The Holy Archives of the Church of Life. It was one of the most secretive and well-guarded places in all of Lux. The walls were enchanted with anti-scrying spells that had withstood the test of time, and there was a protective barrier around the room that prevented anyone from teleporting in. As such, it was the only place in all of the city where a conversation could truly be held in private, even if that was not the point of the library.

  And right now, it was being taken advantage of to its fullest.

  “My name is Nox, and I am the Death God.”

  The words echoed in the empty room. The only two figures standing here were myself— Eli of Velmond, and formerly Nox the Death God, the very same person who just uttered those words— and the woman standing across from me.

  Aria the Lady of Light.

  The former [Hero] ordained by the Goddess of Life.

  She was the one who had killed me in my past life. A former friend, then turned to an enemy, perhaps because of fate, or because of differences.

  Perhaps I shouldn’t have revealed my true identity to her. Maybe it would have been smarter of me to keep quiet. Pretend to play dumb, even if she continued her interrogation of me.

  But not only did I already intend to recruit her to my cause, this moment also felt right.

  I wasn’t sure how to explain it. It was just a feeling I had. Call it a hunch, or maybe call it faith. However, I believed that, at this very moment, Aria would accept my identity.

  I believed that she wouldn’t kill me.

  Perhaps it was blind faith— maybe I was putting too much trust into the Lady of Light I had known back when we first met. It was possible that she was now jaded. That she had changed since then.

  However, I recalled her reaction to my death during our final battle. I had let her kill me. To break the cycle of fate. So that she would not die alongside me, like was the fate that befell all our predecessors that came before us.

  I was certain she would have many questions for me— that once she found out my true identity, her first reaction wasn’t to make another attempt at my life, but to try to understand what was going on.

  So I could reveal to her the truth about our artificial destiny.

  So I could tell her what I knew about Hyperius.

  The Master of Fate.

  But this was all just a bet— a gamble I was making with my own life. It still yet remained to be seen whether my trust in Aria would pay off.

  And if she did kill me right here right now? Well, I could only hope that my meddling with the reincarnation process also applied to my next life.

  So I just stared at Aria— looking into her pale blue eyes as she stared back at me. The two of us said not a word, instead letting the words I had uttered settle in. Both for her, to process the meaning of what I had said in its entirety, and for me, to process the implications of what I said in its entirety.

  We soaked in the silence, neither of us willing to shatter this delicate thing that was holding the both of us. And it was to be expected.

  Because this was a groundbreaking revelation for Aria. And for me, it was a massive gamble, which I could only hold my breath and wait and see the results of.

  So I waited. We stared at each other. The room continued to be filled with silence.

  I continued to wait.

  We continued to stare at each other.

  Our gazes never broke once.

  And I waited.

  And waited.

  …

  Alright, this is starting to drag on for a lot longer than I thought… I pursed my lips, finally breaking my gaze away from the Lady of Light.

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  It felt weird for us to lock eyes for so long— we had to have been staring at each other for a solid minute, neither of us saying a word. And while that didn’t sound like a long period of time, it was… and it was incredibly awkward after the first ten seconds passed.

  But, as if me breaking my gaze with her was a sign to speak, Aria stepped back and snapped out of her stupor. She worked her jaw for a moment, before she pointed at me.

  “You’re lying.”

  It was a simple statement. An accusation that was made without any malice or anger. I wasn’t sure what else to say in response, so I just shrugged.

  “I’m not lying, Aria. You can ask me any question you want, and I will answer it to prove my identity.”

  The Lady of Light’s brows snapped together when she heard that. She opened her mouth— then she paused. She shifted back uncomfortably as she replied.

  “I— you’re putting me on the spot! What can I even ask you to prove your identity?”

  “Why are you asking me that?” I scoffed back at her. “You’re the one who’s skeptical of my claim. In fact, why are you even doubting me? Why would anyone in their right mind call themselves Nox the Death God in front of his literal killer?”

  “Hey, don’t put that on me!” Aria protested as she placed a hand on her chest. “I was expecting you to put up a fight— in fact, I would have taken you back with me alive— but you just let me kill you!”

  In response, I just rolled my eyes and crossed my arms. “You’re still the one who swung the blade.”

  “That’s—” the Lady of Light started.

  But then she paused as she narrowed her eyes at me. I tilted my head back at her as her lips parted slowly, and she whispered.

  “You really are Nox…”

  I saw the flicker of recognition on her face. Like she finally accepted what I had said earlier. Which made sense. After all, who else knew that I had let her kill me during our final duel in the Dominion of Light?

  “I am,” I said as I nodded at her.

  She lowered her head as her lips quivered. I watched as her mouth curled up into a smile, and I returned that smile as I stepped forward.

  “That is how I—” I started.

  But in one swift motion, Aria immediately drew her sword and aimed it at my face. The blade’s tip came an inch short from my face, and I blinked, unable to react for a moment.

  Then I recoiled and fell back to the ground as I blinked up at the Lady of Light.

  “Why are you pointing that thing at me? I just saved your life!” I practically shouted.

  “Because you’re the Death God!” Aria snapped back as she took a step forward. “And that’s my problem— why did you save me?”

  “Why are you complaining about that?” I backed away from her. “You should be thanking me— not trying to kill me! Because, again, I saved your life!”

  “And I already know that!” Aria said as she shook her head. “So stop repeating what I said and… and…”

  She paused. I blinked at her as she looked down at herself and muttered to herself.

  “Are we seriously doing this again?”

  It was a question that wasn’t even directed towards me. But even still, I piped up, frowning at her.

  “What do you mean by again?”

  “Nothing, it’s just… we really are…”

  The Lady of Light trailed off, not elaborating any further. I stared at her curiously, watching as she slowly lowered her blade. Her gaze darkened as she took in a deep breath.

  And Aria… burst out laughing.

  ***

  Was Aria crazy?

  This was her mortal enemy standing in front of her. Eli had just admitted that he was the reincarnation of the Death God— and even more than that, he claimed that he was quite literally Nox.

  So she shouldn’t be laughing. She shouldn’t be letting her guard down around him. In fact, she should be beheading him at this moment.

  But the Lady of Light couldn’t help but laugh. Because it was so reminiscent of their first encounter together, that was why she was laughing. Unfortunately for her, Nox… or Eli, just looked at her like she was a crazy person.

  Maybe it was because he forgot what happened when they first met. Or maybe he wasn’t even thinking about that— more concerned about not dying at the moment, especially since he was much weaker than her at the moment.

  It didn’t matter.

  Aria just laughed, and Eli just stared.

  Eventually though, the Lady of Light calmed herself down, wiping the tears from her face.

  “Sorry, sorry, I know that was sudden. But it’s just that…”

  Looking up, Aria stared at the white-haired boy. He looked so different from the man she remembered fighting— she recalled being friends with. But he was still so familiar.

  And that was why she laughed.

  “You really are Nox, aren’t you?” Aria said as she smiled at the [Healer] from Velmond.

  He just snorted at that. “Yes, yes I already said that three different times.”

  “Yes, yes you did,” the Lady of Light chuckled as she pulled up a seat.

  She plopped herself down next to a table and gestured for Eli to take a seat right across from her. He got to his feet and did as she directed, before she leant forward and peered at him.

  “So tell me, Nox, Eli, or whatever your name is—” Aria started.

  Eli scratched the back of his head at that. “You can call me anything you want in private, but please don’t call me Nox in public.”

  “I know, I’m not stupid.” Aria waved a hand dismissively, before meeting his gaze. “Tell me, what exactly happened that has led to this.”

  She gestured vaguely at him, and the reborn Death God sighed as he tilted his head back.

  “Alright, so… I guess I’ll start from the beginning, huh?”

  And he began to explain.