Chapter 141
(Guess whose POV is back!!)
The first thing I noticed was the darkness.
Not the darkness of the dungeon. This was different. There were no walls, no ceiling, no floor beneath me, and not even a shadow to prove that I was actually standing somewhere. There was simply an endless expanse of black stretching in every direction.
I blinked.
Then blinked again.
"...Okay."
My voice sounded unnaturally loud in the emptiness.
I turned slowly, searching for anything that might explain where I was.
Nothing.
"Am I in another dungeon?"
Silence.
"Another world?"
Still nothing.
A horrifying thought occurred to me.
I froze.
"...Wait."
I looked around again.
"No."
My voice rose slightly.
"...Did I transmigrate again?"
The question echoed through the darkness.
Again.
Again.
Again.
I looked around, panicking.
"No. Absolutely not. I refuse."
I looked upward, despite having no idea which direction was actually up.
"I survived one drowning, one poisoning, and a heartbreak. I refuse to deal with this shit anymore."
Silence. I folded my arms.
"Rude."
I tried to laugh, but the sound came out weaker than I'd intended. I wrapped my arms around myself and looked into the endless darkness.
"Hello?"
Nothing.
"Is anybody here?"
Still nothing.
I took a cautious step forward.
Then another.
The place didn't feel empty.
That was the unsettling part.
It felt as though something was waiting for me.
I stopped. A chill ran down my spine.
"Nope."
I turned around.
"Whatever this is, I'm going the other way."
"Amanda." I froze.
The voice had come from somewhere ahead.
Soft. Familiar. Almost like my own.
Except... not quite.
I slowly turned back.
A faint light had appeared in the distance.
I stared at it.
Within the glow was a small room that seemed completely out of place in the endless darkness. There was a dressing table, a wooden chair, and someone sitting in front of it.
A girl.
She had her back to me, her long hair falling freely down her back as she calmly combed it.
I stared at her, gulping.
Crap. This was officially turning into a horror story.
I took one hesitant step toward her. Then another.
She didn't move.
I swallowed again.
"Please don't turn around."
She continued combing her hair.
I stopped several feet away, gathering enough courage to speak.
"H...Hello?"
The girl suddenly spun around, jumped to her feet, and threw both hands into the air.
"Surprise!"
I screamed. I screamed so loudly that my entire body recoiled, and I fell backwards onto the floor.
The girl stared at me in shock.
Then, apparently startled by my scream, she screamed too.
For several seconds, we simply stared at each other.
I was sprawled on the floor.
She was standing beside the chair.
Both of us looked equally horrified.
Eventually, I raised one trembling finger and pointed at her.
She followed my finger with her eyes before looking back at me.
"...Are you my mirror image?"
She blinked and tilted her head.
Then she laughed. Actually laughed.
"I suppose I'm a little more than that."
I frowned and slowly sat up.
I looked at her. Then at myself.
Then back at her.
The resemblance was impossible to ignore.
Same face. Same eyes. Same hair.
Except she carried herself differently. There was something lighter about her, something I couldn't quite explain. Looking at her felt like looking at a version of myself that had never learned to be suspicious of everything.
My eyes widened.
"No..."
She waited.
"You're..."
Her smile grew.
"The real Cassiane?"
She tilted her head.
"Am I?"
I stared at her, my eyebrows creased.
"That is an incredibly unhelpful answer."
She laughed again and extended a hand.
"Come on. Get up."
I eyed her hand suspiciously before finally taking it.
She pulled me to my feet with surprising ease.
I dusted myself off even though there was nothing on my clothes.
"What was with that creepy introduction?"
She looked genuinely confused.
"Creepy?"
"Yes. Sitting alone in a dark void with your back to me while combing your hair before suddenly screaming 'surprise'?"
Her expression became sheepish.
"I thought I'd surprise you."
"That is not how you surprise someone."
She lowered her gaze. "Sorry. I'm not used to the modern techniques."
I stared at her for a moment.
Then my suspicion returned.
"Not the point."
She looked up.
"Then what is?"
"Who are you?"
Her expression softened.
Instead of answering immediately, she stepped closer and took both my hands in hers.
Her palms were warm.
"You finally found me."
I blinked.
"I wasn't looking."
"I know."
"Then why do you sound so happy about it?"
Her smile softened further.
"Because I've been waiting for you."
I stared at her.
"...For me specifically?"
"Of course."
I pointed at myself.
"This me?"
She laughed.
"There isn't another one, is there?"
That somehow made the entire situation more unsettling.
I shifted uncomfortably.
"Right."
She studied me for a moment.
"I've wanted to meet you for a very long time."
"You have?"
"Mm."
"And you've just been waiting here?"
"Yes."
"For me."
"Yes."
I stared at her.
She stared back with complete calm.
"That's... surprisingly devoted."
"It is."
"You don't think this sounds strange?"
"No."
"It sounds very strange."
"I knew you'd say that."
I narrowed my eyes.
"You know me?"
"Better than anyone."
I nearly choked.
"Excuse me?"
Her expression was almost amused now.
"I know what makes you laugh. I know what makes you cry. I know every fear you've ever carried. I've watched every choice you've made, every mistake, every moment you thought no one was watching."
I immediately took a step backward.
"Oh, absolutely not."
Her smile faltered.
"What?"
I pointed between us.
"This. Whatever this is."
She looked genuinely puzzled.
"What is this?"
"You standing in a mysterious void telling me you've waited for me forever and know me better than anyone."
"Yes?"
"Do you realize how that sounds?"
She blinked.
"...No."
I rubbed my face.
"Okay. First of all, I'm flattered."
"You are?"
"Please don't interrupt. This is difficult."
She folded her arms and waited.
I took a breath.
"I don't really share your... preferences."
She stared at me.
I continued carefully.
"So while I appreciate the sentiment, I don't think I can return your feelings, and I think there's been a terrible misunderstanding."
There was a long silence.
Then she frowned.
"What?"
I gave her an apologetic smile.
"I support you completely, of course."
Her eyes widened.
"What?"
"I just don't think we should pursue-"
"You think I'm in love with you?"
I winced.
"When you say it like that, it does sound a little ridiculous."
"A little?"
She stared at me in disbelief.
"I've been trapped in an endless void for who knows how long, waiting for you, and that is the conclusion you reached?"
"In my defence, you're not exactly helping."
"How am I not helping?"
"You literally said you've been waiting for me and know me better than anyone."
"Because it's true!"
I pointed at her.
"See?"
She covered her face with one hand and groaned.
"You are unbelievably clueless."
"I've been told that before."
She lowered her hand and stared at me as though she were reconsidering every decision that had led to this conversation.
Then she sighed.
"No. I refuse to explain this right now."
I frowned.
"Explain what?"
"You'll understand soon enough."
"That is exactly the kind of cryptic sentence villains say."
"I'm not a villain."
"That's exactly what a villain would say."
She laughed.
The sound was warm and familiar.
And despite everything, something about it made me relax.
I had spent so long believing that I knew Cassiane's story. I knew how she was supposed to die. I knew the choices that had ruined her. I had spent years trying to become someone different from the woman history had written.
Yet standing in front of me was the woman whose face I had been living with all this time.
And somehow, instead of feeling frightening, she felt familiar.
Not because she looked like me.
Because she felt like me.
She extended her hand again.
"Come on."
I stared at it.
"Where are we going?"
"Forward."
"That's not a destination."
"It is today."
I didn't move.
She raised an eyebrow.
"What now?"
"I don't trust mysterious women in voids."
"You trusted a strange cat."
"That's different.He was Fluff. Hey, how do you know that?"
She stared at me, "I told you, I know everything about you."
I smiled sheepishly, stepping backwards.
She sighed, walked over, and grabbed my hand herself.
I yelped.
"Hey!"
"No more questions."
"I have many questions."
"You'll get your answers."
"When?"
"Soon."
I narrowed my eyes.
"I don't trust that word either."
"You don't have to."
She began pulling me forward.
I followed reluctantly, still watching her with suspicion.
Then I noticed something ahead.
A light. It hadn't been there before.
It was faint at first, little more than a pale glow in the distance, but with every step it grew brighter. Warmth spread through the darkness, touching my skin.
I looked at her. She was already watching it. Then she turned back to me.
Something had changed in her expression.
The teasing was gone. So was the amusement.
What remained was something I couldn't immediately understand.
Relief. Pure, overwhelming relief.
As though she had been waiting through an eternity for this exact moment and had finally been given permission to stop waiting.
She squeezed my hand.
"It's time to wake up, Cassiane..."
I stopped walking.
"What?"
She smiled. Before I could ask what she meant, she tugged me forward.
The light swallowed us.
For one brief moment, everything disappeared into white.
And then the world shattered.