Chapter 189
Stars were falling in the Black Forest.
The stars made of flowers crashed onto the gloomy soil of the Black Forest.
The fallen stars made no thunderous roar.
They simply descended lightly, scattering vibrant petals in all directions.
The petals strewn across various spots in the Black Forest shimmered faintly for a moment before slowly transforming into light and vanishing.
Cheshire, Kierne, and Hailon stood rigidly, gazing at the scene unfolding before them.
In the place where the flowers had disappeared, a woman with golden hair lay collapsed.
Kierne, staring at the disheveled golden locks, moved his lips.
“…Rose.”
Uttering the name like a groan, Kierne hurriedly approached Rose.
He stumbled, nearly tripping over his own feet, but managed to kneel safely before her.
In the dark forest, he cautiously extended his hand toward her, who shone alone.
The moment his unbearably trembling hand was about to touch Rose’s cheek.
Kierne’s eyes widened.
Because his hand passed right through Rose.
“…Ah.”
With that short sigh, everything shattered.
The fragmented world transformed into a new shape.
This time, the place that appeared was the Serpent’s Castle.
In a garden filled with vibrant flowers, so bright it was hard to believe it was the gloomy Serpent’s Castle, two babies were noisily quarreling.
Sitting on a mat spread under the tree shade, they were babbling incoherently, letting out squeals and wildly swinging their tiny fists at each other.
It wasn’t a fight with much meaning.
Both had short arms, so they just flailed energetically without actually landing any hits.
Beside the babies sat a boy with an expressionless face.
The boy was quietly reading, occasionally blocking the babies’ fists with his hand when they seemed about to connect.
Flip, as he leisurely turned a page, the boy suddenly looked up.
“Belzeon!”
At the clear, ringing voice, the boy’s perpetually sullen face brightened.
But the boy didn’t show his joy too openly, instead rising calmly from his spot.
“Mother.”
Rose, with her long, wavy golden hair cascading down, smiled broadly while hugging a large basket.
Rose plopped down beside the small Belzeon.
Setting the basket down, she planted a loud smacking kiss on Belzeon’s forehead.
“You’ve been watching over your siblings so well. How mature you are.”
“…It’s only natural as the older brother.”
He replied nonchalantly, but Belzeon’s cheeks flushed a subtle red.
It was a happy moment in the life of a harmonious family.
“Guess what Mommy brought? From the kitchen….”
“Rose!”
Kierne, who had rushed over, knelt beside Rose and called her name.
“…So the chef made sandwiches….”
“Rose, Rose!”
Kierne called her name several times.
But Rose couldn’t hear Kierne’s voice.
She just smiled brightly, proudly showing Belzeon the long baguette sandwiches.
It was a familiar sight to Cheshire, who had traversed time periods multiple times.
“Rose….”
Approaching Kierne, who could only desperately call her name without daring to touch her for fear it would shatter again.
Cheshire looked down at him and carefully explained.
“The Fairy Queen can traverse time. It seems we’ve all crossed into the past together right now.”
“……”
“Even though we’ve crossed time, we can’t change the past that’s already gone. We can only watch….”
So they couldn’t intervene in any way, only observe.
She explained with a heavy heart.
“……”
Kierne said nothing.
He just stared blankly at Rose right in front of him, alive and breathing, smiling happily and full of joy.
Cheshire’s eyebrows drooped downward.
‘I struggled a lot too when I first went back to the past.’
The fact that she could change nothing and only watch had been so horrific and agonizing.
The wound Kierne would receive was painfully clear.
‘Why did we have to come to the past, of all places.’
Three powers had mingled.
Kierne’s black magic, Hailon’s divine power, and finally, the fairy power Cheshire had poured out.
Each one was a force powerful enough to change the world.
Because Kierne, Hailon, and Cheshire had all expended every bit of power they possessed.
‘Moving to the past must be the work of the fairy power.’
She couldn’t know what variables the black magic and divine power would introduce here.
If they acted in a negative way, all three might end up trapped in the cracks of time forever.
Though that would be the absolute worst case.
‘It’s already pretty much the worst right now.’
Instead of reviving the dead, they were forced to witness a past that only tore open Kierne’s wounds.
But, even so….
‘So that’s how Mom smiled. Belzeon and the twins were cute when they were little.’
Cheshire focused intently on the past she had never experienced.
Knowing it was a moment that would never return.
After watching for a while, she slowly turned to the side.
Hailon was quietly gazing at Cheshire.
“…I’m sorry.”
Cheshire apologized once more.
Instead of accepting the apology, Hailon asked a question.
“Are we trapped in a rift of time?”
“I’m not sure, but it seems like it. How to get out of here….”
Cheshire smiled bitterly.
“It’s my fault we’re stuck here.”
“No.”
Hailon firmly cut off Cheshire’s words.
“It was my choice.”
His blue eyes, saying so, were steadfast.
Hailon continued in a calmly settled voice.
“I’ll find a way out. There must be some method. With people possessing this much power gathered here. And even if we end up never escaping….”
At that moment, his cold gaze softened slightly.
Cheshire’s eyes widened at the smile that didn’t suit the situation at all.
He reached out his hand.
The large, warm hand gently cupped Cheshire’s cheek.
“It wouldn’t be so bad.”
Cheshire’s face flushed red, unable to respond.
To think a man would say that as long as he could be with her, even in this predicament, it was fine.
‘He’s really… weird.’
To dispel the awkward atmosphere, she abruptly turned her head to the side and said.
“We’re definitely getting out of here. There are people waiting outside too.”
Then, a chilling doubt suddenly crossed her mind.
‘Is it okay to get out?’
Cheshire hurriedly scanned her surroundings.
The rabbit doll was nowhere to be seen.
‘Where did the crown go?’
She had used power again while pouring out life force and dying.
Perhaps Cheshire’s body was already broken, leaving only her spirit.
Her face paled at the chilling hypothesis.
‘For now, let’s just think about escaping.’
Even if she couldn’t get out herself, she had to send Hailon and Kierne back outside.
Since they were dragged into the past because of her.
At that moment, Kierne, who had been kneeling, slowly rose to his feet.
His eyes were pitch black, lifeless.
With eyes whose thoughts were unreadable, he stared silently at Rose before extending his hand toward her.
His hand still touched nothing, passing through Rose.
And once again, the world began to invert.
In the next time period, much had changed.
The once vibrant Serpent’s Castle had sunk back into darkness.
The entire castle was filled with a heavy melancholy and the bitter scent of medicine.
Kierne, standing blankly in the castle’s corridor, headed somewhere without hesitation.
Hailon and Cheshire hurriedly followed after him.
Kierne flung open the door to a certain room.
There lay Rose, on the verge of death.
