xxx Lake.
It was a vast natural lake, so vast that its far shore was nowhere in sight.
The lake's surface was utterly still, tranquil and peaceful as a poem. Its green waters seemed veiled in a thin, cicada-wing-like gauze, making one afraid to breathe too deeply for fear of disturbing that serenity.
But beneath the water, things were nowhere near as beautiful as they appeared on the surface.
In the bottomless depths, a long-dead woman's corpse suddenly opened its eyes. She looked terrifying, like a female ghost beneath the water.
Strangely enough, despite having soaked in the water for so long, her skin still retained a healthy complexion.
"Where is this... Why am I underwater..."
"And..."
The newly awakened woman wore a bewildered expression, her mind utterly blank.
She lay in the water, yet it felt completely natural. It was as though she were a fish and had no need to breathe air at all.
But when she lowered her head, she discovered a dagger embedded in her chest. It had been driven all the way in.
An ordinary person would certainly have died.
And the girl had indeed died once, only to awaken again.
Staring at the dagger in her chest, the girl reached out with trembling hands and gripped its hilt. A flood of memories immediately surfaced in her mind.
She had been murdered! Betrayed by the boyfriend she had trusted alone and entrusted with her entire life.
Her life had been unfortunate from the start. Her mother had been a pole-dancing "performer," while her father had been a gambler.
After accidentally becoming pregnant with her, her mother had ruthlessly thrown her to her gambling, alcoholic father after giving birth. At least, that father had not abandoned her.
But she had grown up amid domestic violence, beaten