Once Ashar had given the signal, Bethryl ran through the back entrance of the altar and back into the labyrinth of corridors.
If the Soldiers were already inside the temple, they likely understood the secret of the puzzle. With her Eye, Bethryl now understood which directions to take as well. They would probably be able to sense her presence, which meant there was only one way forward: she had to see ahead and choose the correct path before they could corner her.
Bethryl gazed into the possible timelines.
In each one, she saw herself turning a corner where a Soldier stood waiting to slaughter her.
There were no timelines in which she escaped the temple.
Even if she evaded them for now, she was still only human. The moment her body tired, the Soldiers would catch her, and her Eye would become useless.
There was a good chance now that Ashar, Issen, and Maereth would soon be dead.
"Why did I ever come out here?" she whispered. "I thought I was escaping something. But all I ever do is escape from one prison to another."
The timelines drew closer, showing her the only path that would delay her death.
But she followed it without any thrill of survival.
Since awakening her ability, Bethryl no longer lived within the world itself. She drifted through it like a dream. And now, in this moment of calamity, she would simply float along the path that fate had already written.
So Bethryl moved.
Her Eye had already revealed the secret place in the temple that the Soldiers had not discovered. The Alchemist had designed the labyrinth so that if someone entered the warps in a particular sequence, they would not be transported elsewhere within the temple, but to an entirely different location.
As Bethryl ran, her movements seemed nonsensical to the Soldiers closing in behind her.
Then suddenly—
she vanished.
When she emerged again, she stood at the edge of a mountain path beneath a red sky.
"Is this place… real?" she asked quietly.
She could see everything now.
Her mind could not yet withstand the strain for long, but in brief glimpses she could see the past and future of certain people before the visions reset.
She had seen Maereth's past and future.
She had always known about Issen's connection to the Underground Dwellings.
And Ashar…
She did not want to look too closely at his fate.
Because she already knew how it would end.
"I wish I had never left my home," she said softly.
"Then why did you leave?"
The voice came from somewhere far across the red-tinted mountains. Bethryl looked around but could not see anyone.
"Why did you leave?"
"To find the truth."
"No, my dear Bethryl. You are simply running away, just like all the others."
This was no illusion.
No dream.
Something was speaking to her.
Bethryl walked along the mountain path, comforted by the knowledge that the Soldiers would not be able to reach her here.
On the horizon, countless timelines stretched before her.
In one, she became a priestess who lived quietly among the mountains, telling wandering travelers their fortunes. Her name would become legend long after her passing.
In another, she became a tormentor who peered into the fates of the cursed and misled them with false prophecies, guiding them to their deaths in futile quests for power, revenge, and fortune.
Between those two possibilities lay endless chaos.
There was no middle path.
No matter where she walked, the burden would be extreme in ways no ordinary person could understand.
And yet, what were these timelines?
Were they truly her future?
No.
They were only dreams of what might be.
No matter which path she followed, she would only be running away from the truth.
But what was the truth?
"You have always been running away, haven't you, Bethryl?" the voice said.
"If only the world were as beautiful as the dreams we have."
"What are you talking about?" she asked.
"You did not leave to find the truth. The truth has always been around you."
At the end of the mountain path, a shadow waited.
Bethryl stared ahead, but she could see nothing of its past, present, or future.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"I am your friend," the shadow replied. "I have always been here. From the moment you first looked into the darkness out of morbid curiosity, I arose as your companion."
The shadow moved across the mountains as if it had always belonged in such empty places.
"I am Tomino," it said. "We will meet again one day. Until then, be safe."
Bethryl continued through the rocks and narrow crevices until she reached a gap in the stone.
In the next instant—
she was standing outside the Abandoned Kingdom.
"What was that place?" she murmured. "Who could possibly create something like it?"
But then she remembered why she had escaped.
Ashar had allowed her to flee so she could find a way to help them.
Yes, that had to be it.
For now, she would retreat. Perhaps somewhere in the surrounding caverns she might find something useful.
A footstep sounded behind her.
"Axiom Strangler!"
In an instant, her mind reacted faster than her body. A rope of energy wrapped around her and yanked her off balance.
"Let me go!" she shouted.
"One pulse, and you're dead," a voice replied. "So stay still."
Bethryl felt a surge of anger at herself. She had lost concentration and forgotten to use her Eye.
But the anger quickly faded when she realized how many people surrounded her.
All around her were figures radiating Axiom energy and murderous intent.
"Who are you?" she asked. "What do you want?"
"We sensed the signal of an Eye user and came to help."
"Are you with the Faceless Soldiers?"
The group burst into laughter.
The tall, blonde man who had captured her knelt down in front of her.
"What is your name?" he asked.
"Bethryl."
"Nice to meet you, Bethryl."
He smiled.
"We are the Shadow Clan."