Silence draped the forest like a mourning veil.
The group had camped deep in the woods, far from the cave and its horrors, but the memory still lingered like smoke that wouldn't clear. The fire had burned low. Only the occasional crackle of ember and the whisper of wind rustling the trees disturbed the quiet.
Nate sat apart from the others, his head bowed, fists clenched against the earth as if willing himself to sink beneath it. Guilt weighed heavy on his shoulders. No words passed his lips, but it was written all over him—he blamed himself for Samantha's death.
Leaning against him, like a broken branch struggling to stay upright, was the young girl they'd saved.
She couldn't have been more than seventeen, but sorrow had aged her. Her eyes were empty, distant. She clung to Nate like a child who had lost everything.
Owen and Eden sat a few feet away, unsure of what to say. They hadn't seen the inside of that cave. They hadn't heard the screams. They hadn't smelled the blood.
Emily lay on her side, her back turned to the rest, staring blankly at the grass beneath her.
No one spoke.
Finally, Athena broke the silence.
"What's your name?" she asked softly, her voice cutting through the stillness like a pebble dropped into a still pond.
The girl blinked, then slowly lifted her head. "Isabella… ma'am," she replied quietly.
Athena hesitated. "Was Samantha your…?" The name felt heavy in her throat. She couldn't finish the sentence.
Isabella nodded faintly. "Yeah. She was my sister."
Her voice cracked at the edges. "Our parents died two years ago. After that, it was just me and her."
Owen leaned forward. "Is that why you both joined a guild?"
Isabella shook her head, a faint smile ghosting her lips. "No. Only Samantha joined. I stayed home."
For a moment, she seemed lost in the past. "She always took my meals before heading out. But this time… she forgot. I ran to catch her. I didn't know she was going so deep into the forest. I got lost… stopped to rest… then I saw her and her team. I gave her the food. She wouldn't let me walk home alone. It was already late, so they chose to rest near the cave…"
She stopped there, voice swallowed by grief.
Nate's fists tightened until blood seeped from the crescent wounds his nails dug into his palms.
"I'm sorry," Athena whispered.
Isabella forced a fragile smile. "It's alright."
"Time to sleep," Nate said suddenly, his voice cold and sharp. "We have a lot to do tomorrow."
A gust of wind snuffed out the fire. Shadows swallowed the camp.
Athena stared into the void where flames once danced.
She glanced at Nate, then at Emily.
Why does this not hit me the same way?
Was she too numb? Too cruel to feel the pain she had felt in that cave?
Once the others fell into restless sleep, Nate rose silently and stepped away from the camp.
He summoned one of his spectral beasts, its form slithering like smoke across the forest floor.
"Find where her parents rest," he whispered.
He couldn't bring Samantha back. But maybe… he could give Isabella one final moment with her.
Kneeling beside the girl, he placed two fingers gently on her forehead and activated Dream Valley—a rare ability that allowed one to relive their deepest longing in their dreams.
Tonight, she would see her sister again.
The skill completed its cast, and Nate stood up.
Behind him, he heard a soft voice.
"…Thank you."
He turned slightly.
Emily stood there, arms crossed tightly over her chest, eyes red but dry.
He didn't answer.
Instead, he walked deeper into the woods, vanishing into the trees.
She couldn't sleep.
Every time she closed her eyes, the cave flashed back—the screams, the blood, Samantha's lifeless eyes.
Why was the world like this?
She sat up, noticing the sky beginning to lighten with the pale blush of dawn.
No sleep. Again.
Her eyes flicked to the trees—just in time to see Nate emerge.
His face was blank. Cold. Not emotionless… but sealed.
He moved toward Isabella, now curled up beneath a blanket near the ashes of the fire.
He scooped her up gently, like she was made of glass.
"Let's go," he said.
Though the others had appeared asleep, they rose immediately—silent, alert.
They had been waiting for his words.
"Where to?" Athena asked.
Nate didn't stop walking.
"To give her sister a proper resting place."
Dark energy curled around his legs, then lifted him silently into the sky like black wings.
"Catch up."
The city lay beneath him, still sleeping as he soared through the skies.
The first light of dawn painted the stone walls and rooftops in hues of gold and soft amber. Empty streets yawned beneath him, the capital unaware of what was coming.
He landed at the inn quietly.
Inside, the sleepy receptionist gasped as she saw him.
"O-Oh! It's the hero…! Please, take this key. Upstairs. Last door on the right."
He nodded politely, adjusting Isabella in his arms. "Thank you."
He placed two golden coins on the desk—his first real earnings from the system.
She hesitated before taking them, unsure whether it was too little… or far too much.
Upstairs, Nate stepped into the room and laid Isabella on the bed. She stirred faintly, smiling in her sleep.
He stepped back.
Closed the door.
Outside, he stood under the rising sun, the rays warming nothing within him.
From a distance, he spotted them—three silhouettes approaching the city gates.
Athena. Owen. Emily.
They made it.
But the weight in his chest didn't lift.
He had been too slow.
Too weak.
He was supposed to protect.
And he had failed.
The voice in his mind—the one that brought him to this world—had promised peace.
But peace meant nothing here.
Only strength mattered.
And so—
He would become strong enough to change that.
THE PALACE
The council chamber was alive with voices, nobles arguing over the boy—Nate.
One of them slammed a fist onto the round table. "He stopped Tenkan alone. Now he's destroyed an entire dark guild?"
Some nobles were worried. Others... intrigued.
"He's too dangerous to leave unchecked."
"Or he's the tool we've been waiting for."
Alden sat at the center of it all, listening. His expression unreadable.
Just as the noise reached its peak, a holy knight entered swiftly, moving to Alden's side.
He leaned in and whispered something only Alden could hear.
Alden's eyes widened slightly.
He stood.
Silence fell.
One of the kings leaned forward—draped in gold-trimmed robes, crown glinting in the chamber light.
"Well? What do you have for us, Alden?"
A sly smile touched Alden's lips.
"If you want to know…"
He raised his hand.
"…you'll find out soon enough."
The game had changed.
And the next move would be his.