Ren didn't remember how long he ran.
Only that he didn't stop.
Not when his legs screamed.
Not when his vision blurred.
Not when the taste of blood filled his mouth.
By the time he and Lira finally collapsed, the tomb felt different.
Quieter.
Deeper.
Safer—
Or maybe just far enough from death to pretend it was.
Ren hit the ground hard, his back slamming against cold stone as his strength finally gave out.
"…I can't… move…" he breathed.
Lira dropped beside him, gasping for air. "Good… because if you kept running, you were going to die."
He let out a weak, breathless laugh.
"…Fair."
Silence settled between them.
Heavy.
Broken only by their uneven breathing.
Then the pain came back.
"Ghh—!"
Ren's body jerked as his core flared violently, sending a sharp, burning sensation through his chest.
Lira immediately turned to him. "It's happening again?!"
"…Yeah," he forced out. "Too much mana… too fast…"
The warmth from the fragment had changed.
Before, it felt steady.
Now—
It was unstable.
Like something inside him was pushing back.
"Lie still," Lira said, pressing him down gently. "You're not moving anymore."
"Wasn't planning to…"
She tore a strip from her sleeve and pressed it against his shoulder wound.
Ren winced.
"…That hurts."
"Good. Means you're still alive."
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Lira's voice softened.
"…You scared me."
Ren glanced at her.
Her usual sharp expression was gone.
Replaced by something quieter.
More real.
"…Sorry," he said.
She shook her head. "Don't apologize. Just… don't do something like that again."
He gave a faint smirk. "No promises."
"…Ren."
"Alright, alright," he sighed. "I'll try."
Another silence.
This one calmer.
Then—
Lira spoke again.
"…Those people."
Ren's expression darkened slightly.
"Yeah."
"They weren't random scavengers."
"No," he said quietly. "They weren't."
He closed his eyes briefly, recalling the way they moved.
Coordinated.
Experienced.
Confident.
"They knew what they were doing," he continued. "And they weren't surprised to see something like that guardian."
Lira hesitated.
Then said it.
"…You think they're with the Alchemist Union?"
Ren didn't answer immediately.
But the silence was enough.
"…That's bad," she muttered.
The Alchemist Union.
Just hearing the name made the air feel heavier.
"They're not just debt collectors," Lira continued, her voice low. "They control trade, medicine… even mana research. If they're involved—"
"—then we're already in trouble," Ren finished.
Mira.
The thought hit him hard.
The medicine.
The debt.
The deadline.
"They gave us three days," Ren said quietly.
Lira looked at him. "And we just spent one of them almost dying."
"Yeah."
He slowly sat up, ignoring the protest from his body.
"We don't have time to recover properly."
"You're joking," Lira said flatly. "You can barely stand."
"I can stand," he said, pushing himself up to prove it.
His legs shook.
But he didn't fall.
"That's not the same thing."
"It's enough."
Lira stared at him for a moment.
Then sighed.
"…You're not going to stop, are you?"
Ren shook his head.
"If we don't pay them," he said, voice low, "they won't just take money."
Lira's expression hardened.
"They'll take Mira."
Silence.
Ren's fists clenched.
A faint flicker of mana sparked around his fingers.
Unstable.
Sharp.
"…I won't let that happen."
For the first time—
There was no hesitation in his voice.
Lira studied him carefully.
Then nodded.
"…Then we need a plan."
Ren exhaled slowly.
"First—we get out of here."
"Agreed."
"Second—we sell whatever we can from this place."
"And third?" she asked.
Ren looked down at his hand.
At the faint glow that came and went.
"…I learn how to use this."
Because next time—
Running wouldn't be enough.
A distant sound echoed through the tunnel behind them.
Faint.
But unmistakable.
Footsteps.
Both of them froze.
"…They found us," Lira whispered.
Ren's expression sharpened.
His body still hurt.
His core still unstable.
But his eyes—
Were steady.
"Then we move."
He took a step forward.
Slower this time.
Controlled.
Not running.
Preparing.
Because this wasn't over.
Not even close.
Somewhere far above the Ashen Tombs—
In a city built on wealth and power—
Men in fine robes discussed numbers, contracts… and lives.
And one name had just been added to a list.
Ren.
A boy with a cracked core.
And something far more valuable.