God! I'm so dizzy after writing so much!!!

The world is spinning!!



>>Lyal

I found myself heading toward the old library. I liked it here, it was one of the only places people rarely went to, where time felt like it moved more slowly, where the air was heavy with the scent of old parchment and dust, a smell that somehow brought me peace.

As I neared the library's oak door, something made me pause. A flicker of movement under the door, barely there, but enough to catch my eye. I hesitated for a moment, then pushed the door open as quietly as I could. The hinges creaked, loud in the stillness, but the room beyond was undisturbed.

Sunlight filtered through the high, narrow windows, falling in golden beams that sliced through the dust-laden air. The light danced on the stone floor and settled across the wooden table in the center of the room, illuminating it with a soft, almost sacred glow. And there, leaning over the table, was Hael.

The Tower Master

I stopped in the doorway, surprised to see him here.

What's he doing here? He doesn't like staying in the palace for long, but there he was, utterly absorbed in whatever lay before him, so much so that he hadn't even noticed me come in.

Or maybe he had and he chose to ignore me.

His expression was intense, his eyes narrowed in concentration as he stared at an unrolled map on the table. Around him, other maps lay in disarray—some spread out, others half-unrolled, and more still stuffed into a container on the floor, their edges curling with age.

Curiosity tugged at me, and I stepped closer, my eyes drawn to the map he was so focused on. It was old, the parchment yellowed and the ink faded, but I could still make out the details. The Hollow Woods—no, that wasn't right. The name in the corner was different. The Dark Woods. That was what they were called long ago, in the ancient texts, before the forest was renamed.

"What are you looking for?" I asked quietly, my voice barely breaking the stillness.

Hael didn't startle, but there was a moment before he responded, as if he had to pull himself back from wherever the map had taken him. He glanced up at me, his eyes guarded but still intense.

He raised his gaze to look at me, "Your Highness," He greeted, "I'm looking for the rift," His voice low, almost reverent.

The silence of the old library was thick, broken only by the faint rustle of paper as Hael finally straightened up, releasing the map. It rolled back into its tight, timeworn coil with a soft snap. He turned to face me, a small, unreadable smile playing on his lips, but I could see the calculation in his eyes.

"You took the unconscious Saint back to the Magic Tower," I said, my voice sharp with the accusation that had been festering inside me since I'd learned of his actions.

Why is he always around her? Why is she always with him?

He tilted his head slightly, considering me, before replying with a calm, almost dismissive tone, "I did."

The nonchalance in his response stoked the fire of my anger. I took a step closer, trying to impose some sense of authority over him, but Hael didn't flinch. "You have no right to take the Saint away like that."

His gaze didn't waver, and his voice remained steady. "The king allowed it. I don't see why you're having a problem with it." I couldn;t read his expressions, he had a poker face on, "Or are you the type that like to leave unconscious women just anywhere."

The way he said it, as if I were nothing more than a nuisance, infuriated me. He acted as though he was above reproach, as though I, the prince, was the one out of line. "Don't try to get smart with me." My fists clenched at my sides. "I know who you are. You're that slave Corvina was fascinated with."

To my irritation, Hael's smile widened, a slow, deliberate curve of his lips that made my skin crawl. "Why, thank you. I appreciate the compliment."

Compliment? The nerve of this man! My thoughts sputtered, and I had to grit my teeth to keep from shouting at him. What compliment? I didn't give him one! Anyone could tell!

Was being a slave a compliment to him?!

Every time I saw Corvina, he was there, like a shadow clinging to her, and now it's getting on my nerves. I needed to get him out of the picture if I had any hope of Corvina being with me. She belonged with me, not with some upstart magician who didn't know his place.

Before I could voice my next thought, Hael's voice cut through the tension, sharp as a blade. "Your Highness, you should stay away from her."

His words struck me like a blow, my breath catching in my throat. It was as if he had peeled back my mind and read my thoughts, laying them bare between us. I stared at him, trying to regain my composure. "I should say that to you," I retorted, my voice rising as I tried to regain control of the conversation. "A Saint has no match with a magician."

I could see the challenge in his eyes, but I wouldn't back down. Corvina and I had history, a connection, no matter how close he tried to get to her. I would get her back—she was mine by right. We were once engaged, after all.

"Keep dreaming, Your Highness," Hael said with a soft, almost mocking tone.

"What?" I snapped, taken aback by his audacity.

"I love breaking hope." He said it so calmly, so matter-of-factly, that it sent a chill down my spine.

"What does that mean?" I demanded, anger lacing my voice, but Hael only smiled in return.

"If I tell anyone that you were the one who left me in the forest," I began, my voice low and smooth, "you won't dare run your mouth again."

A rush of cold panic gripped me, though I tried to mask it with a sneer. He chuckled, the sound infuriatingly light, as if this were all a game to him. "Then why haven't you?" I shot back, trying to sound as though I was still in control.

The truth was, I knew it wouldn't work. His illusion magic was too strong; he had spun his own version of events, and people believed what they saw. Many had witnessed what he wanted them to see, and any accusation I made now would only bounce off the shield of lies he had constructed.

"I chose not to," I said, forcing a smile as I folded my arms across my chest. "Your reality made me pity you." I let my gaze linger on him, letting the disdain drip from my voice. "In the end, Corvina is only with you because she feels responsible as your master. You are nothing but a slave, after all."

For the first time, Hael's smile faltered. His eyes drifted away from mine, his expression growing distant as if considering some dark thought. But just as quickly, he masked whatever he was feeling, his features settling back into a neutral mask. He turned away from me, his movements slow and deliberate.

"Good day to you, Your Highness,"

What?

He's leaving

All of the sudden?

>>Hael

As I walked away from the old library, the echo of my footsteps filled the corridor, each step putting distance between myself and that arrogant fool, Lyal. His words, his threats—they were nothing more than the desperate ramblings of a man who had no idea how truly out of his depth he was.

He thinks he can stand in my way, and thinks he has a chance at winning My Lady's favor?

But as if I'd ever let him come close to her

The thought of him even trying to approach her was almost amusing. The Magic Tower was my domain, a place he could never hope to penetrate. He didn't belong there—he wouldn't even know where to begin. No matter what he does, no matter how much he schemes, he'll never set foot within those walls. The meetings in the Palace were something inevitable and they allowed My Lady and Lyal to meet, but she's not coming back here anytime soon.

That much I would ensure.

My Lady

My thoughts drifted to her, as they often did.

She was everything to me—not just my ex-master, not just a woman of unparalleled beauty and intelligence. She was mine. The thought of anyone else being near her, thinking they could lay claim to her, made something dark twist in my chest.

She needed me, even if she didn't fully realize it yet. I was the only one who truly understood her, the only one who could protect her.

Lyal was nothing. An annoyance, a fly to be swatted away. He couldn't even fathom the depth of what connected her and me. His delusions of winning her over were just that—delusions. There was no competition. There never had been.

You'll never touch her

Well, we'll see if you get to touch anything at all

***

>>Amber

I don't know why the thought of Hael being involved in this whole thing didn't cross my mind before.

Maybe because he doesn't remember anything from the previous timeline.

I felt strange.

"We needed the Tower Master's help. There was no other way to send my powers back in time and let someone else inherit them."

"But why send your powers back when you were rewinding time-" I paused, "Whatever you did, that machine you used," The lines on my forehead were visible, "It turned you into a flower. It took your human form!"

"Simply rewinding time meant I'd still be powerless... Our only option was to send my Holy Power back in some form. Because other than keeping memories intact, we can only take something very small and pure back to the past. And our only bet was that someone finds me and then uses me."

"How were you sure that someone will find you?"

"Hael," She said and I felt a little angry

"What did he do?!"

"He made sure he'd be the one to find it," She said, "We put in a lot of work."

"But he doesn't remember the past timeline! How could he be sure he'd get the flower!"

"He put a spell on me, no one else could find me but him." She answered.

Why do I feel so annoyed?

It's not like he was having an affair with her.

"Listen," I folded my arms, "You did awaken your powers at some point, didn't you? Why didn't you use them then?"

"It was too late, the miasma had almost consumed everything."

"Almost!" I was being mean for something so petty, "But it wasn't the end, you could have done something!"

She was shocked by how I talked to her, but she didn't fight me back. Her gaze dropped and she looked down in shame, "Actually... The flaw was mine... I was-am... Weak minded." I felt a rush of guilt pass through me. "I could have done something when I awakened but I was so afraid I couldn't... " What am I doing? I came here to get answers not to fight. "We needed someone strong-headed" Her body came down slowly, till the time she was on the same level as me, "I had no idea how to use my powers, I had no idea how I could deal with so much miasma alone. I-"

"I'm sorry," I said and she stopped, "I'm really sorry," God! What is wrong with me! I hate it when I do this. Sometimes, the past me takes over, especially when it comes to Hael, "I didn't mean to be mean," She looked at me, "I'm not blaming you. I can understand."

I can

I'm already losing my nerves thinking about the fact that we'll have to go to Hollow Woods and then even enter a rift. Rosie must have felt so lost with all those monsters everywhere and the miasma taking over everyone.

Even as the true saint, she wouldn't be able to do much. And yet she was brave enough to make this decision to send her powers to the past.

"I don't have a good appearance," She said and I looked at her, "Dark purple hair, purple eyes, rather than the saint, I would have made a better villain." She stared below.

At that moment, she reminded me of myself.

"You look so lovely though," I said, "And you were chosen to be a saint. Why would you think your appearance is a problem? You were chosen because you were perfect for it."

Her gaze remained low, "Just-" Her hand reached for her neck, "It's that image everyone has in their minds," She slowly raised her gaze to look at me while she nervously moved her hand around her neck, "Like Illaris," Her voice was very soft, "She looked like the perfect image of a saint,"

...

My thoughts resonated with her. I understood it all very well.

"And yet you guys chose me," I looked down, "My hair... My eyes... They're even darker than yours." And then I looked at her.

We stared at each other for a moment and we both understood each other. In those few seconds, where everything that surrounded us was emptiness.

A blank canvas

We knew we both had low self-esteem for the most part of our lives. I don't know what she went through, but I can see her life wasn't much different from mine.

"We should love ourselves more." I said and she smiled.

"Yes,"

We definitely do. Our physical appearance could be so lovely but what we feel for ourselves makes us feel ugly. We should love ourselves and we should spread the love.

Because people who grow up in loving environments, love themselves more easily than people like us.

"Did you give up your physical body?" I asked, "To become a flower?"

She nodded, "Yes," Her voice was soft. It was then that I realized that I had such a lovely appearance.

"But, did you retain your conscious senses when you became a flower?"

She shook her head, "No," She looked up, "Once all of my physical body was gone and I became a flower, I had my senses for a few seconds, then I went to sleep. I woke up when you ate me."

"I see..." I let out a soft breath, "So, I'd take that you guys didn't know much about what caused the spread of miasma and stuff."

"We did find the bonewraiths, but we never found out their weakness." She answered and a chill ran down my spine. Did Hael die in the previous timeline? But then how did they find out bonewraiths?

"In the other timeline, did Hael die when he went to Hollow Woods?" I asked, "He was sent for an investigation, right?"

"Hael never went to Hollow Woods," She answered.

???

"He didn't?" I was confused.

"No," Rosie shook her head, "He sent the archmages." She answered confidently, so I couldn't even ask her if she was sure. Because she looked very sure.

"Why didn't he go?" I asked

"He was in no condition to go."

"No condition to go?" I was puzzled, "Why?" I frowned and a thought crossed my mind. Who turned time back? Who was the requestor?

What part was Hael involved in?

Don't tell me... Fear ran through my veins immediately and I felt a shudder.

No

"Rosie," I called her name in desperation, "Who rewinded time? Who requested it?"

"The requester is someone you might know." She said

"Who?"

"You met her a few days ago. That girl with Red hair and green eyes." That rang a strong bell in my mind but just to be sure I asked for her name

"Her name?" I tilted my head as my heart started to pound

"Enya," She answered, "Enya wellington."

"Enya?" I was shocked, "Wellington?" My mouth hung open, "She-" I paused, "She wasn't a commoner?!!" This was like a bomb dropped on me. I couldn't have imagined it in my wildest dreams that she was a noble. She never said anything "But Duke Wellington's daughter!!"

But wait, if Enya is the requestor, who's the performer?

.***

>>Enya

I was drinking tea in my room when I suddenly felt a chill go down my spine. Then I sneezed,

"Achoo!" The cup I held in both my hands while I kept my elbows on the round table in front of me, trembled

"Oh My," I looked out the window, "Is someone talking about me?"

"My Lady," The maid came running over, "You spilled some tea!"

"Oh!" I turned my head to look at the table. "I didn't even notice." The maid dabbed the cloth on the table and on my dress, cleaning the tea that i had spilled.

I hadn't spilled much though, maybe that's why I wasn't able to tell.

Or maybe, it's just that I'm getting anxious.

The end is nearing after all.