of strangled cry that belonged to those not long for this world

Every face was stained with red splatter, and limbs lay at unnatural angles underneath the light of the chandelier.

The night was filled with terror.

Aria was the only one who saw the light of salvation behind the Grand Duke’s back.

“Too bad. Could I have listened to your song one more time if I had come a little earlier?”1

“……”

“I wanted to hear you singing.”

She answered slowly, “Has my song corrupted you, too?”

“No, I corrupted you.”1

He picked up the finest herb leaves that had been scattered nearby in a languid manner.

Then he stuffed it into a smoking pipe and bit it in his mouth.

“Let’s go to hell together,” he said as he pressed the pipe to his red lips and puffed out a cloud of smoke.7

“I apologize. If you hadn’t called me in, you could have gone to heaven.”

Hell.

The scene in front of her looked like hell.

The imperial families and nobles on the floor were lifeless. Their bodies were scattered in multiple places, stained with dried blood; crimson and the room was filled with a nasty butchershop odor.

‘Furthermore… the emperor died.’3

God asked us to forgive our enemies.

Sacrifice yourself for others.

Deny yourself.

God…

But even on the verge of death, the vengeance of a devil was far too sweet.

If the price of her revenge was hell, then she was willing to pay for her sins.

“Sing, I want to sing.”

For the first time in her life. Aria wanted to sing on her own volition.

“Listen to me.”

Her voice didn’t come out well and she could barely open her lips.

But the Grand Duke was still willing to listen.

‘The Devil who took me to Hell.’

Her savior.

He held her in his arms, the pain that weighed on her heart slowly died down.1

All of her senses gradually escaped from her body as she began to fall into a deep sleep and a faint smile hung around her face as she blinked her last second…

* * *

Aria had passed on.

But as the numbness of sleep slowly faded from her limbs…

‘…a floral scent.’

She smelled the scent of spring.

‘Is this… Hell?’3

Her eyes opened, her eyelashes faintly batting against her lids when she blinked and she gasped in a breath.

A familiar ceiling covered her vision.

It was the attic ceiling that she had been locked up in until she was ten.

She pondered for a while, her breathing beginning to steady.

How odd she thought, there was no sharp pain in her chest anymore. It had pained her a lot when she breathed.

‘It doesn’t hurt anymore.’

She touched her face.

‘No burn marks? Why can’t I feel them…?’

She sat up, dragged her feet off the bed, and cast her eyes around her surroundings.

‘The cage is gone.’

She wasn’t locked up. She was free.

She could move her whole body freely. Her legs weren’t crippled, her wounds were gone, and she could actually speak.

‘It’s not a dream.’

Her limbs hadn’t been without pain these past few years, yet here she was, her body was perfect, younger, and healthy.

Aria jumped to her feet and ran towards a small window.

The petals, which heralded the end of winter, fluttered.

‘It’s spring.’

The spring greeted her as butterfly wings greeted the air. The sky was blue, the flowers bloomed, and the sun brought a welcoming warmth that coated her pink-calamine hair.

It was a beautiful landscape, something she thought she would never see again.

Aria reached outside the window and grabbed the petals that scattered through the air, holding them in her hands as if she were praying.

“Ah.”

She was resurrected.

The devil has given her another opportunity.

“…I can talk.”

She didn’t drink the potion because her mother had died.

The fact that she still lived in the attic meant that her father had not heard her voice.

‘Father.’

Count Cortez.

‘The one who ruined my life.’

She sought revenge then, and she will do so now.

Her revenge was all that would make her whole again.

The first thing that popped into her mind, was not the surprise of turning back in time, or the confusion regarding her unusual surroundings, rather…

It was the seven letters of revenge.

‘He must be drinking by now.’

‘He should have been drinking in that place since morning.’

Aria wanted to visit her father.

So she opened the door of the attic without hesitation and immediately headed underground.

“Gasp!”

“Goodness! You scared me.”

“What, how…?”

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The maids were dumbfounded at the sight of her leaving the attic.

Aria brushed past them carelessly.

She will soon meet her so-called father in the wine cellar.

“What are you…?”

Count Cortez was too drunk to fully grasp the situation.

He was confused about Aria’s sudden appearance, and he held a wry expression.

But when Aria began to sing, his face brightened and he was soon bathed in astonishment.