When I woke up, I immediately sat up in bed. Gazing at the sky outside, painted with the last rays of the setting sun, I found myself in a room filled with a gentle, fragrant aroma.
Rubbing my head, I realized I’d slept deeply. Looking around, I recognized the various pots of Red Spider Lilies and knew this was Isabelle Frost’s room. After getting up, I leisurely walked to the balcony and looked out over the lake below, which was glowing with faint specks of light. In the center of the lake was a small pavilion. Everything looked beautiful, and I relaxed by sitting on the railing.
The world that was once only starlit now seemed to be painted with vibrant colors. In the distance, I could still see the seaside village wrapped in a vast Sea of Red Spider Lilies. The Undying continued moving about in the village, but no one else was in sight. I found it strange—I couldn’t sense where the others were. Only one familiar presence was nearby, downstairs: Rufina Howard, who was probably sleeping.
I vaguely remembered Isabelle Frost tapping my forehead before I fell into a deep sleep. I didn’t know why she did it, but now I felt completely at ease—no fatigue or pain remained. I hadn’t dreamed at all; it was a peaceful rest.
For some reason, I felt a subtle unease. I had no idea how much longer I’d be stuck here. It had been a long time since I’d seen John Chou. Unbidden, an image of a skeleton appeared in my mind—it looked exactly like the one I’d fought before.
I was startled at first, but quickly shook my head. What had just appeared in my mind wasn’t an illusion. I hadn’t been thinking about anything, yet that skeleton showed up anyway.
Looking up, I saw the skeleton standing on the lake’s surface. I stared in surprise, but it quickly vanished, as if it had only been a hallucination. Swallowing nervously, I wondered what was really happening.
Just as I was puzzling over it, I felt a chill. Glancing over, I saw Ronan Wu walking slowly along the stone path through the Red Spider Lily field, heading toward the Octagon Tower.
"Where did everyone else go?"
I went straight downstairs. In a room on the second floor, I saw Rufina Howard sleeping soundly. Not wanting to wake her, I continued downstairs.
"Rachel Lan, may I ask you a question?"
I looked at Ronan Wu in confusion. The smile on his face had vanished, replaced by a serious expression as he stared at me.
"Go ahead."
"If you realized you were about to die, what would you do?"
I blinked, not understanding what Ronan Wu meant.
"There is one way to save yourself: you must align with evil, rely on darkness to prolong your own life. Just like some in the occult world, when death is near, they do anything to steal others' lives, using forbidden arts to keep themselves alive."
"Why are you asking me this all of a sudden?"
Although Ronan Wu's words sounded like a joke, it felt more like a test. I shook my head.
"No matter what, I would never do such a thing. My beliefs since childhood, my self-respect, and even Ethan Zhang would never want me to do this."
I answered firmly. I had thought about this before, and I had faced such situations many times. If I just bowed to those evil spirits, or simply avoided them, I would be safe, living peacefully, as if nothing had changed.