"I'll come back…" Yuna said, as if it were a vow, like it was the only thing she could cling to at that moment.
Ren felt a bitter taste rising in his chest. He couldn't understand why she would choose to face danger again when they had a clear chance to retreat safely.
But Yuna's eyes didn't waver. They burned with a fire Ren couldn't extinguish.
"Go back, Ren. I'll come back."
Those words broke the heavy silence, each one sounding like a decision forged over a long time.
She couldn't let go. She couldn't just stand by while someone, even an NPC...was in danger.
Ren stood there in silence, a lump forming in his throat. A part of him wanted to stop her, but he couldn't help wondering, was there anything waiting beyond but silence and pain?
He couldn't tell her to stop, nor could he ask her to come with him. This was Yuna's choice, and he had no right to take it away from her.
With a sigh, all Ren could do was look at her, eyes briefly glinting with understanding. "Be careful…"
He said it, voice hoarse, afraid to say anything more, as if even his words couldn't protect her from the dangers ahead.
Yuna gave a faint smile, but it wasn't a full one. "I'll come back." Her voice was steady, though there was still a hint of fragility, as if the promise was one she was making to herself.
Then she turned and walked into the darkness, where only the cold wind and the fading footsteps of miners echoed around them.
Ren stood there, eyes fixed on the dark where Yuna had vanished.
An emptiness spread within him, like something vital had been torn away and left behind.
He couldn't understand, why did Yuna have to do this? And why couldn't he persuade her to stay?
That feeling, like an invisible crack, began to form in Ren's heart.
A coldness he couldn't explain, like standing at the edge of a fragile cliff, and below it was an abyss from which there was no return.
He couldn't understand why Yuna left...why she chose that path.
Everything had seemed to settle down, at least on the surface.
But her sudden decision felt like a fracture that made everything Ren believed in collapse beneath him.
His heart felt hollow, undeniable in its silent scream, begging her to come back.
But then he realized, he couldn't change Yuna's decision.
It was her right, just as it had been his when he chose to walk his own path...uncertain, shrouded in doubt, and full of loneliness.
That crack… the one he never wanted to remember…
A feeling Ren had experienced before.
The first time he couldn't hold on to someone who mattered.
When he stood powerless, watching them slip away, left with nothing but a flood of regret.
That pain was no stranger.
It had burrowed into him long ago, when he was forced to let go of what he loved.
And now, it returned again, a reminder of his helplessness. He knew that no matter how hard one tries, sometimes you just can't change what's already been set in motion.
Ren took a deep breath, trying to push away the tightness in his throat. But this time, it wasn't as easy as before.
He had let the crack grow, letting the coldness settle deeper in his heart.
Nautilus's figure flickered in his peripheral vision, then disappeared into the dark, chasing after Yuna with hurried steps.
Ren didn't look at him, but he could feel the anger and disappointment in Nautilus's every movement.
He didn't say a word, not a complaint or rebuke. But Ren understood. It was the kind of disappointment too deep to be spoken aloud.
The miners were silent too. Their eyes averted, some with heads lowered, as if they too sensed the tension in the air.
Ren felt loneliness seep into him, even though people were still around.
But in this moment, they all felt distant, like invisible walls separated him from everything.
He stood there, stunned, unable to act or make any decision.
Only a suffocating weight in his chest, and questions with no answers.
The footsteps of Yuna and Nautilus faded away into the distance, and Ren remained there, unable to change a thing.
"Let's keep going," Ren said. His voice was low and tired. His legs felt heavy, as if burdened by all the anxiety and responsibility, as he led the miners out of the cave.
The path was short, but it felt endlessly long, as if each step dragged on in the cold, silent air.
Each footstep echoed in the emptiness, as if trying to emphasize the hollowness in his heart.
Finally, Ren managed to get everyone out of the mine, to a place where faint sunlight filtered through the low canopy of trees, but even that light couldn't ease the chill that seeped into their bones.
He stopped, feeling as though he had completed something, and yet unable to shake the worry clinging stubbornly to his heart.
Before the astonished eyes of the miners, Ren said nothing. He simply turned around and walked back into the mine, like a silent figure melting into the shadows.
"Y-You're going back in?" an older miner asked, the one who had earlier explained about the mine beams and how rare tremors were. His voice was filled with surprise and worry.
It was then that the miners realized, Ren hadn't gone back to search for a missing comrade alongside his team. He had only wanted to ensure they got out safely first… before returning.
Ren didn't answer the question, nor did he show any intention of explaining himself. He simply moved deeper into the mine, his steps growing more resolute amid the suffocating silence.
"Please... bring Stephen back safely… I know it's not your responsibility…" the older miner's voice trembled behind Ren, a desperate plea cast into the looming darkness ahead.
He took a deep breath, as if trying to suppress something buried in his chest, then continued, his voice lowering:
"Stephen's a stubborn and stingy man… but he's a good person. This might be selfish, but… we'll do our best to repay you fairly."
A short silence followed, then the man added, slowly, as though recalling a memory long buried under the dust of time:
"Stephen once pulled me out from under a pile of collapsed beams three years ago… If it weren't for him that time… I probably wouldn't be standing here, saying this now…"
His words were no longer just a request, they carried gratitude, a lingering debt, and the fear of losing an old companion.
In that moment, the old man's shoulders trembled faintly, as though he bore a weight heavier than the darkness of the mine.
Another miner spoke, his voice dry but clear:
"He still owes me a few beers…"
That comment drew faint, bitter chuckles from those nearby. But then another voice spoke up, more serious this time, laden with something deeper than just worry:
"Stephen's eldest son… he's about to start school. Stephen's been working tirelessly to save up for a good education for him."
Someone else nodded and added, their voice trembling with emotion:
"We don't have much. Just people who work in the dark, living with coal dust and the sound of picks... But if you can bring Stephen back…"
"We'll give everything we have to repay you, not just in Cor, but in sincere gratitude."
No one said anything more. Only the quiet sincerity remained, echoing in each word.
And in that space dusted with stone and sorrow, those honest words became invisible threads, gentle, yet impossible to resist, that tugged at Ren's steps… pulling him once more toward the place where darkness still patiently waited.
There was no shout, no urging. Only their eyes, full of worry, hope, and regret, watched as his figure gradually vanished into the earth.
Ren didn't look back. But he knew… this time, he wasn't walking alone.
Ren didn't have confidence in his swordsmanship or his strength. He knew he wasn't enough. But speed—that was the one thing he could place his complete trust in.
Not only because of his superior AGI stat compared to other players at his level, but also due to an uncanny sharpness in how he perceived his body.
He knew how to twist just right to avoid a fatal blow by inches, how to bend his knees and lower his center of gravity to slip through the narrow gaps between stone walls.
While others had to feel their way cautiously, he almost glided through the darkness and debris. Broken beams, jagged rocks, sudden cracks beneath his feet, Ren passed them all with clean, decisive strides.
He wasn't stronger than others, nor was he braver. He was just a cowardly rat.
But he was faster, more flexible, and harder to kill.
And now, he would use every bit of that speed to catch up with Yuna and Nautilus, the ones who had dared step into the dark while he still hesitated.
Even as his heart pounded in his chest, each beat striking against his pride and fear.
Ren charged down the familiar path, the one they and the miners had followed before splitting up.
His shadow swept past walls scarred by old pick marks, across wide hollows that once held promise as ore veins, and into the dim glow of crystals embedded in the walls, like a living shadow, shapeless but driven by a will clearer than ever.
There was no time to think. Only his legs and ragged breaths pushing him forward.