Lina woke up in the same cloudy realm as last time. This time, she was in a completely different scene. They were no longer standing on marble floors and pillars that reached high into the sky.

  "Where is this?" Lina wondered out loud, standing at the top of a small staircase leading to a well with an enormous opening. Purple and blue water swirled in circles, like a powerful whirlpool sucking people in.

  The atmosphere was thick. Lina found it difficult to breathe. She clutched her throat, squinting her eyes at the sight of the well. A horrible ache stabbed her in the chest.

  Lina buckled in pain. She felt like her heart was going to split open. The agony was so intense, she knew it was heartbreak. The worst that one could ever imagine.

  In the distance, there were still floating castles with white decorations and golden rooftops. She heard a loud scream in the distance and spun around.

  "Princess, Princess please wait!" A voice frantically called out, chasing after a mischievous Princess in a flowy dress of pink and lavender, her expensive jewelry fluttering against the breeze.

  "You can't run, please be careful!" The servant choked out.

  The servant was out of breath from running so quickly and so far. Despite being a servant, she wasn't one meant for foot errands. She was meant to dote upon the Princess and make the favored child smile.

  "Princess, I beg of you!" The servant shouted.

  It was no use.

  Nothing could stop her once she made up her mind. Nothing could move the woman who moved the heavens and mortal realm. And nothing could stop the man who'd wreak havoc in heaven and split the mortal ground to have her.

  "Princess, Princess, you must understand the consequences if you proceed. You might not make it out alive! You might die!"

  The Princess was dashing through the corridor, tears in her eyes, the wind against her chest, her legs on fire. She continued running down the hallway, her outfit becoming a mess with each second. Her hair was already free, the hairpins coming off like feathers on wings.

  "Isabelle," Lina whispered, instantly recognizing the maid chasing after Dream Lina.

  How could Lina have forgotten? There was also a servant in the palace that resembled Isabelle. Did this mean everyone that Lina once knew was being reincarnated to this life? Or had they followed her across all the lifetimes as well?

  "He's leaving, I must hurry," Dream Lina called back, her voice hoarse from running that quickly.

  Lina realized they were both advancing towards her. That was when she heard a loud whoosh from behind her.

  Lina turned in time to see that a man in black robes and grey armor had jumped into an enormous well. The well was covered with white limestone, with a mysterious whirlpool in the middle, sucking the man to god knows where.

  BOOM!

  Lina jumped back in fear when a bright light shot out the whirlpool.

  "NOOO!" Dream Lina shrieked, her voice sending the sky shaking in fear. Thunder rumbled in the distance.

  Lina realized more than two people were coming in her direction. Her eyes grew wide. No. Way.

  Sebastian. Priscilla. They were there as well, running right after Dream Lina. They couldn't catch up, whether it was by speed or strength. Dream Lina was faster. She was swift as a fox, her ribbon coming undone with each step.

  A powerful gust of wind blew past them, almost holding all four of them back. Lina winced in pain, shielding her eyes from the biting breeze. It was enough to knock her back a bit, but it didn't hinder the Princess.

  The Princess ran and ran until something whooshed past Lina.

  "Princess, you can't!" Isabelle screamed, her eyes growing wide with fear and panic.

  Before everyone's eyes, Dream Lina had jumped into the well as well.

  Lina gasped as the blinding light turned brighter. Suddenly, a single red string popped out of the well, glowing with passion. Before Lina could understand, the red string was gone.

  "Princess!" Isabelle yelled, dropping to her knees before the well.

  Isabelle's face grew pale like she had seen a ghost. She knelt before the well and let out a sob, hugging her shoulders in despair.

  "How could you?" Isabelle begged. "This is not a trial meant for you. You are already His Majesty's Favorite! You don't need to go through the three trials of the mortal realm to become a Goddess!"

  Lina staggered backward. She felt like she was intruding on something she shouldn't have. Trial? His Majesty's favorite? Three trials? Her eyes trembled. What is going on right now?

  It all happened so quickly. An arm shot out, and the next thing Isabelle knew, she was falling forward.

  "No!" Lina whispered, reaching a hand out, but it was too late.

  Isabelle had been shoved into the whirlpool. There was no reaction. No blinding white light. No red string. Nothing.

  "Have you lost your mind?!" Sebastian roared, grabbing Priscilla by her arms. "Why did you do that? How could you do such a thing!"

  Priscilla's voice was blank of emotion, but her eyes said everything. Her tear-rimmed eyes, oozing with hatred, spoke volumes.

  "If I suffer, you'll suffer with me," Priscilla coldly whispered.

  Priscilla quickly grabbed onto Sebastian. To his horror, she yanked him backward, and together, they tumbled into the whirlpool.

  Lina's breath was caught in her throat. What was going on? Instantly, the whirlpool changed color. It went from purple and blue to white. Without warning, a red string shot out of the well again. Then, it fell as quickly as it came.

  Lina reached a hand out to grab it, but it slipped through her fingers. Lina had forgotten she was just a bystander in everything. Just a person watching everything unfold, with no power to change the events.

  Then, an icy hand grabbed her by the shoulders.

  "What the—" Lina screamed, turning around, frightened by the events.

  Lina came face to face with herself. Except, she knew this version of herself, with blood seeping down to her white dress. This was the Princess of Teran, from Lina's first life.

  "R……run…" The Princess croaked, shoving Lina backward. Blood seeped onto her clothes, for she was the first casualty of the war.

  Lina tripped over her foot. In the distance, she saw a swarm of armed people charging down the hallways, led by a man in white, but she couldn't see who it was. The skies were turning greyer by the minute, warning of a horrible storm.

  Lina raised her head toward the sky and saw a pair descend from the clouds. A man and woman in their late forties, with black hair, white outfit, and golden accessories. They behaved like rulers, with a stunning crown on their head.

  "R……run!" The Princess repeated, her words faint.

  "No," Lina pleaded, but it was too late.

  Lina wanted to stay and witness everything going down. She needed to know what happened in this place. She needed to know if this was her second life.

  The Princess of Teran, with blood dripping from her neck down to her chest, shoved Lina back. Lina closed her eyes as she fell into the whirlpool, not realizing what it was. What it symbolized. And how it'd affect her.

  The last thing Lina remembered was something burning on her pinky. She could haphazardly make out an outline. Her heart dropped to her stomach. Blinding white lights flashed before her eyes.

  Red.

  Lina saw a red string tied to her pinky. And it was then she realized what it was. Red strings of fate.