Rhea opened her eyes to silence.
Not the silence of a room…
But the silence of a world that had stopped breathing.
She stood in a barren field of cracked gray soil.
Above her, the sky was a dull, bruised purple—heavy, low, and suffocating.
Dead trees curled like skeletal fingers, reaching toward her as if begging to be freed.
This was the Forgotten Garden.
Her heart hammered violently.
Her body felt weightless, as though she were walking through someone else's dream…
or nightmare.
"Adrian?" she called softly.
Her voice echoed strangely—like it traveled too far, bending and stretching before fading.
No answer.
Rhea swallowed hard.
She knew he couldn't enter.
His job was to anchor her soul from outside.
But here…
She was utterly alone.
A whisper drifted across the dead air.
"Rhea…"
She turned sharply.
A figure stood between the twisted trees—
translucent, faintly glowing.
A woman.
Her dress was old-fashioned, torn lace hanging like cobwebs.
Her eyes were empty… but not cruel.
Just tired.
Lost.
One of the previous brides.
Rhea took a cautious step toward her.
"Are you… trapped here?"
The bride nodded slowly, her voice no more than a sigh.
"We all are.
Those who entered… never found the way back."
Rhea felt her stomach twist.
"Why? What keeps you here?"
The bride lifted a trembling hand, pointing deeper into the garden.
"Her."
A cold shiver crawled down Rhea's spine.
Lilith.
Before Rhea could speak again, more figures emerged—
women of different eras, ages, and stories, all glowing faintly, all wearing ruined wedding gowns.
Their faces were blurred…
but their pain was real.
One reached for Rhea with shaking hands.
"You must end this.
You are the first with a mark strong enough to resist her illusions."
Rhea stepped back slightly.
"Resist what?"
As if in answer, the ground beneath her feet rippled.
The trees twisted violently.
The sky sank lower.
A heavy fog spilled in, swallowing the brides.
"No—wait!" Rhea called.
But they vanished, consumed by darkness.
Rhea spun around, panic flaring.
"Adrian!" she shouted again.
Her voice didn't echo this time.
It was swallowed whole.
The fog thickened, curling around her ankles, rising to her knees.
She reached for the mark on her wrist.
Golden warmth pulsed faintly.
A lifeline.
Her connection to Adrian.
Rhea whispered, "I'm still here. I won't lose myself."
The fog parted suddenly.
And someone stepped out.
Rhea froze.
Her breath stopped.
It was…
Her father.
Alive.
Whole.
Smiling the soft, warm smile she hadn't seen in years.
"Rhea," he said gently, opening his arms.
"My little girl…"
Her chest tightened painfully.
"No… this isn't real."
Her father stepped closer, his expression softening the way it used to when she was a child.
"I've missed you."
Rhea's eyes burned.
"Stop," she whispered.
"Lilith, stop this."
He didn't disappear.
Instead, he came closer.
"Why are you running from me?"
His voice trembled.
"You're all I have, Rhea."
Tears spilled down her cheeks.
Her father had never said those words in life.
He had always been strict, distant, and burdened by business.
But this illusion knew exactly where to hurt her.
"Go away," she whispered.
He came closer.
"Rhea… Come to me. I'm here now. I won't leave you."
Her chest twisted painfully.
"No," she said louder.
"You're not him. My father would never appear like this."
The illusion flickered.
That warm smile…
twisted.
His eyes darkened.
And his voice deepened into a familiar hiss.
"You won't escape me, little bride."
Rhea stumbled backward.
The illusion melted into black smoke—
and Lilith materialized from it, tall and horrifyingly elegant, her gown flowing like liquid shadow.
Her face was pale, eyes hollow pits of darkness.
"You believe you can resist me?"
When she lifted a hand, black thorny vines sprang from the earth and encircled Rhea's ankles.
The thorns pierced Rhea's flesh, causing her to gasp.
Lilith gave a slow, nasty smile.
"Let me show you…
Why no bride ever leaves this garden."
The sky cracked open with a thunderous sound.
The ground split.
The dead trees screamed.
The garden had awakened—
and it wanted her soul.
Rhea clenched her fists, her mark blazing.
"I'm not leaving without freeing them," she said through gritted teeth.
"And I'm not afraid of you."
Lilith's smile vanished.
The temperature plummeted.
"Then burn with them."
With a violent sweep of her hand, Lilith sent a wave of shadow crashing into Rhea.
Rhea tried to stand firm—
but the force knocked her to her knees.
The thorns tightened.
Blood dripped onto the dead soil.
Rhea shut her eyes, whispering desperately—
"Adrian… I need you."
Her mark flared blinding gold—
and the shadows recoiled.
Lilith hissed in fury.
"That anchor again…"
Rhea rose to her feet, shaking but determined.
"You can't break what's keeping me alive."
Lilith bared her teeth.
"Then I will break him."
Rhea's heart dropped.
"No!"
Lilith vanished into black smoke—
heading straight for the mansion.
Rhea screamed and ran after the smoke, thorns tearing as she broke free, blood soaking her foot.
But she didn't stop.
She couldn't.
Lilith was going for Adrian.
And if Adrian died—
Rhea would be trapped in the garden forever.