“My lord, please drink this.”
“…Thank you.”
Azriel accepted the glass of water Mio handed him, but instead of drinking, he merely stared at the clear liquid. His fingers trembled faintly, his face devoid of any emotion as he sat at the edge of Mio’s bed.
Mio watched him closely, the concern etched across her face appearing genuine—so genuine that Azriel almost allowed himself to believe it was real. After several heavy seconds, he finally broke the silence, his voice soft and almost a whisper.
“…I don’t think I can go to the village.”
“Y-you don’t have to worry about that, my lord! Your health is what’s most important!”
Azriel said nothing in response. After a hesitant moment, he lifted the glass and drained it in one swift motion. Ignoring Mio’s gaze—a gaze that secretly frightened him—he closed his eyes tightly and gritted his teeth.
He didn’t want to do it. He didn’t want to take the next step… didn’t want to confirm it.
Azriel’s body began to shake uncontrollably as Mio continued calling out his name in rising concern. His complexion must have been deathly pale by now, but he couldn’t stop himself from thinking about it.
He couldn’t avoid the terrible truth any longer.
‘Did I really…die?’
His heart pounding painfully, Azriel forced himself to confront the reality he dreaded most.
‘Status.’
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〘 Status Screen 〙
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[Name]: Azriel Crimson
[Age]: 16
[Gender]: Male
[Titles]: Son of Death
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[Mana Core Rank]: Advanced
[Mana Core Grade]: Grade 3
[Mana Core Level]: 3
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[Affinities]:
– Lightning
– Ice
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[Unique Skill]: Redo → One-time use
[Skills]:
– Core Reaper
– Soul’s Crucible
– Eidolon Flesh
– Villain’s Script
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[Sword Arts]: Dance of Death → 15% mastery
– First Form: Death’s Blossom
– Second Form: Thorned Heart
– Third Form: Falling Petals
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[Soul Weapons]:
– Void Eater
– Atropos’ Elegy
[Soul Armor]: Nocturne Covenant
[Soul Echoes]: None / Locked → Unlocks at higher rank
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[???]: None / Locked → Unlocks at higher rank
[???]: None / Locked → Unlocks at higher rank
[???]: None / Locked → Unlocks at higher rank
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Slowly, Azriel opened his eyes and examined the familiar window.
“!!”
His eyes widened in shock.
‘What does this mean…?’
[Redo] hadn’t activated?
But he had died. He was certain. Whether it was part of a scenario or not, death was undeniably death.
Then… could it be?
‘I didn’t actually die?’
All at once, the tension drained from his body, nearly causing Azriel to collapse again. Mio’s distant voice calling out barely registered in his ears.
‘It’s not over.’
He wasn’t dead.
[Redo] hadn’t triggered.
The gods didn’t know.
He wouldn’t be trapped in an endless cycle of torment, subject to their whims, tortured forever—or perhaps worse. True death might still await him if they discovered the truth, but Azriel couldn’t be sure. What he knew for certain was that if [Redo] ever activated, he would be completely at their mercy.
But now, he still had a chance.
‘But if I didn’t truly die… then what happened? It was real… all of it felt so real.’
His body trembled involuntarily as Azriel clutched himself tightly, feeling a chill far deeper and colder than before. His mana core burned hotter, a stark contrast to the unnatural cold consuming his flesh. The memories were vivid, unmistakably real.
They had to be.
Azriel shook his head, forcing the unsettling thoughts away.
‘Not now.’
He couldn’t afford despair.
Just forget it.
Azriel raised his gaze towards Mio, meeting her worried expression.
‘Why make that face?’
A face so convincing it hurt.
“…Lady Mio.”
“Yes, my lord?”
She responded instantly, unable to mask the anxious impatience in her voice.
Azriel lowered his head, shadows veiling his expression as he whispered gently, “You had tasks to handle in the village, correct? You shouldn’t waste time here with me.”
“But my lord, those things can—”
“…Please, Lady Mio,” Azriel interrupted softly.
“I… I need some time alone.”
His voice shook, not from pretense but genuine vulnerability. Mio bit her lip, clearly hesitant.
“Very well, my lord. Please rest here. I promise I’ll return as soon as possible.”
“…Yes. I’ll wait.”
She didn’t know.
She didn’t know that Azriel knew… that she knew things she shouldn’t know about him.
With one last look of concern, she turned and quietly left the cabin.
“…”
Azriel waited quietly until he was certain Mio was truly gone—until her presence had faded into the distance. Only then did he rise slowly from the bed. His legs trembled slightly as he stood, drawing a faint scowl to his lips.
‘She always goes to the village when I’m resting…’
Yet he had never bothered to investigate the cabin before. Somehow, his mind always resisted the thought, as though instinctively avoiding it. But now, he had no other choice.
He needed answers. He needed clarity.
‘I need to leave this place… find anyone I recognize, anyone else trapped in this scenario. Nol… but he might not even be here.’
If Nol had been present, he surely would have used [White Haven] to reach out and invite Azriel. But no invitation had come, leaving only troubling possibilities: either Nol was not involved in this scenario at all, something terrible had happened to him, or the Forest of Eternity itself was preventing the connection.
Azriel took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
‘Before I… died, I was weakened—no better than a normal human. [Soul’s Crucible], [Eidolon Flesh], my affinities—all of them vanished abruptly.’
Yet now, they had returned.
And there was also the matter of his left hand—torn from his body. But that couldn’t have been caused by the Void Worms.
‘Think… think carefully. What’s happening here? What’s the meaning behind all this? Is it only Lady Mio involved, or is someone else pulling strings from the shadows?’
Azriel ran a hand anxiously through his hair, scratching his head in frustration. Then suddenly, his hand froze.
‘What the—?’
He combed his fingers slowly through his hair again, disbelief flashing across his face as he felt its abrupt end at his shoulders.
Azriel’s eye widened in shock.
‘My hair… got shorter?’
But why? It had always reached down his back ever since he’d awakened from his two-month coma. It was definitely long when he left the cabin before.
“..!”
Azriel’s heartbeat quickened as his mind raced.
‘Why did my hair become shorter? Could it be because… I briefly thought it was irritating before I died? But how? Did reality somehow shift according to my desires? If I’m reliving this moment, did my unconscious will alter my hair length? No…’
Think, think, think!
‘No—my body feels even colder, my mana core hotter… Why would Dark Basilisk blood cause my mana core to burn? It’s plausible it could make my body feel like a corpse, but… a corpse? My core burning, my hair shortening, traveling backward in time? The Forest of Eternity—eternity itself—a place that traps wanderers forever…’
His mind raced, connecting fragmented pieces at lightning speed.
‘Then… how many people have wandered here, hundreds or even thousands? Among them, none kinder than myself? What about the void creatures, animals? Why did those Void Worms suddenly attack me? Why is Lady Mio the only one safe, untouched by danger? A guardian ruling over the Forest of Eternity… Lady Mio had never aroused suspicion before, not until—’
And then it struck him sharply.
‘—Not until the moment I tried to leave this forest for the first time.’
An enormous blunder, completely out of character.
Lady Mio was old, yes—but never foolish.
She was kind, yet certainly not naive.
And at that realization, everything finally fell into place.
‘Burning core, cold body, shortened hair, Forest of Eternity…’
Releasing a shaky breath, Azriel slowly raised his trembling right hand to cover his mouth. His voice emerged as an incredulous whisper:
“…I’m trapped inside a dream.”
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