The underground chamber remained eerily silent. The weight of memories, of a kingdom lost and a past rewritten by fate, hung heavily in the air.

  Vierd stood near the fractured crystal, his golden eyes sharp, calculating.

  Rain remained a few steps behind, his crimson gaze distant. His past had resurfaced, and though he had spoken of it, some wounds never fully closed.

  But there was no time for reflection.

  They had a path to walk—and answers to find.

  "We need to move." Vierd's voice broke the silence. "Lingering here won’t change what happened."

  Rain smirked faintly. "So impatient."

  Vierd shot him a glance. "You're the one who said we don’t have the luxury of doubting."

  Rain chuckled. "Fair point."

  They both turned their attention to the fractured crystal in the center of the chamber.

  The moment had come to decide their next move.

  And neither of them expected what happened next.

  As Vierd took a step closer—

  The crystal pulsed.

  Once.

  Then again.

  A slow, rhythmic heartbeat.

  Rain narrowed his eyes. "That’s… not normal."

  Vierd didn’t respond. His own stone—the one he had taken from the Gate’s core—was reacting as well. The two resonated, their energies intertwining.

  Then—

  A voice.

  "You… seek the truth."

  Both men tensed.

  The sound wasn’t coming from the room.

  It was coming from the crystal itself.

  "Who speaks?" Vierd demanded, his stance shifting into a guarded position.

  The crystal pulsed again.

  "A fragment of what once was. A voice of those forsaken by time."

  Rain’s expression darkened. "The dead?"

  A long silence.

  Then, the voice laughed.

  A hollow, echoing sound.

  "No… not dead. Not alive. We are what remains when a world is undone."

  The words sent a chill through the chamber.

  Vierd exchanged a glance with Rain.

  This was something different.

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  Something ancient.

  And before either of them could respond—

  The crystal flared, and everything around them vanished.

  They found themselves somewhere else.

  No longer in the underground chamber.

  No longer in a world they knew.

  Instead, they stood on a broken landscape—fragments of floating ruins suspended in an endless void.

  The sky above was a swirling abyss, neither light nor dark.

  And before them…

  Silhouettes.

  Dozens of them.

  Faded figures, their forms shifting like smoke, barely holding together.

  And in the center of them all—

  A single entity.

  A figure cloaked in tattered black, its face obscured by a hood, but golden light burned where eyes should be.

  "Welcome, wanderers."

  Vierd felt it immediately.

  This presence—it wasn’t hostile.

  But it wasn’t friendly either.

  Rain narrowed his eyes. "You are… one of them, aren’t you?"

  The hooded figure remained still.

  "That depends. Tell me… what do you believe we are?"

  Vierd stepped forward. "The remnants of a destroyed world."

  The golden eyes within the hood glowed faintly. "A reasonable assumption."

  Rain crossed his arms. "So what do you want? Why did you bring us here?"

  A long pause.

  Then—

  "To warn you."

  Both Vierd and Rain stiffened.

  "The path you walk leads to the same fate as ours."

  Vierd clenched his fists. "And what fate is that?"

  The entity raised a hand.

  Suddenly—the void around them shifted.

  A vision unfolded before them.

  A world falling apart.

  Just like Valtaria.

  Just like the city in Vierd’s visions.

  A cycle of destruction.

  The hooded figure’s voice was quiet.

  "The stones… they are not what you believe them to be."

  Rain’s eyes darkened. "Then what are they?"

  The entity turned toward him.

  "Keys."

  Vierd frowned. "Keys to what?"

  The answer came with a whisper that felt heavier than any sound before it.

  "To the end."

  Silence fell.

  The weight of those words hung between them.

  Then, the entity continued.

  "Every stone marks a world. Every fracture is a wound upon existence itself. And every time one breaks…"

  It gestured toward the crumbling ruins surrounding them.

  "A world vanishes."

  Vierd’s mind raced.

  If that was true—then destroying the stones wasn’t the solution.

  Because each shattered crystal meant another world lost.

  "Then who created them?" Rain’s voice was low.

  The hooded figure hesitated.

  Then, for the first time—it looked away.

  "That… is an answer I cannot give."

  Vierd’s patience snapped. "Why not?"

  The golden eyes dimmed.

  "Because even we… do not know."

  Rain let out a slow breath. "So you’re telling us that these stones are part of something bigger, something older than even you… and that you don’t know who created them?"

  The figure gave a slight nod.

  "Only that their purpose… is to maintain balance. Until they fail."

  Vierd’s mind was a storm of thoughts.

  If that was true—then someone had placed these stones across different worlds.

  Someone had decided which worlds lived and which ones died.

  And if that was the case—

  "Then we aren’t dealing with just fate."

  His voice was quiet.

  "We’re dealing with something—or someone—who’s playing god."

  The hooded figure turned back to him.

  And then, for the first time… it spoke his name.

  "Vierd… you must decide what you will be."

  "A savior."

  "A destroyer."

  "Or something else entirely."

  Then—

  The vision collapsed.

  Vierd and Rain found themselves back in the underground chamber.

  The crystal before them had dimmed, as if its energy had been spent.

  The air was heavy.

  Neither spoke for a long moment.

  Then, Rain let out a quiet chuckle.

  "You always get us into the worst kind of trouble."

  Vierd exhaled. "We needed answers."

  Rain smirked. "And now we have even more questions."

  Vierd shook his head, turning toward the tunnel leading out of the ruins.

  "Then let’s find someone who can give us real answers."

  Rain followed, his usual smirk returning.

  "I wonder… are we chasing the truth? Or is it leading us exactly where it wants us to go?"

  Vierd didn’t reply.

  But one thing was clear.

  They weren’t walking blind anymore.

  They were stepping into something far greater.

  Something that had been waiting for them all along.