1 The system had made me a promise: complete the mission, and the man I loved would live again. For that promise, I poured every ounce of my heart into the dark, twisted soul of Orion, the villain of this world. I endured ninety-nine deaths without ever flinching. But on my one-hundredth life, to please the woman he worshipped, he threw me to a psychopath. “You can’t die anyway,” he’d said, his voice casual. “As long as it makes Serena happy, I don’t even mind marrying you.” He would never know the system’s hidden rule: if I completed all one hundred attempts, my love would be revived, no matter the outcome. And as of this moment, I was about to vanish from his world forever, without a trace. … [Host has died 99 times. Hidden reward unlocked. Upon 100th death triggered by the target, reward will be automatically disbursed: Resurrection of Noah.] I opened my eyes to the cold floor, the large pool of blood around me already dry and cracked. I had come to this world to win over Orion, all to bring back my love, Noah. I was an orphan, adrift in a world that never wanted me. It was Noah who pulled me from the darkness. So when the system told me I could resurrect him by capturing Orion’s heart, I agreed without a second’s hesitation. I gave Orion everything. Even as he tortured me, I showed him nothing but unwavering devotion. He knew I was a player in this game, that I would be reborn after every death. He used that knowledge to inflict every cruelty imaginable, showing me no mercy. On my ninety-ninth life, he took me to a fashion show for Serena, his untouchable goddess. As he watched her on the runway, his eyes full of adoration, he humiliated me, treating me like a dog at his feet. I sat there in silence, enduring it all, refusing to leave his side. Halfway through the show, the ceiling collapsed. Shards of glittering glass rained down. Without thinking, I threw myself over Orion, letting the glass pierce my body. He shoved me off and ran—not to me, but to Serena, who stood untouched a few feet away. No one noticed me as the venue emptied. With a shard of glass buried deep in my heart, I welcomed my ninety-ninth death. It was alright. After this rebirth, I only had to die one more time, and I would have Noah back. I had barely staggered to my feet when Orion’s call came through. “Are you up? Serena and I are at City Center Hospital. Make some soup and bring it over. Now.” His voice was laced with impatience, as if every word spoken to me was an agony. The fact that I had just died for him didn’t move him in the slightest. I dragged my broken body home. Without even changing my blood-soaked clothes, I started making the soup. He was always like this, demanding that the food be made by my hand. If he found a single flaw, he’d throw the entire container, soup and all, in my face. In my sixty-seventh life, he’d scalded my face so badly it left a permanent scar. He just laughed. “What do you care? You’ll just die and reset anyway.” When I arrived at the hospital, carrying the thermos, Orion was gently tending to Serena as she lay in bed. He scowled the moment he saw me. “You didn’t even change? What if you bring germs in here?” Serena patted his hand softly, then gave me an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry, Aurora. Orion is just worried about me.” 2 On the surface, she was defending me. But her eyes held a clear, sharp glint of mockery. Orion took the thermos, ladled out a spoonful of soup, blew on it, and brought it to Serena’s lips. She had barely swallowed when she began to cough violently. Orion panicked, patting her back frantically until her coughing subsided. Her eyes, misty with tears, drifted to the thermos. “I’m… allergic to lemon.” I stood frozen, watching her. I knew her dietary restrictions better than her own doctor. But if she decided, in this exact moment, that she was allergic to lemon, there was nothing I could do. Orion spun around, his face a mask of fury. He snatched the thermos and flung the scalding soup into my face. “Are you trying to kill her? Is that your plan? You think if Serena’s gone, you can take her place?” The heat was searing, as if it were peeling my skin away. I bit my lip, fighting back the agony, and whispered a single, slow word. “Sorry.” It didn’t matter what I said. He would never believe me. Better to just let him be the cause of my final death so I could go home. Serena watched my humiliation with a triumphant glint in her eyes before her expression melted back into one of tearful fragility. She tugged on Orion’s sleeve. “Orion, stop. Aurora didn’t mean it.” He shot me one last cold glare. “Clean it up.” I knelt, my hands stinging as shards of glass from the shattered thermos cut into my palms. I cleaned up the mess with my bare hands, as if I couldn’t feel the pain. For some reason, this seemed to agitate Orion even more. He yanked me roughly to my feet. “Can’t you use a broom? Who are you trying to play the victim for?” He shoved me aside and called for a janitor. Serena watched us, a deep frown creasing her brow, before she deftly changed the subject. “Orion, darling, you haven’t told Aurora about the dress for the exhibition yet, have you?” Orion glanced at me, his voice flat. “Serena needs a hand-stitched silk gown for next month’s gala. You’ll make it for her.” I had learned the art of intricate silk embroidery from a master artisan. It was a delicate, beautiful craft, but it was excruciating for the eyes. In my forty-sixth life, I’d worked day and night on a piece for him, all because of an offhand joke he’d made. That time, I had died from pure exhaustion, my vision permanently damaged upon revival. The doctors had warned me against any work that strained my eyes. Orion knew this. He just didn’t care. I looked at him, my eyes filled with nothing but pure, unadulterated love. “Of course. I’ll do it.” He seemed taken aback, almost flustered by the intensity of my gaze. He looked away awkwardly. “After you finish Serena’s dress… I’ll take you abroad to see a specialist.” “It’s okay, Orion. I would do anything for you. You don’t have to feel guilty.” He stared into my eyes, and for the first time, a flicker of something—emotion, perhaps—stirred in their cold depths. But I didn’t have time to care about whether he’d fix my eyes. Once I left this world, none of it would matter. Orion’s lips parted as if he were about to say more, but Serena cried out, clutching her head. “Orion…” He spun back to her instantly, forgetting I was even in the room. I had no interest in staying anyway. I returned to my small apartment and began to work. 3 If I was lucky, I’d die from exhaustion, just like last time. I couldn’t wait to see Noah again. I had been away from him for far, far too long. The embroidery required absolute concentration. A single misplaced stitch could ruin the entire piece. The design for Serena’s gown was incredibly complex, and I worked almost without sleep. My eyes were webbed with crimson threads of exhaustion. A dull throb started behind my temples. The world swam before my eyes, and I fainted, not even noticing the name “Orion” lighting up my phone screen. In my dream, a large, warm hand touched my forehead. I thought I had died, that I was finally back in my own world. I opened my eyes, my voice choked with joy. “Noah!” But the eyes I met were not Noah’s. They were Orion’s, narrowed and dangerous. “Noah. Who is that?” His grip on my wrist tightened. He repeated the question, his voice low and menacing. “Who is Noah?” I didn’t know what to say. I scrambled for a lie. “He was… a celebrity I used to have a crush on. I was dreaming about him.” It was a pathetic excuse, but after a few seconds of tense silence, he seemed to buy it. After all, my love for him was absolute. I had died for him ninety-nine times. How could I possibly have anyone else in my heart? “You certainly have time for fantasies.” He released my wrist, his expression turning cold again. The sharp click of high heels echoed from the doorway. It was Serena. She froze when she saw me with Orion. “Aurora, Orion told me you fainted working on the dress. I came as soon as I heard. I’m so sorry, this is all my fault.” She looked down, feigning guilt. Orion immediately jumped to her defense. “It has nothing to do with you. Aurora agreed to do it. She has to finish what she starts.” His tone was mocking, cruel. “After all, her pathetic life is meant to be in service to you. If I told her to die, she’d probably do it without a second thought.” His words meant nothing to me, but I had to play my part. I looked at him, my expression a mask of heartbreak and forced resignation. “Yes, Orion. I would do anything you ask. I came to this world for you.” His pupils dilated. He looked almost… panicked. He grabbed Serena and pulled her from the room, tossing a final command over his shoulder. “Just get the dress done. You don’t have to kill yourself over it.” That was new. He had never cared about my life before. I shook my head, pushing the thought away. I had to die, and soon. And I knew Serena would give me the opportunity I needed. She projected an image of angelic purity, but underneath she was venomous and selfish. She claimed she only wanted to be like a sister to Orion, but she ruthlessly destroyed anyone who got close to him. When I stood up, I realized I was on Orion’s private yacht. I walked out onto the deck. In the distance, Orion and his friends were having a party. I stood at the prow, staring at the moon, the ache for Noah growing deeper with every passing second. “There you are, Aurora.” Serena approached, a glass of champagne in her hand, a sweet smile on her face. It was a smile full of malice. “Your little tricks seem to be working. Orion’s been so much softer on you lately. But it’s a waste of time. You’ll never take him from me. Do you really think he could ever love you? With a snap of my fingers, he’d toss you aside without a second thought.” She slowly backed toward the railing, a wicked grin spreading across her face. “Aurora, what do you think he would do if he knew you pushed me overboard out of jealousy? Do you think he’d tear you limb from limb?” Before I could react, she let out a piercing scream and threw herself over the side and into the dark water. Orion was there in an instant. He dove into the sea without hesitation. A lifeboat was lowered, and soon they were both back on deck. Serena slowly came to, clutching Orion’s sleeve, her face streaked with tears. “Orion, don’t blame Aurora… she just loves you so much… I can understand. It’s all my fault.” Every eye on the yacht turned to me. “I always thought Aurora was a pathetic lapdog, but it turns out she’s a vicious one.” “She pushed Serena overboard? Everyone knows Serena is the center of Orion’s universe.” “Who the hell does Aurora think she is?” Orion’s gaze, dark and murderous, fell on me. I knew that look. It was the look he always had right before he killed me. He had two of his men drag me to a ten-foot-tall glass water tank on the deck. I can’t swim. I thrashed wildly as they threw me in. Orion looked at me as if I were already dead. “Who gave you the right to touch Serena? It seems I’ve been too lenient with you.” The foul water filled my nose and mouth. My survival instinct kicked in, and I fought my way toward the surface, but he ordered his men to keep adding more water. Laughter echoed around me, a distorted, buzzing sound in my ears. That’s right. This was it. This was my purpose. Once I died, I would see Noah. I stopped fighting. My body sank to the bottom of the tank. Orion saw my stillness and assumed it was another act. “Stop pretending, Aurora. You think this will make me let you go?” “Aurora? Aurora!” I didn’t move. “AURORA! Drain the tank! Now!” I dreamed of a life where the car crash never happened. A life where Noah and I got married, had a child. A perfect, simple life. I woke up to find Orion staring down at me, his eyes a mixture of worry and forced indifference. I looked away, a wave of disappointment washing over me. I wasn’t dead yet. “Such a clever little game, Aurora. Push Serena into the sea, then pretend to drown yourself. Were you hoping I’d feel sorry for you?” “No, Orion. I just… didn’t know what else to do.” My weak, breathless state, in his eyes, was just proof of how hopelessly I loved him. “Serena is willing to forgive you. On one condition. She’s funding a psychological experiment. They need a subject to spend one day alone in a room with a… psychopath. Don’t worry, it’s all perfectly safe. You’ll be fine.” When I didn’t answer, he frowned. “You harmed Serena—” “I’ll do it, Orion. For you, I’ll do anything.” From the moment I met him, this was the role I played. A woman so gentle, so devoted, that he was my entire world. He never believed it, so he hurt me again and again, and I just kept coming back, determined to prove my love. He reached out and gently touched my cheek. “I promise you. After this, we’ll get married.” I lowered my head and nodded. I already knew how I would die this time. And there would be no one to stop me. I entered the room. Outside, a team of researchers monitored everything. I gave Orion one last smile and stepped inside. For some reason, a sharp pain lanced through his heart. He had a sudden, overwhelming urge to stop me. But then he looked at Serena, and he hardened his resolve. It was fine. It would all be over soon. He would marry me. He would make it up to me. After all this time, he was finally realizing that a life with me… might actually be a good thing. Inside, I played along for a few hours, dodging the deranged man’s attacks to avoid suspicion. Finally, he cornered me. As the ax swung toward my head, I didn’t flinch. I smiled and met it head-on. Blood pooled on the floor. [Ding! 100th death recorded. Reward disbursed. Host is now being transported back to the real world!] “AURORA!” In my final moment, I saw Orion burst into the room, his face a mask of horror as he ran toward my body. But this time, there was no one left to answer him.
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