The mist rolled thick across the plateau, swallowing the horizon in soft, shifting veils. Strange lights shimmered faintly within it — the lingering glow of the Aurora Gates buried deep within the caverns below.
Achlys trudged through the fog alongside Cryo and Lecia, his boots leaving ghostly prints in the wet earth.
"Cryooo," Lecia whined, dragging her feet like a bored child. "How much longer till we reach the next town? I'm bored out of my mind!"
Cryo groaned, pressing a hand to his face. "Almost there, dumbhead! Now shut it before I lose what's left of my sanity!"
Lecia stuck her tongue out at him. Achlys chuckled softly at their bickering — until the wind shifted.
The laughter died.
Cryo froze mid-step, his feathers bristling as his instincts screamed. Without a word, he shifted into human form, his gaze scanning the mist.
Achlys felt it too — a weight in the air, cold and electric, like the breath of something ancient watching them.
"Cryo… do you feel that?"
He looked upward.
Something was falling through the mist.
"Oh, hell no," Cryo muttered. "What the—?"
The object broke through the fog, a dark shape plummeting straight toward them. Cryo moved instantly, stepping in front of Achlys.
The impact shook the ground. A sharp, wet crack echoed across the plateau. Blood sprayed outward, hot and sudden — spattering across Achlys' face and chest.
"Ewww! That's disgusting!" Lecia shrieked, trying to wipe the blood off her clothes.
A small, broken body lay in the dirt — a child, limp and lifeless.
"Where did he come from…?" Cryo whispered. His voice was tight, almost strangled. "Who dropped him from the sky?"
Achlys didn't answer. He had fallen to his knees, trembling. His breath came fast, ragged, panicked. "Huff… huff… huff…"
His pupils shrank. His hands shook uncontrollably.
Inside his mind, the throne room of his inner world trembled.
Bellona, seated upon her throne of living fire, rose abruptly as the flames around her flickered from orange to blue. "Shit… shit! This isn't good!"
Her voice thundered through the bond connecting them. She contacted the two via spirit wavelength straight out of his marking.
"Cryo! Lecia! Help him — now! He's spiraling into a panic attack!"
Cryo spun around and saw steam rising from Achlys' body. "His mind realm's overheating! Lecia, do something!"
"On it!" Lecia shouted. Without hesitation, she wrapped her arms around Achlys, holding him tightly. "Hey! It's okay! You're safe!"
Cryo grabbed Achlys' wrist and pressed his palm to the young man's chest. "Sorry about this."
He released a pulse of ice magic. The jolt sent a wave through Achlys' body, clashing against the chaotic energy within his heart — the gateway to his mind realm. The surge neutralized the overload, slowly forcing the imbalance back into calm.
Minutes passed.
Then, finally, Achlys' trembling ceased. His breathing steadied. His eyes fluttered closed, and he went limp.
"He's fine," Cryo said, catching him before he fell. "Just passed out."
Bellona's voice echoed faintly in their heads. "Good work, both of you… He's safe. But the fear still lingers."
Cryo hoisted Achlys onto his back and handed his sword to Lecia. "Here. Keep it safe."
She nodded, worry softening her eyes. "Poor boy… He's strong enough to face monsters, yet he can't bear death itself."
Bellona's tone was quiet. "It's not weakness… It's memory."
They walked on.
An hour later, the fog thinned, revealing distant spires rising from the clouds.
"Lecia!" Cryo called out. "We made it — there's a city up ahead!" He glanced at Achlys, still unconscious. "We can get him help there."
"Let's hurry," Lecia said. "I don't want wandering souls taking over my body before sunset."
Cryo groaned. "You're way too calm about ghosts."
.........................................
The City of Libertatis
The city gleamed above the clouds — a sprawling metropolis built on floating islands woven together by bridges of silver light.
Its residents, the Pegaluves, walked the streets and flew through the air, their wings shining in every color imaginable. They looked human, save for the elegant feathers that sprouted from their backs and the faint glow of magic that rippled across their skin.
Legends claimed their race was born of a forbidden love — a union between an angel of the upper realm and a mortal human. But whatever humanity they once carried had long turned to disdain. The Pegaluves despised humankind, though none remembered why.
When Achlys' group entered Libertatis, they were momentarily struck speechless. The streets glittered like spun glass, the skies teeming with graceful flight.
"Wow," Lecia breathed, watching two Pegaluves dance in the air. "They're… beautiful."
She turned, smiled softly, and brushed Achlys' hair. "You'll be fine soon," she whispered, pressing a gentle kiss to his forehead.
Cryo's expression darkened. "Don't you feel it?"
"What?" Lecia asked.
"The silence. They're watching us."
The laughter and music that had filled the streets moments ago had vanished. Pegaluves paused mid-flight, hovering in eerie stillness.
Bellona's voice echoed faintly in their minds. "You must hurry. Pegaluves don't take kindly to humans, and Achlys is—"
Her words cut off as a shadow moved through the fog.
Cryo's eyes widened. "Incoming!"
A gleaming boomerang shot through the air, faster than sound.
"Ice Wall!" Cryo roared, slamming his palms together. A massive barrier of frost rose before them.
The weapon sliced through it like water.
"What the—?!"
"Useless bird," Lecia muttered, summoning her power. "Gravity Shell!"
A sphere of warped space materialized, its gravity a hundredfold stronger within — but the boomerang slipped through untouched, unharmed.
Cryo's gaze followed it. "That's no normal weapon… it's an artifact!"
The boomerang exploded on impact, releasing steel ropes that coiled like serpents.
"Move!" Lecia yelled, dragging Cryo aside.
The ropes lashed the air, striking with deadly precision. From above, Pegaluve soldiers descended, their armor glinting gold.
The squad captain landed before them, wings spread wide. "Run as far as you like, intruders," he sneered. "No one escapes our territory."
Cryo glared. "Who the hell are you, bird-brain!?"
The captain's smile was cruel. "Your executioner."
Before Cryo could react, the ropes lashed around him and hoisted him — and Achlys — upside down.
"Cryo!" Lecia screamed, summoning her magic again.
"Stay back!" he shouted. "Run!"
She didn't. She sprinted toward them, dodging a flurry of tridents aimed to kill. "Zero Gravity Enhancement!" she shouted, rising into the air. "Protect him, dumb bird!" Then she vanished into the clouds.
The captain approached the unconscious Achlys. His voice dripped with contempt. "A human… disgusting." He grabbed Achlys by the hair and slapped him across the face. "You filthy creatures have no place here."
"Put him down!" Cryo roared, thrashing against the ropes.
The captain ignored him. "This marking…" He traced the sigil glowing faintly on Achlys' skin. "Perhaps I can steal it."
He raised his blade.
The moment steel touched the mark — time stopped.
The sky split open with red light.
Achlys' hair blazed crimson. His eyes opened, twin orbs of molten orange reflecting the sun itself.
The captain froze mid-motion. His eyes widened — then burst.
Screams tore through the city. "STOP! STOP IT, PLEASE!"
Cryo's voice was sharp. "Bellona, what's happening!?"
"He's trapped in a Loop of Death," she said. "The mark forced him to feel every agony he's ever inflicted upon others. His body is reliving each murder, each scream."
Achlys stared, trembling.
"He's… dying. Can't we stop it?"
"There's only one way," Bellona said quietly. "Kill him."
Cryo stepped forward, cold fury in his eyes. "I'll handle it."
Bellona burned through the ropes, freeing him.
"Close your eyes, Achlys," she whispered. "Think of Tiabishi. Don't open them until it's over."
Cryo cracked his knuckles. "Fucking birds are gonna pay."
Spikes of ice erupted from the ground, impaling the captain's writhing body. Cryo conjured a bow of frost and fired until nothing remained but shredded wings and silence.
He dropped the bow and summoned an ice blade, driving it down to end the suffering.
"Scram!" he snarled to the onlookers. "Or I'll paint this city with the rest of you."
The Pegaluves fled.
.........................................
Elsewhere
In the quiet outskirts, Tiabishi roamed through winding streets, searching desperately.
She halted when a heavy thud echoed behind her.
An old man emerged from the fog, his gait steady, his enormous sword serving as a cane.
"Excuse me, sir," Tiabishi called. "Have you seen a young man with a phoenix?"
The old man paused, then lifted his sword, pointing toward the horizon. His voice was low, distant.
"The sword guides the future… and the souls follow it to their end."
And then he walked past her, disappearing into the mist.
Tiabishi stood frozen. "Who… was he?"
Her instincts whispered one truth: he was powerful — beyond comprehension.
She exhaled, then turned toward the direction he'd pointed.
"Hang on, Achlys… I'm coming."