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.

Elysia's POV

That night, Kaelen barged into my chamber, his cloak of red sweeping behind him like a storm, billowing with fury that mirrored his own. Without a word, he seized my arm, dragging me across the halls. The cold grip of his anger tightened around me as he stormed towards Lillian's quarters.

"Elysia!" he growled, his voice laced with fury.

The force of his anger was palpable. Kaelen's hand, tight on the collar of my gown, felt like the wrath of a thousand storms. His veins stood out like cords of fury, and I knew at that moment that this wasn't just an angry man. This was a man lost, consumed by grief and rage.

"The one thing I despise above all else is a two-faced nature," Kaelen spat. "I thought you were preparing to be a gentle, devoted wife. And instead, you hide such poisonous intentions in your heart."

"You deliberately provoked Lillian's heart condition, didn't you?" he accused. "Made her suffer to the point where death would seem like a mercy—all to ensure she wouldn't ruin your precious wedding, didn't you?"

Kaelen's words strangled the breath from my lungs. The pain curled around me like smoke, leaving my face tinged in blue, violet, and black.

He didn't know. He had no idea.

In my past life, shortly after Kaelen and I had wed, Lillian's condition had worsened.

She had been one of the Twelve Flower Fairies, pure and bright, but her divine power was weak, and her fragile, mortal-like body could not withstand the strain placed on it.

Her heart ailment, worsened by worry and grief, had drawn her closer to death with each passing day.

By the time Kaelen realized that my divine core could save her, it was too late.

She had already died.

And now, here we were again.

The third fixed point had come sooner than I expected.

Tomorrow was the third day.

If I could save Lillian and change this, then Kaelen would live this time.

Kaelen finally released me.

I stumbled, struggling to speak. "So, you've come to force me to give her my divine essence?"

His gaze flickered, uncertainty flashing in those dark eyes. He hadn't expected me to be so blunt.

"Don't be ridiculous," he snapped. "You've already fallen from being a goddess, your essence nearly drained as it is. If you keep burning through it, how much longer do you think you'll last?"

I lowered my eyes. Before I could speak again, a scream rang out from across the hall.

It was Lillian's maid.

"Lord Nightfall, Miss has coughed up blood again! If we can't find a restorative elixir, Miss will die for sure!" she informed in agitation.

Kaelen's hands clenched into fists. His eyes locked on me.

"Kaelen… please don't make this harder than it already is," came Lillian's voice, soft, pitiful, from behind the bed curtains. "Lady Frostborne is your wife. I'm… a flower spirit. If I die, I die. It's nothing."

Lillian, pale as a ghost, lay on her sickbed, her breath shallow and ragged. Her suffering twisted something deep within me, but my heart sank further as I watched Kaelen's torment.

Kaelen hesitated the weight of his decision pressing on him.

The physician, looking desperate, urged him, "My Lord, make a decision quickly. Miss Ravenspire can't hold on much longer. Yes, a high immortal's essence is rare, but what's a few years of life compared to saving someone now?

Kaelen gritted his teeth. "But…"

"There is no 'but,'" I said firmly, meeting his gaze.

I could see the conflict inside him—the love he had for her, the duty he felt, and the guilt that would never release him.

So, I made it easier for him.

"If you're worried about me, then just prepare a few elixirs. That should be enough to restore what's lost. We're immortals, Kaelen. Even losing part of our essence, we still live long enough to see the stars die," I spoke lightly as if trying to ease his burden, but it was a lie.

There was nothing light about this. Kaelen's entire world was about to come crashing down, and I couldn't bear to see him break.

I watched his shoulders relax a little, a heavy sigh escaping him. "Elysia, this time... I owe you."

He paused for a moment, and his tone softened, just for a moment. "Last night, I spoke too harshly. I'm sorry."

As my divine essence was drawn out, I struggled to maintain control as my body began to transform. It felt like the very essence of my existence was being torn away. I sensed myself fading, my body longing to revert to its original shape.

The agony was unbearable, and at that moment, my mind spiraled.

I remember the day I became a goddess, the day I transformed into a sky full of snowflakes, casting my gaze across the three realms.

Some trampled on me. Others swept me into the dirt.

Only Kaelen, out of all, gathered the snowflakes in his hand gently as if I were the most fragile thing in the world, just like he did for the next thousand years.

If we were never truly meant to be, then let me turn into snowflakes once more, falling upon his shoulder.

That may be enough.

Enough for us to live together until the end, even if only as fleeting memories.

...

When I woke again, it was already the evening of the third day. I felt weak, my body drained, but I could hear Kaelen's soft voice in the next room, speaking to Lillian.

"Kaelen, if I take Elysia's essence, will I kill her?" Lillian's voice was weak, full of concern.

"Don't overthink it," Kaelen replied, trying to calm her. "Elysia has been jealous of you for a long time. I missed the wedding yesterday to remind Elysia where she stands. Even with Emperor Alistair and Cassian's support, she can't surpass you. Losing that bit of essence might even teach her a lesson. Besides, I will find some elixir to help her recover. You overthink, Lillian. You need rest. Don't dwell on these things."

There was a long pause before Lillian spoke again, her voice soft but laden with doubt. "Kaelen, you've endured centuries of trials with her. You've risked your life for her again and again. How could that not be love?"

Elysia's POV

Kaelen was silent for a long moment, his gaze distant, as though he were searching for something he could not even find.

The weight of Lillian's words hung between them like a storm cloud, heavy and unyielding.

When Kaelen finally spoke, his voice faltered. "That's true. We've faced countless trials together—floods, raids, plagues that wiped out whole towns. To say I didn't feel anything would be a lie."

He paused, then continued, more quietly, "But if it had been someone else—if anyone else had gone through all that with me—I still would've saved them. I still would've cared. But that's not love. If I had a choice… I would've wanted that person to be you."

Then, almost tenderly, Kaelen whispered, "Sleep now, Lillian."

I felt nothing.

Not anger. Not sorrow. Not even surprised.

Only an ache so deep and still, it might as well have been death itself.

I didn't even notice when Kaelen came to my side.

Without looking at him, I whispered, "Kaelen… when we were mortals, I made so many wishes there, and none of them ever came true. But this time, Kaelen… I want your wish to come true."

In this life, he could stay with the one he loved. Forever.

There would be no more torment, no more sacrifices.

He wouldn't have to die for me on the Execution Platform.

And maybe that was what I wanted for him, too.

Peace. A life that was finally his own.

He could live. Truly live.

Kaelen didn't answer right away. With every passing second, his face grew paler, as if the weight of everything we'd been through was finally bearing down on him.

His silence stretched between us, heavy and unspoken.

Then, he asked quietly, "Did you hear something?"

Before I could answer, a scream echoed from the room next door.

Lillian had coughed up blood again.

Kaelen's expression darkened immediately. His gaze flicked toward me for the briefest moment, looking conflicted and unreadable before he turned and ran from the room without another word.

"I'll explain tomorrow," he called over his shoulder.

I smiled faintly. But the ache in my chest only deepened as I watched him disappear.

My body felt weak, and my strength was slipping away like sand through my fingers. I tried to stand, legs trembling beneath me. The last of my divine essence had nearly burned out. Still, I pushed myself forward. I had to.

I left the room.

On the desk, I placed a single letter, hurriedly written but filled with quiet resolve.

It was time.

...

Kaelen's POV

By the time I'd managed to calm Lillian, it was already the next day.

I opened the door to the room with a heavy heart, expecting to find the familiar sight of Lady Frostborne resting, yet my eyes met nothing but emptiness.

A chill crept up my spine, my pulse quickening as dread began to take root in my chest.

"Where did Lady Frostborne go?" I muttered under my breath, my voice betraying the panic that simmered beneath the surface. "She's injured. How could she leave like this?"

Before the maid could answer, the Judge of the Underworld, Jael, burst through the door. His clothes were heavy with dust, and his expression was twisted with urgency.

"My Lord, something's wrong!" Jael exclaimed, his voice thick with panic. "The Well of Rebirth, which links to the mortal world, has exploded. The souls about to reincarnate are mostly unharmed, but one lonely soul was far too weak and disintegrated into ash! She just looked like Lady Frostborne."