Rainie’s sudden awakening snapped everyone’s attention to her at once. Even Blackfin froze mid-step, his body stiffening as if so unseen pressure had locked his joints in place.
Because the woman who opened her eyes was not the Rainie they knew.
As her eyelids lifted, a flash of violet light flooded the icehouse, sharp and unnatural against the frozen walls. A deep athyst glow pulsed within her irises, cold and ancient. Her body, still lying flat on the ground, rose upright without so much as a twitch of effort, as though gravity itself had decided it no longer applied to her.
Once she stood, she reached back and rubbed the spot on her neck where Blackie had struck her earlier, more annoyed than hurt. Then she lifted her head and slowly swept her gaze across the room. There was no panic in her eyes, no confusion, only an absolute, disdainful sovereignty that made everyone’s spine tighten.
Her eyes paused on Blackie.
For a single, dreadful instant, he felt as though sothing had reached inside him and brushed against his very essence. Death lood so close it stole the air from his lungs, a primal certainty that if she wished it, he would simply cease to exist. His knees nearly gave out.
Then she looked away.
Her attention shifted to Ethan’s motionless body on the floor.
"Open the door."
Her voice was flat and calm, stripped of emotion, yet it carried an authority that pressed down on everyone present. No one spoke. The three words hung in the frozen air, unanswered, as the group struggled to process the transformation and the suffocating pressure radiating from her.
When no one moved, her gaze slid to Blackfin.
"Uh... right!" he blurted out, heart hamring. He did not understand what was happening, but instinct scread at him to obey. He hurried to the heavy icehouse door and yanked it open.
The mont the door cracked wide, a yellow blur shot inside, fast enough to leave a streak of light behind it. It crossed the room in an instant and ca to a halt opposite the violet-eyed Rainie, positioning itself on Ethan’s other side.
Two figures now stood over Ethan, one to his left, one to his right.
The contrast between them was startling. The icehouse had been cold to begin with, but Rainie’s presence added a soul-deep chill that seed to seep into bone and thought alike. When the yellow blur resolved into Amber, a woman who should have been grievously wounded, the aura she radiated was the complete opposite, warm and gentle like a spring breeze, actively pushing back the oppressive cold.
The vault was split in two by their presence. One half drowned in violet-black chill, the other bathed in golden-orange warmth.
"You two..." Micah stared, his jaw slack. What kind of people has Ethan surrounded himself with? These were the ones who had always seed the most normal among them. And yet now, standing here, they felt terrifying. He was certain that either of them could snuff him out with a casual gesture.
"You should all leave now," Amber said. Her tone was calm, but it allowed no room for argunt.
"But—" Blackie started.
Micah grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the exit before he could finish. Blackie stumbled, still trying to look back. Victor hesitated for a mont, casting one last searching glance at the two won, then turned and followed. Even Blackfin, reluctant as he was, let himself be herded out, craning his neck for a final look before the door closed behind them.
"Let’s go," Micah said quietly once they were outside. "I think we’re just in the way here. We should trust the... ladies."
The odd emphasis made Victor, Blackie, and Blackfin all turn to stare at him.
"What?" Micah shrugged under their looks. "It’s just a feeling. Didn’t you sense it? That wasn’t the Rainie or Amber we know. I felt two completely different forces from them. One was pure Death, the other was unmistakably Life. And think about the timing. The Boss’s soul power disappears, and at that exact mont, those two change completely. You really think that’s a coincidence?"
For reasons he could not explain, his thoughts felt unusually sharp. The logic of his words clicked into place, and Victor’s and Blackie’s eyes lit up with sudden understanding.
Right. Ethan had always been shrouded in mystery, always a step ahead, as if he knew things he should not. A wild thought surfaced in Victor’s mind.
"You don’t think..." he said slowly, "...that Ethan might be soone who ca back? From the future?"
Blackie shot him a look that practically scread obviously. "What do you think the Sea of Death was about? And how do you think he brought all of us back in the first place?"
The bluntness of it only cented Victor’s theory, leaving him feeling faintly foolish for not seeing it sooner. He rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"So... what now?" he asked, changing the subject. "Should we contact Lyla?"
"Better to wait," Micah said after a mont. Blackie nodded in agreent.
---
Inside the icehouse, Amber looked up at the violet-eyed Rainie. "So what’s the plan?"
Rainie let out a bitter smile. "What else could it be? This body is about to beco his." There was resignation in her voice, not fear.
"Then what are you waiting for?" Amber rolled her eyes.
"For you, obviously," Rainie replied. "You’re the one with experience. And besides, I don’t want to be the one to do it. Let her co out. You convince her."
Despite the terrifying aura she had exuded monts ago, Rainie’s cheeks actually flushed. The oppressive presence of death faded completely, leaving her looking almost embarrassed. The ’her’ she referred to was the true Rainie of this lifeti, the primary consciousness.
"You are her, and she is you," Amber said dryly. "Why are you acting shy? And what do you an I have experience? Are you looking for a fight?"
She reached out and tickled Rainie’s side without warning.
The tense, life-or-death atmosphere shattered instantly, replaced by laughter and half-stifled protests.
"Alright, alright, stop!" Rainie giggled, twisting away. "I’m serious. There’s another problem. Big Sis isn’t here. Ethan’s soul has scattered. Who’s going to help pull it back together?"
That sobered Amber at once. She frowned slightly. "I felt Big Sis’s presence earlier, but she didn’t show herself. Still, I think the two of us should be enough."
"If that’s the case..." Rainie said, then waved a hand. "I’m heading back. You two have fun."
The implication in her words was obvious. Amber snorted and swatted at her, earning another burst of laughter.
Rainie dodged the playful strike, and the violet light drained from her eyes. Her posture slackened, as if a great weight had suddenly settled back into place.
"Amber?" she whispered. "Amber... Ethan’s dead. He’s gone..."
The real Rainie had returned.
Seeing Amber standing in front of her, she did not even register the faint golden light still lingering in Amber’s eyes. Tears welled up instantly. Her legs gave out, and she dropped to her knees beside Ethan, collapsing over his body as sobs tore out of her chest.
Amber watched silently for a few monts, allowing the first wave of grief to wash over her. But as Rainie’s cries grew more desperate, more fractured, she knew she could not let this continue.
She knelt down and wrapped an arm around Rainie’s shoulders. At the touch, Rainie turned and buried her face into Amber’s chest, clinging to her as if she were the only thing keeping her from falling apart completely.
"Amber, it’s all my fault," Rainie sobbed. "If I hadn’t insisted on coming, you wouldn’t have gotten hurt. I wouldn’t have been captured. Ethan wouldn’t have had to rescue . He wouldn’t have triggered that Heart-Devil. He wouldn’t have had to... to sever his own soul. It’s all because of ."
The words poured out in a torrent of guilt and self-bla.
Amber listened, her expression softening. Then, slowly, an idea took shape. A sharp glint flashed in her eyes.
"If that’s truly how you feel," she said quietly, "then I should tell you sothing. He can be saved. But it will require a sacrifice from you. Are you willing to make it?"
Rainie froze. She lifted her head sharply, tears streaming down her face, but her sobbing stopped.
"Really?" she whispered, hope blazing through her grief.
"Yes," Amber said. "Only you and I can do it. Or rather, our special constitutions. I am a Sacred Body. You are a Nether-Demon Physique. I... well... you..."
She did not get the chance to finish explaining.
Rainie was already on her feet, hands shaking as she yanked off her jacket, her answer written plainly in her eyes.
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