"Do you really think he'd be happy like this?"
Lana's voice trembled, but her eyes remained firm.
For a brief moment—
Iris was silent.
Then Lana suddenly pulled the knife from her wounded palm and lunged forward.
"Die!"
The blade sliced through Iris—
But passed through her body like smoke.
Lana froze.
"What…?"
Iris tilted her head.
"Why would you think I'm really here with you," she said calmly, "instead of being with my love?"
Lana stepped back, gripping the knife tightly.
"Then… who are you?"
A smile appeared on Iris's face.
"This white realm is special."
She slowly walked forward.
"If someone enters here, they experience the world they desire most."
Lana frowned.
"And if they die here…"
Iris's smile widened.
"They relive that same day over and over again."
"Forever."
Lana's eyes widened.
"…But I don't desire you."
"I know," Iris replied softly.
"You don't desire an old woman."
Lana blinked.
"…Old?"
Iris laughed faintly.
"Yes."
"In this realm, time moves differently."
She touched her own face.
"Only five years have passed for me here… but mentally, I'm already seventy-nine."
Lana stared at her.
"If someone enters alive, their body ages normally. But the mind…" Iris smiled darkly. "…the mind suffers eternity."
Lana narrowed her eyes.
"You know you're old… and yet you still love a young guy?"
Before she could finish—
BAM!
A hammer slammed into the back of her head.
Lana collapsed.
Iris stood over her, now holding a massive hammer.
"I may be old mentally," she said coldly, "but I can still give him everything he wants."
Lana coughed blood.
"That's still not love—"
Before she could finish—
A second hammer appeared.
Iris raised both.
Then brought them down violently onto Lana's face.
Again.
And again.
And again.
The white world echoed with sickening impacts.
Elsewhere—
Null slowly opened his eyes.
His hands and legs were tied tightly with rope.
He looked up.
Blue was asleep nearby.
They were inside some abandoned wooden structure.
Dust covered everything.
Only one weak door stood at the entrance.
Null frowned.
How is he sleeping after beating me half to death?
And why keep me alive?
Then—
He noticed movement near the door.
A little girl peeked at him.
It was the same child from the street.
Null lowered his voice.
"Shh…"
He gestured carefully.
"Come here… help me…"
The child stared.
Then ran away.
Null blinked.
"…Great. I scared her."
He sighed inwardly.
I need another way to untie myself—
Suddenly—
The girl returned.
She was dragging an adult man by the hand.
"Charlotte, what are you doing?" the man asked.
Then he saw Null.
His eyes widened.
"…Null?"
Null's own eyes widened.
"…Max?"
The man rushed forward and untied him.
Null stared.
"What are you doing here?"
The girl tugged Max's sleeve.
"Dad, help him!"
Both men froze.
Null slowly looked at the child.
Then at Max.
"…Dad?"
Max sighed.
"First, her name is Charlotte."
He glanced away awkwardly.
"And yes… she's my daughter."
Null stared in disbelief.
"You became a dad when?!"
"Don't ask."
Before Null could say anything else—
Blue's eyes snapped open.
In one movement, he grabbed Charlotte and pressed a blade to her throat.
"Move," Blue hissed, "and she'll never see tomorrow's sun."
Null's body tensed.
But before he could act—
BANG.
A gunshot.
Blue's shoulder exploded.
His eyes widened—
BANG.
A bullet tore through his head.
BANG.
Chest.
BANG.
Leg.
BANG.
Another shot.
Blue collapsed instantly.
Blood pooled beneath him.
Charlotte ran into Max's arms.
Null stared.
"…Is he dead?"
Max calmly lowered the gun.
"If somehow he survives that, the poison in those bullets will melt his body."
Null exhaled.
"…What's with the gun?"
Max shrugged.
"We're not exactly great with magic."
He glanced at Blue's corpse seriously.
Then his expression darkened.
"…Wait."
"If Blue is dead…"
His face paled.
"…Then who's going to tell us where my sister is?"
Null froze.
"…Lana."
Max's eyes widened.
"What happened to her?"
Back in the white realm—
Iris was breathing heavily.
Her shoulders trembled.
"…Why are you still alive?"
Lana lay on the ground.
Her face was crushed beyond recognition.
Barely human.
And yet—
She was still breathing.
Too broken to answer.
But alive.
Far away—
On top of a skyscraper—
Leo stood beside the real Iris.
Below them stretched a modern city of glass towers and sunlight.
Cars moved below.
People walked busy streets.
A normal world.
Leo stared quietly.
Iris smiled softly.
"Look, Leo."
"This is the world you desired."
"We can stay here forever."
Leo was silent.
Then—
"…It isn't real."
Iris's smile faded.
After a long silence, she nodded.
"…You're right."
She stepped closer and held his hand.
"Then run away with me."
Her voice trembled.
"Far away from all this."
"We can live somewhere peaceful. Somewhere no one can bother us."
Leo looked at her for a long moment.
Then gently pulled her into a hug.
"I know how you feel," he said softly.
"And I feel the same."
Hope appeared in her eyes—
But then—
"There's something I have to do first."
Her expression fell.
"…Why?"
Leo looked toward the distant skyline.
"Everyone has a purpose."
His voice was steady.
"My purpose… is to help someone."
Iris lowered her gaze.
"…And you'd leave me behind for that?"
Leo smiled faintly.
"No."
He looked into her eyes.
"I promise."
"When it's done…"
"You'll be the first person I come to."
Iris stared at him.
Then let out a quiet sigh.
"…You better not break that promise."
Then she kissed his cheek.
And suddenly—
The skyscraper vanished.
The city disappeared.
The false world shattered.
And Leo returned to the isekai world.