Chapter 61

That day, strangely enough, he was able to sleep properly.

Even the nightmares that would always come for him the moment he closed his eyes did not appear.

……

The sound of rustling was followed by the door opening.

Was it Eveline?

But oddly, his body felt heavy.

He needed to wake up, but the moment he thought of Eveline, the instincts that usually made his body react with agility failed to respond.

As he remained still, someone slowly left his room and spoke.

“Sweet dreams, warrior.”

The voice was too deep to be Eveline’s.

And somehow, the way they called him sent a chill down his spine, as if he had heard it somewhere before…

But Adam, only half awake, soon sank back into deep sleep.

When he opened his eyes again—

Everything felt hollow.

It was as if he were the only one left in the world.

He blinked a few times, and suddenly, someone appeared beside him.

Ah.

Adam let out a quiet sigh.

It was a familiar face.

The faces of his comrades—people he had seen countless times, people he longed for.

And Adam laughed as though he were about to cry.

The one who had been smiling at him so wistfully suddenly turned and ran toward the vast, blank space ahead.

Adam reached out, but he couldn’t grasp them. And then, right before his eyes, they collapsed, blood spurting from their body.

The stark contrast of red against the blank, white space was utterly horrifying.

‘This is…’

No, this wasn’t a nightmare.

Because—

This wasn’t a dream.

It was reality.

As he blinked again, the pure white void morphed into the Demon King’s castle.

Not the one Eveline had changed.

The original—the one tainted by demonic beasts, demons, and the blood of his fallen comrades.

And once more, time rewound.

At first, Adam thought all warriors were like this.

That the divine power granted to the chosen hero was simply the foundation to ensure he would not lose to the Demon King.

So he kept challenging, and he kept failing.

Even if he didn’t die, the people around him did. Once. Twice. …Ten times.

The breaths of his friends—his trusted comrades—were snuffed out one by one.

They blocked swords meant for him, they were betrayed by those they believed in.

‘Why do I have to struggle so desperately just to live…’

In the dream, Adam lowered his sword.

He was going to die anyway.

His friends were dead. His comrades were dead. His parents were dead.

And those who remained by his side—

They, too, would meet a nameless death.

Even if he survived, people would always leave him in the end.

Afraid of getting hurt, he began pushing them away.

And those who had once stood by him, unable to remember anything, started treating him like a stranger.

But it was still better than watching them die.

So he built walls around himself.

He swore never to take close friends as comrades again.

Instead, he chose unfamiliar faces.

And yet… there was someone he almost lost.

‘Who was it…?’

A god?

I curse you.

‘No… That’s not right…’

Adam thought blankly.

‘I wanted to see you again.’

But why?

…Was it revenge?

A black haze swirled beside Adam as he sat on the edge of the bed.

The reflection in the mirror showed his once-bright golden eyes, now dyed red.

Just then, a steady knocking echoed from close by.

And the wooden door creaked open.

‘I don’t remember anything.’

The voices that used to command him, the ones telling him what to do.

And the one voice—always there, whether he was in pain or in joy.

[Your one and only god worries for you.]

Don’t lie.

You’re going to abandon me anyway.

Everyone… They all died, leaving me here alone.

That’s why I wanted to go back.

No, was it God who sent me back?

Adam didn’t want to die like this.

I don’t want to die.

“Kill all those you love and destroy yourself.”

It would have been easier to just kill.

The eerie laughter and the voice laced with curses rang viciously in his ears.

Adam clutched his forehead in anguish and squeezed his eyes shut.

When he opened them again, they gleamed a deep, clear red.

‘If I kill the god I resent, will I finally be free of this feeling…’

[Your one and only god worries for you.]

Again, that deceitful voice.

He couldn’t tell if this was a dream recalling the past or a reality too cruel to be true.

“Adam…”

Ah, at last—he had found them.

The person he needed to kill.

Adam reached out toward the delicate neck.

Crackle—

“Ugh…”

A sharp, searing pain jolted through his hand, snapping him back to reality.

The blackened fingertips trembled violently from the sheer force of the impact.

Adam, finally regaining his senses, clamped a hand over his mouth.

What had just happened?

What had he been about to do…

He had tried to kill the god he loved beyond measure.

And before him—stood Eveline.

‘Why is Eveline here…’

Adam knew exactly what he had almost done.

He wished he could erase the memory, but the thoughts that had consumed him just moments ago remained vividly in his mind.

Covering his now-normal eyes with his wrist, he muttered under his breath.

He had truly believed it was her.

The face, the real voice, the presence—someone unknown, someone ageless—

“Why is it that you…”

Why do you keep overlapping with her?

Adam clenched his teeth.

If the holy relic had not awakened him, he might have harmed someone with his own hands once again.

Just like that day long ago.

The day he had defeated the Demon King, laughing and chatting with his comrades—only to suddenly turn on them and kill them.

And this time, it would have been because he mistook someone else for another.

His body trembled uncontrollably, directionless and unsteady.

Even in that moment, Eveline had yet to grasp the situation. She simply looked up at him with a face that knew nothing.

“Are you all right, warrior?”

She was worried about him.

Worrying about the very person who had almost killed her just moments ago.

A bitter laugh pressed against the hand covering his mouth.

If the holy relic had not repelled the evil approaching its master, he would have… with his own hands…

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry…”

Adam hastily stumbled out of the room.

Left alone, Eveline made no attempt to hide the confusion on her face.

* * *

‘…What was that? Just now?’

She had only entered his room because she heard screams and groans echoing all the way to hers.

When the sudden silence fell, she hesitated before stepping inside—but the room was engulfed in complete darkness.

It was so dark that she couldn’t even see a person’s face.

Even when she held up a lantern, the light barely illuminated anything. It wasn’t an illusion; the darkness was real.

‘Am I still dreaming?’

She turned her head instinctively. The faint glow of the lantern cast light on the desk and the neatly arranged books.

Then she looked in the other direction—toward the bed where Adam should be.

Still, she could see nothing.

Eveline narrowed her eyes and focused beyond the darkness.

‘It’s not the room that’s dark.’

A thick, swirling black haze was engulfing Adam, dense enough to hide him completely from view.

‘And…’

Stress – 81%

Something had crossed the threshold.

She could feel it creeping up her wrist, the eerie sensation of something going beyond its limit.

The number had been stable just before they parted. Whatever had happened, his stress level had surged at an alarming rate.

She grabbed his shoulders and shook him, but his vacant, unfocused gaze didn’t return to normal.

Then, she remembered what Adam had said before falling asleep.

That calm, detached expression—almost as if he had foreseen this moment.

How he had told her, in a flat tone, that if he didn’t wake up no matter what, she should go straight to Abraxas.

But Eveline decided she wouldn’t do that.

She didn’t fully understand what kind of oath Adam had made with Abraxas.

But judging from the way Abraxas acted, it was unlikely that the terms were entirely in Adam’s favor.

And worst of all, Adam had agreed to it willingly.

That was why Eveline couldn’t bring herself to follow his words.

Because he was always so careful about everything—except when it came to himself.

Somehow, she felt like she absolutely shouldn’t let things go that way.

“Warrior, can you hear me?”

“…….”

Adam’s head, which had been swaying limply as she shook him, slowly turned toward her.

Had their eyes met?

His gaze was fixed on her, but it didn’t feel like he was actually seeing her.

A strange unease settled over Eveline as a large hand reached out toward her.