It was getting cold.

Liquid ice slipped through your blood flow and ran through your veins, slowly but surely reaching your core. You could feel your heart slowing down and your vision starting to blur. A hushed please fell from your lips, but it landed on deaf ears. Death was approaching and there was nothing you could do to stop it, not when golden threads bound your hands together.

Your companion, Dan Heng, was in no better situation than you were in right now. Castorice's hands enveloped yours, her killing touch granting you both the merciful death that Aglaea had deemed suitable for you. You hadn't passed her test, even if you tried. After all, you had, to some degree, betrayed her trust and this — this was punishment.

It was hard to keep standing, your knees wobbling, your vision darkening, the faint smell of flowers luring you towards your sweet demise. Another few seconds now and it would all end.

"Wait—!" Castorice's hands let go of yours and Dan Heng's as she stepped back. A third person had made their appearance and just in time — Phainon. His ocean eyes locked onto yours for a moment, wide with an emotion you couldn't quite place, not in your sluggish state. He shook his head, then eyed Aglaea. "This story cannot just end like that. Not even someone as ruthless as Thanatos would end a journey so hurriedly, Aglaea, listen to reason."

His walked forward and for a moment, just a moment, it looked like he was about to grab onto your shoulder and steady you. Instead, he clenched them by his side. "I trust them. Though I, too, have been suspicious at first, I now trust their motives. At present, Okhema is desperate for aid, and I am loath to lose two allies just like that."

His resolve stood unshakable, his expression almost uncharacteristically sharp and grim. But he trusted you, enough to place his life in your hands during the battle that took place earlier. He trusted you enough to go against Aglaea's words, enough to bargain for your second chance. He trusted you.