The impact exploded through the courtyard like a shockwave, as if something had just sealed them inside.
Both of them turned immediately. A low metallic sound echoed across the ruins.
Something had sealed them inside.
"…Of course," Aron muttered weakly.
Zekai didn't want to go deeper into the palace.
But at the same time, he knew the answers to this place were waiting somewhere ahead.
With bitter reluctance, both of them slowly stepped forward.
Aron's shoes scraped against broken stone as they entered the palace hall, the sound echoing far too loudly in the silence.
The inside was worse.
The moment they crossed the entrance, it felt like the outside world stopped existing entirely.
They entered a massive throne hall.
Parts of the ceiling had collapsed, while dust endlessly drifted through the air.
Long crimson banners hung from the walls, torn apart and faded with age, swaying softly like ghosts whenever the wind moved through the hall.
At the far end stood a giant throne.
Cracked directly down the middle.
Broken stained-glass windows scattered fragments of colored light across the floor.
"This place gets worse the deeper we go," Aron said quietly.
He wasn't wrong.
Every step made the atmosphere heavier.
At this point, even Zekai had no idea what would happen next.
Aron unconsciously tightened his grip around the stone card.
"Mr. Zekai…"
"I really don't like this place."
Zekai silently agreed.
If anything—it felt like things were only beginning.
Then suddenly—
he froze.
A voice reached him. Not through the air.
Inside him.
"Use the card."
The words didn't arrive through sound. They were simply… already there.
Zekai stopped mid-step.
"Aron," he said slowly, "do you hear anything?"
Aron frowned immediately.
"No."
"I don't hear anything."
Zekai's eyes narrowed slightly.
Then it wasn't sound.
It was directed. Only toward him.
Again and again, strange things kept happening around him alone.
The glow and now voice. None of this was random anymore.
'This place is full of mysteries.'
Then something flickered in front of his vision.
Not outside.
Directly before him. For a second, he thought it was another distortion in the air.
Then it stabilized.
A thin transparent layer of red light appeared before him.
Flat.
Like reality itself had been covered by something artificial.
"…What?"
The screen didn't appear suddenly. It felt like it had always been there—and Zekai had only now remembered where to look.
Black and white text slowly surfaced across it.
Unreadable for a fraction of a second.
Then clear.
[ OBSERVATION — ACTIVE ]
Subject: Zekai Krystan
State: Unaligned
[ External Influence Detected ]
Source: Unknown
Intent: Unknown
[ Anomaly — Pending ]
His breath paused slightly. His throat suddenly felt dry. Like his body reacted before his mind could.
Not fear.Recognition.
Not of the screen—Of the situation itself.
"…Again?"
He didn't look away from it.
"Aron."
"Yeah?"
"Do you see anything in front of me?"
Aron blinked.
"…What?"
"This."
Keeping his voice steady, Zekai slowly raised his hand and pointed in front of himself.
"Right here."
His fingertip stopped just short of touching it.
The surface didn't react. It didn't feel real. But it existed.
Aron stepped closer carefully, squinting at the empty space.
"…Zekai?"
"There's nothing there."
His voice lowered slightly.
"…Are you okay?"
Silence filled the throne hall.
'So only me. Of course.'
Zekai returned his gaze to the screen.
The text flickered once. Then changed.
[ External Input Detected ]
Directive: Present
— "You've been holding it this whole time… and still pretending you have a choice?" —
Zekai's expression remained calm. But his fingers tightened slightly.
So the voice… and this screen… were connected.
Or worse—the same existence.
The red screen dimmed slightly without disappearing.
The air around him suddenly felt thinner, like even sound itself had stepped away.
Waiting and Watching. It didn't need to explain anything else.
Zekai slowly exhaled.
"…Yeah."
"This just keeps getting better."
Then the voice returned. Clearer this time.
"Use it."
A pause followed.
Then—
"Or you die."
The words didn't echo. They settled into him like certainty.
The voice wasn't coming from the room. It was coming from the card itself.
A sharp crack echoed somewhere nearby.
Too sharp.
Too unnatural.
Aron turned immediately.
"Mr. Zekai…"
"Something behind us moved."
Zekai closed his eyes briefly before exhaling once more.
"…What a pain."
Death itself wasn't unfamiliar to him.
But this felt different. It felt like the outcome had already been decided—and he had merely been informed of the role he was expected to play.
Something in this place didn't follow normal rules.
"Mr. Zekai…"
"We should leave. Right now."
Something shifted at the edge of his vision.
Too fast to follow. But it definitely wasn't the wind. And this time.
He wasn't allowed to survive as a spectator anymore.
End of chapter 7 - The Voice