Irynsis frowned.

The endless sound of sandstorms sweeping across the desert had vanished. For the first time, she stood in a place where the background was whole.

Though it was nothing more than a void of complete darkness.

“Irynsis!”

She tensed, wondering if this was another of Nautil’s tricks, when a voice called to her from behind.

“Cassion?”

She couldn’t see him clearly through the darkness, but she knew it was his voice.

She had thought the labyrinth had swallowed only her, but… was Cassion here too?

Worry and relief tangled within her chest as she turned. Yet he was nowhere to be seen.

“What is this…?”

From every side, thick white fog surged through the darkness, undulating like pale waves.

Then suddenly, a sharp pain stabbed through her head. Her vision snapped off, her body swaying—until, when she opened her eyes again, she found herself collapsed on the ground.

The world around her spun wildly, dizziness rising in her throat until she thought she would vomit.

Shapes whipped past her vision. When she focused, she realized they were afterimages—scenes flashing one after another without end.

The moment she turned her mind to them, the visions rushed closer, burrowing mercilessly into her head.

“What is this.”

She clicked her tongue, unable to hide her disgust.

It had to be that old b*stard Nautil’s magic, prying into her memories.

No—not just any memories. He was dragging out every death she had ever faced in all her lives.

The first life— As her thirtieth birthday drew near, her body had withered. Deemed useless, she lay dying in the imperial dungeon. It was the very place Evelina had lost her life.

“Seems its use has finally run out, Your Highness.”

“Well, we don’t need it anymore. The whole continent is mine now.”

Lomia and Declan had mocked her helpless form. She could hardly hear them anymore. All she wished was that death would come quickly.

“You are a sin.”

The second life— Betrayed by Laurel, with whom she had forged an alliance, she fled. But she hadn’t gotten far.

“You amuse me to the end, my prey.”

In the end, the Crown Prince had seized her and she met her death, praying desperately there would be no next life.

The third life— This death she could not remember clearly. She had become a shell of herself, subjected to experiments to uncover the secrets of her holy power, her mind too frayed to hold on. The fragments suggested she had wandered through a forest, body weakened, until death claimed her.

And at last, the life just before this one—

“To think you made it this far, Irynsis.”

On the slopes of a Pathsbender mountain. Declan had laughed down at her, lying powerless in a trap like a hunted deer.

The ways of her death had differed. But always, the day came on her thirtieth birthday.

‘So what?’

Even as death after death was thrust before her eyes, that was all she thought. If anything, it only stoked her anger.

Was this supposed to mock her? That she lingered on in this world like some grotesque ghost, too stubborn to die?

The pressure burrowing into her mind seemed to falter at that thought.

And then, suddenly, the scenes shifted.

Time and space snapped together, forming a new afterimage.

And when she saw what it was, she fell helplessly into the trap of the magic.

“Run, child! Irynsis!”

The faces of her parents—faces she thought she had forgotten—cried out to her, desperate and vivid. Even as they fell beneath Cambria’s might, even as blood spilled from their lips, they had fought to the end, trying to protect her.

“I’ll come for you, Irynsis.”

Evelina lay upon the cold stone floor, her own blood serving as a pillow. Her body was cold, her eyes unable to close, her stiff arms and legs creaking like a broken clockwork doll.

Irynsis knew it was all an illusion, yet the fear it stirred felt real enough to kill her.

And then—his face appeared.

‘No.’

She tried to cry out again and again, but not a single sound would escape her sealed throat.

Cassion was slipping farther away.

His body, covered in the spreading blotches of the plague, clad in armor, a sword in hand.

“I’ll be back, Nia.”

Words of a promise with no return.

It was a lie. All of it, a lie.

Through every life she had lived, never once had Cassion’s plague been so advanced. She screamed the truth inside her head, but no matter how she shouted, she could not break free.

His figure grew more distant, his flesh devoured by the plague, and from the rot, shadows gnashed pale, hideous eyes.

‘No… it can’t be. This isn’t real. It can’t be.’

It wasn’t until she had lost her parents, lost Evelina, and now him—that Irynsis finally understood.

The fear that death brought, and the crushing weight of the loss it left behind.

Her breath came short and ragged. This was no illusion—it was real. Her throat tightened until blood burst through the vessels in her eyes, as though invisible hands were crushing her windpipe.

And still—she wanted to save him.

She wanted to save Cassion, who was being swallowed by the shadows. He belonged more to the light than anyone.

Her trembling hand lifted, forcing out the last of her strength. A faint spark of holy power gathered at her fingertips and, with the lightest push, flew toward him.

The moment his body was wrapped in white light—

“Irynsis! Wake up!”

A sudden pull dragged her down, and her eyes flew open.

“Haa—hah!”

“Irynsis!”

Cassion, pale with fear, clutched her in his arms, desperate to rouse her. He didn’t understand what had happened—only that he too had collapsed, tormented by the labyrinth’s illusions.

The white fog had closed in, showing him cruel visions.

The first—his mother’s feet spinning around him in childhood. Then—his father’s funeral.

At first, he had known it was only illusion. For some, the death of a parent shattered the very foundation of their lives. For the young Cassion, it had been so.

But as he grew, their absence had faded into something easier to bear. The wounds they left had never healed, yet with time, he had grown stronger.

Until Evelina left him. Until those he cherished in the Pathsbender estate began to disappear, one by one. Then, his world began to crumble.

‘Finally… I can die.’

He nearly choked when he saw Irynsis, smiling in relief as she turned away, without a single regret. He thought he could no longer go on.

And then, like shattering glass, the illusion around him cracked and fell apart.

He forced a breath, scanning desperately until—he saw her.

Irynsis, her face pale, her body writhing in pain.

Without thought, he rushed to her, lifting her into his lap and shaking her gently.

“Irynsis! Hear my voice!”

“…Cassion.”

“Yes, it’s me. Can you hear me?”

Her eyes flickered, as though she couldn’t tell if this was real.

Cassion clasped her hands, massaging her arms and legs in frantic urgency.

“Irynsis, please.”

His desperate voice whispered against her ear.

Even through her blurring vision, she fought not to lose him. From his touch, warmth and strength flowed into her, like a lifeline pulling her back.

“Haa!”

Her lungs burst open, dragging in fresh air. Her clouded mind cleared.

And at last, she saw him before her.

“Cassion.”

“Are you all right?”

Still worried, he checked her forehead, her limbs, unable to let go.

Irynsis looked around, trying to grasp where they were—but nothing was visible.

The only things she could feel clearly were his warmth, his weight, and his breath against her skin.

Her trembling hand lifted. He brought his cheek to her palm without hesitation.

Only after tracing him again and again, assuring herself he was real, did her breath finally steady.

She sat up abruptly.

Her eyes were bloodshot, tears pooling within them.

It had been so terrifying. Not since her very first life had the word death struck her with such fear.

The weight of life, once so trivial, now crushed her limbs. The loss death would bring—it terrified her.

But most of all, the thought of losing him.

“…Why did you follow me?”

Her trembling voice cut the silence, sharp as a blade.

Cassion’s expression froze.