Archive of Our Own ^beta

This is how it is, the gods tell you. You and Jiu are destined to kill each other in every timeline.

But the gods are wrong. You know that somewhere out there is a reality where you and Jiu will get your happy ending. You tear through universe after universe, looking for one where you do not succumb to the monster inside you. Finally, you find yourself here, in the Temple of Space & Time, where you have narrowed your options to one of four timelines:

• One where you are a Pink Lady, a lady-in-waiting at court for the royal princess herself.
• One where you are the Ruby Duchess, your cleverness more cutting than any weapon in the armory.
• One where you are an Ice Princess, unencumbered by weaknesses or attachments.
• One where you are the Black Witch, feared throughout the realms.

One of these timelines will bring you the happy ending you seek. You just don't know which.

Here is what you do know:

1. Your relationship with Jiu varies drastically from timeline to timeline:
   • In one timeline, you and Jiu are forbidden lovers, desperate to escape to somewhere where you two can be together.
   • You and Jiu were together in another timeline as well, but circumstances conspired to separate you two, and now you are bitter exes.
   • In the third timeline, Jiu is your bodyguard, sworn to protect you with every breathe in her body.
   • In the last timeline, you two are eternal rivals. Nobody can get under your skin like Jiu can, your competition bordering on obsession.
2. You are told that you and Jiu kill each other in every timeline. But the method of death differs each time:
   • In one timeline, you poison Jiu. It's quick and painless, and you looked her in the eye as she died.
   • In another, you utilize your magic as a weapon, watching her physical form decay as you drained the life from her body.
   • In the third, you run her through with her own sword, one you gifted her yourself.
   • In the last, you two fall off a tower, plummeting to your deaths together.
3. Each timeline is guarded by one of four muses: Handong, Gahyeon, Sua, and Siyeon. Perhaps if circumstances were different, they could have been your allies and comrades. But you know that they cannot defy the gods, and cannot contradict the gods' statements. All the muses can offer are the barest of clues, and their well-wishes.

Good luck.

The Puzzle

To play, click on the colored dot to make your selection: red for no, green for yes and grey to clear the cell. Refresh the page to clear the whole grid.