Reborn as a Devouring Dragon with a System
Chapter 148: Lifetimes of Pain, Sorrow and Suffering (9)

Chapter 148: Lifetimes of Pain, Sorrow and Suffering (9)

CRUNCH!

Her teeth met something hard.

She froze.

Her fingers reached for her lips, carefully pulling out the object—

And what she saw made her breath hitch—

Her heart skipped—

A wave of disbelief washed over her face as she stared at the small item in her palm...

She was relishing the moment—

Yet, what she had found sent a fresh shock rippling through her very soul.

Looking at the exquisite ring in her hands, Lyla slowly turned her gaze—

And there he was.

Daniel was on one knee, surrounded by petals gently falling through the evening air, people scattering flowers in quiet celebration around them.

"Lyla," his voice trembled slightly, yet was firm with emotion,

"since you entered my life, everything changed. Like an angel saving a soul that had strayed... that’s what you are to me."

He took a deep breath, heart pounding with anticipation, love, fear, and hope intertwining in his chest.

"Lyla, will you marry me?"

Time seemed to stop.

Lyla, overwhelmed by his words and the sight of the man she loved kneeling before her, felt tears stream down her cheeks. She couldn’t hold them back.

With a trembling smile and a desperate need not to let the moment slip away, she nodded quickly—

"Yes... yes, I will marry you, Drakion."

And with those words, it was as if Daniel had soared into the ninth heaven.

He jumped up, unable to contain his joy, laughter bubbling from his soul.

He slipped the ring onto her finger—

A masterpiece of silver light, glinting like moonlight on water. Floral trims adorned the edges, intricately woven in a design that could only be meant for her.

The moment the ring touched her finger, Lyla threw herself into his arms.

They embraced tightly, finding warmth and comfort in each other’s presence.

Their lips met—

A deep, passionate kiss, sealing a vow not yet spoken aloud, but felt in their hearts.

Tears of happiness fell from Lyla’s eyes as she kissed her future husband again and again.

When the warmth of that perfect moment settled, they finally turned to leave for home.

"I want some yoghurt," Lyla pointed to a local Nigerian vendor walking by with yoghurt.

Daniel chuckled softly, always amused at her preference for that local treat instead of the fancy ones sold in supermarkets.

They strolled together toward the vendor who had stopped nearby. Daniel bought her the ice cream she adored.

RING! RING!

His phone buzzed sharply. Daniel checked the screen—it showed no caller ID.

Confused, and mindful that they were near a busy road, he asked Lyla to give him a moment—it might be a call from work.

He stepped aside and answered the call.

"Hello?"

Silence.

No voice, no sound—just emptiness.

He frowned, shook his head, and turned back toward Lyla.

She was standing a short distance away, airpods in her ears, sucking on the local ice cream, a small smile on her lips.

She stood on the walkway... close to the road.

And that’s when Daniel saw it—

A vehicle.

A motor speeding down the lane with terrifying momentum.

And it was heading straight for Lyla.

Panic tore through Daniel like a blade.

"LYLA!!!!!!!"

He roared with everything in him, his voice echoing, but she didn’t hear—

The distance and the airpods made her deaf to his warning.

In a flash, Daniel’s body moved.

He launched forward, faster than he had ever run in his life.

His phone fell, forgotten, as he sprinted with the full strength of desperation.

Lyla, lost in her own little world, had grown bored and decided to play music, assuming Daniel would tap her shoulder soon.

She didn’t know.

She didn’t see it until—

A sudden flash of light.

The roar of an engine.

When she turned, her eyes widened in horror—

A car was coming straight at her.

Frozen.

Fear gripped her body, paralyzed her legs.

She couldn’t move.

But in the next second—

A force shoved her away from the road.

Time slowed.

As she was flung through the air, her eyes caught a final glimpse—

Daniel.

He had reached her.

He was smiling.

That was the last thing she saw—

Before darkness claimed her.

Daniel kept running—

Faster. Harder.

With every inch the motor drew closer, his fear surged, and his adrenaline exploded like wildfire in his veins, making his body move with unnatural speed.

Then—

He reached her.

But there was no time.

No chance for both of them to escape unscathed.

Without hesitation, Daniel pushed Lyla away with all the strength in his soul.

BANG!

It felt like a mountain had slammed into him.

His body twisted mid-air, pain erupting in his head like an explosion.

His brain throbbed violently, and his limbs screamed in agony as he crashed onto the hard earth.

"Lyla..."

"Lyla..."

He didn’t know how long he had been unconscious.

But slowly, his vision cleared as he stared into the sky, muffled voices of people swirled around him.

Only one name flooded his thoughts.

Lyla.

Pain.

All-consuming.

His entire body throbbed as if crushed under iron weights. Bones shattered, muscles torn.

But still... he rose.

Driven not by strength—

But by desperation.

Gasps echoed around as onlookers watched the blood-soaked man, believed to be dead, rise like a phantom from a nightmare.

Blood streamed from his head, soaking his torn clothes, yet his eyes scanned the crowd—searching.

He didn’t see her.

Panic clawed at his chest.

Then he noticed...

A gathering ahead, people crowding in silence.

Something in him broke loose.

He walked toward them.

And like the parting of a river, they made way—shocked, frightened, awed.

"Such a young foreign beauty... what a pity to die so early."

Daniel froze.

Those words shattered him.

No.

He sprinted—

Desperation painting every step.

The crowd parted again.

And there she was.

Lyla.

Her body lay slumped.

Head rested against a nearby pole—

Lifeless eyes staring into the abyss.

A trail of crimson sliding from her temple told the story clearly.

And Daniel understood.

When he pushed her, it was too hard, too fast—

She hit the pole.

The force meant to save her had... killed her.

"No..."

He dropped beside her.

Trembling hands pulled her to his chest.

"Lyla... wake up... wake up..."

His voice broke—shattering into screams, sobs, cries of a soul torn in two.

Tears fell from his eyes like a waterfall, mixing with the blood that stained his broken body.

"AAAAAAARGH!"

He looked up at the sky and screamed with everything inside him.

He had fought death for her.

And instead,

He had delivered her to it.

He had killed her.

His girlfriend.

His future wife.

Gone.

"WHY ME?!" he roared again, his voice echoing into the heavens.

In that moment... something inside him died.

Before, it was his love for Lyla that kept his will strong, that held his soul together.

But now—

Now, with the light of his world gone by his own hand—

He couldn’t take it.

He no longer wanted to remember.

He just wanted to forget it all.

And with that, Drakion—Daniel—became a cold shell.

This was the 9,999th Lifetime

Of Pain.

Of Love.

Of Suffering.

And Sorrow.

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