Youri stood there, the weight of Lea's words settling over him like the crimson sky itself. The wind had died down, but the silence that replaced it felt heavier—unnatural, as if the world itself had paused to let the truth sink in.
"The beginning of everything…" Youri repeated under his breath.
Lea didn't respond immediately. Her gaze remained fixed on the horizon, where the jagged cliffs met the drifting stone masses. For a moment, she seemed distant—like she wasn't looking at the world before her, but through it.
"Yes," she finally said. "And the end of everything, too."
Youri let out a dry breath. "That doesn't make any sense."
"It's not supposed to," Lea replied. "You're still thinking like someone who belongs to a linear world. Cause and effect. Beginning and end. Life and death."
She turned slightly toward him. "Tartarus doesn't follow those rules."
Youri frowned, frustration creeping into his expression. "Then explain it in a way that does."
Lea's head tilted faintly, as if considering whether he was worth the effort.
"…Fine," she said. "But you won't like the answer."
Youri crossed his arms despite the pain in his ribs. "Try me."
Lea stepped forward, her boots crunching lightly against the uneven stone. She raised her hand and pointed toward the vast desert visible far beyond the cliffs—a pale, endless expanse that seemed to divide the domains like a scar across the world.
"You see that?" she asked.
Youri followed her gesture. "Yeah."
"That desert is the only constant in Tartarus," she said. "It separates the domains. Keeps them from consuming each other."
"Consuming?" Youri echoed.
Lea nodded. "Each domain is a manifestation of its ruler. Their will. Their nature. Their… identity, if you can still call it that."
Youri's eyes narrowed slightly. "So that ice world… was Tikadello?"
"Yes," Lea said. "Everything you saw there—every storm, every shard of ice, every breath of cold—that was him."
Youri exhaled slowly. "Then this place…"
"Belongs to Gaisen," Lea finished.
As if on cue, a distant roar echoed through the sky.
Youri looked up again just as the massive silhouette of Gaisen cut across the crimson clouds, its wings slicing through the air with silent authority. It circled once, then disappeared behind a cluster of floating stone pillars.
"…Right," Youri muttered.
Lea lowered her hand. "Now imagine this," she continued. "What happens when two of those domains collide?"
Youri thought about it for a moment. "They… fight?"
Lea gave a faint shake of her head. "They overwrite each other. One devours the other. The stronger will absorbs the weaker—its domain, its power… its existence."
Youri's expression darkened. "So it's survival of the strongest."
"No," Lea said quietly. "It's survival of the most absolute."
Youri glanced at her. "That sounds like the same thing."
"It isn't," she replied. "Strength can be challenged. Power can be resisted. But something absolute…" She paused. "…cannot be denied."
Youri didn't respond.
The wind began to stir again, brushing against the cliffs with a low, restless hum.
"So where do I fit into all of this?" he asked after a moment. "I'm not some 'domain ruler.' I'm just… me."
Lea finally turned fully toward him.
"That's what makes you dangerous."
Youri blinked. "Dangerous?"
"You're still human," she said. "You still have limits. Doubts. Attachments."
She stepped closer, her voice lowering slightly.
"And yet… you carry something that doesn't belong to this world. Something that shouldn't even exist here."
Youri's jaw tightened. "Altopereh."
Lea didn't confirm it—but she didn't deny it either.
"That thing didn't just bring you here," she said. "It used you."
Youri looked away. "Yeah. I figured as much."
"But it also left something behind," Lea continued.
That made him pause.
"What do you mean?"
Lea's gaze dropped briefly—to his chest.
"You can feel it, can't you?" she asked.
Youri hesitated.
At first, he wanted to deny it. But then… he focused.
And there it was.
A faint sensation. Subtle, but unmistakable. Like a slow, steady pulse—deep within him. Not pain. Not warmth.
Something else.
"…Yeah," he admitted quietly.
Lea nodded once. "That's the residue of its power. A fragment."
Youri's eyes narrowed. "And that's supposed to be a good thing?"
"No," Lea said bluntly. "It's the only reason you're still alive."
Silence fell between them.
Youri clenched his fist slightly, feeling that faint pulse again.
"So what?" he said. "You're telling me I'm turning into one of those things?"
Lea didn't answer right away.
And that was answer enough.
"…No," she finally said. "Not yet."
Youri let out a humorless laugh. "That's reassuring."
Lea ignored the sarcasm.
"If you stay here long enough," she continued, "you will change. Whether you want to or not."
She turned back toward the open world.
"The only question is… into what."
Youri followed her gaze again, his expression hardening.
"I'm not staying here," he said firmly.
Lea raised an eyebrow beneath her hood. "Oh?"
"I don't care what this place is," Youri went on. "I don't care how it works. I'm getting out."
Lea studied him for a moment.
"…Then you'll need power," she said.
Youri nodded. "I know."
"And control," she added. "More than you've ever had."
He looked at her. "That's what the Orbiton is for."
Lea's expression shifted—just slightly.
"That machine won't save you," she said.
Youri frowned. "It's the only thing I've got."
"It's a shell," Lea replied. "A tool. Nothing more."
She stepped closer again, her voice quieter now—but sharper.
"If you rely on it alone, Tartarus will break you."
Youri met her gaze, unflinching.
"Then I won't rely on it alone."
Lea held his stare for a few seconds longer… then finally looked away.
"…Good," she murmured.
A distant rumble echoed across the cliffs.
Both of them turned toward the sound.
Far in the distance, beyond the floating stone pillars, something shifted.
The air itself seemed to warp slightly—like heat distortion bending reality.
Youri narrowed his eyes. "What is that?"
Lea's posture stiffened.
"…Trouble," she said.
The distortion grew stronger.
The ground beneath them trembled faintly, small pebbles rolling across the stone.
Gaisen's roar echoed again—louder this time, sharper.
And then—
A crack.
Not a sound, but a sensation. Like something tearing through the fabric of the world.
Youri's eyes widened. "What the hell—"
Lea grabbed his arm suddenly.
"We need to move," she said.
"Why?"
"Because something just crossed into this domain."
Youri's expression hardened instantly.
"…Another ruler?"
Lea shook her head.
"No," she said.
Her voice dropped.
"Something worse."
The distortion in the distance expanded—
And for a brief moment, Youri swore he saw it.
A silhouette.
Tall. Twisted. Unnatural.
Not like the others.
Not like anything that belonged here.
Youri felt that pulse in his chest spike violently.
And for the first time since arriving in Tartarus—
He felt something new.
Not confusion.
Not anger.
Not even fear.
Recognition.
"…No way," he whispered.
Lea looked at him sharply. "You've seen it before?"
Youri didn't answer.
His eyes were locked on the distant distortion.
"…That's not from this world," he said.
The air trembled again.
And whatever was coming—
Was coming for them.