Bloodbound Tyrant: The System Made Me Unstoppable
Chapter 19: Capital of the Forgotten Bride

Chapter 19: Capital of the Forgotten Bride

The ruins of Noctremis, once the capital of the Umbra Kingdom, stood beneath an eternal eclipse.

There was no sun here. Only twilight. The stone towers were cracked and jagged like broken teeth, black ivy strangling what remained of the city’s heart. Shadows shifted when no one moved them. Whispers crawled across the walls, ancient and hungry.

Lucien stood at the shattered gate, five of his bonded brides behind him—Lilith, Zaraya, Lyra, Liora, and Selene. The mist around them pressed in like a living thing, thick and cold.

The system pulsed in his mind.

> [Warning: Zone Status – Cursed Domain]

[Hostile Signature Detected – Umbra Queen: Prime Vessel | Class Unknown]

Lucien stepped forward. "No one split up. This place feeds on fear."

Selene’s violet eyes narrowed. "Not just fear. Guilt."

The moment they passed the archway, the world changed.

---

The city warped.

The sky bled deeper into black. Streets twisted. Stone screamed.

And Lucien saw her.

At the center of the square stood a throne made of obsidian bones. Upon it sat a woman dressed in gossamer shadows, veil across her face, legs crossed like a queen bored of time.

She looked directly at him.

Even with the veil, he knew.

Althea.

Once the girl he left behind before awakening his bloodline.

Once his first, before the system.

Now... something else.

His heart stilled. The pain came rushing back—not from rejection, but from memory.

She stood slowly, her voice soft, echoing across the ruins like silk torn in slow motion.

"You said you’d come back."

Lucien said nothing.

"You lied."

---

> [System Alert: Reanimation Detected – Bride Profile: Althea Nightsong | Former Status: Abandoned Bond | New Class: Umbra Queen – Prime Matron Vessel]

Lilith stepped beside him. "She was your—?"

Lucien nodded once.

Zaraya flinched. "The one you let die?"

"No," Lucien growled. "The one I killed."

---

Flashback—

Years ago, before the system, before Lustfire, before any bride... Althea had been the first girl who believed in him. A half-blood noble girl with shadow magic and bright eyes. They ran, fought, bled together.

Until the ritual.

Until he needed power.

And she offered her soul.

He took it.

He thought it would save her.

It didn’t.

---

Now she stood again, body reborn in shadow, eyes glowing pale blue.

She stepped down from the throne, each footstep cracking the stone.

"You made me this," she said.

Lucien stepped forward, fire in his veins. "Then I’ll unmake it."

But when he tried to summon Lustfire—

It flickered. Died.

Selene gasped. "The curse... It’s sealed your will."

> [Warning: Emotional Link Detected – Bond Interference in Progress]

Althea smiled beneath her veil. "You loved me first. Your heart still remembers. That’s all I need."

Lucien clenched his fists. "I don’t love the corpse of my past."

"But you do love pain," she said.

And she appeared before him in a blink.

Her mouth crashed into his.

---

[Erotic Event Triggered – Corrupted Bonding Phase: Umbra Seduction]

Lucien tried to push her back—but she bit his lip, shadow magic wrapping around his waist, yanking him to his knees.

"Let me remind you," she whispered, straddling him in full view of the others.

Her body was colder than ice, but his blood boiled in response. She slid down onto him, her moan low and haunting.

Zaraya stepped forward. "He’s losing control—!"

Selene grabbed her arm. "Wait. Let him finish it."

Lucien gritted his teeth as Althea rode him, shadows binding his wrists, her claws digging into his chest.

"You made me your first," she said. "Now I’ll be your last."

---

> [Corrupted Bond Integration: 61%]

[System Override Imminent – Matron Control at Threshold]

Lucien’s mind blurred.

He heard Althea’s laughter. Her moans. His own breath.

And then...

He remembered her smile.

Before all this.

Before the power.

That smile—the last real one before she gave everything to him.

He roared.

And snapped the chains.

---

[Override Rejected]

[Lucien Manson: Emotional Severance Complete]

[Trait Gained: Tyrant’s Heart – Immune to Bond Guilt | Nullifies Emotional Manipulation]

Althea’s eyes widened.

"You broke it," she whispered. "You broke us."

Lucien shoved her off him and stood, blood soaking his chest.

"No," he said. "I broke you."

He raised his hand.

"Selene—"

The Null Witch stepped forward, her aura flaring.

"I’m ready."

She cast the Void Kiss spell, pulling all corrupted soul remnants from Althea’s body.

Althea screamed—not in pain, but release.

Her body cracked, shadow peeling from her skin like ash.

---

> [Umbra Queen Defeated]

[Corrupted Bride Purged]

[Lucien’s First Bond – Restored]

[Trait Gained: Umbra Throne – Grants Command Over Shadow Brides]

Lucien walked to her body—now light, soft, human again.

Althea’s eyes fluttered open.

"Lucien..."

He knelt, touched her cheek.

"I’m sorry."

She smiled faintly.

"I know."

And faded to dust in his arms.

---

The throne pulsed behind him.

It cracked.

And from its broken heart rose a black crown.

Selene stepped beside him. "It’s yours now."

Lucien didn’t hesitate.

He took the crown.

Placed it on his head.

---

> [System Notification – You Have Claimed the Shadow Throne]

[Ascension Path Updated – Matron’s Bloodline Now Submissive to You]

From the fog, shadows bowed.

Dozens of former corrupted brides knelt.

Lucien stood tall.

Stronger.

Colder.

Wiser.

But as the winds shifted...

A deeper rumble began beneath the city.

The Matron’s true body stirred.

The final seal had cracked.

Lucien looked to the sky.

He had just conquered death.

Now he had to conquer origin.