Tarot Cafe Vol. 5 by Sang Sun Park

Alecto the Dragon was Ash's friend, back when Ash was alive. He didn't much care for humans, until an old crone foretold that Ash would die when he admitted his love for a human. Ash was horrified, as he considered humans beneath himself as a dragon, and as a consequnce, began killing any human that entered his territory. Thus, he kept himself from dying.

Until he went to see Ash and met Pamela. Something about her touched his heart, although he wished to deny it. He has also carried the secret about Ash's death inside him. Ash wished to die so that he could be reborn into a new life, as he was bored with being a dragon. So Ash made a pact with Belial and forbade him to tell Pamela of it.

Of course, Belial went back on his word and imprisoned the remains of Ash's body in his sanctum, where he has the dragon on permanent display. He also took some of the blood from Ash's heart, and the largest jewel from his necklace, and made a copy of Ash, then released him to torment Pamela. Why? Because long ago, Pamela saw through Belial's glamour when she was only a child, and Belial thought he would take Pamela as a toy to play with. When Ash died, Belial took his immortality and bestowed it on Pamela, allowing her to live an endless life so that she could provide him with endless amusement.

Now Alecto has found out about Ash's clone, and he tells Pamela, and Ash's clone, about what Ash is. But in doing so, he reluctantly confesses that he has feelings for Pamela, which hastens his death, as Belial has infected him with an insanity plague. Belus shows up once again to save Pamela, and is forced to kill Alecto when the insanity plague takes full effect.

Fake-Ash is unable to handle the truth of his existence and freaks out, fleeing after telling Pamela he absolutely despises her. Belus is nearly killed in the fight with Alecto, and Pamela is barely able to get him to the hospital in time to save him. But even so, will Belus survive his wounds? And will Pamela be able to kill Fake-Ash to retrieve the stone he was created from and retrieve more of her stolen memories?

This series continues to intrigue me. This volume is told mostly in flashback, as we find out that Pamela doesn't have all the facts of her early life. Specifically, Ash may have loved her, but he loved himself far more. Is there any way for Pamela to recover her memories and be happy? I don't know, and that very uncertainty is what keeps me reading.