This Life, I Will Be the Protagonist

Nivalis couldn’t shake the feeling that what Rita was doing right now went against everything she usually stood for.

Back in Quiet Mountain, even when it came to trading information, Rita had refused to tell Cinders anything about QM Mistblade’s diary.

And now... she was about to trade Deceitful Bloom’s answer for a location.

Was it because that information was just that important?

But Rita had already said she didn’t trust Byme.

Was it because the answer wasn’t private, and people like Cicada and Maple Syrup already knew it?

That didn’t feel right either.

After Card Swap ended, both she and B80 had spent a long time digging into the story behind the title Moon Postman. They had become deeply curious about Lightchaser’s past.

But no matter how much they asked, Rita only talked about her own experiences with the elves.

She would mention the Lightchaser moment. She would talk about how she had wanted to recreate it in Binast.

But she never once said why Lightchaser had failed back then.

She avoided other people’s heartbreak.

And yet now... she was making an exception for Deceitful Bloom and Byme.

If she didn’t care about Deceitful Bloom, maybe it would make sense.

But that was clearly not the case.

No one understood better than Nivalis how much emotion Rita had just suppressed beneath that calm surface.

Outside the window, the cold fog thickened.

It was already 10:21. Less than two minutes remained.

Rita was still sitting on the desk, going back and forth with Byme.

To Nivalis, it just looked like nonstop provocation.

Even that line, "If you lie, something will happen to Deceitful Bloom tomorrow," had been aimed straight at Byme’s weak spot.

She had deliberately touched a nerve.

And yet Byme had taken it calmly.

Because she wanted that answer.

Rita said, "Take me back to the study first. Give me the information. Then I’ll tell you her answer."

"I thought once you said this timeline shines because of you, you stopped worrying about me attacking you."

Byme let out a soft scoff, unable to resist striking back.

The light in the room shifted.

It was still the same study, but something about it felt different now.

Even as she mocked Rita, Byme moved quickly.

"It’s called King. From 3:10:38 to 3:15:19. It appears in the northwest rainforest of Graveyard of Bones, and the northern grasslands."

She spoke fast.

Time was running out.

Rita asked, "AM or PM?"

Byme shot her a long look.

"AM. It only appears at night."

Rita nodded.

Only then did she finally slide off the desk.

Unhurried, she said,

"I didn’t ask for the answer first because I was afraid you’d go back on your word."

"I was afraid that once you heard it... you wouldn’t care about answering my questions anymore."

Byme frowned slightly, then smoothed it out.

In that brief moment, countless possibilities ran through her mind.

Vineborne?

Beacon?

Deceitful Bloom herself?

Or something abstract like Starsea, or honor?

She knew Deceitful Bloom wouldn’t fall easily.

But she still wanted to know.

After losing everything... what kept her going?

She admired Deceitful Bloom.

She worshiped her like a god.

She needed that answer.

It had to be something extraordinary.

Something worthy of Deceitful Bloom.

Rita watched the light in her eyes.

Expectation.

Admiration.

Reverence.

And that... was exactly the punishment she intended.

Byme was smart. She had seen through Rita’s intentions.

Even if Byme hadn’t allowed it, Rita would have forced the truth out anyway.

And now...

Even if Byme had refused to give her the location, she still would have told her the answer.

The second hand ticked forward.

When it crossed twelve, Rita spoke softly.

"Since you’ve known Deceitful Bloom... have you ever seen her cry?"

Byme’s eyes widened slightly.

She stared at Rita, almost dazed.

"No."

"We met when we were fifteen. She has never cried."

"She wouldn’t cry."

Rita’s lips curled.

It was a sharp, almost cruel smile.

"She fights for what?"

"She said nothing."

"Because she didn’t know."

"She couldn’t answer."

Rita’s voice was steady.

"I only saw a single tear fall onto the clock arena."

"That was her answer."

The final second ticked down.

Rita spoke clearly, one word at a time.

"Beacon Byme."

Cold fog surged forward.

It swallowed everything.

Byme’s stunned expression vanished.

The lights.

The desk.

The Vineborne.

All gone.

Rita and Nivalis stood once more in the cold, empty study.

"You are being watched... You are being watched... You are being watched..."

Rita was still breathing a little unevenly.

Nivalis hadn’t seen her this angry in a long time.

But beneath that anger... there was something else.

A sense of release.

A kind of vengeance fulfilled.

She couldn’t help but ask.

"Why?"

"Why is that answer a punishment?"

"And... why did you tell her?"

She hesitated, then added,

"I mean... were you trying to make her think Deceitful Bloom was in pain?"

"But after hearing it... I just feel like Deceitful Bloom is incredible."

Rita stared at the empty chair.

"Because different people see different things in that answer."

A tear.

As rare and precious as the dew born from a Flower of Deceit.

"To us," she said quietly,

"It means that even when she had no answer... she still chose to keep going."

"How much strength does it take... to keep moving forward when you know you’ll never reach shore?"

But Byme...

The one who had turned Deceitful Bloom into something untouchable, something perfect...

All she would see...

Was that single moment of weakness.

That crack.

Like a flawless flower losing a single petal to the wind.

That shouldn’t have happened.

Deceitful Bloom shouldn’t cry.

It shouldn’t be something so ordinary.

So fragile.

Byme believed pain could "save" her.

And yet...

She was the one least capable of facing that pain.

From the moment Rita understood the truth...

She had already decided.

How to punish her.

How to repay her.

Call it meddling.

Call it settling a debt for what Deceitful Bloom had once done for her.

But she was going to do it anyway.

She had considered many methods.

Even leaving this place, finding other players, and feeding Byme false hope.

Telling her their timeline was about to be erased.

But the moment Byme asked for that answer...

Rita knew.

This was the best punishment.

Nothing could hurt more than that truth.

Why should Byme spend eternity in ignorance?

What right did she have to pretend she didn’t know?

What right did she have to hide inside a false memory?

What right did she have to escape that feast of pain?

Deceitful Bloom, the one who bore the consequences, could only stay silent.

She had even helped Byme preserve that illusion.

Only that one line hidden within the Deceitful Bloom skill...

Had revealed her grief and anger.

But Rita owed them nothing.

She would do whatever she wanted.