Pov Author
Anna woke with a sharp breath.
For a moment, she didn't move. Her eyes stayed fixed on the ceiling, her mind already racing faster than her body could keep up. Thoughts crashed into each other—memories, voices, faces.
Shou.
Her chest tightened.
No matter what it took… she had to bring him back.
Not just him.
A bitter ache spread through her as more faces surfaced—Mong with his endless jokes, Kiyoshi… her father… or Robert Brown, as the world knew him. And Yuvan, gentle and steady, always there when she needed him most.
How could she let them go?
How could she accept a world where none of them remembered her?
Her fingers curled into the bedsheet.
Did Kiyoshi even remember having a daughter?
Or had she been erased completely… like she never existed?
The thought twisted something deep inside her.
She forced herself up.
Anna noticed the dress only when she turned.
It wasn't just placed on the bed—it claimed the space, as if it belonged there more than she did.
Deep midnight blue, almost black in shadow, the gown shimmered faintly where light touched it. Intricate silver embroidery spread across the fabric like frost blooming over glass—delicate, sharp, impossibly precise. The patterns climbed from the hem upward, as if winter itself had been stitched into it.
A long cloak rested behind it, heavy and regal, lined with soft fur at the collar.
Royalty.
Or something colder.
Anna hesitated before touching it.
Her fingers brushed the fabric.
Cold.
Not to the skin—but somewhere deeper.
Still, she changed.
When she stood before the mirror, she almost didn't recognize herself.
The dress fit perfectly, as if it had been waiting for her. The embroidery shimmered with every movement, catching the light like frozen stars. The cloak fell behind her in a slow, deliberate weight, making her seem taller… distant… untouchable.
Like she belonged here.
Or like something was trying to make her.
Her gaze slowly lifted.
Her brown hair fell over her shoulders—plain.
No flowers.
No pins.
No gentle hands fixing it into place.
A quiet ache settled in her chest.
Shou never let her walk around like this.
There was always something—some small detail, some quiet care that made her feel seen.
Now—
Nothing.
She looked complete.
And yet, she had never felt more empty.
A knock broke the silence.
Before she could answer, the door opened.
Renji stepped in.
He stands in the frame like a blade of obsidian.
Pale as bone and draped in midnight, he doesn't just inhabit the doorway—he haunts it. His robes fall in a heavy spill of ink, embroidered with patterns that curl like smoke, held together by the cold glint of silver.
There is a terrifying stillness in him.
Not rigid—no, something far worse.
A quiet, lethal calm.
The kind that suggests he has seen empires rise, watched them fall, and found the entire spectacle… unbearably dull.
His gaze is dark, heavy-lidded, and utterly hollow.
He doesn't look at the room.
He looks through it.
As if everything before him is already beneath his notice.
As if the world itself is too slow to hold his interest.
He is beautiful in a way that feels dangerous—sharp, distant, untouchable.
Perfectly still.
Perfectly cold.
A shadow…
with a heartbeat.
"Ready?" he asked.
Anna blinked, pulled back from whatever that presence was, and nodded.
"Yeah."
He stepped forward and took her hand—not harsh, not gentle. Firm. Certain.
"Come."
He didn't wait.
They walked deeper into the castle.
The further they went, the darker it became. The air grew colder, heavier—like something unseen was watching them pass.
Anna resisted the urge to look over her shoulder.
Something about this place felt wrong.
Or worse—
Unfamiliar.
They entered a room.
It was almost completely dark.
Only a narrow beam of pale light filtered through a glass ceiling, illuminating the center like a stage.
Renji pulled her inside. The door shut behind them with a dull finality.
Anna glanced around.
"Why are we here?" she asked. "Shouldn't we be going outside or something?"
Renji barely looked at her.
"Because I don't feel like taking the long route."
Anna raised an eyebrow. "Wow. Busy, aren't you?"
"Very," he replied. "Sleeping is the most precious thing in my life."
She snorted. "Then sleep forever."
A faint smirk touched his lips. "I can arrange that for you."
"Shut up. Let's just go."
For a second, neither of them moved.
They were standing too close.
Too close.
Anna's gaze flickered—his lips… then his eyes.
Dark.
Deep.
Pulling.
For a brief, disorienting moment, it felt like falling.
Then—
The air shattered.
A violent gust of freezing wind tore through the room.
Cold. Sharp. Merciless.
It spiraled around them, faster and faster until it became a storm. Anna gasped as the world blurred, the ground slipping from beneath her.
Her grip loosened—
And she fell.
Cold.
That was the first thing she felt.
Her knees hit snow.
Anna coughed, bracing herself against the frozen ground as her vision struggled to steady.
Where…?
She looked up—
And the world answered.
The castle rose like a frozen dream carved into the mountains.
Vast.
Unreachable.
Watching.
A chill ran down her spine that had nothing to do with the snow.
Renji stood ahead, unchanged.
"Get up."
The hallway stretched before them like a throat of polished night.
Endless.
Silent.
Oppressive.
Each step echoed too loudly, swallowed too slowly.
Anna's fingers tightened slightly at her sides.
She didn't like this place.
And yet…
some part of her felt like she had been here before.
The throne room opened before them.
Anna stopped behind him without realizing it.
The throne sat like a wound in the center of the room.
Twisted.
Ancient.
Waiting.
Everything about this place felt… dead.
Not abandoned.
Not ruined.
Dead.
A voice broke the silence.
"Oh… what a delight."
Anna froze.
"The god of death… visiting me. But it's not your time yet."
"I know," Renji replied.
A soft chuckle echoed.
"The most feared one… yet unloved. Replaced. Never chosen. Always chasing love… yet never receiving it."
Anna's breath caught.
It felt like the words were meant for her.
"And what is this?" the voice continued. "A human?"
A pause.
Then—
"Ah… the replaced one."
Her hands clenched.
Forgotten.
Unloved.
Betrayed.
Lost.
"Enough," Renji said, voice cold. "We're here for a wish."
A figure revealed itself.
Beautiful.
Cold.
Unreachable.
Like winter given form.
Anna stared...
then stepped forward.
"I want people to remember me," she said.
Her voice didn't shake.
"They've forgotten me. Replaced me."
A soft laugh.
"Even here?"
"I can't grant that."
Anna frowned. "What?"
"The flow of time has been disturbed."
Silence.
Then Renji:
"Then we'll go where it can be granted."
A smile.
"Ah… but tell me, Anna."
A pause.
"Do you have the courage… to give up something precious?"
"Yes."
No hesitation.
But her heartbeat quickened.
They entered another chamber.
And there—
it stood.
Not a statue.
Not truly.
Something more.
Something watching without eyes.
Anna stopped.
Her breath caught.
For the first time—
she hesitated.
"Don't be afraid," Renji said quietly.
She wasn't sure if that helped.
"Say your wish."
"I want people to remember—"
"Say their names."
She swallowed.
"…Shou Feng. Mong. Yuvan. Kiyoshi…"
Her voice softened.
"I want everything to go back to how it was."
Silence.
Then—
"I shall grant your wish."
Relief flickered—
Too soon.
"But…"
The air grew heavier.
"You must give up something in return."
Anna's fingers trembled slightly.
This was it.
This was the price.
"What do you offer?"
Her mind flickered—
Shou's smile.
Her father's voice.
Laughter.
Warmth.
A life where she existed.
Where she mattered.
Where she was remembered.
Her chest tightened.
Something inside her resisted.
Something human.
Something afraid.
She closed her eyes.
And let it go.
"My youth."
The room fell still.
"Can you give me your youth?"
No answer.
But she didn't move.
Didn't step back.
Didn't take it back.
Renji looked at her.
And for the first time—
there was something in his eyes that had never been there before.
Not boredom.
Not indifference.
Something… uncertain.
---
To be continued…