The forest was silent—too silent.
Altair walked carefully through the dim woodland, following the faint sound of sobbing that drifted between the trees.
"Sob… sob…"
Altair stopped.
Altair: "Someone's crying…?"
He pushed aside a cluster of bushes—and froze.
A pale-haired girl stood at the edge of a steep cliff, her body swaying slightly with the wind, her eyes fixed on the endless abyss below.
Altair: "Hey! Watch out! It's dangerous—don't stand there!"
The girl did not turn.
Lyra: "It's okay… I feel comfortable here."
Altair hesitated, his heart tightening.
Altair: "I-it seems… something heavy is weighing on you, doesn't it?"
Lyra finally looked back, her eyes dull and empty.
Lyra: "What do you know about my life?"
Her voice was cold. Tired.
Altair: "Maybe I don't know anything about your life. But I also don't know who I am or why I'm here. I just woke up two days ago with no memories. I've told my side. Now… it's your turn."
The wind howled between them.
Lyra was silent for a long time.
Then her voice broke.
Lyra: "I'm just a girl who always fails. I was kicked out of my family for not achieving as well as my siblings. I was the weakest. Always bullied. And now… I'm here, trying to end it. But I can't."
Altair stepped closer—slowly, carefully.
Altair: "I think you're strong."
Lyra: "W-what? Strong? Why would you say that?"
Altair: "Because you're still holding on. And when you try to end it but can't… that means there's a part of you that doesn't want to give up. That part is your strength."
Lyra's eyes trembled.
Altair: "That means… you still want to live."
Lyra's lips parted slightly.
Lyra: "Strong? Don't be ridiculous… my whole life people have told me I'm a failure."
Altair: "They only see what you can't do. But I see what you've been through."
Tears fell from Lyra's eyes, splashing onto the dirt.
Lyra: "Why are you telling me this? You don't even remember who you are."
Altair: "Maybe because I'm also looking for a reason to live. And seeing you… makes me feel like I can be useful to at least one person tonight."
The girl lowered her head.
Lyra: "...My name is Lyra."
Altair: "I'm Altair."
---
Beneath the shade of a large tree not far from the cliff, a small campfire flickered, its warm light pushing back the cold darkness of the forest.
Altair sat cross-legged, carefully flipping two fish over the flames.
Lyra sat across from him, hugging her knees, staring into the fire.
Altair: "Okay… my name is Altair. Are you hungry?"
Why am I even asking this? he wondered. We barely know each other… but somehow, I don't want this silence to remain.
Lyra immediately looked away.
Lyra: "I-I'm not hungry!"
Her stomach betrayed her.
Grrr…
Her cheeks flushed red with embarrassment.
Altair chuckled softly.
Altair: "Hahaha… let's eat."
He handed her a skewer.
Lyra hesitated, then took it.
Lyra: "Why are you doing this? I mean… you could have just left me. I would have only been a burden."
Altair was quiet for a moment.
Altair: "I have no one here. Helping you makes me feel… real. Eat it before it gets cold."
Lyra took a slow bite.
Lyra: "This fish… did you catch it yourself?"
Altair: "Yes. It took four hours of standing still in a lake."
Lyra: "Four hours…?"
Altair: "Surviving is harder than I imagined."
Lyra's lips curved into a faint smile.
Lyra: "You're stubborn."
Altair: "Maybe that's the only thing I still remember about myself. I don't like giving up."
Lyra lowered her gaze.
Lyra: "I don't know how to fight anymore. I have no purpose in life. I have no family."
Altair's eyes softened.
Altair: "Perhaps fate brought us together. I also have no family. And I want to find my purpose in life."
Suddenly—
Lyra: "Altair—!"
THUD!
Altair collapsed to the ground.
---
Darkness swallowed his consciousness.
Altair: "Ugh… where am I…?"
??????: "Welcome, Altair."
Altair: "Who are you?!"
??????: "I'm here to give you a purpose."
Altair: "Purpose…?"
??????: "If you wish to know why you exist in that world, you must gather the fragments of your memories."
Altair: "Memory fragments…?"
??????: "In every dungeon, there is a hidden altar. Only you can see it."
Altair: "And if I don't find it?"
??????: "That is your choice."
The darkness began to collapse.
??????: "I will return you now."
Altair: "Wait—!"
---
Altair woke up gasping for breath.
His head rested on something soft.
Lyra's lap.
Lyra: "Thank goodness… sob… I was so worried about you…"
Altair slowly sat up.
Altair: "Sorry… I didn't mean to faint."
Lyra wiped her tears.
Lyra: "Don't do that again. I thought… you were going to leave me too."
Altair looked at the dying embers of the fire.
Altair: "I'm not leaving. In fact… I just found a reason to keep going."
Lyra: "What do you mean?"
Altair told her everything—the voice, the altar, and the memory fragments.
Lyra: "The dungeon… that place is full of monsters!"
Altair: "I know. But this is the only clue to who I really am."
Lyra was silent for a long time.
Lyra: "Then… let me come with you."
Altair: "What?"
Lyra: "I don't want to be alone anymore. Even if I'm scared… I want to be useful."
Altair smiled sincerely.
Altair: "Thank you, Lyra."
Lyra: "The purpose of life…"
Altair: "When you told me not to leave… was it because you were worried about me… or because you wanted to come with me?"
Lyra looked away, embarrassed.
Lyra: "Both."
That night, beneath the great tree, an unspoken promise was formed—not between savior and saved, but between two empty souls choosing to walk together toward tomorrow.