The moment the massive crack split beneath the unstable core, the entire underground chamber shifted violently, as if Hell University itself had finally reached the limit of what it could survive, and the glowing structure suspended above the collapsing floor tilted dangerously while waves of unstable energy burst wildly through the darkness, tearing apart steel supports and sending explosions racing through the underground level one after another, while dust, debris, alarms, and screams blended together into complete chaos around Zein Shoin and Ace Craige.
"…the core's dropping," Zein said immediately.
Ace looked up sharply.
"I can see that," he replied.
The chamber lurched again.
Large sections of the floor collapsed into darkness below.
The unstable core tilted further.
WARNING: CORE FAILURE IN 5 MINUTES.
The mechanical voice echoed again.
Zein's expression tightened instantly.
"…if it falls completely, the overload reaches the surface," she said.
Ace's eyes narrowed.
"And the university?"
"…gone," she answered quietly.
Another violent tremor shook everything around them.
A support beam snapped loudly overhead.
Ace immediately pulled Zein backward before it crashed where she had been standing seconds earlier.
"…seriously?" he muttered.
Zein steadied herself quickly.
"…you really need to stop saving me every five seconds."
Ace looked at her flatly.
"No."
Despite the destruction—
That almost made her laugh.
Almost.
But another explosion interrupted the moment.
This time the blast knocked both of them sideways across the fractured floor.
Zein hit the ground hard.
Ace immediately reached for her.
"You hurt?" he asked sharply.
"I'm okay," she replied automatically.
Ace closed his eyes briefly in visible frustration.
"…I swear that sentence is becoming a personal attack."
Zein blinked slightly.
"…what?"
"You are surrounded by explosions," he replied."The building is literally collapsing."
"…fair point," she admitted quietly.
Ace pulled her back to her feet quickly.
The core pulsed again—
Violently.
Red energy spiraled outward across the chamber walls.
And suddenly—
Zein froze.
Ace noticed immediately.
"…what?" he asked.
Zein stared directly at the unstable core.
"…it's reacting again," she whispered.
The energy surrounding the core shifted—
Not randomly.
Toward her.
Ace stepped in front of her immediately.
"No."
Zein frowned slightly.
"…you can't just say no to energy."
"Watch me," he replied coldly.
The core pulsed harder.
A violent wave of force exploded through the chamber.
Ace barely managed to brace against it while holding onto Zein.
The floor beneath them cracked wider.
Another section collapsed entirely into darkness.
WARNING: CORE FAILURE IN 4 MINUTES.
"…Ace," Zein whispered.
"What?" he asked immediately.
Her expression slowly changed—
Not fear.
Realization.
"…it remembers me," she said quietly.
Ace's eyes sharpened.
"…what does that mean?"
Zein looked at the unstable energy carefully.
"…it's waiting," she said.
"For what?"
"…for me to reconnect completely."
Silence.
Ace immediately understood the danger behind those words.
"No," he said again.
Zein looked at him.
"…if I don't—"
"No," he repeated colder this time.
"…Ace—"
"You reconnect fully and that thing could consume you," he snapped.
Zein's voice lowered.
"…or I stop it."
Another violent tremor shook the underground structure.
Above them—
A deafening crash echoed through the darkness.
The main tower had finally collapsed.
Both of them froze.
Dust exploded through the chamber from the impact above.
The entire structure groaned loudly around them.
And then—
Silence.
Heavy.
Terrible silence.
Zein slowly looked upward.
"…the tower…" she whispered.
Ace clenched his jaw tightly.
"…damn it."
For several seconds neither of them spoke.
Then suddenly—
Movement appeared through the damaged upper tunnel leading toward the underground chamber.
Students.
Injured.
Covered in dust.
But alive.
Zein's eyes widened slightly.
"…they made it out."
Ace exhaled quietly for what felt like the first time in hours.
One of the students stumbled forward.
"P-President…!" he shouted weakly.
Ace immediately moved toward them.
"How many?" he asked sharply.
"Most escaped… b-but the building…" the student whispered fearfully.
Another explosion shook the chamber.
The students panicked instantly.
"What is THAT?!" someone shouted.
The unstable core surged violently again.
Zein stepped forward immediately.
"…stay back!" she shouted.
The energy reacted harder the closer the students moved.
Ace noticed instantly.
"…it's reacting to panic," he said.
Zein nodded quickly.
"…because it's unstable."
WARNING: CORE FAILURE IN 3 MINUTES.
The mechanical voice echoed louder now.
Panic spread instantly among the students.
"We're going to die—"
"What is happening?!"
"The whole place is collapsing!"
Ace's voice cut through the chaos sharply.
"Quiet."
The single word silenced everyone immediately.
Ace looked toward the students coldly but steadily.
"You're leaving through the north tunnel," he ordered.
"What about you?!" one of them asked.
Ace didn't answer immediately.
His eyes shifted briefly toward Zein.
Then back toward the students.
"…go," he said.
The students hesitated—
Then obeyed.
Because even now—
They trusted him.
The moment the tunnel cleared again, Zein stepped closer to the unstable core.
Ace grabbed her wrist instantly.
"…don't," he said quietly.
Zein looked at him.
"…there's no more time."
"There has to be."
"There isn't."
Another violent surge exploded outward.
This time Zein cried out slightly as the energy struck her directly.
Ace caught her immediately.
"Zein!"
She grabbed his arm tightly, struggling to steady herself.
"…it hurts now," she whispered.
Ace's expression changed instantly.
"…what?"
Zein's breathing became uneven.
"…because it's breaking apart," she said quietly.
The unstable core pulsed wildly again.
Cracks spread directly across its surface.
Ace looked at it—
Then at her—
And finally understood.
The core wasn't just collapsing.
So was she.
"…no," he whispered.
Zein looked at him carefully.
"…Ace."
"No," he repeated immediately.
Tears of frustration—not weakness—burned in his voice now.
"You are NOT disappearing into that thing."
Zein's expression softened slightly for the first time.
"…you really care that much?" she asked quietly.
Ace stared at her like the question itself offended him.
"…you seriously still don't understand?" he asked.
Silence.
Then—
Another explosion tore through the underground chamber.
And the entire structure began falling apart around them.
The underground chamber was dying around them.
Massive fractures spread across the walls while entire sections of the ceiling collapsed into the darkness below, and the unstable core suspended above the shattered floor pulsed violently like a star moments away from exploding, releasing waves of red energy powerful enough to shake the remains of Hell University itself, while alarms screamed endlessly through the collapsing structure and dust filled the air so heavily it became difficult to breathe.
And in the middle of all of it—
Ace Craige refused to let go of Zein Shoin.
"…Ace," Zein whispered weakly.
"No," he replied immediately.
"You don't even know what I was going to say."
"I know enough."
Another violent tremor shook the chamber hard enough to throw debris around them.
Ace pulled Zein closer instantly before a large section of concrete crashed where she had been standing seconds earlier.
The unstable core pulsed again—
Stronger.
WARNING: CORE FAILURE IN 2 MINUTES.
The mechanical voice echoed loudly through the darkness.
Zein closed her eyes briefly.
"…there's no time left," she whispered.
Ace's grip tightened around her wrist immediately.
"Then we make time."
"You can't force everything," she said quietly.
Ace looked directly at her.
"Watch me."
Despite the situation—
A small laugh escaped her unexpectedly.
Ace blinked once.
"…did you just laugh?"
"…maybe."
"That's concerning."
Zein shook her head faintly.
"…you're impossible."
"And you keep saying that like it's new."
Another explosion ripped through the chamber.
The entire underground level tilted violently to one side.
Both of them nearly lost balance again.
The unstable core cracked louder this time—
Visible fractures spreading across its surface.
Zein's expression changed immediately.
"…it's about to rupture," she whispered.
Ace followed her gaze.
"And if it does?"
Zein hesitated.
"…everything within miles disappears."
Silence.
Ace stared at the unstable core for a long second.
Then back at her.
"…tell me the truth," he said quietly.
Zein froze slightly.
"…what?"
"If you reconnect completely…" he continued carefully,"…what happens to you?"
Zein looked away.
And that silence was answer enough.
Ace's expression darkened instantly.
"…Zein."
She finally spoke softly.
"…I don't know."
"That's not good enough."
"It's the truth," she replied.
Another violent tremor shook the chamber.
The floor beneath them cracked wider.
A section of the wall exploded outward from the pressure wave.
Dust and sparks filled the darkness around them.
WARNING: CORE FAILURE IN 90 SECONDS.
The countdown had started.
Zein's breathing slowed unevenly.
"…Ace," she whispered.
"No."
"You don't even know what I'm asking."
"You're going to ask me to leave."
Silence.
Again—
He was right.
Ace exhaled sharply in frustration.
"…seriously unbelievable."
Zein looked at him quietly.
"…if I fail—"
"You won't."
"You can't promise that."
Ace stepped closer immediately.
"…then I'll stay until the end," he replied.
The words hit harder than the destruction surrounding them.
Zein stared at him silently for several seconds.
"…why?" she whispered.
Ace looked genuinely confused by the question.
"…because it's you."
Simple.
Direct.
Completely honest.
And somehow—
That hurt more than anything else.
The unstable core pulsed violently again.
Energy spiraled outward across the chamber walls.
The entire underground structure groaned loudly.
Above them—
The final remains of Hell University began collapsing.
The sound was deafening.
"…it's over," Zein whispered.
Ace looked upward briefly.
Then back at her.
"…not yet."
Zein slowly shook her head.
"…you don't understand," she said softly."The university is gone."
Ace's voice lowered.
"…I don't care about the building."
Zein froze slightly.
Ace stepped closer again.
"I care about YOU surviving this."
For a second—
Everything else disappeared.
No alarms.
No destruction.
No collapsing walls.
Just him.
Just those words.
And Zein suddenly realized something terrifying.
She didn't want to lose him either.
Another violent crack split across the unstable core.
Red light exploded through the chamber.
WARNING: CORE FAILURE IN 60 SECONDS.
Zein's eyes widened immediately.
"…Ace."
He looked at her instantly.
"…we have to do it now."
Silence.
He already knew what she meant.
The dual stabilization.
The final reconnect.
The thing both of them had been avoiding.
Ace slowly looked toward the unstable core.
Then back at her.
"…if this goes wrong," he said quietly,"…I'm blaming you."
Zein blinked once.
"…that's your emotional speech?"
"It's the best you're getting."
Despite everything—
She smiled slightly.
A real smile this time.
Ace stared at her for a second longer than necessary before looking away.
"…don't do that right now."
"…do what?"
"Smile."
Zein frowned slightly.
"…why?"
Ace's voice lowered quietly.
"…because it makes it harder to think."
The honesty in the answer stunned her completely.
Another violent explosion interrupted the moment.
The unstable core surged wildly.
WARNING: CORE FAILURE IN 45 SECONDS.
Ace stepped toward the core first this time.
Zein immediately grabbed his arm.
"…Ace."
He looked back at her.
For the first time since this chaos began—
Neither of them had another argument left.
No more pretending.
No more distance.
Just fear.
And trust.
Ace slowly turned fully toward her.
"…stay with me," he said quietly.
The words hit harder than anything else.
Zein's breath caught slightly.
"…always," she whispered.
And together—
They stepped toward the collapsing core.