[Location: Shrine of the Mindbound Monk – Inner Sanctum]
Three days into their mental fortitude training, Kaito was already losing it.
Literally.
"Why… is this room full of nothing?" he muttered, sprawled on the cold tatami mat. "I haven't seen a mirror, a screen, a fight, or even a noodle for seventy-two hours. I'm going to start naming the floor tiles."
The monk beside him said nothing.
Aya sat perfectly still in the lotus position, deep in meditation. Her presence was still, sharp. Untouchable.
Kaito rolled over and groaned. "How are you doing this? What are you seeing in there?"
Aya didn't open her eyes. "My childhood."
"…Was it this boring?"
"Shut up."
---
[Flashback: Aya's Mindscape]
The mental training at the shrine wasn't mere meditation. The monks used a relic—The Ink Mirror—to project and walk through one's deepest memories and mental flaws.
Aya stood in the corridor of her old home.
A woman's voice echoed from the kitchen. Cold. Precision-laced.
"You cannot fail, Aya. Your purpose is to lead. If you hesitate, I'll replace you."
A younger Aya, ten years old, stood frozen at the door, a wooden training sword trembling in her hand.
The adult Aya reached out toward her younger self—but her hand passed through.
The Ink Mirror didn't allow comfort.
It forced confrontation.
---
[Reality – Shrine Grounds]
Aya gasped awake, sweat rolling down her temple.
Kaito leaned against the nearby wall, arms folded.
"You alright?"
Aya didn't answer.
He knelt beside her. "You don't have to tell me what you saw."
"I wasn't going to," she muttered.
"But if you want to..."
She looked at him. Saw no judgment. Just calm.
She turned away. "Maybe later."
Kaito stood, stretching. "Cool. For now, let's go lose to monks in meditation tag or whatever hellish exercise they invented today."
Aya blinked. "…Meditation tag?"
Kaito grinned. "It's a thing. In my head."
---
[Location: Mount Narukami – Forbidden Dungeon Outskirts]
Not everyone was training for peace.
Yuto and Rika, the new SS-rank pair, had taken a different route—Dungeon Simulation Trials.
Here, the System allowed duos to simulate dungeon conditions without real death… though the pain remained real.
"Go again," Yuto barked, wiping blood from his jaw.
Rika nodded, casting a wind barrier as a phantom boss charged.
They failed.
Again.
And again.
Yuto stared into the fire that night, hands trembling. "We're nothing like them."
"They were the last ones standing in a Gate."
"We'll never be that."
Rika smiled grimly. "Then let's become worse."
---
[Location: Kaito's Mental Space – Ink Mirror Projection]
Kaito stood in front of… Kaito.
Or rather, a mirror version of himself. Pale, bloodied, and grinning with cracked teeth.
"You think you're untouchable because you joke about it all," Mirror-Kaito hissed. "Because if you laugh, it doesn't hurt, right?"
Kaito stared. "…This feels like a therapy session with a horror filter."
Mirror-Kaito slammed him against an invisible wall. "You let people die. You hide your power. You act weak."
Kaito's breath caught.
"You're scared. That if they knew, they'd fear you more than the System itself."
Kaito closed his eyes.
And whispered, "I know."
He opened them.
"But I don't care what they think. I care what she thinks."
The mirror shattered.
---
[Location: Shrine – River Bath]
Kaito washed his face in the freezing stream, eyes distant.
Aya approached with a towel and tea.
He took both without a word. They sat in silence.
"I saw my worst day," Aya said softly.
He nodded. "Me too."
"You were there."
He blinked. "In your memory?"
"No," she said quietly, "in my mind. When it cracked. You held it together."
He looked at her, surprised.
"I don't want to admit it… but I don't want to do this without you."
Kaito smiled faintly. "That's the nicest threat I've ever heard."
She snorted. "Idiot."
---
[Closing – System Update Notification]
> [SYSTEM NOTICE – 50 DAYS REMAINING]
New features unlocked:
– Dream Synchronization (Trial)
– Emotional Link Analysis
– Fragment Stability Meter
Your partner is your only lifeline. Do not sever the tether.
---
End of Chapter 31