I had spent every day of the past week by Satre's bedside, waiting—praying—for her to wake up. The weight of what had happened gnawed at me relentlessly. Yura's brutal death. Shina's disappearance. And the guilt… gods, the guilt—it clawed at my insides like a beast with no name.
I couldn't shake the feeling that it was all my fault. That if I had been stronger, if I hadn't left them vulnerable, things would have turned out differently. I hadn't heard from Hiroy since we parted ways for the princess mission. I could only hope his path hadn't descended into the same nightmare mine had.
But today, finally, there was a glimmer of hope.
Satre had awakened.
Yet that flicker of light was dimmed by the persistent dread that haunted me—Shina was still missing. Sangui had searched every lead, every crevice of this cursed realm, and found nothing. The uncertainty twisted like a knife in my gut, deeper and deeper with each passing hour.
I entered the room quietly.
What I saw froze me in place.
Satre—usually poised and noble—was kneeling at the door, trembling like a candle in a storm.
"I'm sorry..." she whispered, voice trembling and thin. "The future has changed... and my power... it wasn't enough."
I rushed to her side, gently helping her back onto the bed.
"You don't need to apologize," I said softly. "But I need to know. What happened, Satre?"
She hesitated, breath catching in her throat, and then began to recount it all.
The day I left, she had told the others I would return. She had promised them. Everything would be fine.
But then her foresight shattered—splintered like glass in a storm. A migraine unlike any she'd ever known struck her, blinding her future sight. In that moment of sudden vulnerability, a storm of corrupted magic crashed into the room. It barely missed her and Shina—but struck Yura directly.
Yura—ever the fierce one—didn't flinch. She launched her Shatter Kick, a move so powerful it could obliterate a planet if fully unleashed.
And yet…
It was caught.
Caught like a ball by a figure who emerged from the shadows—a hideous woman with bulldog features twisted into a grotesque smile. Her aura bled malevolence. Her movements were relaxed, amused—mocking.
Yura attacked again. Again. Again.
It didn't matter.
The woman dodged her like she was dancing. She deflected Satre's sword with a single finger. She absorbed Shina's magic with a mere gesture.
Then came the nightmare.
The woman's power surged, her aura collapsing the room around them. The next instant, Yura's body was obliterated—by her own Shatter Kick, turned back on her with cruel efficiency. Shina screamed, her arms torn from her body. Satre, caught mid-spell, was silenced by a blow that sent her crashing into unconsciousness.
When she awoke, she was bound in chains. Her body—battered. Her vision—blurry. And echoing in her mind, the voice of the monster:
"I'll have to use you two to lure him out. Let's have fun."
As her memories flooded into me, rage exploded through my chest.
This was on me. All of it.
If I had stayed—if I had been stronger—
My fists clenched. My blood boiled. The voices in my head, the ones I'd drowned out for so long, suddenly roared to life.
"Oh, he still hasn't opened the first gate."
"This one is strong, yes."
"Shut up, weirdos! He can hear you now!"
"We are his partners, so why can't we talk to him?"
"Shush, you all! The first door... it's cracking!"
Then—
A surge of energy erupted within me.
I dropped to one knee, gripping the side of the bed as something inside me split—not physically, but spiritually. The first gate. The first magic gate sealed within me. It cracked, then shattered, and a flood of arcane force surged through my veins like wildfire.
My body glowed.
My magic swelled—tenfold.
A voice echoed within my mind. Female. Robotic. Playful.
"You have awakened the skill: [Magic Creation]."
My light purple aura darkened, deepened into a shade closer to black. The room distorted around me, colors bending and sounds stretching like echoes in a cavern.
I collapsed forward, unconscious before I hit the floor.
And just before everything went black, I heard that voice again—closer, crueler, excited.
"Gahahaha… we're just getting started."