Fate To Fake: Loved by the Fallen; Fated to Kill the Divine
Chapter 87: Amusement park: Part-3

Chapter 87: Amusement park: Part-3

In the women’s restroom—

"Arrhhh!"

A painful cry echoed from one of the stalls. The sound startled the woman who had been washing her hands at the sink. She paused, glancing over her shoulder toward the closed stall door with a look of concern.

"Ma’am... are you alright? Do you need... any help?"

There was a pause, followed by a shaky, strained voice.

"Y-Yes... I-I’m fine... just a headache, that’s all."

Though her tone tried to sound composed, it was clear she was in discomfort. The woman at the sink hesitated for a moment, unsure, but eventually nodded to herself. She dried her hands, gave the door a final concerned glance, and quietly exited the restroom.

Silence settled.

For a few seconds, nothing moved. No sound, no rustling. The room felt still—eerily so.

Then—

Thud!

The stall door creaked open, and Raphael staggered out.

Her face was drenched in sweat, her breathing uneven. Strands of her dark hair clung to her cheeks, her bangs shadowing her eyes. Her glasses sat loosely in one hand, and her body trembled as if she had just run a marathon. Her legs wobbled uncontrollably beneath her, barely able to hold her weight. They moved like overcooked noodles, flimsy and weak.

She clutched the wall, dragging herself toward the basin, each step labored and dizzy. Her stomach churned—nausea rolling through her in waves.

Reaching the sink, she gripped the edge of the counter tightly with both hands to keep herself from collapsing. Her glasses clattered gently against the porcelain as she set them aside, her breaths sharp and fast.

Her vision blurred, as if looking through water. Even turning the tap took effort—her fingers trembled, slipping more than once before finally managing to twist the knob.

A soft stream of cold water poured out.

With shaking hands, she scooped up handfuls and splashed it on her face.

Splash.

"Ahhh..."

She gasped, relief washing over her like the water. For a moment, it felt like she had almost died in that stall. Her heartbeat slowed just enough to think.

Raising her head, she pushed her bangs away from her face and looked at her reflection in the mirror.

Then her eyes widened.

Emerald green eyes—familiar, yes—but something was different.

They weren’t just green anymore.

The pupils had shifted—subtle but stunning... Star-shaped.

Bright and surreal, like something out of a dream. They shimmered faintly, glowing ever so slightly, as if lit from within.

She blinked several times.

What... was she seeing?

"Magic..." she whispered, voice breathy and dazed.

Her eyes sparkled, catching the soft fluorescent light, and at that moment, the very tips of her black hair began to change—subtle streaks of white threading their way in, almost like frost crawling along glass.

"Magic... yeah... Mana... Eden... Sister-in-law... Brother... The F—"

Her sentence broke, unfinished, as something suddenly pulled tight around her neck.

sssllllnnng~

A strange hissing sound pierced the silence.

She gasped, eyes flicking downward.

A ring—no, a collar—of dark light shimmered around her neck like a tattoo made of shadow. It appeared out of nowhere, a black seal, flickering and pulsing like it had a life of its own.

Her body froze.

"Ahhhhhh!!"

She cried out, clutching her throat, her face twisting in agony.

Then it was gone.

Just like that.

Her eyes dimmed, returning to their natural emerald hue. The white streaks in her hair stopped spreading and began to fade, leaving only faint traces behind at the tips.

She stood there, panting heavily, her hands trembling, her chest rising and falling like she’d just survived a nightmare.

"What... what just happened?" she whispered, blinking rapidly. Her head felt light, her mind dazed with confusion and fear.

She rubbed her forehead, trying to shake the lingering dizziness.

"I guess... I’ve just been working too much..." she muttered quietly to herself. Her voice was small, uncertain. She turned the tap off, splashed water on her face once more, and tried to steady her thoughts.

"And that brat... lying to me about magic..." she grumbled under her breath, "Hmph! Fine, I’ll play along with his logic..."

She let out a soft puff of air as if trying to push away the moment, then huffed again.

"Teenagers nowadays... lying through their teeth like it’s nothing."

She paused for a second, her lips twitching.

"But magic? Ahaha... even a child wouldn’t believe that..."

She chuckled, low and dismissive, though it sounded just a little forced. She picked up her glasses, cleaned them quickly, and put them back on.

Her reflection stared back at her, calm now. She looked normal again.

Normal.

She stepped out of the restroom.

Just outside, she spotted Leo and Ophis waiting.

Raphael didn’t feel like teasing Leo for what he had just gone through—or maybe she couldn’t.

So instead, she simply nodded at them, a small, gentle smile forming on her lips.

To them, it looked like she had accepted Leo’s lie with grace.

And together, they walked away from the restroom—continuing the day like nothing had changed.

The trio wandered deeper into the heart of the amusement park, where the air buzzed with leftover screams, sugary scents, and distant mechanical whirs. Neon lights flickered above them, casting strange shadows as laughter echoed faintly in the distance.

A low hissing sound caught their attention near one crooked corner of the path. A fog machine sat hidden behind a fake stone pillar, releasing thick, rolling mist that clung to the ground like ghostly tendrils. The fog slithered forward, curling around their ankles, cool and damp.

Above the mist, a warped wooden archway stood tall and crooked. Its cracked letters blinked in dying red lights, swaying slightly in the breeze as if on the verge of collapse.

The jagged sign read:

THE BLOOD MAZE – HAUNTED HOUSE

Ophis stopped in her tracks, tilting her head like a curious feline, eyes glittering with mischief.

"Ooohh... now this looks promising," she murmured, taking slow steps forward, her arms swaying loosely at her sides as if drawn by something invisible. Her voice dropped, teasing and low.

"Don’t you feel it? Something good waiting inside~"

Leo frowned and narrowed his eyes, cautiously stepping beside her.

Beside him, Raphael instantly latched onto his arm like a magnet snapping to metal.

"N-No... No way. I don’t like this place," she whispered, her voice trembling, almost childlike. "I hate haunted houses. I really, really do..."

Ophis didn’t even glance back at them. With a playful twirl, she reached out and grabbed both their arms.

"Come oooonn~" she sang, dragging them forward like it was just another ride.

"Don’t be such babies."

The moment they stepped inside, everything changed.

The heavy wooden door creaked behind them, then slammed shut with a deafening

THUD!

Sealing off the noise and light from the park like a vault door. An eerie silence followed, broken only by their breathing.

Darkness swallowed the narrow hallway. The walls were coated in old, peeling wallpaper that looked soaked in something brownish-red. In the corners, flickering crimson lights pulsed in a slow, rhythmic heartbeat, barely illuminating the horror around them.

Shattered mirrors lined one side, each reflecting distorted, grotesque versions of themselves. Some mirrors showed them with hollow eyes.

Others showed them with missing faces. On the opposite wall, rotting furniture sat overturned. Strings dangled from the ceiling, and attached to them—limp, broken dolls twisted in unnatural poses, their button eyes cracked, some missing limbs.

Raphael whimpered and tightened her grip on Leo’s arm, pressing herself into his side.

"I-I can’t... I can’t do this," she whispered, her voice cracking.

Leo swallowed hard, forcing a brave expression onto his face. He patted her hand gently.

"It’s fake," he said, more to convince himself than her. "It’s just props. It’s not real. None of this is real."

And then—

SCREEEEEECH!!!

A shriek so loud it pierced the soul erupted from above.

All three of them looked up just in time to see a pale, mutilated face drop from the ceiling on thick, jerky wires. Its head twisted slowly in one direction, then snapped the other way, its eyes black and empty sockets that seemed to stare directly into them.

"AAAAHHHH!!"

Raphael screamed. A raw, terrified shriek tore from her throat as she jumped and clung to Leo like a lifeline, wrapping her arms around his neck and lifting her feet off the floor.

"FUCK!!" Leo yelled, stumbling back, nearly hitting the wall behind him. "Why the shit is it so close?!"

The face twitched violently, letting out a gurgling hiss before rising back into the ceiling, its jaw hanging open like it was still screaming silently.

Raphael trembled in his arms, breath shallow and fast. Her legs nearly gave out, and she clung to him as if she might fall into the floor.

"I-I wanna go back... this is cursed! Why is it blinking?! WHY IS IT BLINKING?!"

Leo, trying not to panic himself, held her by the waist, steadying them both.

"Okay—okay... we’re not dying here," he whispered, "It’s just a haunted house. They want to scare us. That’s all. It’s... it’s part of the fun."

Behind them, Ophis sauntered along without a single care in the world, eyes half-lidded in bored amusement. She hummed a tune under her breath, her fingers twirling a lollipop she had apparently pulled from her clothe.

She popped the candy into her mouth with a soft click and chuckled.

"This is adorable..." she whispered, watching them like a predator observing trembling prey. "You two are so jumpy, it’s like I brought toddlers"

Leo and Raphael’s lips twitched.

Suddenly, another door swung open with a spine-chilling creak.

A skeleton wearing a decaying bride’s gown lunged from the shadows, emitting a guttural shriek that echoed down the hallway.

"MAKE IT STOP!!" Raphael screamed again, burying her face into Leo’s chest so hard she nearly knocked the air out of him.

Leo flinched too, his hands gripping her tighter on instinct.

"I swear," he muttered between clenched teeth, "if one more thing jumps out—"

BANG!!

A panel on the wall burst open like a gunshot. From the darkness within, a long black-gloved hand reached out. Its bony fingers stretched toward them, twitching like a spider preparing to pounce.

Both Leo and Raphael screamed at the exact same time, the harmony of their fear echoing through the haunted hallway.

Raphael clung to him tighter than ever, her face hidden in the crook of his neck, her whole body shivering uncontrollably.

Leo’s heart pounded in his chest, not sure whether by the ghost... or something too soft pressing him down too much.

Without thinking, he wrapped his arms around her and held her close, protectively, shielding her from whatever came next.

"...You okay?" he asked, his voice soft now, cracking with emotion. His breath hitched.

"N-No!! Are you okay?!" she sobbed, muffled against his jacket.

Ophis leaned against the wall just a few steps away, one hand resting lazily on her hip as she observed the two of them like they were performing for her.

"Aww~ Look at this," she cooed, licking her lips. "Clinging to each other like lovers in a horror show. It’s almost romantic. So... who dies first, I wonder?"

"SHUT UP, OPHIS!!" both of them shouted in unison, still holding on tightly.

Though Raphael blushing too much, even though she wanted move, she couldn’t!

The horrors didn’t stop. The deeper they went, the more disturbing it became. Grotesque clowns with slashed mouths cackled in the distance. Shadows flickered across the walls, but nothing cast them. Mirrors reflected faces that didn’t belong to them.

One showed Raphael crying blood. Another showed Leo with his skin melting.

And then—

"HAHA... I NEED BLOOD~"

A man in a vampire costume leapt out from behind a curtain. His voice cracked into a high-pitched cackle as he spread his arms dramatically in front of Ophis.

Ophis paused, lifting her gaze lazily.

Her deadpan expression didn’t change. She slowly popped the candy from her lips with a soft pop, revealing her own fangs beginning to grow longer.

She stared at the man like he was a cockroach crawling across her shoe.

"Is that so?" she murmured, voice low and dark. "Heee~"

"KYYYAAAA!!!"

He let out a terrified scream—one that sounded suspiciously like a teenage girl—and bolted in the opposite direction, vanishing into the shadows without another word.