Night cloaked the sky when Kaela slipped away.
Paul rested quietly at the inn, sitting by the window, staring at the fragment he retrieved earlier. It pulsed faintly, reacting still to the power he never asked for.
But Kaela was already gone.
She entered a hidden chamber behind the Adventurer's Guild, where the air thickened with cold darkness. Her confident steps slowed… as a shadow peeled from the wall.
"You're late."
The voice coiled like smoke.
Kaela knelt before a form draped in black silks, eyes glowing like moons.
Luna.
"My apologies, my queen," Kaela whispered, head lowered. "Paul retrieved the fragment from the Echoing Vault."
"And the guardian?"
"Destroyed… by Paul. But not using your power."
Luna's brows furrowed. "Explain."
Kaela hesitated. "He summoned something... pure. Holy. It overwhelmed even the Seraphim. The magic wasn't mine. It wasn't yours."
Luna stood silently. For the first time in centuries… unsure.
"No one should be able to resist my influence. Not if he truly gave himself to me…"
Kaela looked up. "Do you wish me to eliminate him?"
Luna's eyes narrowed. "No. Not yet. Continue your role. Watch him. Report everything. If he becomes a threat…" Her voice dropped. "I'll deal with him myself."
Kaela nodded.
But her heart thudded painfully in her chest as she turned away.
---
Back at the Guild
The next morning, Paul stood before the towering Guild Master—a hulking half-dwarf with a beard like a battle flag and eyes that never blinked.
"You returned alive," the Guild Master grunted, flipping through a report. "Got the whole obelisk shattered and cleaned out. People are talkin'. And here I thought you were just some lone idiot with a death wish."
Paul handed him a worn pouch. "Fragment secured. Boss defeated. Room intact."
"Hmph. Here's your reward—400 silver, and your Adventurer Rank's bumped to B."
Paul nodded, slipping the coins away. "Got anything else?"
The Guild Master grinned. "Funny you ask. Just yesterday, some scouts found a hidden ruin deep in the Chasmwoods. No maps, no name. Just a cursed door and corpses with no shadows."
Paul's eyes narrowed.
"You sure?"
"Dead sure. No one's entered yet. Could be ancient… could be suicidal. Sound like your kind of job?"
Paul turned without answering.
---
The Chasmwood Ruins
The next day, Paul went alone.
Kaela had stayed back, feigning fatigue. In truth, she was busy reporting to Luna again. Watching. Waiting.
The dungeon was different.
Breathing.
It twisted its halls with every step he took—stone bleeding memory and air thick with a pressure that clawed at his soul. No monsters, no traps. Just a quiet pull toward the center.
At the heart was a room—a mirrored dome of black glass and bone.
A figure stood there. Cloaked. Human. A sword drawn. Silent.
Paul raised his guard. "What are you?"
The figure didn't answer.
It lunged.
Steel met steel. The blade the enemy wielded was his. Same grip. Same technique.
The battle stretched. Minutes. Hours? Time distorted.
Each slash wore him down. Not physically—but emotionally. Every swing struck with a memory. His wife's voice. His child's laughter. Their cries.
The phantom was him.
The self that broke when the fire took everything.
Blood seeped from Paul's side. His knee hit the floor.
And still the phantom raised its blade.
But just before it struck—Paul screamed.
Not from pain.
From refusal.
"I AM NOT DONE YET!"
Power exploded from within—not Luna's darkness. Not the strange holy light. But something raw. Elemental. Burning.
His sword ignited with red flame.
He surged forward and split the phantom clean in half. The mirror walls shattered, and silence returned.
A small chest appeared from the debris—inside, a black crystal pulsated with unknown power.
---
Back at the Guild (Late Night)
Paul staggered in, bleeding, dirty, carrying the crystal like it was a trophy and a curse.
The Guild Master stood waiting. "You're insane."
Paul dropped the crystal on the counter. "What is this?"
The Master picked it up carefully, eyes narrowing. "I don't know... but this isn't from our world."
Behind them, Kaela appeared in the doorway, heart thudding in her chest.
Because the moment Paul turned and their eyes met—she didn't see the man she was sent to watch.
She saw the man who'd rather die than stop fighting.
And maybe, just maybe...
She didn't want him to be alone anymore.