And those were Dorian’s last words.

After that he dissolved into nothing. The last of his hand which had been raised to give me his blessing turned to dust and fell. Half on the ground and half on Mariam’s lap.

The three of them were mourning over what remained of Dorian. Ryan’s arm was around Mariam’s shoulder. Emma stood behind them with her stick shaking in her grip.

And I was feeling something I didn’t expect. Not happiness about completing this assignment quickly and finding ways to clear this tower level. It was lighter than that. I felt relief because I was able to lift the pain off someone whose entire life would have been spent in darkness otherwise.

But then reality hit me.

Does any of it matter?

Everything I have been doing here would surely give me some good karma. But none of it would mean anything if I couldn’t survive. If I don’t solve the mystery and clear this floor, this world would flow back in time. Back to where a mother suffers alone. Back to where a man is consumed by hatred and commits the same sins. The end Dorian feared the most would become inevitable all over again.

Everything depended on me. Because if I lose, it’s not just my life at risk. It’s theirs too. Diana’s soul. Everyone connected to this floor. I needed to act fast.

While I was clenching my fist with those thoughts, I heard a voice dragging itself toward me.

Angelica.

She had pulled her broken body across the ground and was now looking at me with fury barely masked by exhaustion.

"Do you know how much you made me worry?" Her voice was shaking. "Are you dumb or what? If you don’t have a will to live then at least remember there are people who would grieve for you."

She pointed toward Mariam and her family.

"Just like them."

We both looked at the scene. Three people huddled together over a pile of dust that used to be a father. Then at Aria who was breathing heavily, staring at the sky after managing to stand back up. Then at Marie who was watching from a distance but clearly not in good shape, leaning against a broken tree for support.

Angelica turned back to me. "But you really did something great today. Something unpredictable. Just like you always are."

Her tone shifted harder.

"But know this. One more time you try to take everything on yourself and I will use my authority to punish you. We are comrades, Deculein. At least let me stand on your side. At least treat me as one for once."

She held my gaze.

"And if you are hiding any truth, any secret, I will still consider you my comrade. My friend. So open up. Otherwise you will end up alone in this world. Alone in the dark. Just like what happened to him."

I didn’t know what she was trying to get from me. But before I could think of a response I spotted many fire torches in the distance. The heads carrying them were peeking from behind trees and houses, looking at the scene and looking at us.

Then one old man who seemed to be the head of this town stepped forward and walked straight to Mariam. He scanned them grieving over something that was just some dust on the ground and turned to the old woman.

"Emma, what happened? Why are you out in the dark? I heard from a citizen that there were voices and screams coming from here. Some others pointed that they saw your family moving out."

Emma replied with a tired voice. "The demon is dead. That boy along with his friends ended it."

The man’s eyes glowed with joy. But then he looked confused because none of the faces around him matched that joy. So he asked. "I still don’t understand. Why instead of celebrating are you all looking like you lost someone in the battle? Wait, who died? Did some villager sacrifice themselves? Or someone else?"

Emma cut him short. "Stop it, Shen. I will explain everything later. Now is not the time. I gave you the information that truly matters."

He looked around one more time and said. "Fine then. I will hear the details later. Till then I will inform everyone about the demon’s demise and send word to my friends to come back to the town. We will hold a grand celebration."

None of them gave him a response. Not even a glance. So he walked away toward the dozens of people hiding behind trees in the distance.

Emma turned to Mariam and said softly. "Children, it’s too cold out here. Let’s go inside."

Mariam shook her head. "I want to stay here a little longer. I wasn’t finished sharing my stories with father. There’s still so much I need to tell him."

She was clinging to whatever remained of Dorian on her lap.

Emma’s hand hovered over her head gently. "Fine. Just don’t push yourself. You need to take care of yourself and the little one."

Then her gaze fell on Ryan. She was about to tell him not to be as stubborn as his wife and come inside but he spoke first.

"I will bring firewood. We can make a bonfire for the night. A farewell to Mariam’s father. And we will share stories together."

Emma just smiled looking at the couple and said with a lighter tone. "Fine. Do as you wish."

Then her gaze found me. She gave a bow of gratitude. I simply nodded. And before any conversation could start between us, I spotted a familiar figure approaching.

Tudar.

He walked up to Angelica while looking around with scared eyes. "Is it... is it safe now?"

I scanned him. He looked perfectly fine. Not a scratch on him. Not a drop of blood. And then I remembered this coward was supposed to be with us the whole time. He was the one paired with Teresa.

"Where the hell were you?"

He flinched at my tone. "Teresa told me to run when she saw the threat. She said she would stall for time and commanded me to warn the others. So I..."

My anger was boiling. "So you ran?"

He replied with rising panic. "Teresa was insistent! You know how she is. Was. She was very commanding in her final..."

I grabbed his collar and pulled him close. My voice came out hard and flat.

"She is dead."

I pointed toward a body lying in the distance.

"Marie is laid over there in a broken condition barely able to stand. Angelica here has multiple broken bones and injuries she is failing to hide in front of me. They were seconds from death when we reached them."

My grip tightened.

"And you are telling me you ran like a coward and only showed up when everything was settled?"

"I was following orders! She told me to..."

My fist connected with his face before he could finish.

THWACK.

He hit the ground and before he could process what happened I was on top of him. Punching. Taking out every ounce of frustration that had been building inside me. The anger at losing one of our own. Even if I didn’t like Teresa, she was still part of this team. She still fought while this piece of shit ran.

And one thing was now crystal clear. This coward couldn’t possibly be the fourth hero.

I kept going until his eyes stopped opening. Until his face was a swollen mess.

"Deculein, stop it!" Angelica’s voice cut through. "If anything happens to him the imperial family will definitely take strict steps against you. Steps that even I won’t be able to protect you from."

I gave him one final brutal kick to his face. Then stood up.

And the moment I was upright my head started spinning. Something hot was running down my nose and I realised it was bleeding. My legs were shaking underneath me and I knew I was about to collapse.

I muttered under my breath. "Fuck this weak body of Deculein."

Angelica might have heard it because her eyes suddenly turned suspicious. But that suspicion quickly changed to worry as my body started tipping forward.

She reached for me but someone was already standing behind me. Catching my weight before I could hit the ground.

I looked at the figure with blurry eyes. Couldn’t make out the face. But the scent coming off her body told me exactly who it was.

I managed a weak grin. "I wasn’t worried about falling. Because I knew there would be one cold princess ready to give her shoulder to this damsel just like before."

She was about to curse me. I could feel it building in her chest.

But the darkness took me before she could.

When my eyes opened I was laying on a bed. The surroundings told me we were still in the same town. Some small room. Wooden walls. A single window with pale light coming through.

Then my gaze fell beside me.

Aria.

Sleeping right next to me.

And she was naked.

Her chest was half out of the blanket we were sharing. Those perfect curves barely hidden by the fabric that had slipped just enough to show everything except her nipples.

I was completely confused. My brain was asking a thousand questions but my body was answering with something entirely different.

My one-eyed monster was already rising inside the same blanket that Aria and I were sharing.

And then I realised something even more alarming.

I was naked too. Just like her.

’What the hell is happening? Or rather... what the hell happened?’