[Guardian defeated]
[Gate Key 1 Acquired]
[Vault Transition in: 00:04:59]
The notification appeared in front of each of them as the guardian's massive, bony body fully dissolved into ash and mana, leaving behind only silence and the faint hum of released energy.
Kael collapsed into a sitting position, gasping for air, his muscles screaming.
The gauntlet on his hand was still faintly pulsing with residual energy, and his entire body felt like it had been run over by a stampede of warhorses.
'I really hope that wasn't the easy one.'
Theo walked up first and wordlessly offered him a hand.
Kael took it, his grip weak, and forced himself up.
Niko was already leaning against the far wall, breathing heavily, wiping sweat from his brow.
Liri sat cross-legged on the ground, cradling her now broken staff like a comfort blanket, her eyes distant.
Rylen stood nearby, humming some unhinged tune to himself like they hadn't just faced a soul-eating horror.
"Four minutes," Theo muttered, checking his Archive interface, his brow furrowed in thought.
"Four minutes for what?" Kael asked, wiping dirt and sweat from his face with the back of his gauntleted hand.
"Until the next gate. It's a vault transition—some kind of shift to another zone or something. We'll be moved automatically."
"Of course it is," Kael muttered, the sarcasm dry.
Kael leaned back against the cool stone, then turned to Rylen, who was adjusting one of the strange clasps on his belt. "Hey, Rylen."
"Hmm?" Rylen hummed, not looking up.
"Where the hell did that gauntlet come from?" Kael asked, gesturing with the pulsing metal on his hand.
Rylen smiled innocently, finally looking up. "Oh! That? You remember I said I wasn't much good at fighting?"
"Yeah, vaguely."
"Well, that's because I'm not the guy who swings weapons." He patted the gauntlet still attached to Kael's hand. "I'm the guy who makes them."
Kael blinked. "Wait—you're a blacksmith?"
"Well, technically, an Arc-Smith. I specialize in weapon augmentation and spirit-channeling frameworks, but 'blacksmith' works just fine."
Theo explained further. "He's a Utility Knight—but with an Artificer subclass. It's quite rare."
Kael narrowed his eyes, a familiar exasperation bubbling up. "So you're telling me… you had other cool things stashed on you this whole time?"
Rylen gave a beaming, innocent smile that was utterly infuriating. "Of course."
"…And you didn't think to bring any of them out until now?"
Rylen shrugged, completely unbothered. "Well, no one asked."
Kael stared at him, deadpan. "You are the most ridiculous human being I have ever met."
Before Rylen could offer another maddening grin, the air around them changed.
The ground trembled.
The ancient stone beneath their feet fractured—and then, like a ripple across water, the entire world shifted.
Color drained and rewrote itself.
The vaulted ceiling above dissolved into a vast, sun-baked sky.
Heat slammed into them like a physical force.
In a flash, they were no longer in a cold stone temple—but standing ankle-deep in hot, shifting sand.
The wind howled, a dry, abrasive blast.
Golden dunes stretched endlessly in all directions, glimmering under a bright, relentless, sunless sky.
The air shimmered, dense with heat distortion. Jagged bones of half-buried ruins poked out from the sand like forgotten gods, bleached and silent.
Kael coughed once, shielding his eyes from the blowing dust. "I hate this already."
They were still regrouping, trying to get their bearings in the sudden, oppressive heat, when Rylen spoke again, this time quieter, his smile finally gone. "Uhm, guys. Look."
Everyone slowly followed his gaze.
Just a few hundred meters ahead, rising from the sand like a slumbering titan, was another Gate.
This one was different.
If the last had been carved and hidden, this one stood like a monument—a black obelisk of impossible size, lined with crimson glyphs pulsing in time with their heartbeats.
Its shape was jagged, uneven—less like it was built and more like it was grown. It loomed over the dunes like it was watching them. Waiting.
"Well," Rylen said, his cheerfulness a little forced now. "At least we don't have to look for it this time."
"Yeah," Kael muttered, squinting at the oppressive monument. "I don't know if that's a good thing or not."
The heat was relentless.
Dry air clawed at their lungs, and the golden sun—though artificial—felt all too real.
"Well, we definitely can't head in there now. We need to recover first," Niko said, brushing sand from his fine boots.
"One hundred percent agree," Kael muttered, "But can we find some shelter first? This sun is starting to get on my nerves."
He was already turning to look for cover when something clicked in his memory, a small detail forgotten in the chaos.
He stopped.
"Wait… how's Seraphina doi—"
He didn't finish.
She wasn't with the group.
A few steps away, she stood motionless, arms hanging loosely at her sides, eyes locked on the shimmering horizon.
She looked like a statue—frozen, distant, and disturbingly still.
Kael frowned and slowly walked up behind her.
"Seraphina?" he called softly, a hint of concern in his voice.
No response.
He hesitated, then gently placed a hand on her shoulder.
She flinched a little, her whole body trembling.
He leaned in a little. "Hey… are you—"
That's when he heard it.
A whisper.
Barely audible against the wind.
"I'm sorry…"
"Huh?" Kael blinked, confused.
Before he could react any further, it happened.
She spun around with zero warning and wrapped her arms around him tight.
So tight he couldn't breathe right.
His eyes went wide, stunned.
"What the—"
She didn't let go. Just kept clinging to him like something was chasing her—and kept whispering the same two words like a broken record.
"I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"
Kael froze. His brain flatlined.
The others stood behind him, watching with mixed expressions.
'What the hell is happening?'
He tried to gently pull away—once, twice—but it was like trying to break out of a bear trap made of steel and emotional damage.
He could feel her shaking violently against him.
This wasn't the cold, one-eyed warrior girl he'd met a day ago.
This was someone else. Someone cracked open.
Still stunned, he whispered, "Seraphina…?"
But she only tightened her grip, burying her face against his chest.
"I'm sorry…"
Kael stared straight ahead, arms awkwardly hovering in the air like he was afraid touching her and might shatter whatever fragile string she was hanging onto.
His mouth moved, but no words came.
He had no idea what to do. No idea what to say.
So he just stood there, under a burning sun, locked in a hug he never saw coming.
And for the first time in his life… he didn't even feel like cracking a joke.