After being chased around by Noah for a while, mostly just to kill time while the ladies got ready, we finally called it quits and settled down almost immediately.

Not because we were tired but because Noah was far too busy gawking at Viola who had just arrived in the lobby like he had just discovered women for the first time.

She stood there in a stunning red gown, her blonde hair neatly tied into a bun, elegant and effortless all at once.

And honestly, Noah staring at her like that made perfect sense. Not just because she was beautiful but because of how that bastard was wired.

Noah never distinguished between men and women. To him, everyone was the same and emotions never factored into his decisions when he cut people down without hesitation or preference.

But now that he was feeling something for Viola, even if it wasn't love yet, he had finally begun to see her not just as an irrelevant person…

…but as a woman.

Next to arrive was Sylvie.

She wore a lavender dress threaded with golden embroidery, perfectly complementing her lavender hair and making her golden eyes shine even brighter. Although her flat chest didn't do her justice.

But instead of her, my attention was drawn elsewhere. To the other boy staring at her with no less intensity than Noah had shown Viola.

Arthur.

And honestly, that caught me off guard. In the novel, Noah and Viola were fated lovers.

But these two?

They were supposed to be enemies. Hell, the one who helped Noah kill Sylvie in the future was none other than Arthur himself and yet now… because of my interference, he had likely developed feelings for her or at least was in the process of developing one.

If I didn't know any better, I might have considered myself the greatest Cupid alive but unfortunately this wasn't a blessing for me.

It was a liability.

I planned to kill Sylvie in the future and if Arthur fell for her completely or if he chose to interfere when the time came…

…things would become far more troublesome than I had anticipated.

Tsk. What a pain.

"Hey, Viola," I called out impatiently. "Where are Arza and Sera?"

Time was running out. They would be closing the entrances soon and those two were still taking their sweet time. Seriously, I had given them nearly three hours since our discussion ended and they still weren't done.

Viola hesitated.

"That, uh… well, Sera is helping the princess get ready," she muttered. Then, after a brief pause she added, "I'll go check on them."

With that, Viola stepped into Arza's room.

A few more minutes passed before they finally emerged from the room.

Arza stepped out first.

She wore a pure black, off-shoulder dress that reached just above her knees. Her white hair was tied back with a red ribbon, the contrast only making her eyes stand out more.

Beside her was Seraphina, wearing an elegant golden dress. But the smug curve of her lips told me everything I needed to know.

This wasn't her usual self.

This was Umbra Seraphina.

I didn't bother questioning her behavior. She rarely showed her true self when others were around, especially in front of Viola.

She worried too much about making Viola worry.

Finally everyone is here.

I signed seeing everyone except Bearlo here.

I had asked Bearlo to stay in hotel because taking him to a banquet with so many strong peoples wasn't exactly a good idea, especially since if he wore a suit, he would instantly be revealed as a Bear rather than a human.

But just as we were about to leave, one more person intruded on our little group.

"Where are you all going without me?"

The moment I heard that voice, I cursed inwardly.

Damn it. Why now?

I lifted my head and saw Alya approaching casually as if we had merely crossed paths by chance but the elegant white dress she wore betrayed her completely.

"Don't tell me…" she said, eyes narrowing slightly, "you're all heading to the banquet?"

So, I put on a polite smile.

"Yes, senior. We're indeed going to the banquet," I replied smoothly. "Would you like to join us?"

I mean, if she wanted to come along on her own, who was I to refuse a free, powerful bodyguard?

She smiled, likely thinking I was helping her because of the deal we had.

"Sure, why not." She nodded.

—

After making sure everyone had their masks on, we finally left the hotel. The banquet's theme was a masquerade and everyone was required to wear a mask covering half their face.

As we walked through Anciana, bathed in soft lights and surrounded by a bustling crowd, everything felt… too peaceful.

Laughter echoed around us as I saw people smiling beneath their half-masks, bargaining with vendors, buying trinkets and living in the moment.

And I couldn't help but wonder—

Would any of them have imagined they were going to die soon?

The Armory, which was supposed to descend in the fourth arc of the novel, was descending now in a few days.

The people who were fated to be there at that time would survive because by then, Anciana would no longer exist.

Instead…

These people, who were never meant to die, would lose their lives.

All because of the butterfly effect I had created by forcing the descent of the treasury earlier than it should have happened.

But I wasn't the only one responsible for this outcome. If what that gamer said was true, then other transmigrators were already interfering with the flow of events as well.

In any case, even if this butterfly effect was born from my actions, I couldn't bring myself to feel responsible for the people who were about to die.

Because in this world, weakness itself was a sin.

Death lurked around every corner. If someone died simply because of something like the Divine Treasury, something that was fair in its execution, then they would have met an even crueler end once the real chaos began in the future.

This was mercy compared to what awaited them.

"…Rael."

"…Rael."

A sudden shove against my shoulder snapped me back to reality.

"Huh, what?" I blinked and turned to see Viola staring at me.

"Where the hell are you going?" she said flatly, pointing behind a massive establishment marked with an enormous DD's Wonders sign. "The banquet is that way."

The others were already gathered there, waiting for me.

"Uh… sorry," I muttered. "Got lost in my thoughts."

Viola sighed. "You aren't the main character of some book who gets to drown in an inner monologue while the whole world politely pauses for you. Focus on the real world, will you?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Let's just go."

She moved ahead and just as I was about to follow, I felt a tug on my cloak.

I turned around only to find a boy clutching the fabric.

He had brown hair, his face was smeared with dust and bruises but it was his eyes that pulled my attention the most.

They were completely white.

Is he blind?

But more importantly, where did he come from?

And how the hell had I not noticed him until he was already here?

"Do you have something to eat, big bro?" The boy's voice came out soft and almost timid.

I narrowed my eyes on him. I couldn't sense even a trace of mana from his body. That was expected after all he looked far too young to have awakened.

But then…

How the hell had he survived this long in a city like this?

It didn't make any sense.

"Who are you?" I asked calmly, reaching into my cloak and pulling out some frozen food and a few chocolates.

The moment I did, his attention snapped toward my hands, yet his gaze remained fixed on the ground as he answered.

"I am Winter."

…That alone was proof enough.

He couldn't see.

He was strange, sure but I didn't feel any danger from him. So I placed the food into his hands.

"Here. You can have it."

For some reason, the boy reminded me of myself back then after my parents had passed.

And well… I had always been a humble and benevolent person.

So how could I possibly ignore him?

With that done, I turned back toward the group but before I could take even a single step away, the boy tugged on my cloak once again.

"You should wake up now, big bro."

His voice stretched unnaturally, each word dragging on longer than it should have.

"This is the thirteenth time."

The moment those words left his mouth, something inside me snapped.

A voice began echoing violently in my head.

"…Rael… wake… up… loop… monst… treasu—"

I knew that voice. It belonged to Ra, the spirit guardian of my Trickster Domain. Pain exploded through my skull as I turned around to look at the blind boy.

"Winter—"

He was gone as if he had never existed at all and then… the sky cracked as jagged fractures split the heavens apart, and through those ruptures, I saw a massive eye staring coldly at me as the world beneath its gaze began to crumble.

Buildings collapsed, light twisted and reality shattered away layer by layer until darkness swallowed everything.

—

After being chased around by Noah for a while, mostly just to kill time while the ladies got ready, we finally called it quits and calmed down almost immediately.

Not because we were tired but because Noah was far too busy gawking at Viola, who had just arrived in the lobby, staring at her like he had discovered women for the first time.

I froze mid-thought as countless memories came crashing into my mind.

This… I had thought this before.

I had lived this moment before.

The same night.

The same conversations.

The same foolish expressions.

Not once or twice but thirteen times.

The voice of Ra echoed inside my head once more, clearer this time and sharp with irritation.

"Did you finally wake up, you bastard?"

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