My eyes snapped open in the Void. It was pitch black, and the air felt heavy, like I was being crushed by a mountain. I couldn't stand for even a second under that pressure. I felt like I was going to die right there, but then the gaze lifted. I was transferred to the next path.
The Curse Weaver had given me a female vessel earlier, and I walked toward it. Inside, I found a being that wasn't exactly a soul—I couldn't see him, but I knew he was there.
"Do you want to return to the planet you came from?" the being asked.
"What do you want from me?" I replied.
"Nothing. Just leave me alone and alive."
I nodded. A deal was done. Even though I didn't want it to end that simply, my body responded faster than my mind. When I opened my eyes again, I was back inside Aeldir's vessel.
"Welcome back, brother," Aeldir said inside my mind. I was lying in bed, but we immediately got up and went toward the hall.
Lysandria was there waiting. "So you're finally awake," she said. "The second soul."
I was shocked that she knew, but Aeldir told me he had already confessed to her, and she promised to keep it a secret. Aeldir said he was going to sleep and left me to deal with her.
We went to a bench by the lake. Lysandria asked, "Want to play?"
I was confused, but she meant like I was playing with the butterflies that night. We started to create a story using mana. She used her power to make the land and the scenery, and I used mine to create people and butterflies out of water.
In the story, a man chased a butterfly until he was exhausted. When he finally lay down, unable to move, the butterfly sat on his face. But as soon as he tried to catch it, it flew away. He chased it until his death. At the moment he died, a flock of butterflies covered his body and took him to a place no one could find.
"It's a beautiful story," Lysandria said. She explained that the man was looking for peace, and the butterfly was that peace—it only came when he was too tired to enjoy it, and by the time it truly arrived, the person was gone. It was exactly what I was thinking. I laughed and said, "Correct."
As we walked through the forest, we saw a little girl crying because she lost her sister. I carried her on my shoulders back to the academy. We found Seraphine looking for her and gave the girl back. Seeing them smile made me smile too.
Then Kael showed up. We were talking when he suddenly snatched my insignia. "If you want it back, come and catch me!" he laughed. While running, he collided with a princess, but neither fell. He apologized and kept going. I finally caught him, but he didn't have it.
"Your sister has it," he grinned. I looked back, and lysandria was holding it. I took it back and we sat on a bench. Suddenly, the whole academy went silent. Everyone was gone to a practical in the dungeon.
That's when the first arrow hit.
It slammed into Lysandria's chest. She coughed up blood. I was in shock when another arrow hit Kael before he could react. A masked assassin in a black coat stepped forward by using a blue space crack to come here. He took off his mask. It was Eron.
"Eron? Did you do this?" I asked.
"I don't know you," he said coldly. "Do you know where Ryn is?"
"I am Ryn!" I shouted.
"Liar," Eron spat. "Ryn would never sit beside a girl and play with her."
It was a half-truth. After Lina died, I never made friends again, so he assumed I was an impostor. He stepped forward and cut my neck.
Second loop. I blinked and was back at the exact moment Eron fired the arrows. I tried to stop them, but a system message popped up:
[All power you were given has been withdrawn to heal the vessel.]
I was powerless. They died again. Eron asked the same question.
"Why are you doing this?" I asked.
"To find my brother or sacrifice enough souls to revive him," he replied.
"I am right here!"
He killed me again. "Why would I trust an Elf?"
Third loop. He fired, and this time I managed to cut the arrows in half with a water arrow. I couldn't use the system to aim, but I still had my own mana.
"You seem strong," Eron said.
"Leave us alone," I told him.
Roots grew from the ground and caught him, injecting poison. Eron shouted, "Ryn, protect me!"
The memory of him being my friend hit me, and I cut the roots. But he just laughed. "Just joking," he said, and killed me while healing himself.
Fourth loop
It went backward. Eron was caught in the thorns. Lysandria ordered me to kill him. I tried to convince her to let him go if he took an oath not to harm anyone.
Then a message from the Curse Weaver appeared:
[Killed him.]
Eron body was tangled in the thick, thorny roots. He struggled, but the poison was already slowing him down.
"Kill him," Lysandria's voice was cold, echoing the command of the Curse Weaver.
I walked toward him, the dagger heavy in my hand. Eron looked at me, his eyes filled with a desperate rage, still not recognizing the "brother" he was looking for. He began to chant, a wind blade forming around his palm, ready to tear us apart the moment he broke free.
The message from the Curse Weaver flashed one last time, threatening my family. There was no more time for hesitation.
I stepped in close and grabbed a handful of his hair to tilt his head back. Eron's eyes met mine—wide and frantic—but I didn't look away. I pressed the edge of the dagger against his throat and pulled it across in one sharp, forceful motion.
The skin parted easily. I felt the hot spray of blood hit my hand and sleeve as his wind blade dissipated into nothing. His body gave one final, violent shiver against the roots before going limp. I stood there, watching the red stain spread over his black coat, the silence of the forest feeling heavier than the void itself.
Lysandria asked why I was standing there in pain. I started to cry and fell asleep in her lap.
When I woke up, I was in an old wooden house. Lysandria was sleeping beside me.
"Where are we?" I asked.
"I ran away with you," she said. "Can you live with me for the rest of your life? I love you."
"Even if I take advantage of you?" I asked.
"Yes."
"Even if I use you to become King and never love you back?"
"Yes."
"Even if I use you as a slave?"
"Yes."
"Even if I kill you?"
"Yes."
I saw at her eyes for some time and try to find a single emotion or doubt eign but as no one grew
I instantly cut her neck.
In this world, people only talk to you if they benefit. Lovers want loyalty and hope. I told her I wouldn't give her either, and she didn't hesitate. That meant she was an illusion.
[You have cleared the test.]
[Now transferring in front of the next path.]
It was the scariest nightmare I ever had. My heart was pounding like crazy. But finally, it was over.