After the witch disappeared, Livia remained sitting there for a long time.

She was both exhausted and suddenly everything felt empty, so she just sat quietly staring blankly into space.

She had jumped into this for family revenge, but in the end, she ended up hurting family even after death. The soul of beloved Lete, her young brother….

Though she sat frozen like a stone, soaked in futility, time flowed like running water.

When the shadows in the room slowly changed direction and turned black, Livia noticed a familiar shadow cast on the floor and raised her head.

Through the pillared window, she saw a black shark watching her.

“You….”

Where were you? You were following me around to the point of being annoying before, but where on earth were you earlier when you weren’t there…!

Though she wanted to cry out like that in surge of emotion, her heavy lips only quivered without moving.

The black shark, unaware of her feelings, circled outside the window trying to get her attention, but Livia just stared expressionlessly at the huge sea creature.

…This is ridiculous. Why am I resenting that shark, what is it to me?

After realizing that the black shark that had seemed so much like an enemy showed affection towards her, this feeling of considering that black shark as being on her side felt absurd.

You are truly selfish, Livia.

Swallowing a hollow laugh, Livia raised her heavy hand to brush her face. Suddenly she saw the black scar on her wrist.

Chrysaor’s blade and the mark of the contract with Echidna….

She thought it was a weapon protecting her, but it was actually a chain binding her. If she eliminated this thing that was the source of misfortune and proof of her foolishness, would the contract with Echidna be void?

With a terrifying grimace, Livia began scratching her wrist with her nails. Red lines were drawn across the white wrist, and soon blood began to rise.

At that moment, there was a thud and the wall shook.

Sympho, who had grown too large to enter the bedroom, urgently crashed against the pillar but couldn’t stop Livia’s fierce gestures.

“Ugh…!”

She just dug her nails in as if intending to completely tear off the flesh.

Like Triton had done once before, she wanted to gouge out her wrist and cut away the black scar. At least until she saw the black scar climbing up her skin over where the flesh had been scraped away….

“…Ha!”

Red blood dripped down her wrist. With her flesh stuck under her nails, Livia burst into an empty laugh.

I can’t escape. This much isn’t enough to escape the witch! Damn it!

Clutching her wrist and laughing hollowly like a madwoman for a while, she staggered to her feet.

She was tired though she hadn’t done anything. She wanted to rest now.

It was fortunate that Triton was away. As she stumbled toward the bed, Livia suddenly stopped and looked at the black shark outside the window.

The huge sea creature’s anxious gaze was fixed on her. After hesitating, Livia approached the shark. Blood spread with her every step, but she paid no attention.

They say human blood makes sharks violent, but perhaps because this shark was a divine messenger, it didn’t seem to react much to this amount of blood.

…Or maybe it was holding back.

Standing right in front of the shark, she hesitated for a moment before blurting out what she had been holding in her heart.

“Thank you.”

The shark stared at Livia as if asking what she meant.

“…I wanted to say it at least once someday.”

After hesitating, Livia raised her hand that wasn’t bleeding and stroked the shark’s pointed snout while speaking.

“I don’t know what about me appealed to you, but I know that you… helped me many times. And today too, I actually benefited from you.”

Looking around, Livia picked up the shark’s tooth that had fallen to the floor and showed it to Sympho while speaking.

“This. Your tooth… I kept it because it seemed a waste to throw away. It became a good weapon. Thank you.”

At Livia’s words, the shark blinked its eyes and suddenly leaped up high in place.

As she looked up startled, the shark that had returned to its place in an instant as if it had never jumped opened its jaws wide to show off its hundreds of teeth.

“…What?”

Karrrr!

The shark shook its large open head while spewing water bubbles.

Looking carefully, the place where she had pulled out the tooth was already filled with a firmly grown new tooth. They say sharks continue to grow new teeth even when they lose them, and it seems that was true.

Livia, who had been quietly looking down at the forest of teeth that was too fierce to call beautiful, added in a doubtful voice.

“…Are you saying I should take more?”

Karrrr!

This is like… only fierce in appearance, but acts like a neighborhood dog….

Livia, who had been letting out incredulous chuckles, patted the shark’s cheek and shook her head.

“It’s fine. I don’t need any more. Go now. I’m going to rest.”

After sending away the shark that circled its spot reluctantly, Livia lay down leaning against the bed.

Conscious that the bleeding had stopped, she lifted her wrist to see that the wound was already slowly healing.

“……”

Is this Echidna’s power, or Triton’s?

Whatever it was, she felt that she was definitely no longer an ordinary human now. Well, what ordinary human would return from the underworld anyway….

She smirked and forced her eyes closed, but her thoughts continued endlessly.

The contract with Echidna was close to a curse. The contract engraved on her soul wouldn’t break even if she cut off her arm. The witch told her to hear Triton say he loves her. She remembered the bead the witch had put around her neck. When she tore off the necklace and examined the bead, black liquid swirled and moved inside. It seems she’s supposed to feed this….

After glaring at the bead for a while, Livia threw it behind the bed where it couldn’t be seen.

If he says he loves her, would he turn to sea foam?

Wouldn’t it be better to just stab his heart instead? At least when stabbing his heart, he won’t die…. But can that word be trusted.

At the end of a sigh, Livia squeezed her eyes shut.

‘Lete, what should I do? I can’t give up on you, but I don’t want to be manipulated by the witch either.’

And above all….

She no longer felt the need to stab Triton as much as before.

Her heart fluttered in many directions like a storm brewing.

Though the knife handle was clearly in her grip, there wasn’t a single appealing choice. She closed her eyes wishing she wouldn’t wake up after falling asleep like this.

Fortunately, sleep came right away as if it had been waiting.

***

“Livia.”

It was a sudden dream.

Though she thought she had fallen asleep, Livia opened her eyes in the middle of the dream.

‘I’m sure I heard someone’s voice…?’

As she blinked her hazy eyes and looked around, she saw a horizon that had no discernible end. Being half-floating above the vast ocean, neither underwater nor on land.

Though it was clearly too deep to stand on the bottom, she was floating as if standing with her upper body sticking out of the sea.

As she was looking around, flicking water drops with her fingertips and wondering what kind of dream this was, a huge shadow was cast over her head and the voice that had called her into the dream was heard again.

“Livia.”

When she quickly raised her head at the familiar voice, she saw Zagreus with giant eagle wings flying toward her.

“Zagreus!”

Without realizing it, she called out his name loudly in joy. She felt a cool breeze as his wingbeats enveloped her.

As she made a visor with her hand and raised her head to see him with the sun at his back, Zagreus reached out toward Livia and said.

“Shall I pull you out from there, Livia?”

“…There?”

As she tilted her head not understanding what he meant, Zagreus whispered in a low, seductive voice.

“Yes, there. From that dark and pitch-black sea of greed.”