Seeing the moss-covered well through the stacked stones, it seemed quite old.

My throat started to feel dry.

I walked towards the well as my body led me, extending my neck and plunging inside to drink.

The dark and long interior contrasted sharply with this place. I couldn’t see if there was water at the far end.

I should check if there’s the sound of water to see if there’s anything. So, I closed my eyes and concentrated on the sound.

Soon, the sound of the wind subsided, and the sound of water splashing became audible.

“There it is.”

And at that moment of joy, I opened my eyes.

This time, I truly woke up from the dream.

And the unfolded scenery was an infinitely dark space, unfamiliar and void. Like the well, only the candlelight seemed to exist.

‘Where is this?’

Surely, I met Serdis, and… what happened?

Instead of memories, a stabbing headache occurred. The scent was strong, filled with smoke. If I stayed here, it felt like I would run out of breath.

“I need to get out of here first.”

However, my escape plan was shattered as soon as I stood up from the creaking chair.

My shoulders were heavily pressed down by someone.

“Before you leave, shall we have a talk?”

My gaze shifted upward at the faint voice.

A woman in a black robe.

“Prophet?”

The one I had been pursuing for so long was right in front of me.

“Me?”

Her voice, quite low for a woman, faintly echoed.

“If I knew, would I have called you a prophet? It’s you who brought me here.”

She knew a lot about me, enough to deal with Mikael. She also knew about my information.

She withdrew her hand from my shoulder, walked to the opposite wooden chair, and sat down.

“I thought I knew you very well. So, I tried not to pay attention to you. But these days, I’m not sure if the you I knew is still the same.”

“What do you know about me?”

“What do I know about you? What could there be? Originally, you were an old noblewoman marrying an old nobleman on the outskirts, getting slapped every day. Since no one whispered love to you, you quickly obtained a mental illness and died of a broken heart, that kind of fate, you know.”

“…….”

“I wondered, and indeed. You also knew your fate.”

Looking at me, who was silent, she clapped her hands and laughed.

I found it hard to speak rashly.

‘This is a story from the original.’

It was because she knew all the stories from the original. My future there.
“Don’t be afraid. I have no intention of harming you.”

“What is your identity?”

“As you said yourself, with your own words. A prophet. I am indeed a prophet, just as you said.”

She clenched her fist while hiding her body again behind the robe.

I slowly examined her figure, faintly visible through the hazy smoke. Her small stature was entirely covered by a blanket-like robe, and even her toes were not visible.

I raised my gaze again and confronted her.

“So, what’s the reason you called me here?”

She was observing me, so she must have had something in mind.

“Annette. How regrettable it would have been if you had died in the outskirts. I’ve been thinking about that lately.”

“Stop the nonsense and get to the point. What do you want from me, and why did you approach me?”

Amidst rough breaths, I heard a faint laughter from her. After a moment, her answer, devoid of hesitation, reached me like a tickling sensation.

“Shall I kill Serdis?”

At the provocative question, my thoughts came to a sudden halt.

She wants to kill Serdis for me?

“Stop playing around and speak properly.”

I opened and closed my eyes slowly to hide the trembling pupils.

“Why do you think I would play around? You don’t like Serdis, right? If I get rid of that annoyance for you, it wouldn’t be a bad thing, would it?”

Confident words. It seemed like this woman genuinely knew a lot about me.

‘She must have picked up the story from Mikael.’

However, as if reading my thoughts, she whispered to me.

“I knew even before hearing it from Mikael.”

“What?”

“I’ve been watching you for a long time. It was Serdis who sprinkled ash on your happy daily life. To be happy, you need to get rid of Serdis, isn’t that right?”

The piercing tone of her words stung me like thorns. It felt as if she believed I wished for Serdis’s death and hated him.

I became very curious about the face hidden under the thick robe.

‘Is she also a possessor like me?’

She knew about Annette from the original and had observed me for a long time since I didn’t act as in the original.

But the reason to kill Serdis, for someone like me, was unclear. If I wanted to quit, I could simply avoid getting involved. There was no need to kill him.

“How about it? Should I kill him for you?”

This woman was not a possessor.

“Annette. I’m trying to make you comfortable. Don’t refuse.”

I wrinkled my face as if I had heard something bizarre.

“Do you think I wouldn’t know that you want to use me to kill someone?”

Then, I roughly kicked her chair. The chair moved with a pathetic kick, demonstrating how light her body was.

“I knew you for a long time. If you came just to talk about that, don’t ever come looking for me again.”

I deliberately provoked her. I wanted to know if that was the only reason she approached me.

She got up from the chair and came to me like a ghost. She stood in front of me, breaking through the hazy smoke. I tightly clenched the hand that was dripping with cold sweat due to fear.

She reached out her hand toward my cheek, brushing it before grabbing my throat. The cold sensation sent shivers through my whole body.

“I was thinking of killing you if you bothered me too much. But watching you happily get married changed my mind.”

The hand gripping my throat loosened.

“Instead, it might be fun if you help me. How about it? Want to join forces with me?”

Her white palm was extended towards me.