The night air still smelled like dust and wet earth. The glow from the memory crystal was fading slowly, casting a dim reflection over our pinkies, still linked together. For a while, no one said a word. Just the sound of breathing, a faint breeze, and my heartbeat, still a little off rhythm.
"…This is dumb," I muttered under my breath.
"We don't even fully trust each other, but we're already making promises."
Lyss didn't answer right away. Her eyes stared up at the sky—still faintly glowing—before she turned back to me.
"Promises aren't always about trust," she said softly. "Sometimes, they're about hope."
I looked down, trying to wrap my head around what she meant. But the more I thought about it, the more absurd it sounded.
"Hope? In a world like this? I barely even know you—if you can call this 'knowing' at all."
"So you trust me, even though I don't even trust myself?" I asked, eyes on the tiny campfire flickering between us.
Lyss smirked.
"The old Reian once said, 'If we can't believe in anything, we have no reason to keep moving.'"
Hearing that made me scoff.
"Sounds way too deep. I must've been a real philosopher back then."
"Oh, totally," Lyss shot back quickly, her tone light—but warm.
We went quiet again. But this silence… felt different. Softer. Like a weight on my chest had lifted just a bit, and was now drifting away with the wind.
"…If you've waited a hundred years for me," I said, glancing at her.
"You must know a lot about me, right?"
Lyss didn't answer. Instead, she slowly stood, picked up a stick, and poked the dying fire like she was digging for answers in the embers.
"I know some things," she finally said.
"But knowing doesn't mean understanding. The Reian Hinoda I knew… wasn't easy to figure out. Not even for me."
I tilted my head.
"You waited a whole century and I'm the one who needs therapy?"
"Oh, I passed therapy a long time ago, Reian," she replied with a teasing sigh.
But I saw it—just for a second—a faint crack in her expression. Something tired. Maybe something broken.
"So you trust me… but you don't really get me?"
Lyss turned to me. Her blue eyes reflected the fading firelight.
"Because trust isn't something you 'get.' It's something you choose."
I bit my lower lip.
"This girl… Sometimes she talks like a goddess. Other times, like someone who naps sitting up way too much. But in the way she looks at me… there's something real. Something honest."
"…Hey, you know what?" I said suddenly.
"When you smiled back there—when I touched that symbol—I felt like… like we've done that before."
Lyss froze. Her lips moved, but she didn't speak. Instead, she sat back down beside me. Quiet. Slowly. Like she was afraid to break the fragile moment between us.
"And for some reason," I kept going,
"I feel like… I made you cry before. And I—I regret it. Even if I don't know why."
My head was full of scattered memories—fragments of emotions without a story. But one feeling kept coming back: loss. And Lyss's face… was always in the middle of it.
"I once…" she finally said.
"…wished you wouldn't come back."
I turned to her instantly.
"What!?"
She didn't look at me. Her eyes were locked on the last dying flame.
"Because if you returned… it meant the world was already too broken. And you'd be hurt all over again."
My heart clenched. I didn't know why, but her words hit me deeper than I expected.
I don't know what I went through in the past. But if someone wished I wouldn't come back just to spare me the pain…
Then maybe… I really was loved once.
"Lyss…" I wanted to say something. Ask more. But the words just wouldn't come.
Suddenly, a low rumble echoed from the north side of the ruins. The ground trembled slightly, and a shadow flashed past the edge of the light.
Lyss shot to her feet, body tensed.
"…We're not safe yet, Reian."
I jumped up, too. My hand reached for the Astrifer Caligo sword that reappeared at my hip—like it knew I was going to need it.
"Who are they, Lyss?"
"Not who," she answered sharply.
"What. Shadow Fragments. What's left from the first broken seal."
"You didn't mention that earlier."
"No time, Reian. We were too busy talking about promises and whether tea counts as wound cleanser."
I almost laughed—but the shadow appeared again, closer this time. Its form was vague, like smoke trying to shape itself into a person.
Lyss gripped her staff. Her eyes shifted—glowing a piercing blue.
"Trust me, Reian," she said, not even turning my way.
I raised my sword.
"You first. Then I'll follow."
She gave a small smile… and leapt forward, casting a spell from her staff.
I ran after her.
And for the first time… I felt like I had a reason to fight.
Not because this world needed saving. But because—underneath all the chaos—there was someone waiting for me. Someone who wanted to believe in me… even if we still didn't fully understand each other.
And maybe—just maybe—that was the start of something more than just saving the world.
The air was still cold, even though the glow from the broken metal fragment was fading. We sat in silence again, surrounded by crumbling stone pillars that held centuries—maybe thousands of years—of history. It felt strange. We'd almost died just now, but somehow… this quiet felt like a gentle embrace.
"…What was that?" I finally asked, looking at the fragment in my hand. It was no longer glowing—just still, and silent.
Lyss, leaning back against one of the pillars, let out a soft sigh.
"One of the fragments from the First Seal. Not the seal itself—more like a marker or a key. Each seal used to be stored in layered chambers, guarded by creatures like the one we fought."
"Did the guardian show up because we messed up?"
She shook her head slowly.
"It showed up because you touched the fragment before the surrounding energy settled. But… honestly, I'm not sure. Something felt off."
I looked at her, narrowing my eyes.
"Off how?"
"That guardian… it seemed to recognize you. It didn't attack me at all. Normally, seal guardians attack anyone who steps into their domain. But that one? It was locked onto you."
A chill crept down my spine.
"So you're saying… it remembers me?"
"Or it was following orders. Either way, maybe you were connected to them somehow."
"Great." I forced a dry laugh.
"Every step just unlocks more mystery."
"That's how this world works, Reian…"
Her voice softened, but her gaze sharpened—cutting straight through me.
"This world is broken. And the key to fixing it… might really be buried in your past. Whether you're ready or not…"
I looked away, sighing.
Another long silence…
Then I heard soft footsteps against the stone floor.
Lyss stood and walked closer. I felt her presence before she even spoke.
"If you're scared… that's okay."
Her voice was low. Honest. And because of that, it hit me like a punch to the chest.
I looked up. She was standing above me, her silver hair catching what little light was left from the glowing crystals on the wall.
"Lyss…"
She looked… unsure. Then she sat next to me—closer than usual. Her shoulder touched mine. It wasn't intentional. But it felt right.
"You know, Reian," she said softly, "I'm scared too…"
I turned to her, shocked.
"You? You're like a goddess. You always seem to have everything figured out."
She laughed quietly. Not her usual confident laugh—something smaller, more fragile.
"I can fail. I can regret. I can lose my way. I know so much about the world… but so little about my own feelings."
I lowered my head.
"…So we're both lost, huh?"
She didn't say anything, but her hand reached out and grabbed my sleeve. Gently. Hesitantly. But she didn't let go.
"…If you're lost, I'll always be your way back, Reian."
Thump.
I turned to her. She wasn't looking at me. Her face tilted downward, cheeks faintly red—even under the low light. But she didn't let go of my sleeve. And for once, I didn't want her to.
"…Me too."
The words slipped out before I even realized it.
She didn't reply. Just… held on tighter.
The silence returned—but this one was warm. Safe.
"Let's figure this seal out," Lyss finally said.
She stood and reached her hand toward me.
"We can't stop now, Reian."
I took her hand. Let her pull me to my feet—and maybe held on a little longer than I should've.
We walked away from the altar, down a narrow corridor deeper into the ruins. Strange symbols lined the walls—different from before. Ancient magical runes and an emblem matching the metal shard.
"This has to be part of the Leftover Labyrinth," Lyss said. "Where memories of the Seal Keepers were stored."
"But not everyone can read it."
"…But I can."
I froze. I didn't know how I could read the symbols—but I could. Word by word, they formed meaning in my mind.
"First Seal: The key to what was erased. Where the sun sets, the mountain weeps, and the first light returns… that is where it was buried."
Lyss turned to me, eyes wide.
"Reian… you just read that?"
I nodded.
We stared at each other for a long moment.
It should've been terrifying. But strangely… I felt a little calmer.
"…If you can read Seal Script without any training…" Lyss whispered.
"…Then maybe I was one of them," I said.
She didn't answer. Like she didn't want to say it out loud.
And maybe… I wasn't ready to hear it yet either.
But I knew one thing—even if my past was full of shadows and secrets…
I wouldn't have to face it alone.