Just as the two were about to continue talking, something cut through the air
A faint hiss.
They both froze, glancing around, alert, trying to trace where it came from, but the moment they turned back to each other, Viola was gone from Ezekiel's sight, and Ezekiel vanished from Viola's.
It felt wrong.
"I swear Ezekiel was just here!"
"Viola? Viola, where are you?"
They called for each other, worry visible on their faces.
Ezekiel broke into a run, searching.
Viola did the same
This is bad... if we get separated, I can't activate my skill just for myself, because that means he won't be invisible to the monsters here.
They had already talked about this, and it was not a good idea for Ezekiel to kill anything right now, not when it could update the leaderboards and reveal that he was still alive.
The thought only made her chest tighten
"Ezekiel! Ezekiel, where are you?!"
Where is he?
It had been bright earlier, but now everything around her was dimming, the light fading as if something was swallowing it whole
Fog began to creep in, slow and thick, blurring her vision, but Viola kept moving, pushing forward, refusing to stop
Then, as she went deeper, she felt it.
Something heavy.
Something pressing against her chest.
"Viola..."
A voice.
She froze.
She knew that voice.
It was Ezekiel...
But something about it felt… wrong.
Slowly, she turned and she saw him.
Ezekiel.
No.
Not him.
The Ezekiel from her past life stood there, lifeless and broken, his body drenched in blood, limbs missing, his gaze fixed on her.
"Ah…!"
"Ezekiel…"
Everything came crashing down at once.
The memories.
The guilt.
The weight she had tried to bury tightening around her heart until it hurt to breathe.
"Why…?"
"Did you let me die…?"
"No… no, I— I'm sorry… I was late… and… and…"
Her voice broke as tears spilled endlessly, her thoughts unraveling as the past dragged her under again.
The whispers didn't stop.
They wrapped around her, soft and suffocating, sinking into her mind.
"You let me die…"
"Even though I saved you…"
"So why not follow me?"
"Then you can finally repay me… by coming to the afterlife…"
And slowly.
It moved closer.
Ezekiel—
No. Not Ezekiel.
The thing stepped toward her, its presence cold and ominous.
Its fingers lifted, brushing against her chin, forcing her to look at it.
At him.
Viola didn't resist.
She just stared, empty, tears falling without pause.
As if something inside her had already shattered.
"…Come with me…"
For a moment, her body leaned forward.
Her thoughts blurred.
Her chest tightened until it hurt—.
Then.
She flinched.
Her eyes snapped open.
No.
No.
That's not him.
Ezekiel would never say that.
He would never ask her to die.
Her fingers trembled as she forced herself to step back.
"You're not him…"
Her voice was weak, but steady.
"You're not Ezekiel"
The weight in her chest didn't disappear, but something inside her pushed back.
Even if it hurt and terrified her.
Because she knew.
Ezekiel would never look at her like that.
Everytime she looked at him his expression might have been cold but his gaze towards her were always warm.
"You're not Ezekiel"
Her voice shook, but she held on.
The thing in front of her went still.
Completely still.
Then.
It smiled.
It was too wide and unnatural.
The skin on its face twitched.
Crack.
A soft, sickening sound echoed through the fog.
Viola froze.
The figure began to distort, its head tilting at an impossible angle, its body jerking, twisting.
Bones shifted, snapped, ground against each other.
"No… no—".
She staggered back, her breath catching.
The blood coating its body didn't drip.
It slid.
Like it was alive.
Like it was never blood to begin with.
Then the illusion broke.
The shape of Ezekiel collapsed in on itself, folding, shrinking, tearing apart like it had never been human at all.
And from within.
Something crawled out.
A long, slick body slithered onto the ground.
A snake.
But not a normal one.
Its body was unnaturally long, its dark skin glistening as if wet, and along its sides were tiny legs.
They twitched and scraped against the ground as it moved.
Its head slowly lifted.
Turning toward Viola.
Its sharp eyes locked onto her and then it hissed
And suddenly spoke.
"What an interesting female…"
Before she could react, the snake coiled around her body, tightening just enough to trap, not crush.
It circled her slowly, still hissing, studying her as if she were something rare.
Viola stayed still and alert, daring not to move.
One wrong action might be the last.
"You…"
Its voice slithered into her ears.
"You smell like someone I know… and you…"
Its mouth stretched into something like a smile.
Then it burst into laughter.
"You're tainted by our world"
The coils tightened slightly.
Not enough to hurt but just enough to remind her.
That she wasn't free.
[Dungeon Boss Identified]
Name: The Temptation Serpent
Class: S+
Type: Illusion / Manipulation