I could tell that I was in a spirit state. Otherwise, how could I possibly see that thing that looked like a grim reaper to anyone?

It was absurd and bewildering, but I calmly reached out toward my body.

Quickly, I needed to wake up. There wasn’t just me in my body right now.

Calix was holding my limp body and crying.

“…You promised, to stay with me, you clearly…”

His eyes were unfocused. His face turned deathly pale then bright red, he held his breath, and just, like that, he held my limp body and repeated like a madman.

I needed to get up right now and tell him I wasn’t dying, that I was fine.

He had already been through so much, I couldn’t hurt him again.

“Lee Chaerin, let’s go.”

I needed to get back into my body, but my body wouldn’t move.

I bit my lip hard and looked at “it” while trembling.

I didn’t know why it suddenly appeared before me, or why it appeared right after Hyesung took her life.

I really had no idea.

“You must return to the underworld.”

The white face hidden under the black hat was revealed.

Immediately after, the space rippled again and a black door appeared, from which two more grim reapers emerged.

“You committed no sins in your previous life, so according to the law, you should be reincarnated immediately. However, due to various circumstances, you suffered hardships you shouldn’t have had to endure, so we will specially compensate you in the underworld.”

I shouldn’t have looked. I should have ignored them. I needed to get back into my body right away. If I didn’t breathe for too long, I might really die.

But strangely, I felt like I was moving further away from my body.

I was clearly reaching out, but I couldn’t touch it.

I wanted to cry, but tears wouldn’t flow.

I felt like I was going crazy.

“We’ll let you be reborn. As a new child of your parents.”

I stopped all movement. What was that just now?

“Your physical body has already been cremated, so unfortunately, you cannot return to your original body. Instead, we will accommodate you and allow you to continue your current life.”

My head turned involuntarily. What did that mean?

The three grim reapers looked at me with exhausted faces and said, “It was difficult enough to come here, so let’s go quietly. You have one chance left.”

What did they mean by one chance left? I frowned at them and backed away.

“Since you haven’t been dead long, you probably don’t realize how exceptional this offer is. We’re saying you can be reborn as your parents’ child again.”

It would be a lie to say I wasn’t tempted. I could see my family again? I could return to my world?

Who wouldn’t be swayed?

“I’ll call you for the last time. Lee Chaerin, let’s go.”

Suddenly, I felt pain as if my soul was being twisted. But it was only momentary.

I was fine, and now the grim reapers’ expressions became grotesquely distorted.

“Messenger, in that body…”

The smallest reaper among them pointed at my body with a pale finger and said.

“…Miss Chaerin. Come this way.”

One of the reapers raised his head and spoke with bright red lips.

I shook my head repeatedly.

It’s not the same as before. I’m so sorry to Mom and Dad, but I couldn’t go back.

Mom, Dad, my sibling, grandparents, my friends must have been sad, but that’s already over.

I was taught to accept reality and be true to it.

Clinging to a life that’s already over wasn’t good.

My life as Lee Chaerin was over.

That was right.

“I’m not Lee Chaerin anymore. You seem to have come to the wrong address.”

I reached out and took Calix’s hand. I had already found something precious in this world.

I couldn’t abandon it. My life could no longer be the same as before.

So I had to go back.

To my body.

“Is it really troublesome if an otherworlder stays in this world?”

It was then. The dragon who had been standing quietly beside me suddenly turned his head toward where the grim reapers were and casually said:

“Hey, Crown Prince. Get a grip and look properly. You might lose her if you’re not careful. I told you. I don’t have the confidence to deal with those guys.”

Calix’s head slowly turned. Soon, something began to flicker in his red eyes that had been shaking without focus.

“For absolute beings… They’re talking to humans. Is that possible?”

“Indeed, Messenger. Something’s strange here.”

At that, two of the grim reapers began whispering to each other. Ignoring the dragon’s interruption, the grim reaper who had come forward first approached me.

“Lee Chaerin’s soul was born on Earth, so it is natural for her to return. Let’s go.”

At that, Calix put down my body and blocked in front of my soul.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“Oh, looks like you’ve figured out how to use your power roughly? He can see them.”

His legs trembled. He had been fine even when fighting the dragon right beside him, but now he looked scared.

“…Otherworlder. Step aside.”

“I can’t.”

“A mere otherworlder cannot interfere in this matter. Step aside.”

It seemed as if someone was pressing down on his shoulders. The ground Calix was standing on began to sink with a cracking sound.

Meanwhile, I was desperately trying to get back into my body.

I had to return.

I really had to return. At this rate, in my belly, ah.

Please!

‘Someone help me, please!’

It was then. My eyes met with the dragon beside Calix. The dragon grinned at me, then with an expression of realization, said, “Aha, it’s troublesome for you if Rose stays here, right? Isn’t it?”

It happened in an instant. The dragon grabbed my soul and threw it back into my body.

I gasped for breath.

Sensation began to return in an instant, and a strange feeling spread from my stomach and began to envelop my entire body.

“Hmm, Crown Prince, I’ll take back what I just said. I’m starting to understand their intentions.”

“Kuhak, Calix, cough, huk.”

I grabbed my throat and staggered to my feet, embracing Calix’s waist.

Then the force pressing down on him began to dissipate as if it were a lie.

My mind wasn’t working. What should I do? What should I do?

Am I really alive?

How is the situation unfolding?

The grim reapers who had been visible until just now were no longer visible.

I just breathed heavily while hugging Calix’s back.

Calix’s muscles were swollen to the bursting point, and he remained vigilant against the invisible enemy.

The dragon beside him blocked in front of Calix with an excited grin.

“How about leaving now that your business is done? As you can see, I’ve just been bound by a contract. So I have to drive away kids like you myself.”

He approached the Archmage, who was holding Serena’s body and picked up the diary that had fallen to the floor.

“As far as I know, you can’t do anything if it’s not a soul under your jurisdiction, right?”

The diary in his hand began to burn with purple flames.

“You know too. Rose is carrying the Crown Prince’s child. Having conceived a soul of this world, Rose is now a person of this world.”

I reflexively clutched my stomach. My heart was beating anxiously. I needed to get a grip, but I couldn’t.

I was anxious. Insanely anxious. The current situation, reality. Everything.

“Give up and go back. You’re not even absolute beings. If you stay longer, you’ll be annihilated, right? There’s no justification for taking Rose away now.”

The diary continued to burn for a while but showed no signs of disappearing. The dragon seemed a bit troubled and frowned slightly.

“Go. Quickly.”

His golden hair began to rise upward as if wind was blowing from below.

Magic swirled at his feet, and Calix hurriedly picked me up.

“Rose, it’s okay. You’re alive, so it’s okay.”

His voice trembled. So did mine.

My head hurt so much.

Did I die and come back to life? The grim reapers? Will they try to take me back?

What am I exactly?

What is my identity?

Calix retreated with his soldiers, and the dragon continued to shoot magic at invisible enemies.

And Calix held me tightly in his arms.

His hands frantically felt over me.

Calix’s face was as white as a sheet. I reached out and touched his cheek.

Then, with a completely broken face, he muttered like a madman in desperate supplication.

“Don’t go, don’t go, Rose. Okay? Hm? Don’t go. Don’t leave me, Rose, please.”

Tears poured down from Calix’s red eyes.

I gripped Calix’s hand tightly and turned my gaze back to the dragon.

The diary was still burning in the dragon’s hand.

“You’re smart, Crown Prince. Did you know this would happen?”

Calix, still holding me tightly, glared at the front with blazing eyes.

“They’re gone. They won’t come back now.”

The dragon’s eyes flashed.

“But you were arrogant, Crown Prince. Because you sent the other otherworlder back, Rose almost got dragged back to her original world, too.”

The arms of Calix holding me tightened. I needed to tell Calix that I wasn’t going anywhere, but I couldn’t muster the strength.

I wanted to faint right now, but I was too scared to close my eyes.

What if I’m dragged away again after losing consciousness?

What if I encounter them again?

“What are you going to do now?”

The dragon smiled broadly at Calix as if amused.

“How are you going to entertain me? I’m in quite a good mood now because my situation is more interesting than I thought.”

“……”

“Thanks to your contract, my ability to intervene in the human realm has increased.”