Emma choked on her tears, taking breaths in rapid succession, coughing out flem as she exhaled.

She didn’t want to heal Mary.

She needed to help Raul.

Yet….What will they think?That question became a scab that couldn’t heal because she kept picking at it.

It was pervasive, eroding her mind, haunting her like dripping water.

What will they think?Emma could already hear Mary’s friends whispering:Don’t count on her.

She left Mary paralyzed.Sure, it’d be Mary’s friends, but their words would seed subtle doubt among her classmates.

Will Emma really help me? I bad-mouthed Sara.

I’m not sure.

She’s different.

I hear she was healing rebels after they killed people.

What? Emma? Yeah, Emma.

What about the soldiers? That’s the crazy thing.

She didn’t heal them.

There were limbs everywhere, but she didn’t do anything.

She just ran away with the rebels!Emma grabbed her head and sobbed.

She couldn’t hear the voices, but the mind has a strange way of autocorrecting neutral thoughts into something real, like how reading makes people hear and see things.“Emma!” Jason yelled.

“She’s dying! At this point, thinking it through is the same as not doing it!” Emma reflexively took a hesitant step forward but then stopped when she realized something important: Mary was paralyzed, and even if she went, she didn’t know if she could fix her.

Emma wasn’t a spinal surgeon—she didn’t even go to med school! But she could already hear Jason:Don’t lie, Emma! I know you could’ve healed her.

But you didn’t!“Emma!” Suddenly, Jason’s voice overlapped with her imagination’s version of him.

“What the hell are you doing? Are you really going to let her be paralyzed? What the fuck happened to you!”Emma trembled at his anger.

Emma didn’t do anger guilt-tripping.

She didn’t want the judgment.

She didn’t want to be in this situation.

She just wanted it to be over.

“Emma!”Emma hugged her arms against her chest, walking through the corridor.

She passed by the windows, one after another, trying to ignore Jason’s impatient expression.

Then she blinked, and she found herself in the courtyard as if she had sleepwalked through the building and down the staircase.

But once she “woke up” and saw the burnt and dismembered bodies strewn across the ground, she immediately vomited on the ground.

Once the convulsing subsided and she could think, her eyes welled with tears.

These were the people screaming in pain while she just stood there, staring into dead space, cloistering herself off from the world.

I-I could’ve helped them, Emma thought.

I should’ve—“Emma!” Jason’s voice turned into a guttural growl, but when she stumbled backward, it magically softened.

“Thank God, I thought I lost you for a second.

Come on.

You’re doing good.

I know you’re trying your best, but you need to get over here.

Please….”Emma bit her lip and looked away.

Jason’s insincerity wasn’t just manipulative—it was lazy.

It was like he knew she’d come and was just going through the motions to make her work faster.

It made her feel like shit.

Yet it hurt because it was true, and she followed suit, taking another step.

Then another, and another, and another, and another-nother-nother until she saw the charred blackness where Raul was standing when Mary tried killing him——and froze as if time had stopped on everything but her lungs.Jason stopped talking to Mary and yelled at her, but his voice sounded distant to Emma, and her body felt foreign.

It’s as if her mind drifted away from her body, trying to latch onto something that she had forgotten and felt the need to remember.

If someone pressures you to do something you feel is wrong or you’re not ready for—they’re not your friend.Suddenly, Emma heard Sara’s voice.

She turned and saw her friend standing on a rocky bluff, staring at her with ocean-blue eyes that were deep with sorrow.

No matter how good the argument is, no matter how much they guilt-trip you, don’t do it.

Giving in will get you killed.That face.

That haunting expression.

The look that made Emma want to cry and rush out to her and hold her and tell her that she was here and wanted to help——it told a story.

A horrible story.

And now, standing in the courtyard, she finally felt like she understood it.

Raul’s words entered her mind: I honestly think she’s from the future, and the future she’s from was pretty fucked up.

We died there, and I think it stuck with her.

Those words fused with Sara’s warning about guilt-tripping, her overprotective behavior, and her active campaign to destroy Jason, and suddenly, it felt like everything made sense.Emma died in Sara’s timeline——because Jason guilt-tripped her.

That was going out on a limb, but she could feel its authenticity in the marrow of her bones.

She died because of the exact scenario playing out right—“Emma!” Jason yelled, standing up.

“Are you really doing this right now? You’re a healer, and someone’s paralyzed!”Emma recoiled in fear, yet when she instinctively touched the ring Sara gave her, her heart welled with profound emotions and confidence she didn’t have before.

“I-I’m leaving.”“What…?” Jason looked at her in genuine shock.

“What did you just say?” He started striding toward her.Emma stumbled back.

“No! Get away from me!”Jason froze.

“Are you shaking right now? Are you afraid of me?”Emma took another step back.

His face… was contorting in rage.

His lips were curling.

The lines on his face creased.

His shoulders locked up, evidence of long-term stress and distress.

His anger was boiling, and he was, in fact, becoming very, very scary.

It was how he was… during the Golden Trial.“You’re afraid of me, aren’t you?” Jason kicked a charred corpse out of his path and strode forward.

“What the fuck did I do to deserve this? Why does everyone hate me so much? Why!”“Stop! Get away!” Emma screamed.

And when she did, her ring started to glow purple.

Not the gemstone.

That was pink—her favorite color.

It was the band, which glowed purple—Sara’s favorite color.

Then, it exploded with magical pressure that created a strange net of raw mana around her.

“I want to hear it, Emma!” Jason yelled, rushing forward.

“Tell me!” He reached for her to shake Emma, but before he touched her, an invisible barrier shot up around her.

Then his hand hit the barrier, and he bounced back.

That’s the only way she could explain it.

It’s like he hit a wall—and the wall hit back.Jason stumbled backward from the recoil, tripping over a body.

Then he stared at her.

“What… did you do?”“N-Nothing!” Emma said.“Bullshit! What did you do?” Jason yelled, standing up again.

“Tell me!” Emma’s eyes trembled, but when she gripped the ring, it gave her confidence.

Sara was protecting her, so she spoke her mind.

“No!” she screamed.

“I won’t do it! I’m not going to help Mary! She tried to kill you and Raul.

A-And I’m going to tell people that! Everyone!”Jason’s eyes widened in horror, and he spoke through his teeth.

“Emma.” He took a slow step forward.

“Think really carefully about—““NO!” Emma screamed, thrusting her hands down.

“You’ve been a real asshole, Jason! I’m done listening to you!”“Did you just call me….” Jason’s body trembled in anger.

“Emma.

I swear to fucking God.” He took a step forward, this one faster.“G-Get away from me….” Emma stammered, gripping her ring.“Stop this bullshit right now!” Jason started rushing at her.Emma’s primal instincts took over, and she released all her energy in a scream.

“I said, GET AWAY FROM ME!” The invisible barrier exploded from the ring and slammed into Jason, sending him flying ten feet backward.

He hit the charred ground, sending embers exploding in the air like a dust storm in the depths of hell.

Emma stared at him for a split second, heart rattling, mind screaming for her to run.

She decided to listen to herself, running away, hoping to find Raul before it was too late.2Jason pushed himself up, breathing ash, mind clouded in rage.

She let Mary die… he thought.

She’s just like Raul….

Jason couldn’t believe it.

He stood up and looked around him.

There were almost a hundred bodies, many of them dismembered—most of them burnt and charred.

Isn’t she seeing this? This is evil! This is….

Raul was….

Icy chills shot through him in a low voltage.

Killing… people….

Jason looked around at the carnage.

Raul was actually killing people.

The image of Raul standing amid a battlefield of corpses, body swirling with crimson miasma, wielding a bloody axe entered his mind.

It was a massacre.

Raul was massacring people.

He was stronger than anyone else, and he was killing them without mercy.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.Suddenly, the memory of Raul hitting Mary in the spinal cord and choking him seized Jason.

That strength….

Raul was far stronger than both of them.

That’s why Mary made that plan to take him out.

She knew what would happen….

How could he have been so blind?Jason felt like he had abruptly woken from a dream and could see the truth.

Raul had sided with a tyrant, and Emma joined him.

Sara had corrupted them, and no one from the kingdom could stop them.

No one but him and Mar… him.

Only he could stop them, and he didn’t even know if he could.

And Sara….

Oh, God.

If Sara was set free from her chains….

Jason turned and ran into the creaking building.

“Jason!” Mary screamed.Jason froze in the hallway and then rushed back to the door.

“I’ll send help! Just… wait here! This is urgent!” Without further discussion, Jason ran through the building as fast as his legs could take him, going to warn King Escar at any cost.

Sara needed to die, and he had to prepare for it.3Narian was beat to shit by the time she made it to an alleyway at the outset of the Dreena District.

She had killed dozens of men on the way to the district and lost half of her soldiers hauling Lord Martinez; now they were a bloody wreck that wouldn’t survive even a basic battle.

Her muscles were shot, her mind was tired——and there was a sea of people whispering in the streets, packing every side road and alleyway in the district.

Through a weak divination spell (she didn’t want to alert people of their presence), she could tell that there was a military barricade with sycount and adventurer mana signatures in the front and countless other people.

Getting through the area would be suicide.

Shit, Narian thought.

We’re fucked….She pushed her back against the wall of the alley and let herself slide down, dropping Lord Martinez head-first on the ground.

She was exhausted, and if they were going to die, she wouldn’t do it lugging around a 180-pound behemoth.A sudden wave of mana crashed into her, a sign of a strong divination pulse.

“Fuck…” she groaned.

It was game over.“They’re here!” a voice yelled in the distance.“It was a good run,” Narian chuckled to her beaten soldiers.

“Be proud of yourselves.”“Yeah.

I wish we at least knew what was in these damn boxes,” a man said wearily, slapping the decorated metal box he was sitting on.

“Hell, if it’s the royal porn stash, I’d die happy.”The other soldiers laughed breathlessly, slouching on the ground as dozens of people ran up to them.When the mob of people rushed to the alleyway, Narian didn’t even look at them.

“Since I’m too tired to kill myself, can you do it for me?” she asked.

“Last request.”An incoherent commotion broke out amongst the people who arrived, jumbled until a familiar voice started yelling over the others.

“Get out of the way! Let me through!”“Wait… Dox?” Narian finally turned and saw that the group of people near her were… citizens.

Not the denizens of the Dreena District—farmers, blacksmiths, and merchants.

“What the fuck is—““Commander!” Dox, the rebel sycount she left in charge of the base, pushed forward.

“I said, let me through, you idiots!”Narian shot him a suspicious glance.

“What the hell’s going on?”Dox chuckled with a wide grin when he looked at her.

“What’s going on?” He spread out his arms.

“The revolution! That’s what’s going on!”“I’m too tired for this shit,” she said.

“Just tell me.”Dox grinned.

“Nah, I’ll show you.” He turned to the crowd.

“Spread the fuck out! We don’t have time to train you, so have some common sense!” The mob compiled as he picked up Narian and helped her limp out of the alley.

What Narian saw made her seize up.Dozens of dead soldiers were piled up in the streets, but she didn’t even look at them.

There was something far more dramatic.“What the hell… is this?” Narian murmured.There weren’t hundreds of people in the Dreena District——there were thousands.

Her divination pulse just tapped out early, but the people easily spread to the East Gate.“What the hell happened?”Dox grinned.

“Word got out that Lady Reece was gettin’ executed, and well….” He turned.

“This.”“Did you spread the word that quickly?” she asked.“Didn’t need to.” Dox motioned to a citizen who brought her a scroll.

It read:-Hero Sara Reece, the woman who exposed the nobles plaguing your lives, is being executed for exposing their crimes.

Rise up to protect your savior!-“What…?” Narian whispered.

“And they just believed it?”“What? You think that nobles would just expose themselves?” Dox snorted.

“Obviously, someone was behind it.

They just needed to know who.”Narian looked up and saw dozens of faces staring at her, waiting for her words.

So she cleared her throat.

“You think this woman exposed some shit? Just wait until you see what we’ve got.”A moment of electric silence passed through the crowd——then the area exploded in cheers.4Kyritus shed tears of joy when Tiber’s breathing stabilized.

She was finally safe.

She would live.5Sara closed her eyes, heart wrenched with anxiety.

How was Kyritus doing? She didn’t know.

They probably hadn’t found him; otherwise, they’d have brought him to her cell at knifepoint, demanding her to undo damage that was already too late to correct.

How was Tiber doing? That was a more nerve-wracking question.

If they weren’t found, it likely meant that Tyran and Rokus were with them, and if that were the case, then Tiber could’ve died from the silverena treatment.

Likely? No.

She was far stronger than she was the last time she took it.

Still, Sara didn’t know.

What about Raul? Did he survive the retreat? Did he shatter his core? What about Emma? Rokus? Rokus’s family? Sara didn’t know anything! It was eating her alive, and the worst part was that she didn’t know if it was worth it.

If the citizens didn’t latch onto her narrative, all the hell and danger and suffering she caused would have all been for nothing.

Amid her anxiety-festered mental hellscape, she heard a parade of soldiers crashing through the hall.

I guess I’ll find out soon enough, Sara thought, heart drumming, remembering that she was also in danger.

Even if Kyritus and Tiber and Raul and Emma and Rokus and the rest of them were fine, a revolution was happening, and everything else she planned worked out perfectly—there was nothing for her to celebrate over.

Not yet.

Not until the coin landed, and she came out on heads.

Only then could she celebrate anything.Sara frowned when Aelia burst into the room, Jason in toe, dark bags under both of their eyes.

“You two look like you had fun—“ Aelia slammed her fist into Sara’s jaw, sending her recoiling on the bed.

She looked up and saw the sycount shaking her hand, wincing in pain.

“Yeah, I should’ve warned you—““Shut up, traitor!” Jason yelled.

“Do you know what happened because of you? Hundreds of people died.

And what are you doing? Laughing? Are you fucking serious right now?”“Be quiet, Lord Newborn,” Aelia snapped.

Her voice was stern and laced with contempt.

“Now hold her down.”Sara’s frowned when she saw the sycounts pull a pair of armbars out, the type of shackles that keep forearms glued together.

Aelia’s leniency was over, and the sycount was proving that she knew Sara had the ability to break her shackles.

That didn’t make things untenable, but it raised her potential for death significantly.

It wasn’t just that the cuffs would be harder to break, it was that it would be impossible to grab her ring without breaking them.Jason complied with Aelia’s directive, putting his hands on Sara’s chest and pushing down with enough force to make the wooden bed groan.

Since her spatial ring was in her cleavage, Sara didn’t have to worry if he could feel it, so she could focus on the annoyance that Jason was thrusting her down despite having raised her arms for the cuffing.

Prick.Aelia latched the armbars on Sara’s forearms without removing the original cuffs.

Then she unshackled Sara from the wall.

During the process, even more of Sara’s energy was drawn away, making her feel sluggish.

She started churning the Sayon Twilight core to test it in a weak-mana environment.

The chains glowed faintly.“You can break ‘em,” Aelia said, touching her dagger.

“I know you can.

But it’ll take you three seconds, and I’ll kill you in two.”Sara snorted.

“Touch me before your fake trial, and this kingdom will burn.”Jason’s nose scrunched in.

“Do you think we won’t do it?”“Lord Newborn!” Aelia gripped his shoulder.He grimaced and turned to her.

“Hey! What’s that for!” “She’s right.

Now get her up.

We need to go.”Jason yanked Sara to her feet by her armbars.

She didn’t resist.

She had a date with death, and she’d meet it head-on.