Hidden Well Room – Night
The light vanished, plunging the room into chilling darkness. Only the faint hum of frozen air remained.
Aisa stood in the center, her body half-consumed by jagged ice. Cracks formed along her skin, and from within, a voice echoed—harsh, ancient, and full of rage.
"I will not die alone," the Ice Goddess growled through Aisa's mouth. Her voice fractured, overlapping with Aisa's own. "If I fall… Aisa falls with me!"
Everyone stood frozen, their hearts pounding. No one spoke. No one moved.
Then, Ryker stepped forward.
His presence shifted. A strange glow surrounded him. His eyes shimmered—not with fear, but with something deeper… older.
"Eira," he said, his voice calm yet cold. "I never imagined you'd become this. You were supposed to protect the innocent—not slaughter them."
Aisa's body trembled. The ice cracked louder.
"You are not… my Eira."
Silence.
Aisa's head slowly turned toward Ryker. Her lips quivered, and for a brief moment, her human side returned.
"Prince… Kael?" she whispered. Her voice was soft, fragile. A single tear slipped from her eye—the human one.
"You're… back?" she said, barely holding her breath.
Her face softened. A smile formed, weak but genuine.
"I'm so happy…"
Then—Ryker stepped forward. Step by step, Kael walked toward her. Toward the woman he once loved. Toward what she had become.
He reached the frozen figure—Aisa's body possessed—and without hesitation, lifted a nearby sword from the ground.
He reached for the sword lying on the icy floor.
Everyone watched in disbelief.
Without a word, Kael raised the blade—
—and stabbed her through the chest.
The Ice Goddess—Eira—looked at him, stunned. The blade had pierced her, but something deeper echoed in the room.
Then Kael turned the sword—slowly, deliberately—and thrust it into his own chest.
SHRRK—
The steel sank deep, piercing through flesh and memory.
"Kael!" Aisa's voice—her true voice—cracked through the air.
Blood poured from Kael's chest. Ryker's body staggered under the weight of the act, his knees hitting the floor.
Behind him, the Ice Goddess gasped.
The wounds on them both—identical.
As if their souls were still bound.
Kael looked up, eyes soft, haunted. "If your love cursed the world… then I'll break that curse with our pain."
Light exploded from the sword—blinding, raw, divine.
Ryker's blood shimmered like stars, suspended in the glowing mist. The room trembled, frost melting off the walls as the energy surged.
Then—
Silence.
The light faded.
And Ryker and Aisa were gone.
Gone… as if they never existed in that moment.
The sword clattered to the floor, stained with their blood and a sorrow centuries old.
Everyone stood frozen.
"...They disappeared," Amelia whispered, clutching her chest.
"Ryker…" Sol said, eyes wide. "Where are they?"
"They said… Prince Kael," Shin murmured. "And the Ice Princess… Eira…"
Jasmine turned without a word, her face unreadable.
"We're going back. No more arguments."
No one resisted.
They ran—not to escape, but to survive the weight of what they'd just witnessed.
They emerged from the well, one by one. Jasmine, Sol, Izumi, Tasuya, King, Shin, Amelia, Hiroshi, Saki, Arisu, Mio, Celica, Yumi, and Akira—each breathless, covered in dirt and sweat. The cold night air wrapped around them like a warning.
Everyone made it out. Everyone—except two.
Jasmine turned, her eyes scanning the dark entrance below. "Where are they?"
Sol stood still, his eyes locked on the well's mouth. "Ryker… and Aisa… they're not coming up."
"They were right behind us," Arisu said, breathless. "They were just behind us!"
Shin backed away from the edge, tension rising. "Something happened down there."
Amelia's voice trembled. "You don't think…?"
"No," Yumi snapped, shaking her head. "No. Ryker wouldn't die. He's not allowed to die."
But no one said anything.
Only the wind whispered through the trees.
Then… the earth trembled slightly. A pulse—cold and sharp—shot through the ground beneath them. Celica stumbled, her hand instinctively gripping her chest.
Everyone froze.
"What was that?" Hiroshi asked.
Saki looked at the ground, her voice low. "It felt like… something broke."
Celica's eyes widened, her breathing uneven. "A reaction… that was a possession breaking."
"Possession?" Akira echoed.
Celica nodded slowly. "When a god or powerful spirit is forced out of a body… their bond shatters. And when it happens… something dies."
Sol stepped forward, his fists clenched. "You think that was Ryker?"
No one answered.
Izumi lowered his head. "He did it… didn't he?"
Tasuya whispered, "He sacrificed himself."
The group stood there, silent beneath the moonlight. The stars above them shimmered coldly—indifferent to their grief.
Jasmine closed her eyes. "We have to go back."
"No," Sol said, his voice hard and hollow. "We need to regroup. If we go back now… and they're already gone…"
Celica dropped to her knees, tears slipping down her face. "He said he'd lead us to the end. He said we'd never lose anyone again."
The underground room was silent, cloaked in darkness. A dim, pulsing light flickered faintly from the cracks in the stone walls. The air felt cold… still.
Aisa's eyes fluttered open, her lashes wet. Her head throbbed with confusion.
"Where… am I?" she whispered, her voice barely a breath.
As she slowly sat up, her heart dropped.
There—just a few steps away—Ryker lay motionless, his body sprawled across the cold ground. His shirt was soaked in blood, a deep red stain spreading across his chest.
Aisa's breath hitched. She scrambled to his side, her hands trembling as she lifted his head and gently cradled it on her knees.
"Ryker…" Her voice cracked. "Ryker, wake up. Please…"
Tears welled in her eyes, spilling freely down her cheeks. She clutched his shirt, sobbing into his shoulder.
"This is all my fault… I'm sorry. You—" she choked, "you promised you'd never leave me…"
She buried her face into him, shaking. Her fingers touched his chest, hoping—desperately—for something. Anything.
Then, a faint whisper broke through the silence.
"Don't cry… Aisa."
She froze.
Her eyes widened. Slowly, she looked down.
"Ah…!" A soft gasp escaped her lips. "A-Are you… are you alive?"
Ryker's eyes were half-open. Weak, but still burning with that familiar light.
Without hesitation, Aisa leaned down and wrapped her arms around him, holding him tightly as fresh tears fell.
"Ryker…" she whispered.
He smiled faintly, wincing.
"I'm here," he said. "Don't worry… I'm not leaving you."
"But… where are we?" Aisa asked, her voice quiet and uncertain as she looked around the dim, stone-walled room.
Ryker took a slow breath, scanning the shadows. "I think I know," he said calmly. "Come on. Let's get out of here."
He stood up, steadying himself. But as Aisa tried to rise, a sharp pain shot through her leg. She cried out softly, collapsing back to the floor.
"Ahh… my leg," she winced, holding her ankle.
Ryker turned quickly. "What happened?"
"I—I think it's injured," she said, trying not to sound scared. "I can't put weight on it."
He looked down at her, noticing a faint bruise starting to form. He gave her a small nod and glanced over his shoulder. "My back's sore too… but that doesn't matter right now."
Before Aisa could respond, Ryker knelt down in front of her and carefully slipped his arms beneath her.
"Wait—wha… what are you doing?" Aisa gasped, her cheeks turning red as he lifted her effortlessly into his arms.
Ryker didn't look at her—his expression stayed calm and focused. "We're getting out of here."
He started walking through the corridor, each step echoing softly in the silence. Aisa rested her head lightly against his chest, her heart pounding—not from fear, but something else.
"…Thanks," she whispered.
Ryker didn't say anything back.
But his arms held her a little tighter.