Elysia's POV

They called him many things: the King of the Underworld, the Lord of the Dead, the Shadow Sovereign.

But to me, he was simply Kaelen Nightfall.

The man I had loved across lifetimes and through centuries.

Yet I was nothing but a shadow, standing behind a ghost he could never let go.

Lillian Ravenspire. One of the Twelve Flower Spirits.

His first love. His fiancée.

After she died, Kaelen hated me for a thousand years.

And me? I was the intruder. The placeholder. The fool.

Still, I gave everything.

I poured my heart's blood into summoning her soul just so he could see her one last time and smile, even if it wasn't for me.

And how did he repay me?

With the coldness of the grave, he coldly said, "Instead of trying so hard to please me, why not trade your life for Lillian's return?"

My heart didn't break. It shattered.

I couldn't breathe beneath the weight of such cruelty. So I climbed the Execution Platform and jumped.

I followed him through every lifetime I can't even remember. One more death meant nothing.

But then, Kaelen jumped after me. He burned what remained of his soul to catch me before I reached the Underworld's abyss.

With what little strength he had left, he cradled my dying spirit in his arms. And with his last breath, he reached for the blood pact that bound us across lifetimes and broke it.

"Elysia," Kaelen whispered, his voice unraveling with his soul, "in the next life… don't chase me in the next life..."

When he died, the world cracked.

Even Emperor Alistair, the High God of the Heavenly Realm, shed tears of regret. "If I had ended the bond between you and Kaelen earlier, and if I had allowed him to marry the flower spirit, Lillian Ravenspire, from the start, would this tragedy have occurred?"

Meanwhile, Cassian Blackthorn, Guardian of Souls, cast me out from the Underworld with a wrath colder than Kaelen's own.

"He saved you across different lifetimes," Cassian snarled. "Why couldn't you just let go? Why didn't you die instead?"

The heavens mourned. The stars whispered. And eventually, the gods came to the same conclusion:

Letting me love him was the real mistake. Even I believed it.

So I made a choice. I cast myself into the River of Lost Memories, trading away a hundred lifetimes of reincarnation for one final chance to rewrite it all.

This time, I wouldn't chase him. This time, I wouldn't love him.

And this time, I would fulfill everyone's wishes… even if it shattered mine.

——

"Elysia."

Kaelen's cold voice cut through my thoughts like a blade. "How long will you keep chasing me?" he said flatly. "So what if we've shared lifetimes together? I don't love you. Even if I marry you, it'll only be out of obligation, not love."

Kaelen's eyes were cold as he tossed the marriage contract into my arms as if it were nothing, like I was nothing.

"Are you still willing under these circumstances?"

Right then, I woke with a jolt.

The searing agony of the River of Lost Memories still clung to my skin like fire gnawing at flesh and bone.

My entire body trembled.

But it wasn't from pain. It was a joy.

I was alive again. I had been reborn from a thousand years in the past.

Tears welled in my eyes, but I didn't wipe them away.

"Tell me the truth," I whispered, voice unsteady. "If you had a choice, you wouldn't have married me, would you? No matter what I sacrificed, no matter how many times I saved you, your heart was never mine. It was always Lillian's."

A flicker of regret and sympathy passed through his eyes. But only for a moment.

"Yes," he said as if that answer didn't cost me everything.

I swallowed hard, forcing a smile that was anything but real.

"Compared to Lillian," Kaelen added, "everyone else is just someone to settle for. You know this, so why ask? But can you, Elysia?"

His answer came without hesitation. "I can."

Everyone knew I loved him. Even the stars gossiped about it.

In my life among the mortals, I gave him everything. I broke sacred laws, abandoned my divinity, and surrendered my place among the gods. Yet not once did Kaelen Nightfall love me back.

I was once the Goddess of Frost, but now, I have become a lost soul, wandering in the Underworld.

Still, with what little essence remained, I erased my name from the marriage contract.

Kaelen paused briefly. But then he walked faster as if he couldn't bear the weight of what he'd just seen.

"You bound yourself to me across endless ages. You made me owe you more than I could ever repay. Even Emperor Alistair and Cassian say I should marry you. Do you really think one 'no' will fix this?

He stopped.

"Elysia Frostborne," he said, not looking back, "don't test me. I said I would marry you. I'll keep that promise."

With a flick of his sleeve, he turned away. And just like that, he was gone.

I crumbled.

One trembling hand clutched at my chest. It felt like invisible hands were crushing my heart into powder. Every breath I took was stained with blood.

But the truth had always been there.

When we ascended as gods, our names were carved into the first line of the Stone of Fate. Kaelen chose to descend, bound to endure centuries of mortal trials, each one marked by love and loss, longing and regret, desire and betrayal.

But through it all, he always smiled at me. And every time, I thought that meant something. Each time, I thought maybe he felt the same. I foolishly thought my devotion, my willingness to follow him through life and death, had finally been heard.

When we returned to the Heavenly Realm, I went before the Heavenly Emperor and asked for a blessing for our marriage.

I married Kaelen, believing I had finally won his heart. But after Lillian died, the truth revealed itself in the coldest way.

Every night, in his dreams, he called her name, but never once mine.

Looking back, the truth shattered me.

I loved Kaelen through every lifetime and burned for him at every end. But to Kaelen Nightfall, I was nothing more than a promise made out of pity.

A mistake he couldn't release—a burden born from gratitude, not love.

So, I threw myself into the River of Lost Memories and gave up a hundred lifetimes of rebirth for this one chance.

And just before my spirit was cast back through time, the God of Fate whispered, "Time will reverse, and you will die and be reborn, but any changes will cost you your lifespan. You have three days, no more. Every change you make must be paid for by yourself. If you want to change your destiny, you must change three fixed points in time. Are you willing, Lady Elysia Frostborne?"

And with my last breath before rebirth, I answered, "Yes."

Elysia’s POV

As long as Kaelen Nightfall got what he desired, I would've died a thousand deaths without regret.

That was the bitter truth I had come to accept.

No matter the pain, no matter the depth of my devotion, I was never enough for him.

And so now, in this life, I no longer pray for his love.

I no longer beg fate to turn in my favor.

To truly rewrite destiny, three events must be undone:

One: the signing of the marriage contract.

Two: the soul-binding ceremony.

Three: Lillian's death.

I had only managed to change one. But one was a beginning.

...

By the time I returned to the Underworld, Kaelen was already there, waiting at the edge of the Crossing Bridge. He stood still as stone, leaned against the cold railing, cloaked in shadows that clung to him like loyal spirits. Even the wind dared not touch him.

Kaelen turned as I approached, eyes narrowing. That same familiar irritated look, as though my very presence was a burden he was forced to bear.

Then, without a word, he reached for my hand.

For a heartbeat, I hesitated. The part of me that once longed for Kaelen's touch still remembered the warmth. But I had no intention of giving him that satisfaction now.

I took a quiet step back.

"Until the contract is signed," I said, my voice soft but unwavering, "we shouldn't meet in private. And we most certainly shouldn't hold hands."

Kaelen scoffed, the sound sharp as splintered ice. "If I weren't doing this to keep Emperor Alistair off my back, I wouldn't touch you at all."

Then came the dry, biting laugh. "You used to cling to me like your life depended on it. What's this now, huh? Playing hard to get now, Elysia?"

Ah, yes. The old Kaelen. Brutal honesty cloaked in cruelty.

But this time, I didn't flinch.

Once, I forced him to settle for me. I begged for his attention and endured a thousand little humiliations to stay by his side.

Not anymore.

I offered him a smile, gentle on the surface but hollow beneath.

"I'm simply following tradition," I said.

Kaelen didn't answer. Just gave a derisive snort and dropped his hand. Still, he kept me close, walking beside me as if I were something valuable he didn't yet want to part with.

But I knew better. I knew where Kaelen's heart still lived.

If I didn't—if I were still that naïve girl from the past—I might've mistaken his nearness for affection. I might've let hope rise again.

But I wasn't her anymore. And this time, I would not be the one left in ruins.

...

It was the Festival of Souls.

On this sacred day, the candles of the living world drifted down the River of Lost Memories, their wicks flickering softly as they floated along the current. Each candle carried a prayer and whispers of hope for peace in the next life, a gentle offering to the unknown.

Countless souls lined the riverbank, their faces etched with quiet longing, their hands clasped in silent prayer. The air was heavy with stillness as if the world itself held its breath in reverence.

"If the wind understands you, it won't hurt you."

I read the words etched into the flickering flame, and for a brief moment, time seemed to be still. The familiar phrase struck deep, a painful tug in my chest.

In that instant, I was pulled back. Back to that bitter life I had lived before.

I remembered the snow-covered plum grove where I had wandered, weak and ill. For weeks, I had teetered on the edge of death, unable to escape its grasp.

Kaelen, reborn as a proud warrior, had been left broken after the battle. His legs, crippled, could no longer carry him, but that hadn't stopped him. He crawled up the Sacred Steps of the Watcher's Keep, dragging himself with every ounce of strength to light a candle of prayer for me.

The words were written on that candle, too.

The same words.

The memory came rushing back, vivid and real, as if it had happened only yesterday. My breath caught, and I had to blink away the mist gathering in my eyes. The pain from that life—that moment—was still fresh, a wound that had never truly healed.

After we returned to the Underworld, I asked him, so naïve, so hopeful, if he would light another candle for me.

But Kaelen had buried himself in his duties, dismissing me with a cold sneer.

"You believe in mortal rituals?" he scoffed. "You have everything. What more do you need to pray for?"

"Trials are just that—trials," he added, his tone laced with disdain. "You take it too seriously."

It was I who had taken it too seriously.

The prayer. The ritual. All of it. It had been my weakness, my desperate hope. I had foolishly believed, for far too long, that somehow, he might come to love me. But he never did.

Now, as I stared at the candle before me, its glow just as bright as it had been back then, I felt nothing but cold.

I glanced at Kaelen, his face as unreadable as always. He held his candle, his eyes distant, emotionless.

"Just this once," he said, his voice flat, uninterested. "I don't have time for your past recollections."

I reached for the candle, my fingers trembling as I took it from his hand. Moisture threatened my eyes, but I blinked it away, determined to remain composed.

He was always like this, offering disappointment veiled in the guise of fleeting, hollow kindness.

His gestures of small acts of compassion did nothing but twist the knife deeper because I knew they weren't for me.

They never had been. They were for Lillian.

Kaelen never loved me—not the way I had always hoped. Yet somehow, he let me follow him through countless lives, and he let me be his wife in every one of them.

We had once been lovers, young hearts bound by passion, caught in the whirlwind of love and death.

We had been husband and wife in every form love could take: childhood sweethearts, destined partners, soulmates who were torn apart and reunited time and time again.

We had lived the stories others only dreamed of.

He had pulled me from fire, from water, from sword, and from storm. And in the end, he gave up his life beneath the Execution Platform, saving mine.

Kaelen Nightfall was a good man.

But he was never my man.

The warmth of his touch faded from my fingertips as quickly as it had come.

I knew, deep down, that no matter how many times I pleaded with the stars, fate would never rewrite itself for me.

Still, I took the candle and placed it gently into the river, my voice soft like a whisper as though I were begging for mercy.

“Just this once.”

The current held the candle for only a moment before the flow of the stream rushed in, snuffing it out and pulling it beneath the water's surface.

Right then, a servant spirit came in the wind.

She bowed and said, "Miss Lillian's flower has withered. She's distraught, my lord."

Without a moment's hesitation, Kaelen turned and walked away, his back as cold and distant as stone.

"Lillian loved that peony the most. She must be devastated," he said, his voice flat and almost detached. I need to comfort her. You can go back first, Elysia. I'll see you at the bonding ceremony tomorrow."

"Okay," I murmured, my voice barely above a whisper.

I started to walk away, the weight of the moment pressing heavily on me, but before I could even take more than a few steps, he grabbed my arm, his fingers tightening around my wrist.

His gaze was one of surprise and confusion, as though my behavior didn't make sense to him. "Yesterday, you were furious at Lillian for just speaking to me. You nearly tore the Underworld apart. Now, you're suddenly so agreeable?"

Before I could respond, he caught on, his expression shifting to one of realization. "Of course. You're just trying to play the dutiful wife before the wedding, aren't you?"

Without waiting for a reply, he turned and walked off with the maid, leaving me standing there, the silence deafening in his wake. The sting of his words hit me like a thousand arrows. My heart cracked, and before I even knew it, tears of bitter disappointment slid down my cheeks, quiet and unbidden.

How could any woman willingly share her husband with another?

How could I accept this cruel arrangement that had been thrust upon me?

Lillian, with her pretentious humility, had claimed she didn't care about the title or status, but her actions told a different story. She came at me again and again, each provocation a reminder of how she was forcing me to relinquish my place beside him, to bow down to her.

"You're no longer a goddess," she had sneered at me. "What right do you have to stand beside Kaelen?"

Elysia's POV

"You've chased him for a thousand years. Has he ever once looked at you? But every day, he stays by my side, begging me to look at him just once!"

Lillian's voice resonated in my ears as I remembered her saying that.

But even if she didn't say it, I'd always known the truth.

I felt it in every sidelong glance Kaelen never gave me, and in every moment, his gaze reached beyond me to her memory.

Still, hearing it spoken aloud by Lillian herself was something else entirely. It was like being flayed from the inside out.

More so, Lillian didn't say it with sorrow. She said it like a confession and relished it as if she wanted me to suffer for daring to still stand beside him.

The worst part? Kaelen never knew that vindictive part of her.

He never saw it.

The Lillian he loved, the pure, gentle soul he still wept for, died long ago. But he clung to her memory as if it were sacred, untouchable.

As if losing her had shattered his entire world.

Kaelen never saw the version of Lillian, the one who taunted, provoked, and wore her cruelty like a crown.

He lived his life inside a dream, mourning a love that had long since turned hollow.

But now that I had a second chance, I didn't care whether Kaelen had to know. I would prefer to let that go and have nothing to do with him anymore.

...

The very next day was meant to be our soul-binding ceremony.

Emperor Alistair himself would officiate it.

Everything felt dreamlike like I was watching myself relive this life again. My limbs moved, my body dressed in robes spun from the light of the morning sun, but my spirit felt detached, floating somewhere far beyond it all.

The Emperor's hands were steady as he helped adjust the golden sash. His warm and proud gaze lingered on me like that of a father preparing his daughter for the most crucial moment of her life.

"Of all the souls across the three realms," he said gently, "only the two of you were ever truly bound by fate. To see you united again, at last… I can rest easy."

Cassian stood beside me, ever the rogue. He grinned, flicking a silver thread from my shoulder.

"Lady Frostborne," Cassian teased, "don't forget to whisper a sweet word about me on your wedding night. The Underworld's been cold and empty without a mistress. But now that you're here, everything's changed."

They all meant well.

They wanted Kaelen and me to find happiness and truly believed this bond would heal us. And it was precisely their hope and their love for me that the guilt crushed me.

I was once a snowflake that cultivated into godhood. When I first ascended, Emperor Alistair watched over me with quiet pride.

But after falling into the Underworld through endless cycles of sacrifice, Cassian protected me from bitter spirits and vengeful ghosts.

Though I wasn't a high god, I was still treated like royalty.

And now, I was about to disappoint them all.

Outside, firecrackers burst into the sky, signaling the arrival of the bridal procession. The clamor and cheers rang through the ceremonial hall, a celebration for a wedding I would never let take place.

I turned away from the window, back toward the two men who had given me everything.

"Cassian, Emperor Alistair... I will not marry Kaelen Nightfall," I said.

The words left me like ice. Their smiles froze.

I pressed on. "Tomorrow, I'll leave the Underworld. I may return to the mortal realm, or I may not. But I won't come back here again."

The silence that followed was deafening.

The Emperor stared at me, disbelief clouding his regal expression.

"Why?" he asked quietly, his voice fraying at the edges. "You two have crossed time, defied death, fought fate itself. Why let go now?"

"Tonight," Emperor Alistair continued, a flicker of desperation seeping in, "Kaelen will come for you. To bring you to the bridal chamber. Even if Lillian tries to stop him again, she wouldn't dare defy me."

Then his voice hardened. "Has she said something to you? Or has Kaelen wounded your heart again for her? Tell me. I will not spare him."

Cassian stepped forward quickly, eyes wide with panic. "Lady Frostborne, don't let Lillian Ravenspire that flower fairy poison your heart. She had only known Lord Nightfall for a hundred years. Your bond was carved into the stars. You risked everything to help him through his mortal sufferings. And he gave his life for you, too. Doesn't that mean something?"

His voice softened, a flicker of vulnerability beneath the jest. "Just yesterday, he promised to take you to the Festival of Lights on your birthday. Didn't you also love him? Every one of his robes, his armor, was woven by your own hands."

Their words hit me like warm memories lapping against the cold wall I'd built inside myself.

Back then, everyone said the same thing.

We were destined. Fated. Legendary.

And then, Kaelen died. When he did, we all broke.

This time, I didn't cry. I met their gazes with quiet strength. "Better to let him go now than to live out eternity as bitter strangers."

I drew a slow breath, the ghost of a memory tightening around my chest. "If, after our marriage, Kaelen still chooses her and if he'd give his life for Lillian all over again, what then? What do I do when I am his wife in name but not in heart?"

I remembered his broken body and how he carried me through fire and ruin with the last of his strength. I remembered how he chose death, even then, to follow Lillian.

The burn in my throat returned. I swallowed it. "As long as he can live well, that would be enough."

Emperor Alistair's shoulders dropped. Cassian looked away, jaw tight.

Eventually, they nodded.

Their fire was gone.

After they left, I stood in silence. Then, slowly, I peeled off the wedding robe, its woven light fading as it fell to the ground. I packed my belongings with calm hands and an aching heart.

I hadn't married Kaelen Nightfall.

The second fixed point had been broken.

Somewhere, deep within the tangled threads of fate, I could feel the bond between us unraveling and growing weaker with every breath.

This, I realized, must be the price the God of Fate had warned me about.

But if my letting go means peace…

If this is what it takes for everyone to live in freedom and joy, then the price is worth it.

Then I would pay for it. No matter what it took.