Chapter 76: Five Hundred and Twenty Deaths
Seraphel
I had died five hundred and twenty times.
That was seven hundred and forty-eight thousand, eight hundred minutes trapped in this inescapable nightmare—five hundred and twenty agonizing, subjective days watching the exact same brutal cycle repeat itself over and over again.
When it happened the very first time and I fell into the loop, I had expected it to be a simple, predictable repeat of events. But the nightmare was far more vicious than that. Different scenarios kept unfolding every single time, but every single one ended in my death, resetting the entire process so I was forced to relive the agony all over again.
The first question I asked myself after the tenth reset was where the hell was I?How did I end up in this place when the absolute last thing I remembered was being right there beside Azriel?
By my hundredth death, I completely stopped asking questions. I just numbly moved along with the routine, wondering when this hell would finally come to an end.
Author Nude never mentioned this type of loop in the original web novel plot. Maybe it was because the story was twisting entirely off course, or maybe it was because I hadn’t read the core plot thoroughly enough before I transmigrated.
Whatever the reason was, I just couldn’t seem to break free from this nightmare. Eventually, I learned to survive by pretending everything was fine, treating the endless loop like my new daily lifestyle.
But while living through this nightmare time after time, I couldn’t help but constantly think about the real world outside.
Would anyone actually care that I’m gone? Would Azriel even notice that I was missing, or that something terrible had happened to me?
Those were the desperate questions I asked myself every single time I opened my eyes to a brand-new day.
And then there was the baby. It felt as if the pregnancy had completely vanished right along with my reality. I couldn’t feel a pulse, a spark, or any trace of energy within me. It was as though the child had never existed in the first place.
"We have to dress you for the wedding," Analisse’s voice chimed right in front of me as she snapped her fingers, snapping me back to reality to remind me about wearing the traditional bridal gown that I had already died in dozens of times.
Why the hell should I even care about that anymore? The fourth time I realized I was stuck in a loop, I tried fighting her. But I quickly gave up after that because her empty, uncanny smile terrified me even more than the deaths themselves.
I just wanted everything to stop.
"The Prince of Lust is waiting to take you as his crown princess," she gushed excitedly, stepping forward to begin applying my makeup.
I stared intently at her face, desperately searching for any tiny flaw or hint that could help me break this illusion. In most web novels with plots like this, there was always a plot hole or a glitch that the main character could exploit to get out. But no matter how long I stared at her, there was no crack in the wall. She was a flawless, perfect mirror of the real-life Analisse.
"The Prince of Lust will be in absolute awe when he sees you," Analisse said with thrilled enthusiasm, while the fake versions of Durin and Rami nodded right along in agreement, clapping their hands together.
There was no difference, no flaw, and no crack. Even the creepy masked person who had appeared the very first time I woke up in this realm had completely vanished without a trace. They hadn’t shown up since. Maybe if they had, I could have squeezed a hint out of them about how to get out of here.
Then, a sudden realization struck me while thinking about them.
There was one single thing I had not tried ever since I came here. I had never tried to attack the characters placed in this world.
My eyes widened as the idea bloomed in my mind. Why hadn’t I tried to kill any of them? If I destroyed the people in this illusion, wouldn’t I finally find the crack in the loop?
I jumped to my feet immediately, my heart hammering wildly against my ribs.
Analisse blinked in utter surprise, her eyes widening as she stared at me.
"Is everything alright, Your Grace?" she asked smoothly.
I forced a faint smile onto my lips. "I think I might have finally found a way out of here," I said, a dry, hysterical laugh slipping past my throat as I reached up and grabbed a sharp, heavy golden hairpin placed in my hair. "Just know that I would never do this to you in the real world no matter what. You’re only getting hurt here because none of this is real."
"Your Grace, what the hell—"
Before she could finish her sentence, I lunged forward and drove the sharp metal pin straight into her neck.
"I am sorry, fake Analisse," I muttered under my breath, shoving the hairpin even harder into her throat. I clenched my teeth tightly as a sickening wave of warm liquid pooled over my hands.
That didn’t stop me. Even if this didn’t work, it would probably just end up in me waking up all over again at the start of the routine.
Analisse choked violently in my arms, clutching at her throat. I let her go, stepping back as her body slumped hard onto the floor, groaning in sheer pain.
I braced myself for Durin and Rami to scream or attack me, but instead, they went completely still.
Fine, spiderweb cracks instantly began spreading across their skin.
My eyes widened in shock as I watched them literally shatter into pieces right in front of me.
The exact same thing happened to Analisse lying on the floor.
Soon, everything around me began to crack, shattering into glowing pieces and disappearing like dust into the air. One by one, every single piece of the room faded away, including the heavy wedding dress draped around my body.
"Wow!" I gasped out in awe, turning in a slow circle as I watched the illusion melt into absolute nothingness.
When the dust settled, I found myself standing in the middle of a vast, barren wasteland beneath a sky that glowed a violent, blood-red hue.
"Did I actually break the loop?" I whispered to myself, scanning the empty, dried-up landscape for any sign of familiarity. "If I broke it... then how the hell am I supposed to get out of here?"
A sudden, sharp cawing sounded nearby.
In the blink of an eye, the noise amplified until it sounded like a roaring thunderstorm echoing from a distance. Millions of dark, monstrous birds swept across the red horizon, rushing straight toward me like a wave of sharp black blades.
Panic seized me, and I turned to run, but my foot caught on a jagged rock, sending me tripping and crashing hard onto the dry ground.
My immediate instinct was to wrap my arms tightly around my stomach, curling my body up to shield the baby. I squeezed my eyes shut and braced myself, expecting to get hit by a barrage of sharp beaks.
Clang!
A crimson-shaded barrier materialized right in front of me. The swarming birds slammed violently against the red shield, shattering into dark smoke upon impact as they fell right down outside the barrier.
I gasped, my hands still rubbing my stomach, and slowly looked up to face a familiar face I never expected to see again.
Azriel.
His overwhelming, rich scent of black orchids and red spider lilies hit me all at once. His eyes were glowing a fierce, fiery crimson as his gaze locked directly onto mine as he just stared down at me.
"Azriel..." I muttered his name, stretching a trembling hand out toward him.
Behind him, two other massive men appeared, raising additional glowing shields to keep the flock of birds at bay.
I blinked, my mind spinning violently. Is this just another loop? Maybe the nightmare has changed, and now I’m no longer getting forced into a wedding, but instead getting attacked by monsters.
"Azriel," I muttered his name again.
A wave of intense dizziness washed over me, making my vision swim.
My body gave out, and I began falling backward toward the dry ground.
Before I could hit the dirt, a pair of strong, warm arms appeared and caught me.
Azriel pulled me tightly against his chest, his signature scent enveloping me completely. I could feel the heat of his skin, so vivid and warm... but my instinct warned me that this could still be another cruel loop.
"Seraphel," he muttered my name, his voice soft, gentle, and tight with emotion. "Seraphel!"
"You... you are not real," I murmured weakly, reaching up with a shaky hand to touch his face, desperate to feel if he was truly there or just another imagination created by the nightmare.