The storm cleared.
I opened my eyes to find myself on the edge of a high mountain. Below me, a shattered city stretched into the distance—ruins, lifeless and ancient, whispered in the wind. At the city's center, gates of worn stone and pulsing runes stood tall, slightly glowing. Strange symbols flickered across them like they were alive. A dense stream of aen flowed through the cracks.
But something was wrong.
I narrowed my eyes.
Corrupted aen drifted freely, coiling like smoke in the air. It stung at my skin, clawed at my thoughts. It was thicker than in the abyss—stronger, heavier.
Beside me, Ren appeared, materializing from my soul.
He had seen it all.
I didn't speak. I simply began to descend the slope.
I had to keep moving.
The closer I got to the gates, the brighter they seemed. Then I realized—it wasn't them.
It was me.
My eyes… they had changed.
I could see the flow now—the rhythm of aen through the world.
I reached out and touched the gate.
My hand slid through it.
It didn't feel like mist or water. It was more like pushing through a veil of breath.
I stepped back slightly, uncertain.
Then the ground rippled.
Something lunged.
I twisted, bringing my foot down to pivot, and slammed my wooden blade into its side.
It was small, no larger than a pup, its black flesh glistening like tar, hard as bone.
But its body hit the gate—and shattered.
Glass. Stone. Light.
Its shell crumbled… but what floated up was a transparent, luminous soul core.
It pulsed once.
Then, like breath, it unraveled into strands of light and flowed directly into the gate.
It was beautiful—and haunting.
I understood. No spawn could enter. The gate absorbed their cores.
And I walked forward into the ruined city.
---
Inside the ruins.
"Master," Ren called behind me. His voice was low.
I stopped.
I was angry.
He could have told me.
He knew Sylvia's fate. He knew the sorrow hiding beneath her smile.
He could have said something—maybe I could've stopped it.
"Master, please—"
"Please what?" My voice was quiet but sharp. "You have your freedom. You made your choice."
I turned to face him, eyes empty, words colder than before.
"Now let me make mine."
I walked away.
"Goodbye, Ren."
---
Tears streamed down my face as Master walked away—
Each step he took felt like it echoed through my soul.
I didn't move.
I couldn't.
The silence he left behind was louder than any battle cry.
A silence that tore deeper than any blade.
My lips parted, trembling—
The words slipped out before I could stop them:
"I'm sorry, Master… for hurting you again."
…Only when I said it did the word "again" catch in my chest.
I didn't even know why I said it.
But my heart did.
Somewhere deep down, i remembered.