My mind drifted — hazy, unmoored — and then, slowly, my consciousness resurfaced.

  I found myself somewhere I definitely shouldn't be.

  Darkness all around. A void stretching endlessly in every direction. I was drifting — no ground beneath me, no sky above, no sense of where I was going or how I'd arrived.

  Then a voice cut through the silence.

  "So you've come."

  A figure emerged from the dark, approaching slowly. I couldn't move. Couldn't speak. I could only watch as she drew closer — and then I understood who she was.

  Josephine von Konrow.

  She was exactly as I had imagined her from the novel. Mysterious. Composed. A bearing that filled the space around her with something imperious and magnetic all at once. But her eyes — her eyes held a vulnerability that undid everything else.

  "I know you're here without warning..." she said.

  She stopped in front of me and held my cheek, gently. "But thank you. Because of you, I understood the futility of my efforts."

  A bitter smile.

  "It was the same for both of us, wasn't it? And before either of us realized it, we became the 'Josephine' we are now."

  The smile faded into something quieter. Sadder.

  "Just as you realized you came from another world — I realized that I am Park Kim Yoora. Your memories intertwined with mine, and mine with yours." She looked at me steadily. "We are both 'Josephine' and 'Park Kim Yoora' at the same time."

  "So. Thank you. Because now I know — I will never be loved by anyone."

  Is she talking about the novel?

  "I've seen your life too. You kept going, didn't you? That's why I think you'll be fine."

  How could someone so villainous make such a sorrowful face? The pain in her eyes was almost too much to look at directly.

  "This is where my journey ends." She turned away and walked forward — into nothing. "...From now on, it is your path to take."

  No.

  I fought to move. My body wouldn't respond — rooted, paralyzed, completely useless. But the desperation clawing up my chest was anything but still.

  She was going to cast herself away!

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  If the gods are listening — please. Let me reach her.

  A pillar of light exploded around me.

  And suddenly I could move. I could see myself — my real self — and I ran.

  I crossed the void and tackled her with everything I had.

  "What?!?"

  We hit the ground — or whatever this place had instead of ground — and I pinned her down before she could disappear. She stared up at me, completely bewildered.

  "Don't you want revenge?"

  "What?" She blinked.

  "You learned your own fate and you're just — accepting it?! Like someone who gave up on everything?! Who do you think you are?"

  "What are you—"

  "Be selfish, dammit! Does your whole life have to revolve around people who never even looked at you?"

  "What would you know?!" she snapped, anger finally flaring through the grief.

  "Everything! You keep looking elsewhere and missing what's right in front of you!"

  She sobbed — hard, ugly, unrestrained. "Then what am I supposed to do...?"

  "I know what." I pulled her into a hug and held on. "We're going to show every single one of those bastards exactly what they failed to recognize."

  Silence.

  Then — "Pfff... hahaha!"

  She was laughing. Actually laughing, through the tears, like she couldn't help it.

  She wiped her face and held out her pinky finger.

  "Then show me what I failed to do."

  I linked mine with hers without hesitation.

  "Now."

  We said it together.

  The light that poured from that small, ridiculous gesture was blinding. Warm. It filled the void completely.

  "I will be you, and you will be me."

  [Impossible feat! Two souls are now being fused into one!]

  When the light faded, Josephine was gone — and yet she wasn't. I could feel her still, woven into me somewhere beneath the surface. When I looked down at the mirror-like floor, I saw it: our faces, merged into one.

  [Due to the fusion of souls, the weak link between the gods strengthens!]

  What does that even mean?

  [You can now access the Faith Shop!]

  Faith — what?

  [The gods request an audience.]

  A golden window opened. The endless black void transformed around me — starry skies blooming in every direction — and towering figures materialized above, vast and unhurried.

  They had arrived.

  "Uh..."

  [Xipe: So this is what our avatar looks like?]

  [Hecatia: What a poor soul. If only we could have reached them sooner.]

  [God's Meeting Room — 2/2]

  [The other gods scream in frustration.]

  "I'm sorry — what exactly is happening?"

  [Xipe: Were you not expecting this? You read plenty of stories like this, didn't you?]

  I did, but...

  [Hecatia: I think they're simply overwhelmed, Xipe-sama. They only recently awakened, after all.]

  [Xipe: Is that so?]

  [Hecatia: Yes so.]

  [Xipe: ...Alright.]

  Are they a couple or something?

  [Hecatia: Listen, our child. This may be a lot to take in — but pay no mind to our bickering.]

  [Xipe: To speak plainly — a child of the stars has been born into this world.]

  [Hecatia: He simply means you came from another world.]

  [Xipe: ...This world has no predetermined fate. Only one's actions shape the outcome.]

  [Hecatia: But you are an anomaly we must keep close watch over.]

  [Xipe: Initially, we only observed. But now that you have established a connection with us, you may interact with us freely.]

  [Xipe: In that way, we can observe your actions in accordance with our will.]

  [Hecatia: Don't listen to him. We all just want to pamper you.]

  [Xipe: You...!]

  Pfff—!

  I thought gods were supposed to be omniscient. Weren't they at least supposed to be a little more dignified about it?

  [Hecatia: It seems our child finds our bickering amusing.]

  [Xipe: It seems our time here is running short...]

  The light around us began to grow — slowly at first, then all at once.

  [Hecatia: We only hope that you find happiness, our child.]

  The radiance swelled until it was everything.

  And then I woke up.