"!?"
The question detonated Ais's composure in an instant, sending her body surging as she tried to stand up.
But Riveria, already prepared for exactly this reaction, firmly pressed Ais back down.
Her voice was steady and immovable.
"Calm down, Ais."
"Bell didn't ask that to make you jump up. He asked because he needs you to make a decision."
Riveria desperately needed Ais to face this with a clear mind.
She herself wanted Aria and Albert to survive more than anything—but this wasn't a choice she could make. It was Ais's choice alone.
Pressed down, Ais's mind snapped fully awake.
Now she understood why Riveria insisted she clear her head before listening further. Just hearing the first sentence had nearly overwhelmed her.
Bell, one of the people involved in all this, wasn't surprised at all by her reaction. In fact, if she hadn't reacted like this, he wouldn't have used this question as a way to jolt her soul awake.
"Calmed down?"
Ais sat back, but her emotions were anything but calm.
"So, what do you think about the question?"
"...What do I need to do?"
For Ais, this wasn't a question that needed thinking.
If there was a chance—even a tiny one—to save her Papa and Mama, she would never hesitate.
Bell slowly lifted one finger.
"If you want your parents to live, you have one year. In that year, you must grow strong enough to stand before them and challenge them. If even a single day passes beyond that limit, your parents will have no chance."
"One year…"
Ais whispered the words, her fists clenching tightly.
Growing strong enough to face her father and Mama within a single year—this was, without question, the hardest thing she had ever been asked to do.
She knew her own power better than anyone.
Facing them with her current strength was impossible. Only after reaching Level 7—or even nearing Level 8—would she have the qualification to stand before them.
So she had to ask.
"Why one year?"
Bell wasn't annoyed by the question. He answered with calm patience.
"It wasn't necessarily one year at first. But if things had continued as they were originally, your parents would already be fully consumed by the Dungeon by now."
His explanation didn't ease the tension at all. Instead, it pressed heavier on Ais's heart.
"Do you remember the day you and Riveria returned from the Dungeon and saw your parents' projections?"
"I remember."
There was no way she could ever forget. She still carried the Recording Crystal that captured every second of it.
"It was because of the soul fragments your parents hid inside your body that they were able to be summoned from the Deep Floors of the Dungeon. Of course, what you saw was only a partial projection of their souls."
"But once those fragments returned to their bodies—and carried your situation back with them—they were able to keep holding on. Your parents are still waiting to become the stepping stones for your advancement to Level 8. No matter what, they have to endure."
"..."
A tremor ran through Ais's body, and a faint red bled into her eyes.
The atmosphere had been built up just enough—so Bell splashed cold reality straight onto it.
"But that endurance isn't limitless. Once their souls are completely eroded, the two of them will become nothing more than puppets of the Dungeon—mindless killing machines."
"Starting from now, one year is the limit of what your parents can withstand."
"If you fail to reach the level where you can challenge them within that time, then what awaits you is the moment where you must kill them with your own hands."
Bell stopped there, looking directly at Ais as though awaiting her answer.
"So, make your choice, Sword Princess."
But was this really a choice?
No. For Ais, it never had been. There was only one answer.
"I will stand before Papa and Mama within a year!"
Hearing Ais's response, Riveria sighed inwardly.
It was the only answer Ais could possibly give. As long as there was even the slightest chance, she would never choose to let go.
"Mm. Not a surprising answer."
When a chance appears, people—whether capable or not—always want to seize it.
Because sometimes opportunity matters more than talent or strength. Miss it once and it may never come again.
Bell was genuinely pleased Ais had chosen this path of no return, because it was intertwined so tightly with his own. If Ais didn't walk this road, his own advancement would only be delayed further.
Most importantly, he too didn't have much time left.
But now, something like realization flashed in Ais's eyes.
"So that's why you said those things to me yesterday."
She had wondered why Bell had talked so much—so he'd been preparing her for today all along.
Bell didn't deny it.
"That's right. What I told you yesterday was about your biggest problem. Simply put, your soul can't keep up with your body's rate of growth. And you need to resolve yourself for that. Either you grow slowly together with your companions, or you choose a far more difficult road.
"That's why I believed you needed something to push you forward—something positive."
"The survival and salvation of your parents is exactly that kind of stimulus. As long as you want to see them again, your emotions will drive your soul to grow quickly.
"Of course, under normal circumstances, we'd also have to think about the Excelia needed for ascension. But I considered that issue long ago. That's why I entrusted the Antares extermination to you. Only by defeating the Antares yourself could you gain the Excelia needed for leveling up. Everything was to set the conditions to push you onto that path."
Of course.
Riveria wasn't even remotely surprised by these words. She had already found it strange—if Antares was a threat even to gods, then Bell taking it on himself was the most logical choice. Yet back then, he had taken Ais with him. That had made no sense.
But if Bell had been preparing all along for Ais to take this path, then everything ceased to be strange and instead became completely reasonable.