Ryn woke to comfort. A pillow, but he will not be fooled this time.
He jolted awake and looked around immediately. A wooden room, loosely decorated with all the bare essentials and nothing more. Looking downwards, he did see a pillow.
There was a nearby window, though it was clouded. A blizzard was tearing through the mountains. Ryn felt lucky he was indoors.
Suddenly, the memories flooded back. The poison, the cabin…Orion.
Ryn immediately checked his status panel.
[Name: Ryn Eden]
[Title: The Constellation's Blade (Unique)]
[HP: 150/150]
[MP: 110 / 110]
[STR: 17]
[DEX: 18]
[END: 26]
[INT: 20]
[Aura: 4]
[Aura Rank: Trainee]
[Blessings:
Aquila (S-Rank) - Mastery: 2.5%,
Enhanced Senses (B-Rank) - Mastery: 15%
Arctis Sword Technique (A-Rank) - Mastery: 28%,
Poison Resistance (C-Rank) - Mastery: 0%]
His eyes widened. Apart from the fact that his status got a massive boost, especially his HP and Endurance, the new Blessing really was there.
[Poison Resistance]
Ryn shifted slightly in his bed, then he froze. Something tugged his hand.
Next to him, head slumped on the mattress, fingers curled tightly around his wrist—Amelia.
Her cheek rested against the side of the bed, hair falling in soft tangles over her face. She was still wearing half of her armor, the straps loosened like she had tried to stay awake for as long as she could before exhaustion pulled her down.
There were faint red marks around her eyes.
She'd been crying.
Ryn's breath caught, a quiet, hollow sound.
"…Amelia," he whispered, but she didn't stir.
A wave of guilt washed over him so sharply it almost hurt more than the venom had. He slowly lifted his other hand, the one she wasn't gripping like a lifeline, and gently brushed a lock of hair behind her ear.
Her face softened at the touch, even in sleep.
"You idiot…" he murmured under his breath, voice barely audible. "You should've rested."
For the first time since waking in this timeline, the world felt safe. And he was determined to keep it that way.
The cabin door creaked softly.
Ryn flinched, instinctively reaching for his ring, but the man who stepped inside was old, wrapped in a fur cloak. His boots were muddy from the snow outside, a simple herbalist, nothing more.
The man paused when he saw Ryn awake.
"Well," he whispered, voice roughened by mountain cold, "I'll be damned."
He set down a bowl of steaming water and stepped closer. His eyes flicked to Amelia.
"Poor girl fought sleep for the whole day."
Ryn blinked. "Really?"
"Aye." The old man nodded, lowering his voice so as not to wake her.
"Found you both collapsed on the trail. She dragged you half a mile through the snow. Cursed me out when I tried to take you from her arms."
He gave a small, amused snort.
"Strong spirit, that one."
Ryn stared at her sleeping form again. The way her fingers still clung to his wrist, knuckles white even in sleep…his stomach tightened.
"She said you were poisoned." The herbalist's eyes sharpened slightly.
"And I'll tell you plain, boy…I thought you were dead."
Ryn stiffened.
"I gave you every remedy I knew," the man continued. "Herbs, potions, prayers… nothing worked."
His gaze turned curious.
"But then, last night, the poisoned veins suddenly started retreating. Like it was fighting the venom itself."
The old man raised both hands.
"Not my business. You're alive. That's miracle enough."
He stepped back toward the door.
"I'll fetch more wood. Looks like you two needed the quiet."
Ryn leaned back in his bed, thinking about the Blessing. He used his free hand to brush Amelia's hair, untangling all the dirt that had accumulated. Definitely not fit for a noble's heir.
Are Blessings…not what I thought they were?
Ryn had never seen anyone gain a Blessing that wasn't their one-and-only at the coming-of-age ceremony. Blessings were supposed to be given by the gods…did he just talk to a god?
But he didn't know any god by the name of Orion. The thought lingered in his head until something else distracted him.
Amelia stirred awake, letting out a small yawn.
She blinked, eyes snapping to his face—
"Ryn?"
Her voice broke on the single syllable.
Before he could answer, she was already leaning over him, hands flying to his face, his forehead, his chest, checking warmth, breath, heartbeat —anything that proved he was alive.
"You're awake— you're—" Her voice cracked again.
"You idiot— you—!"
She cut herself off with a shaky exhale, hands trembling.
Ryn caught her wrist gently.
"…I'm alright," he murmured.
She stared at him, red-eyed, exhausted, and terrified.
"No. You're not. You weren't." Her voice turned small.
"You weren't breathing right. You were cold. I thought—"
She swallowed hard, eyes shimmering.
"I thought I was going to lose you."
For the first time in a long time, Ryn didn't have anything to say.
Amelia's breathing steadied, but her hands wouldn't stop trembling. He could feel it — the way she held on, like letting go for even a second would send him slipping away again.
She finally managed to speak.
"Ryn… why would you do that?" her voice was barely above a whisper.
"You drank basilisk venom. You could've died. You— you almost did."
He didn't answer immediately, not because he didn't want to, the truth was lodged somewhere between an excuse and his emotions.
Her fingers tightened around his.
"Ryn…why do you keep risking your life?"
The room held its breath.
Ryn closed his eyes, exhaling the slowest breath of his two lives.
He couldn't run from this anymore. Not after nearly dying in front of her.
Not after she dragged him through a blizzard to save him.
"…You deserve an answer."
Amelia swallowed, waiting.
"Amelia… I've lived through too many things."
He hesitated.
"I've watched…humanity's ruin."
His chest tightened.
"And I've lost people I cared about. Because I didn't act fast enough."
Amelia's breath hitched.
Ryn looked away, unable to maintain eye contact.
"But when I was dying, I suddenly went back in time to the day before my Blessing ceremony."
"I recognized too many things. Patterns, signs, and the same horrors threatening to occur again."
A beat.
"But even if I explained every detail… it wouldn't matter anymore."
Amelia blinked, confusion breaking through the fear.
"Why not?"
He answered with a bitter, quiet laugh—one that didn't sound like him.
"Because everything's already changed."
Ryn forced himself to meet her eyes again.
"You weren't supposed to be a target in Deimos…"
He swallowed hard.
"Because of my actions…it happened. So in a way, I'm atoning for my sins."
She leaned closer without even realizing it, her brows knitting, voice trembling not with anger but with pain.
"You saved me. Again and again. Don't twist that into something it isn't."
Ryn nodded, though an unreadable expression spread across his face.
A quiet admission followed, the most vulnerable truth he'd spoken yet:
"I don't know what happens next anymore."
She reached out and gently cupped his jaw, guiding his gaze to hers.
Her voice was soft. Unbreakably gentle.
"Ryn… have you been carrying all of this alone?"
His silence was answer enough.
"You should've told me sooner."
He almost laughed at that—a weak, choked sound.
"You would've thought I was insane."
"Maybe," she said honestly. "But I wouldn't have left you."
Ryn's breath shuddered.
She leaned closer, forehead nearly touching his.
"You're not alone in this life," she whispered. "Not anymore."
"...Thank you."
Amelia's fingers tightened around his, grounding him.
Ryn drew in a slow breath, gaze drifting toward the cabin ceiling for a moment before returning to her.
"But… there's something I know now. Something I didn't understand in my past life."
Her eyes softened, waiting.
He continued quietly, voice low but steady:
"In my last life, I kept reacting. Chasing the Cult's moves. I'd always been one step behind, and people paid with their lives because of it."
A faint tremor ran through his exhale.
Amelia's throat tightened. "You mean what the Administrator said? Something about "nipping the bud?"
He nodded slowly. "We all thought they were accidents, but now there's a clear motive."
"People like you. People who could've changed the world. Talents born with gifts the Cult desperately wanted to control or erase."
His fingers curled slightly.
"I remember their names. Their fates. I remember the ones we couldn't save."
A beat of silence.
"But this time…I will save them."
Amelia placed a hand on his, voice steady:
"We'll save them…together."
Ryn didn't hesitate—a single plan lingered in his mind, and it was:
"First, we need to kill Scorpio."