Chapter 108
The man who awakened—not as Ruda, but as Rager—stood in silence without uttering a single word.
His expression was filled not with joy or hope, but with resentment and despair.
‘Why did you force me to awaken to reality?’
It was as if he were asking that very question.
Roina thought to herself. Because it was the truth.
She was someone who always faced reality, no matter how hopeless the situation. If one could not confront it, then nothing could be overcome—just as he had remained frozen in place for four hundred years.
But facing the truth head-on was an incredibly unsettling and painful experience. She could understand why someone would instinctively turn away when they felt they could not endure it.
The human heart was both infinitely strong and unbearably fragile. If he had to avert his eyes to preserve his sanity, she could not blame him.
That was Rager’s story—but how had Diana awakened?
Finding this strange, Roina turned her gaze to Quies. The Goddess appeared overwhelmed.
Upon closer observation, Roina realized that the contract between Quies and Rager was unraveling, breaking apart. Quies was desperately trying to gather the fragmenting pieces, patching them together as best she could.
So it was because the contract had become unstable that Diana had awakened.
Roina quickly understood.
And so, Roina and Maili, leaving behind the busy Quies and the silent Rager, summarized everything that had happened to the newly awakened Diana.
They told her of how, just before she died, her younger brother Rager had made a wish and formed a contract to save her, how it had gradually deteriorated, leading to the entanglement and slumber of countless other girls along with her, and how their families had been desperately waiting for them…
“I see.”
The awakened woman was as delicate and composed as a daffodil. Her pale, light brown hair, cascading like falling petals, made her presence feel even fainter.
“In that case, I would like you to take the time that remains for me.”
“…What?”
Roina unconsciously questioned her. Just now, Diana had calmly, without the slightest hesitation, declared her intent to give up her own life.
“This is enough. I don’t want Rager to suffer any longer.”
As she spoke, Diana seemed ethereal, as though she might disappear at any moment. Rager, who had remained unresponsive until then, was deeply shaken by her words.
“Sister, please don’t.”
“No, Rager. It’s time to accept it.”
This is the will of the gods. We’ve turned away from their call for too long. Diana whispered those words. Rager shook his head violently.
“Sister, the god we believed in was not truly a god. They were a weak and incomplete being.”
As he spoke, he gazed directly at Quies.
Maili and Roina also turned their eyes to the fae at the same time. Now, Quies was clutching the fragments of the breaking contract in her arms, sobbing.
“No… Don’t leave me alone again. Hic… You’ll go to a place where you won’t return. Just stay here with me forever. Let’s live happily together. Uwaah…”
Despite Rager’s cold and resolute words, Diana gently shook her head. Then, she reached out and wrapped her hands around his.
“Rager. The divine resides within us.”
Tap.
With her other hand, she lightly pressed against Rager’s chest.
“Here.”
She murmured the words and gave a faint smile.
“I will live on inside you, so it’s okay. Don’t worry.”
Rager stared at his sister with wide eyes. It was something she always used to say out of habit—It’s okay, don’t worry. But this time, the meaning was entirely different. Diana slowly closed her eyes, as if accepting her impending death.
“Live on. Don’t waste any more time on me. Find your own hope, Rager.”
If you do not lose hope, the gods will always be with you.
Saying so, she lifted the corners of her lips. Her upper body wavered slightly, and then—thud—she collapsed.
Rager instinctively reached out and caught his sister. Her light brown hair, which had been lifted into the air, scattered as it gently fell. His eyes widened in disbelief.
“N-no… No! Sister? Please, wake up. Sister! Sister!”
He trembled more and more as he shook her, but her body only grew limp in his arms. He clutched her lifeless hand, repeating the same desperate denial over and over.
A deep hum resonated through the air. The entire cabin, the space around them, trembled violently. The contract had been forcibly severed—by Diana’s choice.
The man who had returned from being a lost beast to a human had no choice but to accept the death of his sister, which he had denied for centuries. Because that was her final wish.
He could no longer reject it. He could no longer avoid it or turn away.
He could not simply lie in a field of flowers with butterflies fluttering about, free from all worries. Now, he had to find his own will. He had to confront and collide with the painful reality before him.
Even if it meant shattering.
It was merely the difference between slowly consuming himself until he withered away or breaking all at once. Diana had understood that as well, which was why she had severed the delay of death.
As the contract shattered, the space around them began to collapse. Everyone clung to one another uneasily as the ground beneath them wavered.
Quies had already fallen into a panic, reduced to nothing but sobs. Maili turned to Roina, demanding to know what was happening.
Roina realized—it was time to dismantle the magic that bound this space.
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