Location: Gyeongbokgung Palace – Secret Multiverse Gate, Real Korea
The room was dimly lit, silent but tense. Ancient engravings glowed faintly as the portal hummed, gathering energy like a living, breathing entity. Lee Gon stood at the edge, dressed in the royal black uniform—his sword strapped to his back, a pendant clutched tightly in his palm.
"To retrieve the heart that was taken from me… I must enter a world where I don't belong."
He looked back one last time at the palace that bore his memories—and hers.
"Dephnie… Wait for me."
And he stepped in.
Location: Alternate Korea—Seoul, Yeouido Park PM
Dephnie sat under the cherry blossom trees, her journal open but blank. The wind carried the faint scent of spring, children played nearby, and people passed by living normal lives. But she… was lost.
"In this world… I'm safe. Loved. Normal. But why does it feel like I've forgotten something vital—like I'm missing half of my soul?"
She touched the pendant around her neck—one she didn't remember buying. A tear rolled down her cheek. Her memories were colliding, like two oceans crashing into each other.
Suddenly, the world shimmered—just for a second.
A flash of gold.
And then… he appeared.
Lee Gon.
He was taller than she remembered. More tired. Wounded… but burning with purpose.
He stood across from her, under the cherry blossom tree, just watching.
Dephnie froze.
"Do I… know you?"
His eyes didn't leave hers.
"No," he replied softly, stepping closer. "But I know you. In a thousand ways, across a hundred timelines. And I came here… because the universe forgot you—but I didn't."
Dephnie's heart twisted.
Suddenly, flashes of her past flickered in her mind—her first dance at the palace, the rainy night he kissed her, the battle in Busan… the clock tower.
She gasped.
"Lee Gon…"
Location: Rift Realm (Between Realities)
The creature screamed.
"She is remembering!"
Its form splintered, mirror pieces shaking as a crack tore through the void.
"If she regains her memories, this universe will collapse. Only one can remain. The thread cannot hold both!"
It began unravelling timelines violently—faster than before.
Location: Alternate Korea – Seoul Sky Tower
Lee Gon and Dephnie stood at the top of the tower, watching the skyline distort in slow motion. Time glitches blinked around them—billboards froze, birds flew backward, and a dog barked in reverse.
"The universes are overlapping," Lee Gon said, gripping her hand. "This world was never meant to exist permanently. You're from the other side. But so am I now. If we don't choose one world to stay in… both will collapse."
Dephnie's eyes widened.
"Then what do we do?"
He looked at her. Not as a king. Not as a saviour. But as a man in love.
"We destroy the gate between worlds… and we decide where we want to live. Together."
Location: Busan – Temporal Gate Ruins
With Woo-jin's help, they traced the central rift to a lighthouse hidden in Busan's coastal cliffs—where the original gate was accidentally opened when Dephnie was a child.
The ground trembled.
The creature now appeared before them—a figure made of shadows, void, and flickering images of Dephnie's alternate lives.
It hissed.
"You were never meant to be royalty… never meant to love him."
But Dephnie stepped forward, fearless.
"Maybe not. But I did. And I'll fight to keep that memory real."
Final Scene: Between Life and Memory
Lee Gon stabbed the blade into the base of the gate. Dephnie channeled her pendant—now glowing with both their energies—into the rift. As the portal began collapsing, the creature screamed and disintegrated into stardust.
All timelines imploded into one… and then—
Silence.
Location: Jeju Island Villa – Real Korea
Sunlight streamed through the open windows. The sound of waves crashing played in the background.
Dephnie opened her eyes slowly.
Lee Gon lay beside her, asleep, his hand wrapped in hers.
Photos lined the wall—of their wedding in the palace gardens, of her as queen, of Woo-jin holding their baby.
She smiled.
"We chose the right universe."
Episode 18 End