I was furious.
The moment the door opened, I stepped inside without hesitation.
Darkness swallowed me whole.
The air was thick, unmoving, almost suffocating. For a second, I couldn't see anything. Then, faint candlelight flickered somewhere deeper inside the room, casting long, trembling shadows across the walls.
I moved forward cautiously.
Dozens of large candles burned across the room, their thick wax bodies melting slowly, dripping onto the floor like pale tears. The flames swayed restlessly, casting long, distorted shadows that climbed the walls and disappeared into the darkness above.
As my eyes adjusted, I realized this wasn't an ordinary room. Ancient charts and heavy books were piled everywhere—scattered across the floor, pressed against the walls, stacked in uneven towers that looked ready to collapse at any moment. Their covers were red, black, and dark orange, as if stained by fire… or something far darker.
They looked heavy. Too heavy. Not just in weight, but in presence. The wooden floor beneath them creaked and groaned under the pressure, each sound echoing sharply in the silence.
This wasn't a library.
It felt like a storage vault for something forbidden—something that should never be opened.
And there, sitting on the floor among the towering stacks, illuminated by the trembling candlelight, was Alexander
.
"Alexander," I called softly.
"Yes, Cristina," he replied, pausing as if he had just remembered something. "Actually… I forgot to ask. How did you even get permission to come here?"
"Don't ask," I muttered under my breath. "Lucian is… insane. A demon. I've seen what he is."
Alexander let out a quiet chuckle. "You'll learn how to deal with him."
"I doubt that," I replied dryly.
"Well," he said with a faint smile, "congratulations on your part-time job."
"Thanks," I answered. "So… are you happy working here?"
"Yes," he said calmly, without hesitation. "At least I don't have to face the boss. I just do my work. When my hour ends, I sit on that chair, and the payment appears in my hand automatically. Then I vanish back to my world. Simple."
"That's… nice," I said. "At least you don't have to deal with a demon's attitude."
He looked at me sharply. "What?"
"Nothing," I muttered, avoiding his gaze.
"I said, Alexander… what exactly do you do here?"
He looked at me for a long moment before answering. "If I tell you, you won't believe me."
"Try me," I said firmly.
Alexander exhaled slowly. "You know heaven and hell exist, right?"
I nodded. "Yes."
"Suppose someone dies," he continued. "Their soul goes to heaven or hell, depending on their karma. The same soul."
"That's what everyone believes," I replied.
"But what if," he said quietly, "their stay there is only temporary? What if, after a limited time, that soul returns to Earth… is reborn… lives again… dies again… and the process repeats?"
I stared at him. "Cristina, what are you saying?"
"I'm saying it's true," Alexander replied calmly. "The same soul can go to heaven or hell multiple times across different lifetimes."
The candle flames flickered as if reacting to his words.
"So," he continued, lifting one of the heavy books beside him, "my job is to maintain the records. Every soul has a file. I track how many times it has descended into hell, how long it stayed there, and when it returned to Earth. Every cycle. Every return."
A cold chill slid down my spine.
"You're telling me," I whispered, glancing at the towering stacks around us, "that these books contain the history of souls?"
"Yes," Alexander said quietly.
I was too stunned to speak.
My mind struggled to process everything he had just said. Souls. Records. Hell. Cycles. It felt unreal — and yet the weight of the room made it impossible to dismiss.
Alexander watched my expression carefully.
"Cristina," he said more seriously now, "there's one more important thing. I hope Sir told you about it. In this cabin, time works differently."
I blinked. "What do you mean?"
"I have to leave at two o'clock," Alexander explained calmly. "And you leave at three."
I frowned. "What?"
"That's my exit time," he continued. "The moment I leave, that door will close. After that, you won't be able to return to your cabin."
A cold unease crept into my chest.
"If you're still here when I go," he added quietly, "the door will never open for you again. Your soul will burn here… and this cabin itself will vanish."
My breath caught. "Vanish?"
"Yes," he said. "This place exists only while I'm here. It holds very important data. That's why only I'm allowed inside. No one else."
Alexander looked at me seriously.
"Everything here is different," he said. "This place has rules. And the rules are not meant to be broken."
Silence followed.
Somewhere in the room, the clock ticked once.
"So you can only come here when I'm in my cabin. Got it?"
I nodded.
"Yes."
We both turned toward the clock.
1:58.
The ticking suddenly felt louder than before.
Alexander's expression changed instantly.
"You need to go now, Cristina." .
"Go," he repeated, more firmly this time. "Now."
My heart began pounding in my chest. Without wasting another second, I turned and ran toward the door.
"Meet you tomorrow!" I called over my shoulder. "Bye!"
I reached the gate the moment my foot touched the other side—
The gate slammed shut behind me.
I was running fast, scared.
When I reached the cabin gate, Lucian was standing there with his back facing me.
I said, "Lucian…" but suddenly one of my feet slipped. I was about to fall forward onto my face, so I closed my eyes.
Lucian stepped backward and bent slightly. Instead of falling to the floor, my entire body landed against him.
My head rested on his back shoulder. My chest pressed against his back, just below his shoulders. It felt as if I had hugged him from behind.