The Ruins of Veyra loomed like jagged bones on the horizon.
Crumbling stone towers, half-swallowed by moss and age, stretched into the clouds like skeletal fingers. Birds did not fly overhead. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath.
Kenzo and Akina stood before the entrance, a vast archway broken down the middle. The chill in the air was unnatural. Akina clutched her staff tightly, her usual confidence now laced with tension.
"Does it feel… heavier to you here?" she asked.
Kenzo nodded. "It's like the air's pressing against my skin."
They stepped inside together.
The halls were cold and echoing, lined with murals worn nearly smooth. The further they walked, the more oppressive the silence became until it wasn't silent at all.
Whispers.
Low. Constant. Not words, but feelings with doubt, envy, and guilt.
Kenzo tried to focus, but the air felt like it was crawling inside his head. The Eternal Devotion mark on Akina glowed faintly, pulsing against the interference.
"I don't like this," she murmured. "Something's…"
[Passive Skill Activated: Memory Interference Detected]
Warning: Ruins amplify suppressed emotional memories. Caution advised.
Suddenly, Kenzo stumbled.
Images surged through him with fragments of his old life. Days alone in his room. The flicker of a monitor in the dark. The sound of his parents arguing in the kitchen, always too far away to reach.
And over it all, one thought echoed:
She deserves someone better.
"Kenzo?" Akina's voice came through muffled. "What's happening?"
He forced his eyes open but when he looked at her, he saw someone else. Not Akina. Just a blurry figure, arms crossed, cold and disappointed. Another person he would fail.
"No…" he muttered, shaking his head. "This isn't real."
Akina moved to help him, but then she stopped, her face contorting.
"Why… why did you look at me like that?" she whispered.
Kenzo blinked. "What are you talking about?"
"You hesitated. Just now. Like you didn't trust me."
"I… I was disoriented! The ruins…"
Her voice trembled. "So, if the magic messes with your head, you suddenly forget how you feel about me?"
"That's not fair!" he said, the volume in his voice sharper than intended.
The silence that followed was brutal.
Akina looked away, hurt flaring in her eyes before she could hide it. "Maybe this devotion thing was a mistake…"
Kenzo's heart dropped. That one sentence hit harder than any blade.
The mark on her chest dimmed for the first time.
"Akina, wait..."
But before he could step closer, the walls of the ruins shifted. Stones trembled. A low growl echoed down the corridor, and the torches lining the path flared to life, casting deep shadows.
[Warning: Dungeon Core Awakening Detected.]
Boss Chamber: 50 Meters Ahead.
There was no more time to argue.
Akina swallowed her feelings and nodded stiffly. "Let's finish this."
Kenzo nodded back. But the space between them and the warmth they had shared, it felt hollow now.
The real fight wasn't just ahead.
It was between their hearts.