CHAPTER TWENTY; The Beginning of the End

"Karina."

I halted in my steps upon seeing Achilles Dimitri in front of our clubroom. This is where I found myself after leaving the university courtyard. The rims of his eyes were red, as if he had been crying, and two buttons of his shirt were undone, as if he had to loosen them just to breathe properly—in short, he looked like a mess.

I just looked at him, my brows raised as he took hurried steps toward me. Before I could react, he closed the distance between us, and the next thing he did caught me completely off guard. I stood frozen in place as he pulled me into his arms, holding me tightly—desperately, as if afraid that if he let go, I would disappear all over again.

He buried his face in the crook of my neck, and I felt the warm, damp sensation of water seeping onto my shoulder—he was crying.

My body stiffened, not from shock but from the sheer disgust that crawled beneath my skin. It felt like a snake had coiled around me, tightening with every passing second, suffocating me before it could finally devour me whole.

I tried to push him away, my hands pressing against his chest, but the moment his words reached my ears, my entire body froze.

"I never knew Sol would grant me a chance to be with you again," he wept, his voice trembling with raw emotion.

A cold chill ran down my spine as the weight of his words settled in. My breath hitched, my mind racing to make sense of the impossible. No—it couldn't be. My heart pounded violently against my ribs as I pulled back just enough to meet his eyes.

And that was when I saw it.

The familiar intensity, the way he looked at me as if I was the only thing in his world—just like how that Karina had described him after my death. The way he said Sol—a name that had no place in this reality.

This wasn't just Achilles Dimitri of this world anymore.

This was my Achilles Dimitri. The one from my world.

I pushed him away, and pain flickered in his eyes upon seeing the storm of emotions swirling in mine—fear, hatred, disgust.

"Forgive me, Karina," he uttered in a low voice, his hand reaching out but stopping the moment I flinched. His expression twisted with anguish. "I regret all my stupid decisions. By the time I realized my feelings… you were already gone. No black magic could ever resurrect you."

My eyes widened in disbelief. Achilles Dimitri trying to resurrect me with black magic wasn't written in the book Karina had authored—another plot hole in her story, another missing piece I was never meant to know.

It was as if it had happened after she hastily concluded the main story—after our souls were switched—and the countless plot holes had driven the characters to rebel. As if the main character himself had carved out his own side story, one that even the author herself had never known.

I found myself taking a step back. Even without seeing my own reflection, I knew that my expression couldn't hide the turmoil raging within me.

Achilles Dimitri continued with his confession, unaware of the chaos he had just unleashed upon me.

"I knew that I died in my sleep after failing to summon your soul back from the abyss. So when I woke up in a different place, I was disoriented at first." He looked at me, his eyes unguarded, filled with regret. "Then the memories of who I was to you in this world came back to me. And I hated myself even more—because even here, I am someone unfit to be with you."

The crease on my forehead deepened as I listened to him. If he hadn't used a spell to switch souls with the Achilles Dimitri of this world, then there was only one possibility—his soul had transferred into this world on its own, merging with the version of himself that already existed here.

I stiffened at his words, my pulse hammering in my ears.

Achilles Dimitri looked at me with unwavering certainty. "The Karina of this world, the one in my memories, wasn't my Empress. She was someone else."

He took a step closer, his hand reaching for my face. Instinctively, I recoiled, but his gaze remained fixed on me, undeterred.

"My Empress would never flinch in the face of death," he murmured. "But when I finally gathered the courage to meet you and saw your fencing skills, I knew it right away—your soul merged with hers, just like mine did with the Achilles of this world. As if Sol gave us another chance to be with each other."

His words struck like a bolt of lightning, unraveling the very fabric of what I thought I knew. A bitter laugh almost escaped me, but I swallowed it down, replacing it with a cold, sharp smile.

"You're wrong about one thing," I said, my voice laced with ice.

I slapped his hand away from my face, the sound echoing between us. My gaze locked onto his, unyielding.

"I was summoned against my will."

His expression faltered for a moment, but he quickly masked it with determination.

"Does it matter?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. "Fate still brought us back together."

A bitter laugh escaped my lips. "Fate?" I echoed, my gaze piercing through him. "You think this is fate? That Sol granted us a second chance?" I took a step forward, my voice lowering to a dangerous hush. "Let me make one thing clear, Achilles Dimitri. I did not choose to be here. I was summoned—ripped away from the ending I chose to have, against my will."

His jaw tightened—his hands curled into fists at his sides. I could see the turmoil in his eyes, the struggle between the man he was and the man he had become.

"You were my Empress," he murmured, almost as if saying it would make it true. "You are my Empress."

I scoffed, shaking my head. "That Karina—your Karina—died. And I have no intention of taking her place again."

I met his gaze with a hollow expression, my voice devoid of warmth as I spoke my final words.

"Just like how I chose death so you wouldn't get the chance to save me..." My eyes flickered past him, landing on the approaching figure behind him, his hurried strides slicing through the tension in the air. I took a slow breath before continuing, my tone steady, unyielding.

"Even in this world, I remain the same Karina—the one who chose death to abandon you."

Before Achilles could say anything, Kairos yanked him away from me and landed a solid punch to his face, sending him staggering to the floor. I wasn't surprised by Kai Alaric's actions, but the sheer fury in his eyes made me uneasy.

"I told you to leave her alone," Kairos said, his voice dangerously low, each word dripping with barely contained rage.

Achilles got up, wiping the blood from his cut lip. "I've always wondered why the Duke of the North was always so relentless when it came to you. Was he the real reason you went along with your twin's plan to go to the North? Was he the one who always had your back?"

His eyes gleamed with a dangerous edge as he turned his gaze toward Kairos. "Even in this world, he's doing the same thing. If I didn't know how self-righteous that man is, I would think he used black magic as well—to summon himself to wherever you are."

He looked at Kairos with disdain. "You—why are you clinging to her side like a leech now? You weren't like this before."

Kairos scoffed, stepping in front of me, blocking Achilles' view of me completely. "Why should I tell you?" His voice was cold, dismissive. Then, I felt it—his hand tightening around mine, firm and unwavering, as if silently telling me he wouldn't let go.

"My reason…" He paused—his grip steady. "Is only for her to hear."

As swiftly as he had intervened, Kairos dragged me away, leading me straight to the parking lot where his car was parked. His grip was firm but not forceful, his silence heavy with unspoken words.

The moment we reached his car, I planted my feet firmly on the ground, refusing to budge. "I'm not getting in." I reminded him, crossing my arms.

Kairos arched a brow, clearly unimpressed. "I still remember how you drive," I added, eyeing him warily. "I still want to hang out with the twins, Keiran, and you. in short, I want to keep on living." I jokingly said.

Kairos scoffed, the corner of his lips twitching as if he couldn't decide whether to be amused or annoyed. There was a flicker of something else in his eyes—something unreadable, a mix of amusement and resentment that lingered beneath the surface.

"Funny," he muttered, unlocking the car with a click. "How come you never thought of that when you were framed of treason?"

His words sent my heart racing, but I wasn't surprised anymore. With the way he had subtly dropped hints about his transmigration, I had already pieced it together—he, too, had come into this world.

"You're wrong about something, though," he said, as if reading my thoughts. He shut the car door with ease before closing the distance between us, his presence suffocating yet strangely familiar.

"I didn't transmigrate," he revealed, his voice quieter now, more deliberate. "I reincarnated in this world. And I only got my memories back when it was almost time for your soul to arrive."

His hand reached out, brushing away the stray strands of hair that had fallen over my face. His touch was light, almost reverent, but his next words carried the weight of something much heavier.

"Sol granted me a chance," he murmured, his gaze locking onto mine, "To make amends for the one regret that has haunted me my entire life."

My breath hitched as I asked, "And that is?"

He buried his gaze deep into mine, his expression a storm of sorrow and longing. The weight of countless unspoken regrets clung to him, suffocating yet desperate to be heard. His hand hovered near my face as if afraid that, like a fleeting dream, I would disappear the moment he touched me.

"I was late in saving you." His voice was barely above a whisper, but the pain in it struck like a blade. "Forgive me, my Lady."

His words trembled, and I saw it—the way his lashes quivered, the way unshed tears pooled at the edges of his eyes, threatening to spill.

"Y-you..." My lips trembled, the weight of realization crashing over me as I understood why he saw through the emotion I conveyed in that painting.

Kairos nodded, his gaze unwavering as he reached for my hand, gently cupping it against his face, his touch warm but heavy with remorse. "I was there," he murmured, his voice low, almost as if confessing a sin, "a second too late to stop the execution."

The words hung in the air, each one a thread of his guilt, and I could see the haunted look in his eyes, the memory of that moment still haunting him.

Kairos knelt before me—his posture as solemn as a knight pledging his life to honor. "I, Kai Alaric Ashford," he began, his voice steady but full of an unshakable conviction, "once failed to protect you in our past life. But in this life..." His gaze locked onto mine, his expression unfolding with a raw seriousness that pierced my heart, sending ripples of unbearable weight through me. "In this world... I'm done holding back. My regret will not haunt me a second time."

"Kairos…"

He smiled softly, a warmth that seemed to melt the weight of everything, and gently pressed a tender kiss to the back of my palm. His gaze held mine, steady and sincere, as he asked, "Will you let me stay by your side again, My Lady?"

"W-what—"

He smiled sweetly, a glint of something dangerously sincere in his eyes. "I'm not leaving you again, Karina," he whispered, his voice low and steady, sending an undeniable shiver through me. "I won't hold back my feelings for you anymore, not like I did when I was disguising myself as a mercenary. The selfless version of me is gone now." He stood up and pulled me closer, burying his face in the crook of my neck.

"I won't be accused of treason here, even if it means snatching the supposed-to-be empress for myself."