Darkness.
For a long time, that was all there was.
No sound. No pain. Just a heavy, suffocating silence that pressed against Hayate's body, wrapping around him like an ocean of ink.
He didn't know how long he'd been drifting. Seconds? Hours? Years?Even time seemed meaningless here.
Then, faintly, he heard it — the slow, rhythmic sound of a heartbeat.
Thump… thump… thump…
Hayate opened his eyes.
He wasn't in the dungeon anymore.
He stood in an endless void, a sea of black stretching beyond the horizon. Yet beneath his feet, a faint path of light glimmered — thin as a thread, fragile as glass.
Above him, crimson chains floated in the air, snaking across the void like veins of blood. Each pulse from them sent tremors through the ground.
[System Recovery Mode: 19% Complete]
[Warning: Host Vital Signs Critical]
Hayate stared at the floating interface. Even the System's usual tone sounded… distorted.
"Recovery mode?" he muttered, voice echoing faintly. "Where… am I?"
[Answer Unavailable]
[You are in a sub-dimensional state – Soul Drift Zone]
He frowned. "So I'm not dead… yet."
The chains above him rattled suddenly, a deafening metallic roar tearing through the void.
Hayate looked up — and saw that the chains weren't just floating.
They were connected.
At the center of the dark sky, something enormous hung suspended — a colossal, pulsating heart made entirely of crimson light. From it, hundreds of chains spread outward in all directions, disappearing into the infinite dark.
Every time the heart beat, the chains glowed — and pain rippled through Hayate's own body.
[Synchronization Detected – Host Linked to Core Entity]
His breath caught. "Core… entity?"
Then it hit him — the pale man's words echoed in his head.
"The System was not made to help you, boy. It was made to feed the goddess."
Hayate's fists clenched. "Then this—this is her chain."
His vision flickered. He saw flashes: the goddess's smile, the other students kneeling before her light, the altar of blood. And deep beneath it all — this heart, pulsing with power stolen from every fallen soul.
He gritted his teeth. "If she's using me to feed that thing… then I'll tear it apart."
[Unauthorized Command Detected]
[Attempting to Sever Link…]
[Error: Chain Integrity 100% – Cannot Break Without Key]
Hayate's gaze lifted to the chains again.
Somewhere among them, faint silhouettes flickered — people. Their faces blurred, their bodies half-formed. Whispering. Reaching.
—save us…
—we can't leave…
—she took everything…
Souls. The souls of the fallen.
He took a step forward — and pain shot through his chest like lightning.
He gasped, falling to one knee. The ground beneath him cracked, glowing red.
[Warning: Host Soul Integrity 47%]
"Damn it…" He forced himself up, glaring at the chains. "You think I'll die here?"
His blood burned, his arm glowing crimson once more. The Blood of the Fallen flared to life, reacting violently with the void.
And then — the whisper.
It wasn't the System.
It was a voice. Familiar, cold, and soft.
"You should have obeyed."
The space before him rippled, and she appeared — the Evil Goddess herself.
But not as he remembered her.
Here, her form was vast — stretching across the sky, woven into the very chains that filled the air. Her eyes burned with divine light, her expression unreadable.
"Why struggle, little vessel?" she asked, voice echoing like a thousand bells. "Your strength, your rage, even your will — they are all mine."
Hayate's glare hardened. "Then you can choke on them."
He raised his sword — or rather, what formed in his hand wasn't steel anymore. It was energy, pure crimson light shaped by his will.
The goddess smiled faintly. "Defiance. How human."
She lifted her hand, and the chains moved.
They shot downward like serpents, striking at him from all sides.Hayate swung his weapon, slashing through one — but instead of breaking, it screamed.A face formed within it — the face of someone he recognized.
Ren.
His dead classmate's face twisted in agony as the chain reformed.Hayate's heart froze.
"Ren…?"
"Ren Ichiro," the goddess said softly, "was a pawn. Like you. His essence now strengthens my heart. Soon, yours will join him."
Hayate's fury exploded. "Never!"
He lunged forward, swinging his blade again and again, each strike shaking the void. The chains shattered and reformed, but his rage didn't waver. His aura surged, crimson lightning tearing through the dark.
The goddess's smile faltered for the first time.
"You are resisting… even now?"
[Warning: Overdrive Limit Reached]
[Soul Instability Critical – 9% Remaining]
Hayate screamed, pushing through the pain. "I'll destroy you! I'll destroy everything!"
And for a moment — just one — the heart above him flickered.
The chains trembled. The goddess's form wavered.
[System Alert: Core Weakness Detected – Location Marked]
A glowing sigil appeared before him — faint, flickering. The same pattern as the Crimson Sigil he had claimed earlier.
Hayate realized it instantly.
The Crimson Sigils are the keys.
If he gathered them all… he could shatter the heart — the Core — and end her hold forever.
But before he could act, the goddess's laughter filled the void again, low and dangerous.
"Then I will enjoy watching you try."
Her eyes blazed, and all the chains moved at once.They wrapped around him — his arms, his legs, his throat — crushing, searing, burning through flesh and soul alike.
Hayate screamed. His vision blurred. His sword fell, dissolving into red mist.
[System Shutdown Imminent]
[Soul Collapse in 10… 9… 8…]
He gasped for air, fighting, clawing, refusing to let go.
Images flashed before him — his classmates laughing, the dungeon, Selith's warning, his vow of revenge.
And then, one voice — soft, distant, but real — pierced the darkness.
"Hayate! Don't give in!"
His eyes widened. That voice…
Selith?!
Through the collapsing void, a faint silhouette appeared — the veiled woman from before.
Her hand glowed white as she thrust it toward him. "Hold on!"
The goddess hissed. "You dare intrude here, heretic?"
Selith's veil blew away, revealing her face — eyes burning with determination. "I defied you once, I'll do it again!"
She slammed her hand against the chain binding Hayate's heart.
Light exploded.
[System Reboot Triggered – External Source Detected]
[Error: Divine Connection Interrupted]
The goddess screamed, her form cracking with light.
"NO! YOU CANNOT—!"
The entire void shattered like glass.
Hayate felt himself falling — through light, through sound, through nothingness.
[Emergency Extraction Engaged]
[Reconnecting to Host Body…]
His consciousness flickered. He glimpsed Selith reaching toward him, her lips moving silently.
"Find me… before she does."
Then — blackness again.
Meanwhile…
Far above, in the ruins of the temple, a single sigil began to glow.
A faint heartbeat echoed from beneath the stones — stronger, steadier.
And from the cracks of the altar, a crimson light began to rise.
[Quest Updated: Defy the Goddess – New Path Opened]
Next Objective: Find Selith before the Divine Agents do.