"I'm going with you"
The sentence cut through the air like an arrow.
Yuto stopped sheathing the Blade of Nothing and turned. Lianne stood in the doorway of the cabin with her arms crossed and her eyes fixed. Her golden hair was tied back in makeshift ponytail, and her expression was determined.
"No" he replied.
"I'm not asking, Yuto"
"Even so, the answer is no."
She walked forward, her steps firm. The smell of wet earth still lingered in the air, a remnant of the previous night's storm. Lianne stopped inches from him, her eyes rising to meet his.
"If this dungeon is as dangerous as it seems, you need help. I'm not letting you go into a place like this alone. No way."
Yuto looked away, clenching his fists.
"You don't understand... this isn't just another fight. This fucking thing is suicide. It's a trap. And if you go with me.. if you die..."
"If I die, it was my choice!" she screamed, hitting him hard in the chest. "You're not the only one who's suffered in this world, you know?"
He took a step back, swallowing hard. But still, he shook his head.
"I won't risk it."
"You don't control me!
"No, but I control myself! And I won't let you go!"
The argument escalated like a brush fire.
"Why are you being like this, Yuto? Why won't you let me fight by your side?"
The answer came out before he could stop it.
"BECAUSE YOU'RE THE ONLY THING THAT GIVES ME PEACE!"
The silence fell like a soundless thunderclap.
Lianne's eyes widened. Her face turned blood red. She opened her mouth to speak... but nothing came out.
"I..." Yuto tried to control his breathing, his eyes trembling. "I can't... lose you. Not you,"
That was the first time since arriving in Ervanth that he'd said anything without anger.
No violence.
Just the truth.
Lianne looked away. A blush still tinged her cheeks, but she didn't answer. She stood there, her heart pounding too loudly to ignore.
Yuto walked past her in silence and back into the cabin.
They didn't exchange another word that night,
DAWNED.
Golden sunlight streamed through the cabin's crooked windows. The air was cool, smelling of dew and silence.
Yuto wore the reinforced tunic Lianne had sewn for him from scraps of leather and cloth from dead monsters. The Blade of Nothing hung on his back, wrapped in a black sash.
He walked out the door and found Lianne sitting on the makeshift fence.
She didn't say anithing.
Neither did he.
He just walked over... and stopped in front of her.
"Thank you" he said.
She looked up, still dejected.
"Come back alive, idiot."
Yuto nodded.
And left.
He passed through the trees,
along the path that led south, until he reached the gorge that hid the new dungeon.
On the horizon, the sky seemed to bleed.
And below him... something pulsed.
Something alive.
Something hungry.
Heart of Twisted Flesh.
He took a deep breath.
And took the first step toward hell.