The location was isolated, far from the Holy Temple, far from any prying ears that might overhear the conversation. This meeting was dangerous but necessary.
Adeline stood beneath the canopy of towering trees, the wind whispering through the branches as if warning her not to go through with this. She had ignored many warnings before.
She was about to ignore another one.
Her heart raced.
This was a final attempt. A desperate, last-ditch effort to bring about a change before things spiralled beyond control.
She had to try.
Footsteps echoed in the distance. Annora was here.
Adeline turned, schooling her expression into something neutral. The former Saintess approached with the same graceful arrogance she always carried, as if the world should be grateful she even deigned to walk upon it.
"You’re persistent," Annora commented, her voice laced with mild amusement. "What could you possibly want from me?"
Adeline exhaled slowly, measuring her words carefully.
"A trade," she said.
Annora raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.
"A trade? And what do you have that could possibly interest me?"
Adeline expected this.
Annora didn’t take her seriously. She didn’t believe Adeline could offer anything valuable.
She didn’t realize that Adeline’s secret could shatter her entire reality.
Annora tilted her head, arms crossed. "I’ll humor you. Tell me—what secret do you have that could possibly be of use to me?"
Adeline took a slow, deep breath.
Then, she said it.
"This world isn’t real."
Silence.
Annora stared at her, expression blank for a moment.
Then, she laughed.
It wasn’t a forced or bitter laugh—it was genuine, amused disbelief.
"You must be joking."
"I’m not."
Annora’s laughter faded, her smile curving into something cold. "That’s the best you can offer me? Some delusion about this world being fake?"
Adeline expected this reaction.
She had to expect it.
"Then let me prove it to you," Adeline said, her voice unwavering.
Annora crossed her arms again, sighing. "By all means, entertain me."
Adeline hesitated. The Goddess’ voice was already screaming at her, pleading with her to stop.
Don’t do this.
You’re going to destroy everything!
You can’t—
But Adeline ignored her.
"I know things I shouldn’t know," Adeline started. "I know where you left behind that bracelet. The one you left behind in the cave. A simple bracelet, unremarkable to anyone else—but important to you."
Annora’s smirk faded.
Her fingers twitched at her sides, ever so slightly.
Adeline noticed.
She pressed on.
"I know you used to be an orphan but before you were orphaned, this was the only possession left to you..." Adeline continued. "I know that you intended to find your origin using this bracelet... The only thing you had before you were taken in by the Holy Temple. And when you left it behind, you regretted it—but you couldn’t go back for it, could you?"
Annora’s expression darkened.
"How do you know that?" she demanded.
Adeline held her gaze.
"Because I read the story. I know a lot of things... Things you would never think I would have known."
Annora’s breath hitched.
Adeline reached into her pocket, pulling out the bracelet.
Annora’s eyes widened.
She staggered back, barely able to mask the way her hands trembled.
"How..." she whispered. "How did you find that?"
Adeline took a slow step forward. "It doesn’t matter. What matters is that I know. I know everything."
The Goddess’ voice was nearly deafening in her ears now.
STOP! STOP! STOP!
YOU’RE GOING TO DESTROY EVERYTHING!
Her voice was filled with fear, Adeline could practically feel it! That and helplessness.
But Adeline refused to stop.
"You’ve already lived through this once, haven’t you?" she continued.
Annora swallowed hard.
Adeline pressed on, her voice steady.
"You came back," she said. "This isn’t your first time living this life."
Annora’s nails dug into her palms, her breath uneven.
"You’re lying," she said, but it wasn’t convincing. It was defensive.
"You sacrificed your holy power to return," Adeline said, pushing further. "And you didn’t come back with all of it, did you?"
Annora froze.
Adeline knew she had her now.
But she wasn’t done yet.
"I know about Dimitri," she continued. "I know you’re keeping him under control. Forbidden magic is suppressing his memories, isn’t it?"
Annora’s lips parted, her breath uneven.
"Tell me how to free him," Adeline said. "Tell me how to free all of them."
Annora swallowed, visibly shaken.
"You’re insane," she whispered.
"Am I?" Adeline challenged. "Or is it just easier for you to pretend I’m wrong?"
Annora’s fingers twitched again, her body tense.
"How about this, I tell you how to find your family... Your origins... Because I am the only one who can tell you. I have erased everything related to that bracelet and any leads that can help you find your origin. Your only way is me."
Adeline inhaled sharply. She felt no hesitation while threatening her. The side story of Annora finding her origins and family was incomplete. It barely started before it was dropped. She did not erase anything because there was nothing to erase.
She was taking a gamble. Annora has to give in... She just has to...
The Goddess was begging her now.
Please, Adeline! You don’t understand what you’re doing!
Adeline blocked her out.
She had to finish this.
"If this world is just a story," Annora said slowly, voice laced with disbelief, "then what does that make us? Actually, I don’t care about you. What does that make me?!" She screamed.
Adeline met her gaze.
"Everyone... They are simply characters, and you... You should have been the protagonist," she said.
Annora flinched.
She didn’t want to believe it.
But she couldn’t deny the truths Adeline had just laid before her.
Adeline stepped closer, holding out the bracelet.
"You don’t have to believe me," she said. "But you can’t deny that I know things I shouldn’t."
Annora didn’t take the bracelet.
A long silence passed between them.
Then, finally—
"If you know everything..." Annora whispered, "Then you already know how to break forbidden magic."
Adeline’s heart skipped a beat.
Annora took a slow, deliberate breath.
"You’re smart, Adeline," she said. "Figure it out yourself. I know you can."
And with that, she turned on her heel and walked away.
Adeline didn’t stop her.
She just stood there, gripping the bracelet, her mind racing.
She had gotten through to her.
Even if Annora didn’t say it outright, there was something in her words, in her reaction, that gave Adeline the answer she needed.
She knew now.
There was a way to break the magic.
And she was going to figure it out.
The Goddess’ screams faded into the background.
Adeline had made her choice.
She would change the story.
No matter the cost.
-----------------------------------------
A sharp, agonized cry echoed through Adeline’s mind, so loud and visceral that she almost flinched.
"Why!"
The Goddess’ voice trembled, raw with anguish and panic, unlike anything Adeline had ever heard before.
She could not see her, only hear her, but it was enough.
She had always been ditzy but playful, she rarely had shown this much pain...
The world did not collapse. The world was fine. Adeline did not know how to feel, she felt numb to her screams.
Adeline clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms. It didn’t matter. She had already made her decision.
The Goddess sobbed.
"You don’t understand, Adeline!" Her voice cracked as if she were breaking apart at the seams. "You’re ruining everything! You’re unravelling it!"
Adeline’s breath was unsteady.
"And why should I care?" she muttered.
The Goddess gasped, her sobs turning ragged.
"You—You can’t say that! This world—this story—it exists for a reason! You were brought here for a reason! I did all of this for a reason!"
Adeline laughed bitterly. "And I, the centre of it all don’t know any of your secret plans or motives! I deserve to know!"
The Goddess didn’t respond right away.
She was crying.
Adeline felt something tighten in her chest. She never heard her cry this hard before.
"Adeline, please," the Goddess whispered, her voice barely holding together. "I’m begging you. If you keep going down this path... I won’t be able to stop what comes next."
Adeline’s grip on the bracelet tightened.
What comes next?
Did it even matter?
She had no one left.
Edward was the only one still by her side, and even then, she could barely trust him. He was retaliating against her, playing his own games.
Cassian? Unreachable.
Dimitri? Controlled.
Benedict? Distant.
Annora? An enemy.
Adeline had been fighting alone for so long.
Her voice dropped to a whisper. "If you cared, you would tell me the truth..."
The Goddess choked on her sobs.
"I—" she stammered.
Adeline shook her head.
"I don’t have time for your regrets," she said. "I’m going to fix this... I am going to fix my situation with what I can... The only way I can think of... In my way and I refuse to keep blindly trusting you."
"Adeline, please... I want to tell you, but I can’t! I already told you this! I promised... A person..." She pleaded with her so genuinely that Adeline almost felt like crying herself.
"Your promise to whoever that person is... Is more important that me." Adeline admitted in a manner of resignation.