Snow fell in sweeping curtains around them, drifting and swirling, painting the world white. A young man and a mature woman, riding atop a horse as snow settled around them. A scattering of red flowers littered the ground, vivid against the white, making the scene feel like something torn from a fairy tale.
"I think I like you, Logan." Evelyn said suddenly.
Her hand had grown stiff. She tried to grip the horse, but her fingers failed her. She knew her death was drawing closer.
"Tell me these things after we've survived, Evelyn. You sound like you're dying."
"You're not!"
The silhouettes had stopped at the mountain's edge, unwilling to enter.
The horse pressed deeper into the range, surging through the snowy terrain.
Logan's eyes swept the surroundings, searching. He knew Evelyn didn't have much time. He had to find the old man now.
"There. Momo, head over to that house!" Spotting a faint structure at the mountain's edge, barely visible against the white, Logan gave the order.
In the novel, he had written that the old man lived there. He knew they would find him inside.
The horse changed direction instantly.
Perhaps from the force of its movements, or from the exhaustion of having burnt its lifespan and origin energy for so long, the horse's body finally gave out.
It collapsed, letting out a weak, broken sound, and the force of it sent Logan and Evelyn tumbling to the ground.
Logan didn't spare the horse a glance. He couldn't afford to.
There were more important things.
Evelyn.
Without hesitation, he gathered her into his arms.
Her body was unnervingly cold. Her hair had turned white and her pupils were glazing over, tinted with the same pallor.
He gave her only a single glance, feeling the stiffness in her limbs, then ran toward the house.
Thankfully, it was not far.
"Elzee!!! Old man Elzee!!!" Logan's voice tore through the mountain range, raw and unrestrained.
The snow fell heavier now, the biting wind raising goosebumps across his skin.
"Elzee, you fucking old man! You better come out right now! I know a secret that can attract even origin immortals. It will definitely lead to your death!" Logan threatened.
The door remained shut.
Logan gritted his teeth. The old man was playing tricks on him. He had to be.
He quickened his pace.
"Logan… I feel tired…" Evelyn's voice drifted into his ear, soft and distant.
"I promise you'll feel better in no time." Logan reached the porch and set Evelyn gently down on the weathered wood before turning back to the door.
His pupils constricted when he saw the lock.
"Elzee!!! Elzee??" He drove his fist against the door.
"Elzee, you fucking bastard, get out here now!!!"
Silence.
Only the faint rustle of wind answered him.
"What's happening? He should be here… he always i—"
Logan's eyes went wide.
"No… it can't possibly be."
"Elzee!!!" He slammed his fist against the door again, refusing to accept it.
He had arrived long before the novel began. Which meant there was no certainty that Elzee was even here yet.
The realisation struck him like a blade.
"Elzee, you bastard!!!" Logan drove his fist into the door again and again until blood smeared the wood.
"Logan…" Evelyn's voice came softly through the cold. She had noticed the pain he was carrying, the way he gave no thought to himself at all.
Logan turned to her. Tears streaked his face.
He forced a wry smile and a dry laugh.
"Evelyn, don't worry… I… I'll save you. Just give me more time."
He turned back toward the door, ready to break through it, when Evelyn's voice stopped him.
"Logan… Can you hold me? I feel so cold…"
"Cold… cold…" Logan muttered, as though the word itself had hollowed him out.
"I'll make you feel better… I definitely will… I just nee—"
"Logan…" Evelyn called out again.
Her voice was growing weaker.
He rushed to her side.
"Evelyn…" He dropped down beside her and gathered her into his lap, holding her close.
Her lips were pale and lifeless. Her eyes had turned white with a shade of grey. Her hair had gone fully silver-white.
"Lo… Logan… can you sing me a song? I've never fallen in love before… I don't know how hearing a song from a loved one is…"
"I'll sing you a song tomorrow. I promise you'll survive this, Evelyn!"
"Logan… I want to hear the song now… I don't feel I have time left…"
"Don't say things like that. If you keep saying things like that, then I…. might truly lose you…" Logan said through gritted teeth.
"I just want to hear how your voice sounds like…" Evelyn said, her breathing growing labored.
And so, Logan sang.
With a bitter heart, he couldn't help but sing.
"It all started with a simple—" He sang a song from his past life, one he had learnt a long while back.
The melody was melancholic. It drifted through the falling snow like something fragile.
As she listened, tears slipped from the corners of her eyes.
It was truly beautiful.
"Is this what love… feels like?" Evelyn murmured, her pale lips cracking as they moved.
"Logan?"
He paused.
"I want you to live happily."
"I want to live with you, Evelyn… I want to spend the rest of my life with you." Logan shook his head, refusing the words she was offering him.
"That's not… quite possible…" Evelyn said.
Logan looked down at her.
The cracks had already spread throughout her body.
"Can I feel your lips one last time, before I leave?" Evelyn asked, still trying to hold warmth in her voice.
Logan leaned down and kissed her softly.
The coldness of her lips was a sharp contrast to the warmth of his. He didn't mind.
The kiss held for a few quiet seconds before he lifted his head.
"I feel… relieved…" Evelyn murmured, and her body finally….
Shattered like fragile glass.
The image reflected in Logan's heart as though his heart had shattered alongside her.
[Mission… Failed!]