---
Light felt different this time.
It wasn't warm or blinding; it breathed. Every pulse of brightness carried a heartbeat, and every heartbeat scattered into colors that smelled of rain and earth.
Ria opened her eyes and found herself lying in soft grass. Above her stretched a sky painted with shifting hues—dawn sliding into sunset, winter folding into spring within a single blink. Flowers bloomed, withered, and bloomed again along the same stem.
Ren rolled beside her, groaning. "If this is heaven, it's got terrible timing. I blinked and got hay fever four seasons in a row."
She laughed quietly. "We made it. The Fifth Gate."
> Quest Update — Realm of Rebirth (Active).
Objective: Discover the Source of Continuum.
Around them, a valley shimmered with rivers that flowed upward into clouds, feeding rain that fell back down in perfect rhythm. Birds sang in two tones at once—life and echo. Everything renewed itself, yet nothing seemed to remember having existed before.
They walked along a path lined with glowing seeds. Each seed burst into a new creature: a fox made of leaves, a butterfly woven from dew, a childlike figure who waved once and dissolved back into light.
Ren tilted his head. "Everything's alive, but… no one stays."
Ria touched one of the seeds. It flickered and showed her a memory—Kana's hand reaching for sunlight through a hospital window. The image faded before she could feel the warmth.
Her stomach tightened. "This realm isn't just rebirth. It's forgetting."
---
At the valley's heart stood a tree so vast its branches pierced the sky. Half its leaves were green, half golden, and each time one fell, another took its place instantly. At its base stood a being with skin like fresh bark and eyes that mirrored the seasons.
"I am Eloin," it said, voice calm and layered. "Guardian of the Fifth Flame. Welcome, Children of Balance."
Ria bowed. "We seek the Gate. The Mother's flame guides us."
Eloin studied her quietly. "Then beware, bearer of memory. Here, remembrance is weight, and weight sinks."
Ren frowned. "Meaning?"
"This realm renews all things," Eloin said. "But renewal demands release. Those who cling to what was are unraveled and scattered."
Ria's heart beat faster. "If I forget, I lose myself."
Eloin's gaze softened. "Then learn to remember without holding. That is the trial."
---
Night—if time existed here—fell suddenly. Mist coiled around them, and glowing figures emerged: copies of everyone Ria had met. The Skyborne, the twin kings, Sora the crane, even the small fox she once was. They circled her silently.
Ren whispered, "Illusions?"
Ria shook her head. "Memories."
Each figure touched her, and each touch pulled a memory from her heart—a battle, a laugh, a moment of pain. Her mind began to unravel like thread from a spool. The more she struggled, the faster they came.
> Warning — Identity Stability 60%… 45%…
Ren shouted, his own outline flickering. "Ria, stop fighting it! You can't burn everything at once!"
His voice broke through the blur. She forced herself to breathe, letting the flood slow. If she couldn't hold them, maybe she could weave them. Every memory that slipped away left a trace of light; she gathered those traces, binding them into a pattern instead of chains.
> Resonance Detected — Memory Integration in Progress.
The mist trembled. The figures began to merge, not vanish—becoming streams of color that flowed into her chest. Pain lanced through her, but it was clean, like sunlight after storm.
Eloin's voice echoed from somewhere beyond sight. "You remember rightly. To be reborn is not to erase, but to continue."
---
The ground cracked. From the fissures poured streams of black liquid—stagnant memories refusing to flow. They twisted into shapes with empty eyes, whispering: Stay, repeat, begin again.
Ren leapt forward, slashing golden arcs through the sludge. "These are worse than nightmares!"
Ria steadied herself. "They're loops—the echoes of souls that forgot to move on."
The dark forms swarmed toward her, feeding on warmth. She gathered her flames—the violet of Twilight, the gold of Solar, the silver of Eclipse—and bound them with her breath.
> New Technique Forming…
"Let there be movement," she whispered.
Light spiraled from her tails, forming a wheel of fire that spun endlessly, devouring the stagnation without destroying it. Where darkness touched it, the wheel turned it into sparks that rose skyward like newborn stars.
> New Flame Awakened — Flame of Continuum (Lv 1).
The valley brightened. Seasons slowed to a steady rhythm; the rivers flowed in one direction instead of many. The tree above them hummed, its leaves aligning in symmetrical patterns.
Eloin appeared once more, smiling. "You have restored the flow. The realm breathes again."
Ren collapsed into the grass. "Great. Can it breathe quietly next time?"
Eloin laughed softly. "You have given this world back its pulse. Take its gift in return."
A small sphere of light drifted down—a seed of molten gold veined with silver. Ria caught it in her paw; it dissolved into her chest, merging with her flames.
> System Update — Fifth Gate Complete.
Flame Count: Five of Nine.
Eloin bowed. "Beyond this valley lies the Sea of Origins, where memory and birth converge. There, the Silence's roots coil deepest. Tread carefully; even beginnings can end."
---
When the guardian vanished, Ria and Ren stood beneath the great tree. Its branches swayed, shedding leaves that turned into birds of light.
Ren watched them fly. "Five flames. We're more than halfway."
Ria nodded, though her gaze lingered on the horizon, where mist folded into waves of light. "And the Silence is waking. Every step, it's closer."
He bumped her shoulder gently. "Then we keep moving before it catches up."
She smiled. "Always."
They walked toward the valley's edge. The path turned liquid beneath their paws, becoming a river of glowing memory that flowed into the distance. As they stepped onto it, the water rose to meet them, carrying them forward.
Behind them, the Realm of Rebirth shimmered once and stilled—renewed, balanced, remembering. Ahead, the horizon opened like a mirror, showing a glimpse of stars dissolving into a vast luminous ocean.
> Quest Activated — Enter the Sea of Origins.
Ria glanced back only once. The great tree's voice drifted after her, soft as wind through new leaves:
"Five flames burn. Four remain. Remember, and become."
---