The horn sound quickly disappeared, but the stillness it caused was more intense than the sound itself.
Hoshino Rei was next to me, exhausted, and the last remains of her light-spear were flickering weakly around her hand like a last flicker of fire. The Mirror Trial chamber became darker, its highly polished walls lost their reflective sheen and turned back to dull stone. Reflections' bits still floated in the air like ash and then disappeared completely.
I released my hand from her arm, just then becoming aware that I had been supporting her.
"Are you okay?" I inquired.
Rei gave a single nod, then shook her head. "No. Still, I am on my feet."
That was a big deal in this situation.
Text appeared between us, sparkling.
PAIR RESONANCE: STABLE
STATUS: ALIGNED
Aligned.
I felt uneasy with the word settling into me. Alignment suggested a path. A goal. And in a place like this, goals were seldom benevolent.
Rei was massaging her forehead. "When I deceived… it also took away something. Not a part of my past. But something different."
"What?," was all I could manage to say.
She took some time, then said it indirectly. "The future. The desire is so strong in me; it is as if I lost a slice of my upcoming."
The dark entity moved, giving its approval.
I averted my gaze. "That's the mechanism," I whispered. "The cycle never takes what you are willing to let go."
The next moment when Rei was about to say something, the whole chamber shook.
The floor was finely cracked from one end to the other, with faintly glowing pale symbols in the cracks.
TRIAL ZONE CLOSING
"Quick," was my command.
We ran through the only route that remained intact, our feet beating against the stone like the Mirror Trial closing behind us with a deafening noise.
Dust clouded the passage, choking us and obstructing our sight, however, the arrows carved on the walls became increasingly bright, pointing the way to us.
The path led to a huge hall.
Unknowingly, my steps got slower.
The wide row of stone pillars extended to the far end of the hall, and each one was adorned with names—countless ones.
Some of them had a faint glow; the majority, however, were black. The floor was full of broken weapons.
Old blood had stained the stone in places where it had never completely disappeared.
A graveyard.
Rei gulped. "Those are… candidates."
"Yes," I replied. "Or what is left of their proof."
At the end of the corridor, there was an enormous black stone arch. Over it, was a burning line of text, which was bigger than any that had been before.
WAYPOINT UNLOCKED: PILLAR OF RECORD
When we got near, the closest pillar lit up.
KURO AYANAGI
STATUS: Active
BURDEN: Veiled Shade
RESONANCE: 12%
EVALUATION: Incomplete
Before the first pillar had even finished igniting, it was already Rei's turn.
HOSHINO REI
STATUS: Active
BURDEN: Dying Light
RESONANCE: 12%
EVALUATION: Incomplete
Rei let out a sharp breath. "So, we remain here even after we die."
"I meant, 'remembered'," I said. "That's even worse."
A deep voice, smooth and apathetic, reverberated throughout the hall.
"Correct."
We turned around.
A man peeled away from one of the pillars—a giant, powerfully built, and in a long coat that looked burnt at the hem.
The color of his hair was black, which was neatly tied at the back despite the dirt. He was holding an enormous hammer that looked like it was made of stone that was distorted by gravity.
He appeared to be unhurt.
He appeared to be unafraid.
"Well, my name is 'Tachibana Jiro' ," he said in a serene voice. "Besides, you are in a disputed waypoint."
Rei did not think twice and immediately pointed her spear at him.
Jiro raised one hand without concern. "Take it easy. If I had decided to kill you, your names would already be on the stone."
I was observing him. The shadow was doing the same - probing, listening.
Powerful. Experienced. Dangerous.
"What is your wish?" I inquired.
Jiro's eyes darted to our pillars and then he stopped at the common resonance. A slight smile appeared on his face.
"Confirmation," he said. "That alignment exists."
He moved in closer, and the floor slightly protested with a moan under his weight.
"The trial then," Jiro went on, "would not be a matter of individual survival anymore if that is the case."
The archway that was behind him gave a low sound as it began to open.
Something huge was moving in the dark behind it.
"It's about factions."
Text lit up all across the hall, and there was no way to escape it.
NEW PHASE INITIATED
STRUCTURE UNLOCKED: FACTION DYNAMICS
Rei spoke tight. "Kuro..."
"I know," I answered.
The darkness lifted even more, and the towering shadows it cast were rough and sharp as they danced on the columns of the dead.
Now Jiro was fully smiling.
"Be careful with your choice," he remarked. "Friends have a longer life. Rulers enjoy the best life. And the solitary ones—" he pointed with a quick glance to the dimly lit columns "—turn into warnings."
The archway was now completely open.
A roar came from the other side that was very loud and of ancient and great delight.
Rei kept her position sturdy next to me.
I took a glimpse at the columns. At the names. At mine.
And then I looked forward.
"It seems," I whispered, "that the descent has just found a way to sort itself."
And somewhere behind us, the stone started to engrave new names—slowly, patiently—waiting to see who would be the next to deserve them.