The void-warped stronghold loomed ahead, a spire of blackened stone fused with jagged veins of violet crystal. A sickening hum vibrated through the air as the trio approached, the very atmosphere oppressive, like a dying god whispering secrets to the wind.
"This place reeks of malice," Zera muttered, her grip tightening on her blade.
"It's not just the void," Shin said, his eyes scanning the corrupted walls. "It's Falzath. It's alive. It wants us afraid."
The architecture defied logic: stairways bent into walls, doors led into pits of lightless void, and sigils shimmered between dimensions. Shin's Kitsune instincts flared, guiding them like a sixth sense. But with every step, the pressure mounted.
"This isn't right," Laverna whispered, her ears twitching. "Something's pulling at my mind."
Then the pulse hit. A surge of psychic energy erupted from the heart of the fortress, invisible but thunderous. The world folded.
And they were alone.
Shin awoke kneeling in the courtyard of his childhood home. The cherry blossoms bloomed, soft pink petals falling around him. The scent of incense clung to the air, and laughter echoed from beyond the doors.
"No," he whispered, standing slowly. "Not this again."
He turned toward the celebration—his sixteenth birthday. The doors burst open, and the massacre began anew. Screams tore through the air as shadows with twisted faces rushed in. Poisoned wine and food spilled. Flames danced on the tatami mats. And in the center of it all, his mother and father, dying again.
Shin stepped forward, blade drawn. "You're not real. None of this is."
But the specters of his family turned to him, eyes hollow. "You survived while we died," they chorused. "You ran."
His sword wavered. Red lightning sparked—but sputtered. Doubt poisoned it.
"Why should you live, when we were slaughtered for trusting you?"
He dropped to one knee, breath ragged. The weight of memory, of guilt, crushed his spirit.
But then, a voice.
Laverna's voice. "You don't have to carry that alone."
And Zera's: "What you do now—that's what matters."
The false world trembled. Shin stood.
"You're right," he told the phantoms. "I did survive. I lost everything. But I won't lose what I have now. I'll protect them with everything I am."
His crimson-golden eyes flared. Lightning ignited, surging with renewed fury. The illusions burned away as Yoshimatsu roared to life in his grasp.
He turned toward the light.
--
Laverna stood in chains, shackled to a cold marble floor. Lichtenstein banners loomed above her, and a voice echoed from the throne.
"You never left," Thomas Lichtenstein sneered. "A pet pretending to be free. Come back, girl. Kneel."
She strained against the chains. Her body was weak, emaciated. Her body is beaten and bruised, recalling the sensation of fear and death surrounding her.
"No," she whispered. But the whip cracked. The pain was real. The shame, deeper.
"You're nothing without your Master. Without us, you're worthless."
She bit her lip until it bled. The words sank deep, like old roots trying to regrow.
"Master Shin... left you, didn't he?"
She gritted her teeth.
"You think he sees you as an equal? As anything more than a tool?"
She stared down, trembling. Her hands, raw from shackles. Her reflection in the polished floor showed a frightened girl.
But then, she remembered.
The training. The pain. The sensations. The bond. Shin's voice, not commanding—but trusting. His hand was on her shoulder. His belief.
She screamed. Fire and Wind erupted from her body, shattering the chains. Her form shifted. Her tails returned, glowing silver. Her eyes burned with purpose.
"I'm not yours. I never was!"
She struck forward, stabbing Thomas by his throat, her jamadhars slicing through the illusion like paper. The throne shattered, the banners burned. And Laverna, the true Laverna, stepped into the light.
--
Zera knelt at the edge of a village engulfed in fire. Her people screamed. Children fled as armored beasts cut them down. Her hands trembled as she reached for a sword that wasn't there.
She ran. Through the smoke, through the chaos, through the guilt. Again.
But this time, a small girl stood in the flames, clutching a blue sword.
"You left us," the child said. "You swore to protect us."
Zera fell to her knees. "I tried... I tried..."
The fire swirled around them. The ground opened beneath her feet. But the child offered the sword.
"Then fight for us now."
Zera took the blade.
It pulsed with blue light. The fire hissed. Her armor reformed around her. The emblem of her forgotten kingdom ignited on her chest.
"I don't know who I was," she whispered. "But I know who I want to be."
Her body blazed with blue light, gathered like a beacon of defiance. Zera channeled her strength as if drawing upon her desire to protect. With a single swing, the illusion shattered in a blinding surge of light and will.
--
The three emerged in the same breathless moment, back in the shadowed corridor of the stronghold. Their bodies slick with sweat, their auras flaring.
Shin stumbled, then caught himself. Laverna was already checking her weapons. Zera stood tall, the blue blade in her hand glowing brighter than ever.
"A Falzath trap," Shin muttered. "It feeds on despair. Tries to break you."
Laverna looked around. "We made it back. Together."
Zera nodded. "And stronger."
They moved forward, following the curve of the corridor until it opened into a vast chamber. In the center stood a pedestal, and atop it, an etched slab of obsidian.
A map.
Shin stepped forward, examining it. "The heart of the stronghold. This will lead us there."
The map glowed faintly, reacting to his touch. Routes lit up—some pulsing red, others green.
Zera studied it. "This looks like a convergence point. The Falzath's core."
Laverna exhaled. "That's where we end this."
Shin turned to them, his tails flickering, casting protective light.
"We face worse ahead. But I'll shield you both, with everything I have."
Laverna stepped forward. "You don't need to shield me, Shin. Fight beside me. That's all."
Zera smirked. "Count me in. Just try to keep up."
They clasped hands briefly, firmly.
And together, they stepped into the heart of darkness, their souls tempered by despair, their unity now unbreakable.
The Falzath awaited.
But so did retribution.