The area above Mount Rui contorts. The twisted faces in the clouds unravel, dissolving into darkness as the sky is slowly swallowed whole. Fractures in space stitch themselves shut, only to crack again a breath later. Shadows spread unevenly, swallowing what little light remains. Below, the forest lies in ruin, cracks split through the earth in every direction, deep craters carved into the land where their clashes tore through everything in reach.
"I have always considered your specialty a rather fascinating structure," Dae states, her fully crimson eyes staring past Sylaris's hood in cold focus. She flicks her fingers once more, but her mana refuses to cooperate. Even so, the whispers deepen, incantations bleeding into the air. Sylaris shows no interest, her barrage of strikes continuing without pause, each one intercepted by the grotesque hand. "The ability to manipulate shadows is quite bothersome to counter. You could be as weak as a child, and a master would fail to deal with you. Yet those with the right qualities can strike you down with ease."
The hooded figure halts her strikes and turns toward Leena and Kael below, still locked in combat. "Buying time won't help you. After your death, we sealed your primary artifacts; they will not materialize while you remain in this weakened state." They meet in cold silence as the energy around them continues to rise. "The decision to seal you and end the life of that creature below was made centuries ago." Her voice remains calm and smooth as she raises a pendant, a jade dragon carved into its surface, surrounded by unfamiliar symbols.
Dae's expression does not change as she tilts her head slightly, a faint golden glow forming around her eyes. She shifts her gaze from Sylaris to Leena and Kael before tilting her head again. 'I see… so she was the origin of her death.' Her fingers twitch subtly. 'The seal is in its final phase. There is no escape.' Her eyes settle briefly on the pendant. "I look forward to the day we meet again."
The pendant erupts with a blinding blue light, flooding the area. Sylaris steps forward as the mountain trembles under the pressure of the energy. "We expected you to resist." Dae's crimson hair lifts, drawn toward the pendant as its pull strengthens. Green energy wraps around her body, forming a coiling dragon that circles her form. Her gaze drifts once more to Leena and Kael, calmly observing their struggle below. "You may be right. In another fate, I would have done far more. However, I have attained a wonderful sword; far superior to any weapon your group may possess. And I am certain that as of now, the fate we all knew has been rewired." Her voice remains steady despite the violent winds. She raises her hand slightly, turning to the kids. 'I leave her in your hands… deceiver of gods.' Her body twists as the surrounding energy tightens, spiraling inward as the seal completes.
-
BANG!
Sparks burst through the air as Leena's strike collides with Kael's mask, the impact sending him rolling down the steep mountainside. 'Ugh! What the hell is that speed?As soon as her body began steaming, the mana around her started spilling outward.' He flips mid-roll, coating his arm in aura as he blocks her next strike. The area around them crumbles, triggering a rockslide. 'Shit, how stupid can she be?'
[Notice!]
[The Goddess of Light is attempting to glance down!]
[The Fairy Prince has obstructed her view.]
[Notice!]
[The God of War is attempting to descend!]
[The Shadowborn has used an artifact to block their descent.]
[The Fairy Prince warns the heavens to stay out of mortal affairs within his domain.]
POW!
As Kael processes the information, Leena drives a brutal kick into him, sending him spiraling up the mountain. "I've been waiting for this day for so long! Every single night, I dreamt of this!" she grits her teeth as the flower in her eye spins violently. The energy around her turns crimson as she closes the distance in an instant, slamming him into the earth. "What right do you have to deny my death!?"
'Ugh… fuck, she's faster than Rai…' Kael groans as his vision blurs. 'Thanks to Eira, I can take a beating, but what the hell is going on? Why are the gods trying to descend here?' He forces himself up, coating his body in a thin layer of aura. 'I need to conserve as much energy as possible. As crazy as she is, those up there are worse. It's way too early for me to get involved with them.' Catching her fist mid-strike, he twists her arm and drives a spiraling punch into her left lung. "I don't know what that crazy witch meant, but you're not wrong. I have no right to mess with these stupid family affairs." He predicts her follow-up, blocking her knee and slamming his mask into her forehead. Before she can react, he grabs her leg and hurls her up the mountain, sending her crashing through stone.
"Do you not see what's happening around us?" Kael exhales, walking toward Leena as she struggles to stand. His cloak activates, and a wave of dread washes over her. "Your mother is about to be defeated, and you're over here crying; 'you wish to die,' this and that." He rolls his eyes beneath the mask before crouching in front of her, his voice dropping to an exhausted murmur. "If you're so desperate to die…" he pauses for a brief second, "Kill yourself. Your mother will lose regardless, so don't wait for her, do us all a favor and end it yourself."
"Ha…ha… hahaha…" Leena lets out a trembling laugh as she forces herself upright, her bruises slowly fading. "You think that's going to scare me, V? I've lived long enough to work with fear." She spits blood into her hand and looks up at Sylaris and Dae clashing above. "You have no idea who my mother is… she is the strongest." She clenches her blood-stained fist and hurls it toward Kael, triggering a chain of explosions. "Mother is cruel! She made it so I'm incapable of killing myself even if the dungeon were destroyed. Do you think I would be wasting my time with you if I could kill myself!?"
The dust settles, and Kael stands unmoved, a magic shield flickering around his body. His fist slams into her face, sending her crashing into the ground. "Get up." He walks toward her and drives a brutal kick into her side. "That's for earlier." Kael glances upward for a split second—then immediately looks away, covering his mouth. 'I nearly passed out just from looking at that witch… But why is Sylaris here? She should be asleep, half dead. She's not supposed to awaken for another decade. I know for a fact I haven't changed anything related to her… so what changed the story?'
Taking advantage of the opening, Leena forms a thorned sword and thrusts it forward, managing to pierce through his stomach. "I'm tired of living," she exhales heavily, watching him stagger back, blood dripping down his mask. "I can't take this anymore… I'll do whatever it takes to make my only wish happen." Her voice trembles, her eyes beginning to tear, "…I shouldn't even exist."
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
[5th Dungeon Cycle]
The dungeon trembles as the adventurers reach the 80th floor. Leena exhales, walking slowly through a long corridor. After a brief fight, she forces her way through a wall, stepping into a passage she has never seen before. "How strange… I know Mother tends to keep areas hidden, but this one goes on for miles." With a quiet sigh, she hums a tune she made out of boredom.
"Hm~ hm hm hmm~ Hmm… mmm hm… hmm~"
"I wish Skelly wasn't so busy…" she mutters, until a faint glow catches her attention. "What is this?" Around her lie scattered documents and diagrams, each filled with dense, complicated script. 'Good thing I taught myself Mother's language… there's so much she's kept hidden from me.'
She flips through the pages, confusion building, unable to grasp anything. Though she understands the words, the meaning escapes her until she reaches one document at the very bottom.
[Analysis]
[Unsuccessful creation. The attempt to produce a child with proper distinctions has failed. Her body is too weak, with no lasting value. A misalignment within the data resulted in cascading negative effects.
Leena's body failed to fully synchronize with the essence, instead adapting independently. Through this deviation, her connection to Fate has manifested as a calamity. A being never meant to exist; Fate itself has denied her any path, any fulfillment, any proper existence.
Her lifespan will be short.
Despite the world's rejection, she was forced into existence through the materials used in the process.
Reconstruction would be ideal, but I no longer have the time. The plan must proceed.
At the very least… she will live long enough to bring forth my life-]
"Ha… haha…" Leena's hands tremble as the page slips from her fingers. She can't continue reading. Tears fall freely as she drops to her knees.
'Of course…'
'That's why she never looked at me, why she rejected my wish to leave..'
Her head lowers, shoulders shaking as her tears hit the stone below.
'I have no right to live…'
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
'Fuck… I messed up. I shouldn't have looked up. That crazy witch wants something from me… and where the hell is Ilka?' He reaches into his pouch, but Leena dashes forward, closing the distance in an instant.
"I'm not going to die over your suicidal thoughts," Kael grunts, forcing his body to respond. He kicks her legs out and drives a punch into her, sending her back before slipping down and quickly pulling a vial from his pouch, pouring the healing liquid over the wound in his stomach. 'Ugh… I hate using this painful shit… there goes 30 gold…' he groans internally.
Both of them stand there, breathing heavily. Although Leena's body heals quickly, she hasn't rebuilt enough stamina since her reconstruction.
"You know… for a dungeon master, you seem pretty weak…" Leena mutters, gripping her sword as she steadies her breath, wiping the tears from her eyes after the memory resurfaces.
"I'm… just a little hungry."
Kael's eyes widen as a small skeleton suddenly appears beside her, raising its sword in a silent war cry. 'That thing again? Shit… I don't think I can handle an S-rank skeleton right now.' His gaze sharpens. 'I should leave. I've already figured out what happened here. Someone sealed that witch… and they probably killed Leena right after. I don't know why it's Sylaris, or if something changed and she took that role, either way, there's no reason to stay.'
Just as Skelly prepares to attack, a violent gust tears through the area. A blinding light erupts across the sky. All three of them look up.
"…Yeah. That works."
A violent pressure crashes down from above, the light swallowing the sky as the air itself twists, forcing Kael to brace while Leena freezes mid-step, her breath caught in her throat; the clash overhead vanishes, it doesn't fade but gets completly cut off; replaced by a suffocating stillness that makes even Skelly hesitate, its blade lowering slightly, and for a brief, impossible moment the entire mountain feels empty as that overwhelming presence is dragged away, leaving behind only a hollow silence.
"No… no no no—nono… nonono… that's not possible!" Leena's heart races, her eyes trembling in disbelief. The figure above consumes the sky as shadows spread outward, swallowing the light until everything goes dark and completely silent. "No… even weakened… Mother shouldn't have lost… that's not possible…" She stumbles back, shivering as the eyes beneath the hood lock onto her.
"Well… welcome to reality," Kael exhales, dusting himself off as he glances around. 'Looks like the others already left. It should be fine. The elf prince got the flower, so the story won't change. He'll still become a murdering dictator.' With a slow breath, he looks back up at the figure, only to feel a chill crawl down his spine as the shadows around her shift unnaturally.
High above, Sylaris raises her palm, pointing directly at them. Dark energy coils around her as chains erupt from the ground, wrapping around Kael and Leena before either can react. "What the fuck? Why am I always dragged into this shit?" Kael grunts, struggling. 'I have Umbra… but if I change its form, she might see my face… tsk…' He exhales sharply. 'Umbra can absorb the attack, but I won't handle the backlash. If I dump all the mana umbra has, as well as my mana and aura, I should be fine.'
"Haha… I… t-think this is it…" Leena smiles faintly, though her heart pounds violently, her eyes shaking as she stares at the forming attack. 'This is it… I can feel it… this can kill me…' Tears slip down her face. 'But why… w-why is my heart beating so fast?' Her vision blurs as memories surface: her mother, her purpose, her wish. 'This… this is what I want…' Her hands tremble as she turns to Skelly, who stands untouched by the chains. 'She doesn't see him as a threat, well, he's always been good at hiding.' She forces a weak smile. "Go… hide, Skelly. I can finally leave this world. You know how long I've waited for this… so please… leave. There's no reason for you to die here."
However, Skelly turns to her and jumps up, patting her head like he used to do when they trained together. He points his sword at his skull, where a carving lies 'to the edge of the world', a carving Leena made long ago when they declared to be friends till the end. She remembers it vividly, when she had those foolish dreams to explore the world, she had a fierce struggle with Skelly, forcing that carving on. One day Skelly painted it in a nice red to cheer her up after awakening.
"N-no... that was long ago, Skelly. Please don't..." Her throat feels stuffy as she looks at his determined posture. With a slash, Skelly slices the chains off as soon as Sylaris finishes her casting, "Jump away, idiot!" leaving one last thumbs up, he points at the ground beside her and jumps up, slicing the attack, the blast of dark energy clashes with him. Although he manages to block, the pure impact shreds his skeleton to dust.
"N-No… no, no…" Leena's eyes water, her hands trembling as she falls to her knees. "W-Why… why do you always have to go against me, i-idiot!" she cries out, gripping the earth as her tears fall onto a worn book—Legends Beyond—the one she read with him during their first twenty years together. She used to blindly read tales of great heroes and creatures, drawing beside the text, excitedly hoping that one day she would see those wonders for herself. Skelly always kept the book, even when she threw it away. "You fool… I was going to die a-anyway, you didn't have to join me!"
Kael stares at her, then looks up as Sylaris prepares a second attack. 'Looks like she's keeping her distance on purpose. She could've come down herself and killed us… or sent one of her pets. Is Mirelith around?' He exhales, slightly calmer now. During that strike, when Skelly blocked her line of sight, he swapped masks and turned Umbra into a glove. 'Huh… she didn't increase the firepower. Good.'
"Oi, Leena, I'm going to be direct—"
BOOOOOM—
The second blast of energy crashes down. In an instant, Umbra expands into a cube, sealing them both inside as the impact sends violent vibrations through the barrier. Kael forces himself up and tears open a rift. Beyond it, a vast plain of green grass and flowing water stretches out, completely different from the ruined forest around them. "I'm leaving. After I step through, you'll have three seconds before this space collapses and that woman out there kills you." He walks past her, blood running down from his nose. 'Thank god Umbra likes this energy…' He stops at the edge of the rift. "If you want to die, feel free to stay."
"W-Why…" tears fall as she stares at the cover of the book. "Why are you telling me this?" She grits her teeth, fingers digging into the ground as her mother's words echo in her mind. 'Unsuccessful creation.'
"Why? No reason…" Kael wipes the blood from his face, staring through the rift. "I'm not going to save your life and play your prince charming; fairy tales are stupid." He pauses for a brief moment. "I just spite fate. I won't let anyone, nor some bullshit like fate, make decisions for me. And looking at you… It's pathetic and kinda sad."
Through the rift, he spots Lysandra running toward him. She suddenly trips, making a cursed expression as she looks up and sees his new face. And with that, he steps through.
She clutches the book as the memories flood back, stupid, foolish memories of going against her mother's orders, of planning with Skelly all the things they would do. Another pulse of pain surges through her body, her mind drowning in hundreds of years of constant death and rebirth as the cube begins to collapse into the rift. Leena lifts her gaze, making eye contact with the figure above; her heart pounds violently, her hands trembling. "I-I… I-I…" Tears stream down her face as she tightens her grip on the book. "I-I don't w-want to die…" She tries to stand, tries to force herself up, but her legs give out. Gritting her teeth, she stares at the rift as it slowly begins to close. "I-I… I want—" An image flashes in her mind, Skelly pointing at a great hero, sword raised, declaring war with excitement. "I-I want to live... I-I want to l-live please..." She can feel the energy building, pulsing around her as she squeezes her eyes shut and forces her body forward, just barely making it through before the rift snaps shut behind her, and a violent blast of energy consumes everything left behind.
Sylaris glares at the area, confusion flickering in her eyes. She scans up and down as dark energy flows outward, attempting to track their location. "Enough." Mirelith mumbles, appearing in front of her, seated on a throne of bright green vines, his golden hair illuminating the shadows around him.
Sylaris blinks once, lowering her hand as the shadows in the area shift violently around the two. "She has no meaningful connection to you, Your Highness. A calamity like her should be exterminated."
The Fairy Prince gives a faint smile. "My, my… who are you to make decisions on my behalf?" He rises, pacing through the air. "Ah… I do feel better after dealing with that dead tree." With a flick of his wrist, the clouds are blown away instantly. The ruined black forest begins to restore itself, bright green and violet grass spreads across the ground, trees rebuild and bloom, and the starlight casts a soft purple glow over the land. "I haven't felt this good in centuries… so do not ruin the moment, or I will dispose of you," he murmurs, gently brushing his fingers against a flower.
"You seem to be mistaken. I do not fear you, Your Highness," she replies calmly, her gaze lowering toward him as the shadows condense back into her own.
"Are you willing to risk your life over a child?" he asks, as two guardians kneel beside him.
And with that, Sylaris disappears into the night.