Doctor Guwiskle finally shuffled and bound Aselia on the stretcher, before extracting a vial and syringe from his bag and filling the latter from the former.

He then glanced in Phantom’s direction as if asking for permission.

"Go ahead," he slightly nodded his head. Guwiskle stepped forward and plunged the syringe into her neck.

Within seconds her body began convulsing as the serum entered her brain and began rewiring her neurons. Aselia’s eyes flew open and a shrill scream was torn from her lips, her back arched as she struggled against the bounds and memory after memory hit her.

Her breathing was erratic, her heart rate skyrocketed and she was drenched in her sweat as if she had been labouring all day. Another scream followed, and she lifted her head a bit as her whole body spasmed.

"Relax! Breathe in, it will be over in a while," Guwiskle instructed her, seeing her struggle. The way her body was acting and the amount of time it was taking, told him that there were quite several memories which had been suppressed.

Phantom watched her from the sidelines with keen interest. He was right, Xiran had taken her memories to keep her safe. Too bad it didn’t work.

Tears flowed from Aselia’s widely opened eyes which stared at the ceiling as the lost memories rushed back to her and she realised what Xiran meant to her.

Her heart was pounding with such force that she was afraid it would burst as it overflowed with the love she had for him and yet it saddened her profusely when the memory of what he did resurfaced and a cry of utter frustration and anger escaped her lips. More tears followed since she had no control over her emotions and body, Xiran had left her completely vulnerable.

The face of that angel was complete now, her angel. But she was long from smiling. The soft kisses they shared, his wandering hands on her bare skin, the caresses and the way he held her, everything hit her like a cyclone hitting a wooden house on a beach, shattering into a million pieces.

That’s what he had done to her, ripped open her heart, separated her from his existence and left her wounded and raw. Creating this black hole inside of her which sucked in all of her pleasures and happiness and yet left her yearning for more.

Now she understood the heartaches, the pull, the aversion to other men like Jaguar, the sleepless nights, the dreams. Now she understood everything. Xiran had been a callous man, he stripped her of her free will. He stayed away and kept her too.

Aselia sucked in a voluminous amount of air as the last remnants of him flashed in front of her eyes before he took her memories. That blank look killed her inside again. She sobbed as her heart still ached for him.

And then some other memories flooded her brain. Memories of her parents, memories of that night and the man who killed them and her eyes darted to him with so much malice that Phantom smiled in triumph. He knew she remembered something related to him.

But she stayed quiet and averted her gaze, she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of knowing that he had an upper hand on her. And then more memories of Xiran hit her, memories of him rescuing her as a child, carrying her so affectionately, consoling her. He saved her life all those years ago, took her away from under his father’s clutches or she would have ended up worse than Irlana.

’Xiran!’ His name barely left her lips as her whole existence pained to be away from him and another tear escaped her turquoise orbs and flowed down her temple and disappeared in her hair.

"Seems like you got your memories back," Phantom’s grainy voice brought her back to reality and she watched him with her lips thinned out and her jaw set tight.

"Recollect your thoughts and we will talk soon," he shifted from his position and throwing her one final amused look, he exited the room. Swiftly followed by Guwiskle and they shut the door behind them. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

As soon as the door closed, Aselia broke down. All the defences she was putting up lowered and she whimpered in pain and agony at her situation. Her brain had been overloaded with so many emotions and memories and she was simultaneously experiencing everything that had been stored away. It was overwhelming and she wanted to hit something.

"Why?" she whispered, "Just why, Xiran? Why did you do this to me?" The excruciating pain was tearing her heart apart and she couldn’t help but cry to lessen the pain he had inflicted on her.

After everything she still ended up being caught by the monster he was trying to protect her from. She knew he meant well but she didn’t agree with his method and she was going to make him pay for what he had done.

The newfound hatred for his father flowed through her like a poisonous river and she shivered remembering his touch. Tha man was sick to the core, like a rotten apple. Shiny from the outside, rotten from the inside.

"I am going to kill him," the determination made her eyes shine and the ruby bracelet twinkled in her arm.

-----------------

Phantom remembered Hudias had brought a blurry picture of a female hunter once. He went to his study and extracted the file from the drawer where he kept all such relevant information.

He rummaged through it and finally stumbled upon the picture he was looking for. He picked it up and looked closely. It was her, it was the girl he had in his basement. A malignant grin twisted his lips as he spoke:

"So, she is a hunter. No doubt she can fight. Leave it to my son to do the impossible, he not only fell in love with an elf, but to top it off, she is a hunter. No wonder I couldn’t find her. Well, this will be even more interesting."