"Even lost souls can find home if someone sings their name."
Mary sprinted through the winding halls of the dungeon, boots slipping against the frost-crusted floor as the air vibrated with tremors.
Dust fell from the ceiling in waves, and every step echoed with the rhythm of something slamming against stone.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
The sound rattled through the walls like the heartbeat of a collapsing world.
She rounded a corner — and froze.
The sight before her stopped her cold.
Lucilla sat crumpled against a cracked pillar, face buried in her knees, her sobs soft but endless. Her aura flickered wildly — a broken candle flame in the dark.
And in front of her, kneeling on shattered earth, was Asura.
He was unrecognizable.
His body towered over what it should've been — muscle taut, veins glowing faint crimson under his skin. His horns were longer, black obsidian streaked with red lightning veins. His eyes glowed like molten suns. His teeth grit as he slammed his head against the ground again and again, spiderwebbing the stone beneath him.
Each strike cracked the floor deeper, sending dust spiraling up like smoke.
Boom!
Crack!
Boom!
Mary's heart stopped.
"Asura—!" she gasped, running forward.
And then she saw it — the corpse.
Just a few feet from him lay the real body of the Evolved Mimic, half-turned to ash, its twisted form stretched out in the pool of its own ichor. The head — or what was left of it — was caved in.
Lucilla cried harder at the sight, clutching her chest, unable to move.
Mary's throat tightened. "You poor thing…" she whispered — but it wasn't to the corpse.
✦ The Song for the Broken
She rushed forward, sliding across the floor, and wrapped her arms around Asura from behind.
Her fingers barely touched his skin before the pressure of his aura made her arms shake — it felt like hugging a storm.
"Asura! Stop!" she shouted.
He didn't react. His head lifted just enough to crash down again, blood running from his forehead.
So she did the only thing she knew always reached people.
Mary sang.
Soft. Low. Barely a hum at first — just one trembling note.
It was the same melody she'd used as a lullaby for her students during long training nights, but gentler, wrapped in grief.
The melody drifted through the room, bouncing off every surface like light in darkness.
Her voice trembled, but it carried:
"Even if the night forgets your name,
even if your stars all fade the same,
your heart still beats… in tune with mine…"
Asura's hand paused mid-motion.
The cracks stopped spreading.
His glowing eyes dimmed — faint sparks fading into gold. His horns shortened, the veins of light dissolving under his skin.
Lucilla, still crying, slowly looked up as the monstrous aura softened.
Asura's trembling stopped.
He slumped forward, panting, forehead pressed to the cracked floor.
Mary didn't stop singing. She held him, rocking him lightly, her voice weaving through the silence until his breathing steadied.
Then — finally — his body shimmered, shrinking back down to its normal size.
The berserk form was gone.
✦ The Return to Light
Moments later, footsteps echoed from behind. Rhazor came sprinting through the tunnel, smoke still trailing from his sword.
"Teacher! I—"
He froze, eyes wide as he took in the destruction: the shattered floor, the dead mimic, and Asura collapsed in Mary's arms.
"What the hell happened here?"
Mary exhaled shakily, brushing hair from her face. "It's over. The mimic's dead."
Rhazor looked down at the remains — the monster's body already turning to dust.
"No kidding. I felt the ground shaking halfway through the tunnels. Thought the whole dungeon was collapsing."
Lucilla was still trembling nearby.
Mary gently set Asura down and moved to her, kneeling beside her. She placed a glowing hand over Lucilla's shoulder and whispered a calming chant.
"Silent heart, gentle pulse… sleep your fears away."
Lucilla's breathing slowed, tears drying as the light wrapped around her.
"You're safe now," Mary murmured.
Silence filled the space.
Only the dripping of distant water echoed through the frost-covered cavern.
Then — Asura stirred.
His eyes flickered open.
He sat up abruptly, scanning the room, breathing sharp and quick. His system window flickered before him like blue fireflies.
[ You have defeated: Evolved Mimic (Unique) ]
[ EXP Gained: 4,500,000 ]
[ Bonus: Elemental Mastery ×1.25 ]
Normally, he would've cheered — maybe yelled "YES!" loud enough to echo through the dungeon.
But he didn't.
He just stared at the glowing text, eyes hollow.
Mary tilted her head, frowning. "Hey… you okay?"
He didn't answer.
Instead, he whispered to himself.
"Am I really… here?"
Mary blinked. "What?"
"This… world. This body. All of you." His voice shook. "What if I never left that room? What if I'm still Shun Yamamoto — still there, still bleeding out — and this is just… me dreaming again?"
Mary's breath caught.
Lucilla looked up, wide-eyed.
Even Rhazor went silent.
✦ The Voice That Once Called
Then — the System spoke.
[ ERROR DETECTED: EXISTENTIAL PARADOX IN HOST THOUGHT PROCESS ]
[ COMMENCING CALIBRATION ]
Asura flinched as golden runes appeared around him, forming a gentle sphere of light.
[ Asura Satomi. Listen carefully. ]
The tone was different.
Not robotic.
Gentle. Warm.
The system's voice — no longer an interface, but something living.
[ Your reincarnation is real. You are not trapped in illusion, nor in dream. ]
[ You were chosen — not by chance, but by persistence. ]
Asura's brows furrowed. "Chosen…?"
[ Do you remember the night you prayed to be summoned? The blood, the words, the countless attempts? ]
He froze.
The memory hit like a lightning strike.
Shun Yamamoto kneeling in a circle of blood. Crying. Begging.
[ I heard you. ]
His breath hitched.
[ While you cursed your gods for silence, I listened. You called to every power, every deity, every fiction you believed could save you. And when none answered — I did. ]
His golden eyes widened. "You… you're the one who—"
[ Yes. I am the voice you heard the night you fell asleep for the last time. I am the reason you woke as Asura Satomi — the one who felt your wish so deeply that I shaped it into reality. ]
Lucilla whispered softly, tears filling her eyes again — but this time, they weren't of pain.
Mary watched in silence, her expression softening.
[ Your wish wasn't selfish. You wanted to live in a world that would let you believe. That was enough for me to act. ]
Asura lowered his head, trembling. "So… I'm not imagining this?"
[ No, my little Prince. Every scar, every victory, every laugh, every tear — is yours. Real. Chosen. Earned. ]
He let out a shaky breath.
His vision blurred.
Then — a quiet laugh escaped him.
"Heh… I guess that means I'm really here."
Mary smiled faintly. "Took you long enough to believe it."
✦ The Weight That Lifted
Asura looked around — at Lucilla wiping her tears, Rhazor yawning out of relief, Mary still holding his shoulder.
He laughed again — softly this time.
"Guess I made a mess, huh?"
Rhazor grinned. "You dented the ground, cracked the walls, probably scared every monster in a mile radius. Yeah, you made a mess."
Lucilla sniffled, smiling weakly. "You also almost broke your skull."
Mary chuckled. "I think we can all agree that's enough trauma for one day."
Asura looked at them — really looked — and for the first time since the illusions began, he felt light.
He stretched his arms over his head. "So… dungeon break time?"
Rhazor groaned. "You're seriously thinking about food right now—"
"Yup," Asura said, cutting him off with a grin that was finally, finally, real.
"Because I'm starving."
✦ The Final Note
The system chimed one last time — quieter, more like a whisper than a command.
[ Thank you, Onii-chan… for continuing forward as Asura Satomi. ]
And for a brief moment, he could've sworn he saw it —
the faint outline of a little girl with brown hair and bright eyes, — not a presence, but a memory warmed by relief, smiling in the corner of his vision.
"Mary…" he whispered — a name from another life.
But she was gone.
And all that remained was warmth.