I Reincarnated to Another World as a Woman-Chapter 224: No Way Out

Theo swallows.

He knows perfectly well what the answer to Aldric’s question is.

He doesn’t know.

Theo doesn’t know since when he has been inside this illusion.

And that realization is far more terrifying than seeing the Dungeon King’s physical form.

Aldric is still smiling lovingly. He blinks slowly, deliberately. His long lashes move beautifully, framing his slightly almond-shaped dark brown eyes. Even the way his gaze rests on Theo is exactly how Theo wants to remembers him.

Too perfect.

That alone is another clue that this is nothing but an illusion.

Aldric did love him. Theo never doubted that. But Aldric never looked at him like this. Aldric was a stoic man. Not cold like Arthur, not rigid like Linus, but disciplined to his core. Controlled. Every emotion locked behind layers of restraint.

Everything about Aldric was straight and orderly. He followed the rules he set as if his life depended on them.

Even when they were alone, even when they were intimate, Aldric rarely showed his feelings. The softness was there, but it was subtle, restrained, never overflowing.

And now he is standing only a few steps away, extending his hand, looking at Theo as if he is the center of his world?

Theo scoffs quietly.

He might have been. But Aldric would never show it like this.

"What is it, my love?" Aldric asks softly. "You don’t love me anymore?"

His expression shifts. Sadness clouds his face. Tears well up in his eyes, trembling, ready to fall.

"Theo, you must forgive yourself," Aldric continues gently. "You didn’t do anything wrong."

Theo’s chest tightens.

"You only failed to protect me," Aldric says, his voice filled with understanding. "That’s all."

Theo’s breath hitches.

Guilt crashes into him like a violent wave, dragging him under before he can brace himself.

Yes.

I failed to protect you.

I failed to protect our kingdom.

I failed to protect our people.

I failed.

"THEO!"

The voice cuts through his thoughts like a blade.

Theo snaps out of his spiraling guilt.

He staggers backward, heart pounding violently, breath uneven.

He looks up.

Aldric is still there.

Still smiling.

Still watching him.

I’m not out of the illusion.

The realization sends a cold shiver down his spine.

Does that mean... I was daydreaming while already trapped inside an illusion?

Theo’s pulse races.

How strong is this green mist?

Who called me?

Theo closes his eyes tighter. He forces himself to ignore what he saw, what his sight insists on showing him. Vision is unreliable right now. He shuts it out completely. Instead, he turns inward, reaching for his other senses. For his magic.

His magic never lies.

Mother Nature doesn’t lie.

Theo calls forth his mana, letting it spill outward, wrapping around his body like a second skin. It clings to him, protective, cleansing, pushing against the foreign presence that does not belong. He focuses on that sensation, grounding himself in it.

The dungeon, once filled with distant echoes and the constant pressure of something watching, grows quiet.

Too quiet.

He stands inside his own bubble. Isolated. Shielded.

Safe.

Or so he thought.

"What are you doing, my love?"

Aldric’s voice slides into his ear, intimate and close, far too close.

Theo startles despite himself, even with his eyes still squeezed shut. His heart slams violently against his ribs.

"RUN!"

The second voice bursts through the fog again. Sharp. Urgent. Commanding. The same voice that woke him minutes ago, the same voice that cut through the green mist like a blade.

Theo does not know who or what it is.

But right now, it is not the impostor.

That is enough.

Theo turns sharply, opens his eyes, and runs.

He pours mana into his legs, enhancing his movement, forcing his body to go faster than fear wants to allow. The ground blurs beneath him as he sprints, heart pounding, lungs burning.

"Oh, Theo," Aldric’s voice follows, calm and indulgent, echoing everywhere at once. "You can’t run from me. I am within you. I am you. How can you run from yourself?"

Theo runs until time loses meaning.

Runs until his thoughts fragment.

Runs until the dungeon stretches endlessly ahead of him.

Then he glances back.

There is nothing.

No footsteps. No presence. No shadow chasing him.

Theo slows, cautiously. He stops and immediately focuses on regulating his breathing, forcing air into his lungs, counting each inhale and exhale.

But something is wrong.

The air feels thick.

Heavy.

His chest tightens. Each breath becomes harder than the last. His lungs burn as if starved of oxygen.

Theo staggers, clutching his throat.

Then collapses forward, face hitting the cold dungeon floor. He claws weakly at the ground, gasping, struggling to draw in air that refuses to come.

Behind him, something steps closer.

Aldric.

Theo cannot see him.

But he can feel him.

A presence heavy with menace and certainty, standing just out of reach, close enough that Theo can almost feel warm breath against his skin.

"My love, you shouldn’t run. You can’t run from me."

Aldric’s voice brushes against his ear, sweet and intimate, spoken as if they are lovers sharing a secret. It is too close. Far too close.

Goosebumps erupt across Theo’s skin, sharp and violent, crawling down his spine and into his limbs.

And for the first time since he woke up in Altheon, Theo truly feels fear.

Not caution.

Not anxiety.

Fear.

Fear because there is no way out.

Fear because this is where his life truly ends.

Not as Theo the Archmage.

Not as a king.

But as Thea.

Fear because this second chance, this impossible mercy, will be wasted here, in the dark, alone.

Fear because he does not want to die again.

Fear because he wants to go home.

To the parents who are not his, yet feel like they are.

To the team that trusts him without knowing who he really is.

Fear for Rhaenas.

For Arthur, who would break and never forgive himself.

For Maeve, who would carry the guilt.

For Julian and Liam, who would lose more than they understand.

Pure fear crashes into him, drowning out logic and reason alike.

Theo’s body shakes violently. His thoughts scatter, slipping through his grasp like sand. His mind refuses to cooperate, refuses to form a plan. He is an Archmage. He is supposed to have answers. He is supposed to have tricks, contingencies, last resorts.

But right now, he has nothing.

Nothing at all.

Desperation overtakes pride.

Theo starts praying, something he has not done in a very long time. He does not even know who he is praying to. He only knows he cannot face this alone.

Then he hears it.

A soft swish through the air.

Theo knows instantly what it means.

Aldric is finally making his move.

Theo squeezes his eyes shut, teeth clenched, every muscle in his body bracing for what is coming.

The next second—

"ARGH!"

Theo screams at the top of his lungs.

Pain explodes through his body as something sharp pierces his right shoulder. It is blinding, white-hot, tearing through flesh and bone alike.

Theo cannot see what it is. His vision is locked to the left, his body refusing to turn.

"Argh!"

Aldric pulls it out.

The pain follows, dragging fire through his nerves.

Then it plunges in again, this time into his right ribs.

Theo chokes, his breath breaking apart, lungs screaming as he fights to stay conscious. His body trembles violently, vision dimming at the edges.

Blood starts pooling on the ground, choking him.

He can taste it in his mouth. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

He knows this is not over.

Not even close.

His beloved Aldric is not killing him.

He is torturing him.