The three companions walked toward the cave in silence, the thought of gold shimmering just beyond their reach. If what the prophecy claimed was true, their lives would soon change forever.
But Noir's thoughts were elsewhere, his mind a swirling storm of confusion and doubt.
Was it really all just a dream? If that wasn't real… then what is?
"Cheer up, kid," Valeria said with a grin. "If there really is a mountain of gold inside, we won't starve ourselves to death anymore. And hey, even if there isn't, that just means our adventure isn't over yet."
"She's right," Celeste added warmly. "Gold can't buy the most precious thing we've found. It's this adventure, Noir. The journey we share, step by step… as we walk toward a new dawn."
Noir managed a faint smile. "Miss Valeria… if that gold really exists, what would you do with it?"
Valeria glanced over, the edges of her expression softening. "Celeste and I… we were orphans. Never knew our parents. Never tasted anything more than stale bread growing up."
Celeste's voice was barely audible. "But we had each other…"
Valeria nodded. "You're like a sister to me. Always have been. And if I can't change my past…" She looked Noir in the eye. "Then I'll use that gold to change someone else's future. For every orphan living the life we lived."
Noir felt her conviction, burning like a quiet fire. "That's… noble. You really do have a heart of gold."
Valeria chuckled softly, brushing a hand through her hair to hide a faint blush. "A heart of gold, huh? I'm no saint. Just Valeria. That's all."
Celeste stepped in gently. "You don't need to be a saint to do the right thing. It's not sainthood that makes you noble, it's the choices you make when no one else will."
The cave grew darker as they went deeper, the walls twisting like a maze.
"Is it just me, or are we going in circles?" Valeria grumbled. "I swear we passed that same crack in the wall five times."
"Patience, dear," Celeste replied. "Maybe what we're searching for is just ahead."
Suddenly, Noir pointed forward. "There. Something's glowing."
The faint light shimmered ahead, ethereal, beckoning.
"You're right!" Valeria cried, picking up her pace. "Keep up, slowpokes! Our grand adventure's finally paying off!"
As they entered the chamber, gold shimmered in piles beyond imagination.
Celeste gasped. "It's real… it's all real. We're rich!"
Valeria's eyes widened. "This is… insane. How much do you think we can carry back?"
But Noir wasn't looking at the gold. Something caught his eye, a single silver coin, perfectly placed atop a pile of treasure. It was too clean. Too deliberate.
"…This doesn't belong here," he murmured, stepping closer.
He reached for the coin.
The moment his fingers brushed it,
Everything shattered...
Visions consumed him.
The farm. Burning. His home engulfed in flames, his grandfather's hand reaching out from under charred rubble, lifeless.
The village market. Ruined. Screams echoing. Children crushed beneath fallen beams. Fire dancing across rooftops. A shadowy figure watching in the distance.
The ship. Sinking into crimson water. Blood slick across the deck. The same dark figure, closer now.
His companions, Celeste and Valeria, hanged, their feet swinging gently above the stone floor, their eyes hollow and glassy.
And at last.. he saw his scarf, licked by fire as it slowly burns to ash.
Noir staggered, choking, bile rising in his throat. The horror gripped him like chains.
Then came the final vision:
Himself. Impaled by the Grand Drown's trident. Blood pooling beneath him.
And beside him..
A cloaked figure. Kneeling.
Its face was a void. An endless, formless black.
It rose.
It stepped toward him.
Its voice like a whisper across time:
"Leave this place."
"Do not look back."
"Keep moving forward."
Noir opened his mouth to speak, but the figure gently placed a hand on his head.
"Do not search for the past. And never… look back."
[—To be Continued—]