The Ninth Altar: His Regret Came Far Too Late

During my fourth year exiled to the mortal realm to atone for my sins, my fiancé had already sent me to the sacrificial altar eight times.

Fortunately, as an angel, I possessed the innate ability to resurrect.

The voice of "God" echoing in my mind had promised that with just one final act of repayment, my trial would end, and I could finally return to the divine realm. There, a man who truly loved me would be waiting—someone who would cherish my life as his own.

It was a far cry from this mortal world, where my fiancé treated me as nothing more than a disposable tool, a living test subject for his childhood sweetheart to practice her curses on.

That was why I had never once refused to lie down on that stone altar, even when the vicious backlash of those hexes left me violently coughing up blood.

Then came the ninth time. The dark runes seared into my flesh.

I closed my eyes. Yet, just before the darkness could claim my consciousness, the muffled voices of my fiancé and a sorcerer drifted through the heavy doors.

"Your Grace, we've deceived Aria for four years. We fabricated God's oracle and those nine tasks of repayment. When this is all over, can we really keep it hidden?"

"We can. I hired the finest team of sorcerers."

"I know I have wronged her these past four years. But her angelic constitution makes her the perfect living vessel for Chloe's curse practice. Even though the first eight attempts failed, Chloe will definitely succeed this time."

"Once Chloe masters the spell, I will make it up to Aria with the most flawless wedding. I will protect her for the rest of her life."

On the altar, my eyes snapped wide open, my mind reeling in sheer disbelief.

There had never been an oracle from God. It was all a meticulously crafted lie, a trap designed to exploit my purest faith just to pay the bloody toll for Chloe to learn forbidden dark magic.

"Right, for the scapegoat curse this time, we are trading her heart, not her eyes. When she resurrects and wakes up, be careful not to let anything slip."

Every drop of blood in my veins turned to ice.

He didn't know. He didn't know that my ability to resurrect relied entirely on that very angelic heart.

Once my heart was carved out, I would never breathe again. My ninth life would be my absolute last, destined to scatter into nothing but permanent ash...

On the altar, I fought with everything I had. My locked limbs were pinned down by glowing runes, rendering me completely immobile.

Chloe walked in, glaring at me with blatant displeasure.

"What are you struggling for? The ritual is about to begin. Stop moving."

"Let me go!" My eyes were bloodshot. "I'm not doing the ritual anymore!"

That mechanical voice exploded in my mind again.

[Warning! Warning! The host has only one final act of repayment left before completing the trial and returning to the Divine Realm.]

[If abandoned now, all progress will reset to zero, and your soul shall plunge into hell.]

If it had been the old me, I would have undoubtedly bowed to the oracle. But now I knew the truth—that voice was nothing but a fake, a cruel illusion fabricated by the sorcerer team.

Chloe sneered, waving her hand to signal the attendants to tighten the runic chains.

"Whether you do it or not isn't up to you. Can you bear the consequences of delaying my dark magic practice?"

Hearing the commotion, the Duke walked in. He frowned and asked, "What's going on? Haven't the guiding runes already been infused?"

The lead sorcerer ran a quick check. "Your Grace, the guiding runes have been used too many times. Lady Aria has developed a resistance to them. We need to switch to a stronger tethering spell."

"I won't do it!" I screamed hoarsely. "You can't take my heart!"

The Duke froze for a moment. "You heard everything." He paused, artificially softening his tone. "Haven't you been complaining about chest pains lately due to the curse's backlash anyway? After we swap this heart and you resurrect, maybe it won't hurt anymore."

"Damien, I will die for good this time." Tears welled up uncontrollably, and my voice trembled. "You fabricated the oracle and lied to me for four years. I won't hold it against you. I just beg you to let me go this one time, okay?"

He looked down in silence, a flicker of hesitation flashing in his eyes.

"Aria, why are you playing the victim?" Chloe's tone carried a sickening hint of amusement. "In these past four years, when have you not come back to life perfectly fine after a sacrifice?"

"Damien, if we don't start soon, Morkel is going to get hungry."

Morkel was the serpentine familiar she kept.

Hearing her, he hesitated no longer, gesturing for the sorcerer to continue infusing the runes.

"Aria, Morkel is a familiar; it cannot go hungry. This is the absolute last time. I'll make it up to you properly after this."

In his eyes, my life mattered even less than a beast's appetite.

I twisted my heavily bruised wrists desperately, refusing to cooperate with the activation of the magic circle.

"Chloe, you've never conducted a proper sacrifice! Let alone the scapegoat curse, you couldn't even draw basic runes right these past three years! Do you know how many deadly runic backlashes I’ve suffered because of you?!"

"You're just a living sacrifice. Why should I waste my magic purifying you?"

Chloe impatiently snatched the incantation stone from the sorcerer's hand. "Since she doesn't want to cooperate, let her endure it wide awake."

The sorcerer hesitated. "Without infusing the guiding runes, she will be tortured to death by the pain."

"It's not like she'll actually die anyway. I'm actually a bit curious to see what it looks like to undergo the scapegoat curse while completely conscious."

She tugged at Damien's sleeve playfully. "Damien, it's a rare chance to observe the unique essence of an angel. You'll let me, won't you?"