She couldn’t afford to spend endless time here.

Though the old man hadn’t specified when she should reach the distant spire, lingering wouldn’t be wise.

Most importantly, the wound on her wrist was growing increasingly painful. It felt like a burning sensation, as if it were begging to be taken away from here immediately.

The golden knife given by the witch was something extraordinary. This pain surely wasn’t without reason.

After pressing and rubbing the wound on her wrist for a while, Livia stood up abruptly.

It was time to move.

***

The inside of the forest was a world completely different from what Livia had expected.

A shallow stream trickled by, looking clear and clean, and it was so bright and cheerful that it was hard to believe there was no sunlight. It was as if she could believe she was above ground.

“…Where on earth is this?”

Livia cautiously moved deeper, following the upstream of the river.

It seemed like she could quickly pass through the forest if she kept going like this. Fortunately, she no longer heard the unsettling scream from earlier.

Hurrying along, Livia stopped at the source of the trickling stream. There stood a statue of a goddess, incongruous with the dense forest.

‘A statue of a goddess here…?’

Approaching cautiously, she saw letters at the base of the beautiful statue.

To the truthful one,

Can you swear by my name?

Livia’s eyes widened. The river of hatred and the symbol of oaths.

Styx.

‘…Is this river the River Styx?’

Gazing up at the goddess, Livia knelt and kissed the top of the goddess’s foot. With a trembling voice, she earnestly whispered a plea.

“Goddess, please allow this humble one to immerse herself briefly in your waters. I will never forget this grace.”

Whispering devoutly, Livia took out the golden knife from her wrist, which felt as if it were burning. The sharp blade instantly cut through Livia’s hair.

She carefully placed her cut hair down and waited for a moment.

Then, from somewhere, a bright red bird flew in a circle over Livia’s head and perched on the goddess’s shoulder.

What is that? Livia looked at the bird with curious eyes and gasped in surprise.

A bird with empty eyes, a white beak inscribed with black letters, and only one leg instead of two was certainly no ordinary bird.

Its eyeless gaze fixed on Livia, then it tilted its head.

The incarnation of the goddess Styx!

As Livia stared blankly, the bird circled over her head once more and then flew off somewhere.

The owner of the river had given permission. There was no time to waste. Without hesitation, Livia removed her clothes and stepped into the river.

Splash—

Even though she only dipped her feet, the coldness was enough to make her whole body freeze.

Her teeth chattered from the cold, but she clenched her jaw and waded further into the water.

“Livia, have you ever heard that to reach the underworld, you must cross nine bends and five rivers?”

“Yes! The River of Sorrow, Acheron, the River of Lamentation, Cocytus, the River of Fire, Phlegethon, the River of Forgetfulness, Lete, and the River of Hatred, Styx!”

“Oh, my clever daughter. You remember. Do you also recall the story of the hero who gained a body as strong as steel by bathing in the River Styx?”

“Of course, ah, Achilles… Achilles!”

Her father laughed as he patted Livia’s head, which was chirping like a bird.

The ill-fated hero who died with an arrow in his heel, the only part not dipped in the Styx…

Myths often contained exaggerations, and they might be tales spun by gossipmongers, but there was no harm in taking heed.

Her story, too, swept into the underworld by the god of the sea, might seem like an unbelievable myth or a fabrication to someone.

“Livia, that doesn’t mean the River Styx isn’t dangerous. It’s still a river of the underworld. If the living drink from it, they will die instantly, so if you ever find yourself in the underworld, never let it touch your lips.”

“Oh, come on, father! What’s going to take me to the underworld? Even if I go, Lete and I will go together, so don’t worry.”

“Ha ha. True. I’ll probably go to the underworld before you do, so I’ll be waiting.”

“No, father! Don’t die! You can’t leave us behind!”

“I’m not dying, I’m not dying! If I go, it’ll be after I see my Livia meet a good person, get married, and give me cute grandchildren.”

“What? No, dad! I don’t want to get married. I hate marriage. Don’t make me get married. Waaah!”

Her father, looking at Livia, who burst into tears, picked her up and comforted her.

Even though you said we’d live together forever…

Recalling her childhood, Livia’s teeth chattered with cold. She fought back tears, steeling her eyes, and moved deeper into the water.

However, no matter how far she went, it only reached her waist. The water level was too shallow to immerse her entire body. Livia scooped up water with her trembling hands and poured it over her heart.

Careful not to let the droplets enter her mouth, she poured the river water over her left shoulder as well.

Keeeeng!

A chilling scream brushed against the back of Livia’s neck. She quickly turned her head to survey her surroundings but saw nothing.

It felt ominous.

Instinctively sensing danger, Livia sliced through the water and leaped toward the rock where she had left her clothes.

Bang!

A massive black arrow grazed Livia’s forearm.

“……!”

Suppressing a groan, Livia clutched her right forearm, where a burning pain coursed through her.

But there was no time to be startled or confused. Someone was targeting her.

Gritting her teeth, Livia sprang out of the water. She snatched her clothes from the rock and ran without looking back.

However, no matter how fast she ran, she couldn’t outrun the arrows flying toward her. This time, an arrow with a sharp trajectory pierced straight through Livia’s shoulder.

“…Ha, ugh!”

She bit down hard to stifle a scream, but her legs gave way beneath her. Stumbling briefly, Livia desperately searched for a place to hide.

Behind a twisted tree, she spotted a small crevice in the rocks, just big enough for her to crouch and conceal herself.

Livia crawled over and barely managed to hide, lowering her breathing.

‘Could it be the guardians of the underworld? Who are they?’

The worst-case scenario crossed her mind, but she quickly dismissed it. If they were sent by Hades, the death fairies wouldn’t have fled in such fear. Weren’t they also startled when ‘that thing’ suddenly appeared?

So what on earth was attacking her? What kind of entity exuded such a chilling and eerie aura?

‘Of all places, an arrow struck the shoulder that wasn’t immersed in the river…’

Clenching her mouth shut to endure the pain, Livia reached with trembling hands to feel the wound on her shoulder. But then.

‘…It’s gone?’

The arrow was missing. She had no memory of pulling it out, yet the shoulder where it should have been embedded was empty.

‘It definitely hit, so why isn’t it there?’

As she probed the wound, the spot where the arrow had lodged bubbled and gushed blood, like it was infused with poison.

While it was fortunate that the cumbersome arrow was gone, it was a strange occurrence. Moreover, the state of the wound was alarming.

Livia leaned against the rock to catch her breath and scanned her surroundings.

There was no sound. No further signs of movement could be detected. Though she couldn’t let her guard down, the bubbling wound on her shoulder was deteriorating, making her anxious.

Livia grasped her shoulder with trembling hands. If the decaying area spreads, she might die once more in the afterlife. Death in the afterlife meant complete annihilation…

Biting her lip hard, Livia drew out the golden knife.

If she was going to die…

‘I’ll cut it off.’