Episode 50
Two years ago, my parents were in a car accident.
The day **before** their wedding anniversary.
I still remember seeing them off—half asleep, hair a mess—telling them to enjoy spending time together for once.
After that day, I never saw their faces again.
Not even in my dreams.
And yet… why now?
“Hyewon.”
At the familiar, gentle voice, tears spilled down my cheeks.
All the emotions I had been holding back burst open with just that single call of my name.
“…Why are you only showing up now?”
Ever since I could no longer see them, I hated rainy days.
Whenever I sat alone listening to the rain, I felt myself crumble, helpless.
And each time, I would drown the feelings in alcohol.
Because I knew—my parents would never want to see me like that.
“I… I waited so long. Why now? Why only now?”
If they knew how much I missed them,
they could’ve appeared to me at least once.
Call my name just once.
Even in a dream.
Voicing all the resentment I buried away, I pulled them into my arms.
“I missed you so much… Mom, Dad.”
“Our darling girl. Mom missed you so much too.”
“So many tears. You weren’t this emotional before, Hyewon.”
Nothing about them had changed—
Their warm voices calling my name,
their gentle touch, every detail…
Exactly as I remembered them.
Only I was different now.
Did they know how painful that realization was?
“I… all this time… I…”
My throat tightened with emotion.
Unable to speak, I bit down on my lip and clung to them harder.
I thought I had overcome everything—except the occasional rainy-day breakdown.
That I could live fine without them.
What a foolish assumption.
I was still just a grown child who couldn’t live without her parents.
“It’s been a long time since you cried like this in front of Mom.”
“…Then don’t make me cry. What is this?”
“Alright, alright. Mom’s fault.”
Her playful smile as she wiped my tears made me laugh faintly.
I held their hands tightly and closed my eyes, wanting to really feel that warmth I missed so badly.
“There’s something I’ve always wanted to tell you.”
On every rainy day, I wondered—
If I could see them just once more,
what would I say?
There were so many words.
But I knew we wouldn’t have enough time.
I took a short breath, opened my eyes, and squeezed their hands.
“I’ll tell you when I meet the real Mom and Dad.”
I always knew.
This wasn’t really them—just a projection made from my memories.
Even knowing that, I couldn’t control the emotions that surged just from seeing them again.
That’s how much I missed them.
“I’ll miss you even more than I do now.
So next time… come to me in a dream.”
They smiled warmly.
Slowly, they faded away.
And the warmth in my hands disappeared with them.
“…Ha.”
If I didn’t have something I had to do—
I might have kept clinging to that illusion forever.
I wiped my tears and stared at the sealed soul of **Linefried**.
“So. You must want something from me.”
The one responsible must have been the **Warden of Devias**.
Even if I destroyed the core, the Warden didn’t die.
Showing me something like that—
maybe to interfere, maybe to ask for something.
Suddenly, the system message from the main quest flashed in my mind:
**Illuminate the fading soul.**
“No way…”
At first, I didn’t understand what that meant.
But now, I knew exactly what it wanted.
Without hesitation, I reached toward the soul.
The chains froze solid and shattered.
*Clang—!*
The soul, trapped for so long, burst into radiant light the moment the seal broke.
That must have been its true color.
But the breaking of the seal meant death.
The bright light began to fade.
“Wait. You’re the offering for my quest.”
A freezing gale erupted from me and froze everything around us.
The soul included.
Just before it vanished, I froze it—
I succeeded.
“If it weren’t for the quest, I wouldn’t bother with something so annoying.”
If the soul disappeared on its own, I would gain Linefried’s power.
But I wouldn’t clear the quest.
The true meaning of the quest was this:
**Save Linefried’s soul.**
“The rest is yours, Pamiel.”
To save him, he needed to be bound—to a demon.
Through a **soul contract**.
❖ ❖ ❖
Epheron existed outside the influence of seasons.
And yet, thick white snow was falling.
Not cold—but strangely warm.
Pamiel held out a hand; the snow melted on her palm.
*The seal has been broken.*
Even though she had finally achieved her goal, she didn’t feel happy.
“I won’t deny I betrayed you. What I did… you have every right not to forgive.”
“…”
“I just wanted you to stop hurting.
To make you let go of that obsession with power.”
“…So that’s why you sent Rehel to Devias?”
Pamiel smiled faintly.
Making Linefried let go of power was nearly impossible.
So she asked Rehel to **take his power away completely**.
*…Too late.*
The seal was already broken.
Realizing death was imminent, Linefried stopped resisting.
Memories he had buried deep came flooding back.
—*If I were the successor, I wouldn’t have let everyone die!*
Humans attacked his village not long after someone else was chosen as the next leader.
The new successor froze in panic—many died.
—*The decision is final! Are you questioning the leader’s authority?*
Powerless… helpless… jealous…
He eventually fell into the trap **he dug for someone else** and died.
*The world never gave me a chance.*
Whatever he wanted—he was never allowed to have it.
Not strength.
Not the person he cared for.
“You can use my surname. Nobody else will.”
Pamiel turning her back on him hurt—
but it was far too late to fix anything.
He had chased power all this time,
yet facing death felt so empty.
Seeing that his obsession had finally faded, Pamiel smiled.
“Don’t worry. I’ll follow right after.”
“…What?”
“It’s boring without you.”
Pamiel had decided long ago—
she would die with him when she made the bet with Rehel.
There was no world she wanted to live in if the person she loved didn’t exist there.
Just as Linefried was about to speak—
“Ugh…!”
“Line!”
He staggered, clutching his chest. Pamiel rushed to support him.
“This is—”
His body was freezing from the feet upward.
If the body wasn’t disintegrating, but *freezing*—
that meant something was happening to the soul.
*Rehel…?!*
Snow kept falling in Epheron.
The ground was freezing over.
It didn’t take long to understand:
**Rehel had frozen Linefried’s soul.**
“With your recklessness… again.”
Rian watched the falling snow and sighed.
She always exceeded expectations.
Pamiel spread her black wings wide. Rian stepped back to stay out of it.
“So reckless.”
Pamiel smiled faintly at the thought of Rehel.
Who else would dare freeze a soul?
She now owed Rehel a debt she could never repay.
Pamiel took Linefried’s hands.
Dark feathers swirled around them.
“Pamiel, what are you—”
“I’ll give you a choice.
Die like this, or live with me.”
“…You want a contract?”
“Choose. If you’d rather die, I’ll respect that.
I’ll still stay by your side.”
Linefried couldn’t understand.
She had betrayed him.
Cornered him to the edge—
Yet now she was trying to save him?
“Why go so far? You betrayed me.”
Pamiel laughed—the brightest he had ever seen from her.
“Because I love you. Obviously.”
Only then did he realize—
He still had a chance.
At least…
to stay beside the one he loved.
He tightened his grip on her hand.
The answer was clear.
“This is a soul contract. Even if one of us dies, neither soul will ever disappear.”
Black feathers cut their palms; blood dripped.
Slowly, Linefried’s frozen body thawed.
Pamiel whispered the final incantation.
The snowfall stopped.
The sky cleared.
The soul contract succeeded.
Rehel no longer needed to hold the freezing ability.
*Five demon kings remain.*
Rian looked up at the clear sky.
Whether she wanted it or not,
the whole world would now turn its eyes to her.
