Chapter 36: Wales — Summary and Analysis

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

⚠️ This page contains major plot revelations from Chapter 36 of Our Infinite Fates. If you have not read this chapter yet, proceed with caution—the truth about Evelyn and Arden’s cycle is finally spoken aloud here.

Summary

In 2022, Evelyn and Arden sit on a cliff edge in Wales under pale moonlight, their deaths imminent. They have walked up the hill by torchlight, and the silence between them is heavy with unspoken truth. Evelyn, though she has chased answers for a thousand years, suddenly fears what she will hear. She postpones the central question and instead asks Arden when he first fell in love with her.

Arden says the feeling was seeded from the start, but the moment it truly struck him was at Northern Song, when Evelyn laid down her body for him and his father, even though he was then a stranger. He calls her act selflessness; in less charitable moments, he calls it martyrdom. Evelyn admits she only has fragmented memories—sharp glimpses that often vanish. She recalls Northern Song in slivers, like the hot welts from bamboo, and a clearer memory of an asylum. She also mentions a desert with camels, tents, gold, salt, and date palms, where she felt something deep for Arden. Arden reveals that in that desert life they were best friends, raised almost as siblings, and that remembering he would eventually have to kill her was one of the worst experiences—it stole his childhood again and again.

Evelyn then lists her theories for his repeated killings: revenge, a thrill for killing, ancient curses, small gods, malevolent witches, blood magic, and her most compelling theory—that they made a deal with the devil. Arden denies each, and finally, with calm and measured fear, he tells her the truth: they did not make a deal with the devil. She is the devil.

Key Events

Evelyn and Arden sit on a cliff in Wales, aware their deaths are near, and Evelyn postpones the central question.
Evelyn asks Arden when he first loved her; he cites Northern Song, where she sacrificed herself for him and his father.
Evelyn explains her fragmented memory, mentioning Northern Song, an asylum, and a desert where they were close friends raised as siblings.
Arden reveals the pain of gradually remembering he would have to kill the person he cared about most.
Evelyn lists her theories for his repeated killings, including revenge, blood magic, and a deal with the devil.
Arden denies all theories and reveals that Evelyn herself is the devil.

Character Development

Evelyn – Throughout the chapter, Evelyn is caught between her desperate need for answers and her fear of losing Arden. She shows vulnerability by asking a softer question first, and she demonstrates self-awareness about her memory gaps. Her willingness to confront the truth, even as she trembles, marks a turning point in her character—she moves from passive acceptance of her cycle to active pursuit of its meaning.

Arden – Arden’s character deepens as he reveals the emotional weight of his burden. He speaks with an old-fashioned cadence, connecting himself to past eras, and he admits that remembering their origins alone is profoundly sad. His confession that he was “just a little girl” in the desert life—using that phrase to describe his younger self—humanizes him and shows how the cycle has stolen his innocence repeatedly. His final revelation is delivered with calm and fear, not triumph, suggesting he has long dreaded this moment.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Fragmented memory and identity – Evelyn’s inability to recall full scenes mirrors the brokenness of her many lives. The glimpses she does have—Northern Song, the asylum, the desert—serve as symbolic anchors to moments that define her relationship with Arden, yet they remain incomplete, leaving her identity partially obscured.

Burden of remembering – Arden carries the full weight of their shared history, while Evelyn only catches slivers. This asymmetry creates a painful dynamic: he remembers every sacrifice, every childhood stolen, and every moment he had to prepare to kill her. His burden is not just the act of killing but the lifelong awareness of it.

Selflessness vs. martyrdom – Evelyn’s act at Northern Song is interpreted differently by the two of them. Arden calls it selflessness and goodness, but in his less charitable moments, he labels it martyrdom. This tension highlights how the same act can be seen as noble or pathological, depending on perspective and context.

Fate and destiny – Arden suggests their love was “seeded from the start” and “decided by the very hand that wrote the universe.” This hints at a predetermined cycle, yet Evelyn’s active questioning and Arden’s agonized confession suggest that fate is not simply accepted—it is wrestled with.

Demonic identity – The revelation that Evelyn is the devil reframes the entire cycle. It moves the story from a supernatural curse to an intrinsic identity, raising questions about whether Evelyn’s nature is inherently evil or whether her actions—like sacrificing herself—can transcend that label.

Why This Chapter Matters

Chapter 36 is the narrative fulcrum of Our Infinite Fates. After centuries of evasion, Arden finally speaks the truth that has shaped their entire existence: Evelyn is the devil. This revelation transforms the reader’s understanding of every previous chapter, recasting Evelyn’s sacrifices, her fragmented memories, and Arden’s repeated killings in a new, darker light. The chapter also deepens the emotional stakes by showing Evelyn’s fear and Arden’s reluctance, making the truth feel earned rather than merely shocking. It sets up the final act of the novel, where Evelyn must grapple with what it means to be the devil and whether she can change her fate.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does Evelyn postpone asking the central question, and what does this reveal about her state of mind?

Evelyn postpones because she is afraid of what the truth will do to her relationship with Arden. She says she is “so immortally afraid of losing Arden in the process of chasing the truth.” This reveals that her desire for answers is tempered by her fear of emotional devastation, showing that she values their connection more than the resolution of her mystery.

2. How does Arden’s memory of the desert life differ from Evelyn’s, and what does this difference symbolize?

Arden remembers the desert life as one where they were best friends, raised almost as siblings, and he recalls the gradual, painful realization that he would have to kill her. Evelyn only has a vague sense of deep feeling and destruction. This difference symbolizes the asymmetry of their burden—Arden carries the full weight of their shared history, while Evelyn is left with fragments, making their love feel one-sided in memory.

3. What is the significance of Arden’s final line, “You are the devil,” in the context of Evelyn’s earlier theories?

Evelyn’s theories all assume an external force—revenge, blood magic, a deal with the devil. Arden’s revelation shifts the source of the cycle from an outside bargain to Evelyn’s own identity. This means that the cycle is not something done to her, but something she is. It forces Evelyn to confront the possibility that her own nature, not a curse, is the reason for their repeated deaths, and it challenges the reader to reconsider whether the devil can be capable of selfless love.