All Chapters of Not the One at the End of the Path: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

"Seraphine, please… I'm begging you. You're the only one who can save this world."The system's light orb trembled wildly in front of me, as if it might shatter at any second."Caspian has gone insane. He's going to blow up the World Core. He said if he doesn't see you, he'll drag everyone down with him."I sat in the void, watching the data stream collapse in slow motion.Two years ago, I failed the mission. In exchange for breaking free of the quest and returning to my original world, I gave up the ability to feel any emotion.Now, I felt nothing—no joy, no anger, no sorrow, no love. And there was certainly no hatred, no obsession, and no desire.It was as if my heart had become a bottomless cup. No matter what was poured into it, nothing would stay."I can return," I said at last, my voice calm. "But he's a madman. I don't have emotions anymore and can't respond to him.""And that's fine!" The system reassured me quickly. "As long as you're there, it's enough! Just keep him

Caspian began to grow restless. He couldn't stand the way nothing fazed me.So, he changed tactics. To trigger me, he started to indulge Thalia on purpose, letting her cross lines just to provoke me.That night, she stayed in his study until late. I brought him a glass of milk, and when I pushed the door open, I saw her sitting on his lap, wearing his shirt.Caspian noticed me, but he didn't push Thalia away. Instead, he looked straight at me, like he was challenging me.I stood at the doorway and watched the scene. Yet my heart remained unmoved.Had this been two years ago, I would've cried, made a scene, and shouted at him without holding back. Now, all I could think about was how uncomfortable their position looked and how the milk was getting cold."Sorry to interrupt," I said as I walked in and set the glass on the desk. I even closed the half-open window for them. "It gets windy at night, so don't catch a cold. Carry on."I turned and left, closing the door behind me.The

The factory doors were violently kicked open. Dust and debris billowed into the air.Backlit by the harsh light outside, Caspian stood tall and tense as he rushed in like the knight saving the damsel in distress—except that it was all practiced.He screamed my name, his voice carrying a mix of urgency and rehearsed devotion.In his imagined version of this moment, I would be huddled in a corner, shaking and broken. I would then cry and run into his arms. He would hold me tightly, tell me he had been late, and everything would somehow return to the way it was before.Yet, what greeted him instead was silence.My body lay limp on the cold concrete floor, unmoving. My clothes were torn from the earlier struggle and assault, and there were bruises covering my exposed skin.My face was deathly pale, and my eyes were tightly closed. A faint trace of dried blood remained at the corner of my lips.A few of the men stood nearby, frozen in place. The earlier chaos had already shifted into

Caspian bent down and placed an extremely gentle, almost reverent kiss at the corner of my lips. Then, he turned and walked into the basement. There, Thalia and the kidnappers were tied to the chairs.What happened next was something even the system found so gruesome that it had to censor in its own display.There was no need for prolonged questioning. The men, terrified out of their minds, told Caspian everything they knew just to stay alive.They described how Thalia contacted them, provided the drugs, and instructed them to assault me and record everything. They even repeated her malicious words with disturbing accuracy.Piece by piece, the truth was laid bare. There was no room left for doubt.Thalia screamed through tears, "I did it for you, Caspian! That woman didn't even love you! She was no different from a robot! Only by destroying her could you make her finally rely on you! That was what we agreed on! You wanted this for her!"Those words landed like a final verdict. In

With 50 million dollars in hand, I quit my nine-to-five job that took up all my time. Then, I spent a full year traveling. I saw the northern lights, went skydiving, and dove deep into the ocean.I tried every kind of extreme activity just to feel how alive I truly was.Every time my heart raced, I would think of that lifeless villa from that world, and then I would inhale even deeper, as if I was trying to prove to myself that I was truly free.It was during one of those trips that I met Grant Miller.He wasn't some typical CEO, nor was he a twisted, obsessive man. Instead, he was just a landscape photographer, with a warm smile and steady hands.We met under the northern lights. He handed me a cup of hot cocoa and asked with a smile, "Are you cold?"At that moment, I didn't respond as I used to in that scripted world. I just pulled my scarf tighter around me, smiled, and said, "Freezing. Come on, share it with me."Somehow, things progressed naturally from there. We fell in lo