"Evelyn… you." Logan froze, staring at her as though he had seen a ghost.
The Evelyn before him had lost all her previous rosiness. What remained was ghastly white skin, drained of everything warm.
"It…" Logan froze and realised something.
His eyes widened in horror as he quickly dismounted the horse.
Before Evelyn could react, he pulled back her sleeve, and his hand trembled.
"Evelyn…" Logan's face shifted drastically as he looked down at her slender hand.
Instead of the graceful, smooth skin he knew, dark purple patches were spreading through her hand like ink bleeding through parchment.
Logan knew what this was. And it was exactly because he knew what this was that his heart dropped to rock bottom.
"Soul flower curse…" Logan whispered under his breath.
"What happened?" Evelyn retrieved her hand from his grasp.
"No… no… no…" Logan muttered, barely audible.
It was the first time Evelyn had seen Logan like this. His composure was shattered, and he no longer seemed as mysterious as before.
"The old man can fix this… Elzee should have a way…" Logan muttered.
He knew the cure and where it was located in the novel, but that was too distant. Before they reached there, Evelyn would die.
However… the mysterious old man should be able to fix it.
Logan didn't want to believe anything else.
"You won't die, Evelyn. I promise you that." Logan said with resolve.
"We're no longer stopping. We'll continue until we reach the mountain." His tone left no room for refusal.
"Then what about the clones?"
"Let them be. We'll attack them from the distance." Logan replied coldly.
Evelyn glanced at him in confusion, wondering what had suddenly gotten into him and why he was acting so strangely.
Logan didn't say a word. He climbed the horse and offered her his hand.
She hesitated for a moment, then gripped his extended hand and climbed on.
Logan felt the coldness in her hand, and his heart skipped a beat.
"Momo. Go as fast as possible!" Logan gritted his teeth and stroked the horse.
The horse began racing, but its speed was nowhere near what Logan needed.
"Evelyn, the sword." Logan's eyes flashed cold.
Evelyn handed him the SSS-rank sword.
Without hesitation, Logan turned slightly, then slashed the blade across the horse's tail.
Swoosh!
Neeeeeeee!!!
The horse let out a sharp neigh and its speed surged drastically.
At the same time, feeling the horse's body growing hot beneath her, Evelyn couldn't help but ask.
"What did you do?"
"Nothing. We just need to get to the mountain as fast as possible!" Logan said.
Although it seemed as though the horse's speed had simply increased, the truth was harsher. The horse could only muster this last burst of speed because its tail had been severed. That final surge was burning through its origin energy and lifespan.
Its death was inevitable.
But it didn't matter to Logan. Nothing else mattered as long as he could reach the forest and save Evelyn.
The horse continued burning its lifespan, its body a blur of desperate motion.
Suddenly——
"Logan…"
"What's it?"
"Why do I feel so cold?"
Logan's hand tightened around her waist, a faint tremor running through his grip.
"It should be the speed of the horse."
"No," Evelyn said. "I can feel it's a little different. It's almost as though it's… entering into my heart…" she said quietly, uncertain of what she was feeling.
"No, Evelyn, you must be joking…" Logan said with a dry laugh. He didn't want to believe it.
Evelyn noticed the change in his tone. She caught the slight edge threading through his voice, as though he was trying to conceal something.
Piecing together his behaviour, her eyes widened in shock.
"Logan…"
"Yes?"
"Am I dying?"
"Stop saying silly things, Evelyn." Logan said with another dry laugh. "You are important to me, far more important than my life. How can I possibly let you die?"
"Logan…" Evelyn called out again, feeling the chill clawing upward toward her chest.
"I'm dying, aren't I?"
"No you're not, Evelyn. I won't let you die, no matter what. Trust me."
Unconsciously, Logan tightened his arm around her waist, drawing her closer.
At that moment, Evelyn's black hair had already begun turning white, whipping in the wind.
Suddenly, as though the heavens were acknowledging Logan's efforts, a faint mountain range crested beyond the grassland.
It seemed like a world apart from where they were. Snow fell around the peaks, and the skies above them carried a peculiar, biting chill.
Glancing at the mountain range, the hope in Logan's chest grew.
As long as he entered that mountain range. As long as he found Elzee… he could save Evelyn. He could complete his mission.
They would live happily ever after. They had to.
"It seems I'm really dying."
"Don't say something like that," Logan cautioned.
Evelyn finally relaxed into his arms. A soft smile touched her lips.
"You know, Logan… realising I'm dying, all the worries in my heart seem to have been lifted."
"You are not dying, Evelyn!"
As though she hadn't heard him, she continued.
"Initially, I thought it was the potion. But as time passed, I realised I've come to think about you more and more."
Logan fell silent.
"I'm older than you. Old enough to be your mother, and even have a daughter of similar age as you. But I can't help falling for you. I'm a horrible woman, right?"
Logan didn't know what to say.
No… he was simply struck by the revelation.
As she felt herself approaching death, Evelyn had finally let go of her hesitations. She finally understood she had truly fallen for Logan.
There was no need to guard her emotions anymore.
"It seems the saying is true."
"What saying?" Logan asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
"One can never truly experience life until they've experienced death." Evelyn's words carried a faint melancholy.
"There's no saying like that." Logan chose his words carefully.
"I created it."
Evelyn said, and the two fell silent.
Finally, they entered the mountain range.