The chamber was steeped in silence.
A man lay motionless upon a crystal bed, his body whole but his soul fractured—scattered into countless fragments that flickered like dying starlight. His lips were faintly curved, as if mocking fate itself, even in ruin.
Before him stood another figure, cloaked in black, his back straight, his eyes cold, yet his clenched fists betrayed a trembling restraint. He never moved closer, though every fibre of him ached to.
A voice resounded, distant and ancient.
"Joshua. Do you still wish to save him?"
There was no hesitation. "Yes."
Another voice followed, sharp as steel. "Then the price must be paid. You will forget who you are. You will forget who he is. You will wander the worlds in another's shell, carrying another's fate. Only if you both, without memory, without name, still choose each other… will your bond be acknowledged."
Joshua's voice was steady. "And if we fail?"
"Then you will both vanish. No rebirth. No return."
The silence that followed was suffocating.
At last, Joshua closed his eyes. When he opened them, the frost had softened, revealing something tender and vulnerable beneath. His lips moved, barely a whisper—speaking a name the hall did not hear.
Light surged, swallowing him whole.
In that endless brightness, a laugh echoed faintly. Shameless, teasing, familiar.
"Idiot. Don't cry."
Darkness.