Sometime later, in the liminal world of death…
Silence stretched like a living thing, heavy and suffocating.
Nedo broke it, curiosity cutting through the stillness. "And… what did he do next?"
The demon's smile curved slowly, deliberately cruel, savoring the darkness between words. "He returned death to his beloved. But she… never knew who he was."
Nedo's lips curled with disdain. "What a foolish, meaningless act."
"But he fulfilled his wish before he died," the demon murmured, voice soft yet sharp, as if relishing the bitter irony.
Nedo said nothing. The silence deepened, pressing against them both.
"You need a life lived without regrets before you die," the demon continued, eyes glinting like shards of obsidian. "Humans cling to what they have… refusing to sacrifice, even when it costs them everything."
"But I don't know what I should sacrifice," Nedo whispered, voice raw and taut. "The only thing I know… is FREE WILL."
The demon's gaze hardened, glittering with something dangerous. "Then it's time to wake from this dream… and make your choice."
Nedo froze. "What…?"
His eyes fluttered open.
The world felt impossibly real. The wind of the beach brushed against his face, carrying the faint scent of salt and freedom. Sand, cool and grainy, pressed beneath him. The waves lapped at the shore in calm, steady rhythm. Everything was… normal.
And yet… a touch lingered. Gentle. Warm.
His head rested in the lap of a girl. When their eyes met, she smiled—soft, intimate, unnervingly familiar.
Nedo tried to pull away, tried to escape the strange comfort pressing against him, but the girl's hand was firm, unyielding. Small, yet impossibly strong.
"Why are you looking at me like that, my love?" Her voice was soft, teasing, as though sharing a secret only they could understand.
Nedo froze. [What the hell is she talking about?]
He tried to remember… anything. But the more he struggled, the sharper the pulse of pain in his head became, a knife twisting in his mind.
"Oh… it seems you don't remember me," the girl said, faint smile curling her lips. "That's… good. It means I get to make new memories with you."
Nedo's thoughts raced, wild and uncertain. [This girl… I've never met her, yet somehow she's been following me, waiting for the right moment. What does she want? And… why does she seem happy that I don't remember her?]
A shiver ran down his spine. The world felt impossibly safe—and yet impossibly terrifying—all at once.
Something told him, deep in the marrow of his bones… this was only the beginning.
The beginning of a choice. A life. A nightmare.
And he didn't yet know which it would be.