I witnessed with my own eyes Cassandra’s body, or rather her soul, slowly crumbling into dust and disappearing. Unlike her body, which was falling apart, her face was frozen and staring at me, which gave me a creepy feeling, but I also felt relieved to see it.

Yes, she was originally a soul who may have already died and lived another life.

And I remembered the grave, which she had seen earlier. Countless souls were still trapped here. While it may not have been their will at first, it was scandalous to try to take the bodies of their descendants and live their lives.

Nearly a thousand years have passed, and countless things have changed. We must respect our ancestors and respect the past, though that does not mean we must embrace everything.

Everything was like that.

It may not be the law of the world, but as you live, there come moments when you have to shake off and let go. In my previous life, I couldn’t get rid of it, so I just let it stagnate. Stagnant water will eventually rot. Therefore, before that happens, we must try to create a new path and move forward.

Finally, the red eyes that were wide open disappeared. The red magic she contained began to flow into me as if it had been waiting for it.

A vast amount of information, incomparable to the moment when I imitated her illusion, began to naturally settle into my mind. To utilize the abilities that had become my own, I lightly gestured and created the person I most wanted to see.

Lucian appeared right in front of me, smiling sweetly.

I was happy to see him, so I took a step closer and hugged him tightly. Although her ability to create a tangible body with intangible technology was amazing, I could not feel any warmth.

I muttered, thinking that it was nothing more than a doll imitating his appearance.

“Just wait, Luci, because one thing has been resolved. Then, the other thing will be resolved quickly.”

I fiddled with the ring while mumbling something that couldn’t be conveyed. Instead of putting my lips on the illusion that looked exactly like him, I gently placed my lips on the ring.

Even though we were far away, I hoped that my feelings were conveyed…

I closed my eyes in a prayer. Then my eyes opened of their own accord. I came out of my dream and blinked slowly as I looked at the sunlight starting to shine dimly.

There wasn’t even any moonlight last night, and this morning, it’s dazzlingly bright again. I didn’t know if it was because the Cassandra inside me had disappeared or if it seemed that way because of my will to shake off the past and move forward…

“It’s warm.”

The sun was particularly warm, so I woke up lazily stretching.

“Are you awake?”

“Master! Did you sleep well?”

“…Good morning, Saint.”

I smiled for no reason as I saw the three shapeshifters showing their faces at the same time.

Well, I felt fine.

The feeling of Cassandra disappearing and my body becoming my own was not much different from before, but it felt fundamentally different.

“Girl.”

Well, I felt fine.

Elliot, still tied to the tree, called to me with a tired face.

I thought it would be better to just keep that guy alive, so I kept him alive, but I couldn’t help but feel a surge of frustration every time I saw him.

So, I ignored him, but he called me again. His voice was so carefree that I wondered if he was really tied up.

“Where are you going now? It seemed like you were going somewhere.”

What are you going to do with that?

I ignored him and got up without saying an answer out loud. When I got up, Paul scooped up some hot soup he made and offered it to me.

“Thank you, Paul.”

“…Enjoy your meal.”

“You’re good at cooking!”

Yesterday, the two were fighting, it was just cute to see them together again now. I quickly finished the soup and got up toward the final gate.

“Paul, please guide me. And Oscar and Damien, you watch that person.”

The water spirits, who seemed to have listened to me just yesterday, bound Elliot tightly according to my will. He was only released from the tree, but he was unable to move, and the dark spirit that he controlled like limbs could no longer come out.

I didn’t know why the water spirit became a dark spirit, but now, it seemed like the water spirit was suppressing the dark spirit. Despite the fact that Elliot didn’t respond in any way, I felt rather suspicious about it and was completely on guard.

With Paul’s guidance, I walked around the maze of the forest and headed to the temple. There was the road I saw in my dream.

I took a deep breath.

While I came here as if I was drawn to something, I had no idea what would happen once I entered.

Not even Paul would know why God called me.

Still, I didn’t think I could continue to ignore it. I felt like if I ignored it, they would somehow force me to come here.

As soon as I left the familiar road, I saw the cave I had entered in my dream. Oscar seemed to recognize the place and started making noise.

“Wow, I never thought I’d come back here! Hey, don’t you think so? Seaweek punk?”

Damien was watching Elliot without responding to Oscar’s words. He even took out his wings and watched the rear.

“Tsk, you’re even ignoring me!”

I quickly followed Paul to the cave.

I wished I could finish the work as quickly as possible and return to Lucian’s side. I wanted to rest comfortably in his strong arms. At this moment, I really missed his arms that would dismiss everyone and quietly hug me when I said I was going to rest.

As I entered the cave, I remembered the brief stay I had as a child.

When I went further inside, I saw a magic stone that illuminated the dark cave. There were countless magic stones, just like those seen in the dream. From there, I passed Paul, who was ahead of me and walked like I was possessed.

As I went deeper and deeper, my heart began to pound.

We finally arrived at a dead end.

Although light did not leak out like, in the dream, the door with the mysterious pattern on it was full of traces of having endured the long years.

I stood in front of it and looked at the door for a moment. Before I knew it, Paul came next to me and swept the door open with a trembling hand.

“…This was a secret passageway used by priests. It didn’t collapse.”

The faint voice seemed to be looking back on an immeasurable time.

I roughly knew that turtle shapeshifters have a long lifespan, but what would it be like to live for close to a thousand years? I felt sorry for Paul, who was left alone and had to hide himself among people during the quickly passing years.

“Paul…”

When I called him, his brown eyes looked straight at me.

What on earth does this gently swaying sign mean? Was it the excitement of returning to a place he had longed for, or was it just sadness and missing his lost colleagues?

“… Let’s go, saint.”

Unlike his watery eyes, his low voice was firm. I also gained strength from his voice. Although I was afraid, I had to go back quickly.

Now that I had taken ownership of my body, I had to stand on my own.

What did God mean?

I felt like I needed to know everything so I could take root and live here. So, I would live happily ever after with Lucian. I didn’t have to worry about anything anymore, and I just wanted to live together.

As soon as my hand touched it, the door, which was full of traces of time, began to emit a sacred light.
Paul looked at the scene with emotion, Oscar opened his mouth in surprise, and Damien stared at me in silence.

Elliot, who had been dragged along, looked at me and the door with a curious expression.

After the door opened, the light disappeared and a staircase appeared. When I saw the stairs stretching upwards, I took a deep breath and stretched out my feet vigorously.

Even though it must have been my first time setting foot there, I felt a sense of déjà vu.

* * *

Lucian frantically searched the inside of the bookstore and found a place with a slight breeze.

He could easily tell that it was a hidden space. Even in the Duchy, there was a secret space. Instead of finding a hidden device to open the door, he took out his sword and slashed at the bookshelf without hesitation. Then, a hallway with a red carpet was revealed.

His heart beat wildly with anticipation as the hope that he would finally find Rachel caught in his throat.

He hurried into the hallway and opened all the connected doors.

However, there was not the slightest trace of anyone. As the number of doors that could be opened decreased, his heart became more anxious. He thought he’d feel relieved when he saw Rachel in his eyes…

When Lucian opened all the doors to the last room and couldn’t find Rachel anywhere, he felt the illusion of his eyes going dark again.

“Ray…”

Oh, this was not an illusion.

It was just a phenomenon that happened because she, who was his world, was not there. Since the world he had to step into had disappeared, it was natural for everything to become dark and upside down.

With shaky legs, Lucian emerged from the hidden space.

At that time, a knight ran up and shouted.

“Duke, the previous Duke has arrived!”

Before the knight finished shouting, Pedro came into the bookstore.

As soon as he returned to the Duchy from the Imperial Palace, he heard Camilla’s words and rushed over. They moved so clearly that it was impossible to not be able to tell where the Duchy’s knights were headed.

It was frustrating to see such a fuss going on when it wasn’t enough to settle things quietly.

Of course, it was even more so because he knew very well why his son was like that. Still, Pedro, who tried to admonish Lucian because he was in a position as the Duke, had no choice but to keep his mouth shut as soon as he saw Lucian.

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