Livia Horn, who had been shifting restlessly, finally sat back down, clenching her teeth.

No.

Perhaps the river they were crossing was the River of Sorrow.

Beyond that lay the River of Lamentation, Cocytus, and the River of Fire, Phlegethon. Then came the River of Forgetfulness, Lete, where it was said all memories of one’s life were erased.

So, even if she hurriedly followed the boat and met them, it would be difficult to expect them to appear as they had in life.

Livia, who had been dazed, slowly regained her composure. Staying like this would change nothing.

“Keep walking straight north. If you lose your way, take the knife from your wrist and throw it on the ground. The direction the blade points is north.”

Recalling the old man’s words, she took out the knife and threw it on the ground. The blade spun and then stopped, pointing in one direction. Just to be sure, Livia threw the knife again. The blade spun in place and stopped in the same direction once more.

‘This is the way.’

With unsteady legs, Livia walked in the direction the blade indicated. Behind her, three pairs of golden eyes secretly followed.

***

How long had she walked?

An indeterminate amount of time had passed. Fortunately, despite all the walking, she didn’t feel particularly thirsty, hungry, or sleepy.

Though she felt nothing, she sensed that her soul was gradually wearing away. To keep from going mad, Livia began talking to herself. Or perhaps she had already started going mad the moment she began talking to herself.

“That cursed sea god… How could he kill a person by exploding them? Does he take suffering lightly just because he can’t die? All I did was scratch his hand a little…!”

Her main topics were curses directed at Triton, who had exploded her, and the villagers.

Other memories were filled with happiness, so recalling them threatened to make her burst into tears, and she had to cherish them carefully.

“Those bad people! Damn Maya. That bastard Phedum! How could a madman do such things to an animal…? What’s the shepherd god doing, not punishing that bastard?”

Livia, who had been walking endlessly, stopped in front of a narrow, yellow river. Though it was called a river, it was so narrow it didn’t seem very deep.

‘Can I just cross it?’

It was hard to gauge because she couldn’t see the bottom clearly. As she approached the river to check the depth, Livia suddenly stopped.

“…I think I heard an animal sound just now.”

Unable to turn around, she listened again with an uneasy heart but heard nothing.

In that moment of hesitation, something suddenly leaped out of the river a few steps ahead.

“……!”

It was a fish. But it was no ordinary fish; it was a grotesque creature with a human face and beastly teeth.

Click! Click! Click! Click!

The fish lunged with its sharp teeth bared, fixing its hungry, gleaming eyes on Livia. Its gaze was full of an intense craving to consume her at once.

“Ugh…!”

Covering her mouth to suppress the rising nausea, Livia, pale-faced, dashed upstream. She couldn’t turn back, so she had to find a detour. The hideous fish leaped from the water several times to follow her. Unfortunately, the cloth that had been tied was loose, and the chain tangled around her ankle felt heavy.

Was her limping due to fear or exhaustion?

But there was no time to be struggling. She had to find another path quickly.

How long had she walked again? When she reached a point where the river was narrower and clearer, the fish were no longer in sight. Livia lifted her skirt and carefully crossed the river.

On the other side, the landscape changed completely. Previously, she had been walking through a dusty wasteland, but beyond the river were many low stone mountains.

The water flowing through the narrow path was now closer to a stream than a river.

‘If I just get over that mountain…’

A sharp spire was visible beyond the sheer stone mountains. As she gathered her strength to take a step forward.

A distant sound of a ‘bird’ reached her ears. It was the first sound of life she had heard since entering the underworld.

Where is it? Up ahead…?

Startled, Livia looked around for the source of the sound. It wasn’t hard to find. There was a forest right ahead on the narrow path.

It was then.

“Aaah…!”

A scream.

A scream echoed.

The forest, tinged with dark green, shook uneasily, and several black birds urgently flew up from the trees.

‘There’s something there.’

Something very dangerous…

But even so, it wasn’t as if she could turn back and find another path now.

“The underworld is a place where you must not look back. Focus only on the spire and move forward! Even if you turn back, do not look back. Remember!”

A place where one must not look back.

The underworld was a realm where returning was impossible, even if you strayed onto the wrong path.

Livia took a deep breath and hid behind a large rock.

She feared she might hear that scream again or that something might leap out, causing another fright.

Sure enough, it wasn’t long before something rushed out of the forest.

A figure with long hair, indistinguishable as male or female…

…A person? No, they weren’t human.

They had black skin, hair darker than the night sky, and eyes sewn shut with red thread.

These were nymphs, death nymphs who lived solely in this underworld, fleeing with terrified expressions.

“They haven’t been seen for so long… Why now…!”

“Quick, run…”

“Hagens got caught… stalling for time…!”

“Save me!”

Livia swallowed dryly as she watched the direction in which the nymphs vanished.

What on earth could be in there to frighten the death nymphs so much?

Her heart felt heavy with anxiety. She couldn’t turn back, and the only path to the spire lay ahead.

What should she do? How should she proceed? Her worry was so intense that she imagined her head aching.

Livia sighed heavily, pressing her cold hand against her forehead.

That wretched witch. She had promised not to let her die, yet hadn’t fulfilled a single promise completely. If she had warned her that she’d have to walk back from the underworld on her own, she would have been more cautious.

Anger flared up suddenly, but regret always came too late. Livia pressed her forehead with her fist and sighed, leaning against the rock.

Well, there was no other choice. She’d have to wait until the ‘dangerous thing’ lurking in there disappeared.

Livia leaned her throbbing head against the rock and closed her eyes.

Count sheep.

For Livia, thinking of sheep was effortless. Since birth, she had seen sheep every day. Among them were old sheep and young lambs.

‘…Bellani.’

A young lamb born with brown wool, unlike the others with white. The lamb she had delivered with her own hands, the one she felt so fondly about, was especially missed today.

That little one used to fearlessly follow Mumu around…

With a faint smile, Livia unknowingly drifted into a light sleep.

***

…Bark!

Startled by the sudden sound of a beast, Livia, who hadn’t even realized she had fallen asleep, opened her eyes wide.

‘I must be crazy, falling asleep in the underworld!’

She jumped up and looked around, relieved to see nothing had changed.

She thought she wasn’t tired, but perhaps she was. Livia calmed her racing heart and slapped her cheeks to shake off the sleepiness.

“How much time has passed?”

In a place devoid of the sounds of the living or sunlight, predicting time was not easy.

The world of the dead was incredibly still.

Was time only valuable to the living?

Or was it the least consideration for the dead, who had to endure ‘eternity’ without reincarnation?

Livia shook her head to clear away unnecessary thoughts. She wasn’t in a position to ponder the workings of the world.

“……”

Livia looked up at the cloudy sky with dark eyes.

If she were to defeat Triton… perhaps the sky of the place where she might have to endure ‘eternity’ would be there.

Livia took a deep breath and lowered her heavy eyelids. When she raised them again, the gloom from before had vanished without a trace.

Once you stepped onto the path of death, you don’t look back.

“…Let’s go.”

Yes, just like the rules of this underworld.