A girl lay writhing on the road, her body trembling as she struggled for breath. She was taking her final breaths, and at any moment death could pull her into its embrace. Nearby lay the lifeless bodies of her stepfather, her two stepbrothers, and her mother—each of them having met a brutally violent end. Perhaps this family had been in the wrong place at the wrong time, a mistake for which they were forced to pay with their lives.
From the safety of Heaven's safe house, two angels were watching this scene through a crystal ball.
"You've been keeping an eye on this girl and her family for so long," said the first angel, whose name was Michael, as he looked at the other angel. "What's so special about her?"
"Perhaps you can't see what I see," replied the second angel, whose name was Lysandra. "She is no ordinary girl. She is the remnant of an ancient war, and only she can bring it to an end. I was merely waiting for the moment when I could finally recruit her into my army, so that we could send her onto the battlefield against the forces of Aethna Montaug, also known as the Dark Goddess."
Hearing Lysandra's words, Michael looked slightly surprised and asked, "What connection does Aethna have with this girl? I don't see anything special about her at all. Some ordinary people killed her family, and now she herself is clearly about to die. If she couldn't even protect her own family, how will she possibly stand against the Dark Goddess to save our world?" Saying this, Michael laughed.
But Lysandra had something else on her mind—something she did not wish to reveal just yet. So she gave no reply to Michael's words and simply vanished from there.
Meanwhile, the girl—whose name was Victoria—felt her breathing begin to fade. As she drew her final breath, she remembered God and spoke silently within her heart, "First you took my father away from me. Then you gave me a good family, and now you've taken them away too. If my life was meant to be this painful, why did you keep giving me hope again and again?" With these thoughts, Victoria gave up her life.
The very next moment, Victoria found herself standing in a dark room. In front of her, on a table, a single candle was burning, its faint light insufficient to illuminate the darkness around her. Suddenly, she heard the voice of a woman.
"So, after making me wait for so long, you've finally come to me, Victoria."
"Who are you? And where am I?" Victoria asked fearfully, speaking to the unseen voice.
In the next moment, a beautiful woman with white wings appeared before her.
"I am Lysandra, an angel—the Angel of Liberation. I grant liberation to souls after their death. So tell me, are you ready to receive liberation?" Lysandra said as she stepped closer to Victoria.
When Victoria saw Lysandra, she was left utterly stunned, for until now she had only read about angels in the Bible and in fantasy books.
Victoria saw that Lysandra looked like a radiant celestial maiden who had descended from heaven itself. Her presence was so enchanting that it could steal the breath of anyone who gazed upon her. Her hair shone like pure gold, and her eyes gleamed like deep blue nectar, carrying within them centuries of ancient wisdom and serenity. Behind her spread two shining white wings, softly scattering light like shimmering pearls. A gentle, eternal smile rested upon her face, one that held the power to make all sorrow fade away. With every step she took, divine light spread beneath her feet, and her voice flowed like a melody. She was the embodiment of perfect peace and sacred purity.
"If you're trying to joke with me, then know this—I'm in no mood for jokes right now. And if you truly are an angel, then tell me why I'm standing here in front of you. And where is my family?" Victoria asked Lysandra in a stern, angry tone.
"I will answer every one of your questions," Lysandra said with a smile, "but before that, tell me—what happened to your family? Do you remember anything?" she asked gently.
But the moment Victoria heard Lysandra's question, a sudden shock ran through her. She remembered that she had a family, and that something truly terrible had happened to them—but she could not remember what had happened, nor who all were part of her family.
"Why can't I remember anything? I can't even remember my own name. All I remember is that I'm dead, and that I had a family, and something bad happened to them. What is happening to me?" Saying this, Victoria collapsed onto the ground and clutched her head with both hands.
Seeing Victoria in distress, Lysandra stepped closer. Stroking Victoria's head gently, she said, "My child, I have come here to help you. The reason you cannot remember anything about your past life is that after death, with every passing moment, all memories connected to one's past life begin to fade. Right now, you are in the middle stage of the afterlife. Your soul is neither in the human world nor has it fully crossed into the afterlife." As she spoke, Lysandra slowly unfurled her wings.
"But why am I here?" Victoria asked softly.
"Because God has given you a chance—to save your family and to save yourself," Lysandra replied in a heavy, solemn voice.
"And what does God want from me in return? Because I know that everything has a price," Victoria asked, rising to her feet and looking directly into Lysandra's eyes.
"That is something I will tell you later," Lysandra answered. "But before that, you must learn about your past life, so that you can understand what lies ahead—and what kind of price you will have to pay for it." Saying this, Lysandra created a scene upon the same table. It looked as though a video had begun to play right in front of them.
"What is this, some kind of magic show?" Victoria asked as she watched the scene unfold on the table.
"This is your past life. Watch it carefully. After this, you will no longer be the Victoria you have been until now," Lysandra said, gesturing for her to look.
And then, the story of Victoria's past life began.
Victoria lived in California with her parents. Her father, Bruce Parker, was a taxi driver, and though the family was poor, they were happy. Bruce loved his wife, Olivia, and his daughter Victoria deeply, always caring for them with unwavering devotion. But perhaps God did not approve of their happiness, for one day, in a mysterious turn of events, Bruce died. His body was found in his taxi on the outskirts of the city. At first glance, the police did not suspect foul play—there were no marks on his body. He had simply been sitting peacefully in the driver's seat, and nothing in the taxi seemed out of place except for a single black feather, large enough to belong to a giant bird.
Bruce's eyes were frozen and white. When the police conducted an autopsy, the report concluded that he had died of cardiac arrest. But the strangest thing was that if his heart had truly stopped, why had his pupils turned white and frozen? At the time of his father's death, Victoria was only seven years old. Being the sole breadwinner, Bruce's death left Olivia and Victoria struggling financially. For the first couple of years, Olivia managed to keep the house and taxi afloat, but eventually, she married a wealthy businessman, Elon Stark, the owner of the taxi company Bruce had worked for.
Elon was a prominent and affluent man. His wife had passed away due to illness, and he had no children. He had seen Olivia at Bruce's funeral and fallen in love with her from that moment. At first, Victoria did not take to her stepfather, but over time, she realized that Elon loved her as his own daughter. Two years after marrying Olivia, Elon had twin sons, Daniel and David, who also treated Victoria as their elder sister. The family was complete, and for fifteen years, they lived happily together. Victoria, now twenty-two, was a beautiful young woman studying Mass Communication in college while assisting her stepfather with his business.
But fate had other plans. On the night of Victoria's twenty-second birthday, while the family was out to celebrate, some attackers deliberately rammed Elon's car from behind, causing it to overturn. Everyone managed to escape the car before it exploded, but the assailants began attacking Elon. Seeing her stepfather under threat, Victoria tried to fight them off to protect her family. The attackers were too many, however, and they overpowered her. One of them lunged forward and stabbed Victoria in the stomach. She fell to the ground, writhing in pain, as the assailants mercilessly murdered her stepfather, mother, and stepbrothers before her eyes. Moments later, Victoria too succumbed to her wounds.
After witnessing all of this, the magical screen on the table abruptly went dark, leaving only the candle burning faintly. In that moment, Victoria regained every memory of her past life. Along with her memories came the pain in her stomach—the wound from the knife, still bleeding. Tears welled up in her eyes, and a fierce flame of vengeance ignited within her.
"What was my family's fault that all of us had to lose our lives?" Victoria asked Lysandra, her eyes burning with anger and filled with tears.
"There was no fault," Lysandra replied calmly. "Your family was simply present at the wrong place at the wrong time."
"How can you say that?" Victoria asked, looking straight into Lysandra's eyes. "Can't you see that those attackers first rammed our car and then murdered all of us?"
"Victoria, you are seeing only what was visible to you," Lysandra said in a single, steady breath. "But I can see what was not visible in that scene. Perhaps you didn't notice that the man who stabbed you had red eyes—because he was possessed."
"Enough," Victoria said harshly. "Now tell me everything clearly. What exactly is going on? Angels, demons, ghosts, spirits, witches—these things exist only in movies and fantasy books, not in real life."
"I am an angel," Lysandra replied. "And the proof of that is the fact that even after death, you are standing here in front of me, questioning me. If I were not an angel, by now you would be knocking on the doors of either heaven or hell along with your family."
With a wave of magic, Lysandra summoned a chair beside the table and sat down on it like a ruler. At the same moment, her white wings vanished.
Victoria stood there, confused, staring at Lysandra.
"The man who took your life was an agent of Dark Heaven," Lysandra continued. "He worked for the Dark Goddess Aethna—or, in human terms, for something called a Kill Wish. They were searching for a fragment of an ancient source of power when your father unknowingly interfered with their work. And because of that interference, not only your father, but your entire family had to pay the price with their lives." Having said this, Lysandra fell silent.
"Fine," Victoria said at last. "I accept that you are an angel. Now tell me—what do you want from me?" She walked over to the table and sat down across from Lysandra.
"Victoria, you still don't understand," Lysandra said, rising to her feet. "I am an angel, and this is not about what I want. This is about what you want. So tell me, Victoria—what does your heart truly desire?" she asked softly, bringing her lips close to Victoria's.
The moment Victoria looked into Lysandra's eyes, she felt as though she had been hypnotized. The next instant, words spilled from her mouth on their own. "I want revenge for my family. I want to go back in time and save them. I want to kill those bastards—even if they are humans or monsters."
The moment she finished speaking, Victoria snapped back to her senses. It felt as though those words had not come from her—but from her soul itself.
"Fine. I can turn your desire into reality," Lysandra said, turning slightly before sitting back on her chair. "But every desire comes at a price. Are you ready to pay it?"
"If you can truly make everything I want happen, then I am ready to pay any price," Victoria replied, her voice brimming with determination, resolve, and confidence.
"That's good. But I wonder… are you sure you want to know what the price will be?" Lysandra asked, gazing intently at her.
"No matter what the price is, I accept it," Victoria said firmly.
"You will have to give me your soul in exchange for your desire. And as long as your soul remains bound by the contract I create, you will only do what I command. Tell me, do you agree?" Lysandra closed her eyes and whispered softly. In that instant, a contract appeared in her hands, and her white wings re-emerged.
Lysandra handed the contract to Victoria, who began reading it carefully.
Seeing Victoria read the document, Lysandra laughed softly. "Don't worry—I am not claiming ownership of your soul as property. You don't need to read anything new; it contains only what I have already told you." Then, with a swift motion, she made a small cut on Victoria's hand with a dagger, letting the blood fall onto the contract.
"Yes, your blood will serve as your signature," Lysandra said with a faint smile. In that moment, Victoria's eyes snapped open.
She found herself lying on her bed in her room, the morning light spilling through the window. Everything seemed normal. Nothing had changed. She could even hear her mother calling her downstairs for breakfast.
"Oh God, what a weird dream," Victoria thought, a smile tugging at her lips. "I actually thought I had died and was talking to an angel. Maybe I should stop watching those horror and fantasy movies at night."
But before she could relax, a voice startled her.
"Good morning, Victoria. Finally, you're awake."
A small, lovely fairy hovered above her. She was dressed in a golden outfit, her wings shimmering like sunlight, flying circles around Victoria's head.
"Oh my God! What is this?" Victoria screamed, startled.
She had no idea whether what she had experienced was just a dream or if she had truly returned after death. And if it was real, then what had happened to her contract with the angel? What would happen next? And who was this tiny golden girl circling above her head?
A flood of questions swirled through Victoria's mind, each one more urgent and confusing than the last.