The door creaked as she stepped inside.

He was there, sitting in the dim light, his wrists bound, his head lowered.

But the moment she entered, he looked up.

Their eyes met.

She hesitated.

Because now, standing before him, she realized something terrifying — she didn’t know if she wanted to hear the truth.

Because once she knew, there would be no going back.

But she had come this far. She had to know.

She took a deep breath. “Tell me everything.”

His jaw tensed. “You won’t believe me.”

“Then make me believe.”

A bitter chuckle escaped his lips. “You say that now. But when I tell you, you’ll wish you had never asked.”

Her hands clenched. “Enough of the cryptic warnings. I have spent days — no, lifetimes — walking through memories I don’t understand. I have watched myself die at your hands. I have seen blood, war, betrayal — ” Her voice cracked, but she kept going. “And yet, in this life, you protected me. So, tell me — why?”

His gaze darkened. And then he told her.

The Past That Was Never Hers to Remember

“There was never supposed to be a 17th life.”

She froze. “What?”

He leaned back against the wall, the weight of his words pressing down.

“You and I… We were trapped in a cycle of death and vengeance. Every life, we were forced to meet again. Forced to fight. Forced to repeat the same tragedy.”

Her stomach twisted.

She knew that much.

“But then, something changed.” His voice dropped lower. “I did something that should have never been possible.”

The room felt colder.

He looked straight at her.

“I broke the cycle.”

Her breath hitched. That was impossible.

“There was supposed to be an end. A final death. No more reincarnations. No more suffering.” His voice was raw now, filled with something unrecognizable. “But I couldn’t accept it.”

Her throat went dry. “What did you do?”

Silence.

And then, he said the words that shattered her world.

“I gave up my soul to bring you back.”

The Price of One More Life

She staggered back. No. No, that couldn’t be true.

“You’re lying,” she whispered.

“I wish I was.”

She shook her head. This had to be a trick. Another manipulation.

But deep down — she knew it wasn’t.

The pieces fit.

The strange, unnatural memories. The way this life felt different. The way he had looked at her, as if he had already accepted his fate.

She swallowed hard. “And what was the cost?”

He let out a hollow laugh. “You already know the answer.”

Her heart pounded.

A soul is never given freely.

A debt must be repaid.

She inhaled sharply. “The people after us… They’re not just after me, are they?”

His gaze was cold.

“No. They’re after me.”

A pause.

“And when they take me, there won’t be an 18th life.”