The crimson doorway stretched across the sky like a wound in reality, pulsing with ancient rage and a sorrow no mortal could understand. The First Moon's halo widened as if inviting… or taunting.
Aarav stepped toward it.
Lunaris grabbed his right wrist.Umara grabbed his left.Seraphyne blocked the front, her ash-silver robes fluttering like a desperate barrier.
"You cannot simply walk into a demon's memory!" Lunaris cried, frost spiraling uncontrollably around her.
"You'll lose yourself," Umara whispered, her shadow curling protectively around Aarav's ankles.
Seraphyne's voice cracked, unmoved, unmasked."Aarav Verma… memory seas rewrite everything that enters. If you step inside unanchored, the past will claim you."
Aarav placed a hand gently on each of their shoulders.
"And that's why I need you."
The world stilled.
It wasn't a romantic gesture.It wasn't a command.It was a truth — heavy, earnest, irresistible.
"You are my anchors," Aarav said softly."The frost of clarity." — he looked at Lunaris."The shadow of understanding." — a glance at Umara."And the ink of wisdom." — his eyes met Seraphyne's.
All three froze, breathless.
The Equilibrium Sight flared in Aarav's eyes, gold and black swirling like twin galaxies.
"Alone, I might drown," he admitted."With you, I walk."
Seraphyne exhaled shakily. "You trust us that much?"
Aarav smiled."More than prophecy wants me to."
Umara's shadows rippled. "Then… we won't let you fall."
Lunaris nodded fiercely. "Let the memory sea try — we'll pull you back."
The decision was made.
Aarav stepped forward.The three women formed a triangle behind him, their auras touching.
Balance.Frost.Shadow.Ink.
The doorway accepted them — but not silently.
The sky screamed.
And reality shattered.
Inside the Demon's Memory Sea
The world re-formed instantly, but differently.
They were no longer on Echoing Peak.
They were standing on—
A battlefield.
Not one of mortals.But of gods.
The sky here was broken glass — shards of silver and night.The ground was cracked obsidian.And far on the horizon, two titanic figures clashed:
A man of pure shadow fire — with horns like broken crescent moons.A woman of blinding celestial light — wielding a sword forged from sunfire.
Lunaris gasped."That… can't be…"
Umara's voice trembled."The Heavenly Demon… fighting the Divine Sword Goddess."
Seraphyne stared, stunned."The First War… the war that rewrote the cosmos."
Aarav did not gasp.He had sensed this before entering.
But seeing it…
A weight settled in his chest.
The Demon's aura was rage made manifest — agony shaped into destruction, a grief too vast to be voiced.The Goddess's aura was pure law — sharp, merciless, glowing with righteous despair.
Their blows tore mountains.Their screams broke planets.Each strike carried enough will to rewrite causality.
Even Lunaris felt her legs shake."This is… too much…"
Aarav steadied her.
"Stay close."
But the battlefield wasn't just a memory.It whispered.
A voice echoed inside Aarav's skull — layered, ancient, trembling with fury.
"Who dares enter my truth?"
Lunaris's frost shattered.Umara clutched her head, shadows spiraling wildly.Seraphyne stumbled forward, breath caught in her throat.
Aarav stepped forward.
"Someone who carries balance."
The golden-black light in his eyes pierced the illusion.
The memory twisted.The battlefield rippled like water.
Suddenly — a figure materialized before them.
A towering entity of shadow armor, six wings torn and bleeding, eyes like dying stars.
It wasn't the Demon.
But something… related.
The system chimed sharply.
[Attention: First Guardian Detected][Designation: The Archfallen — Varaxion][Role: Keeper of Demon's Memory Sea — Layer One][Threat Level: Divine/Corrupted Hybrid][Status: Hostile Until Tested]
Lunaris stepped back, instinctively shielding Aarav.
Umara's shadows wrapped around her like a cocoon.
Seraphyne narrowed her eyes. "A guardian… smart. The Demon locked his own memories behind sentinels."
The Archfallen spoke — voice echoing like metal dragged across stone.
"Only one who knows the Demon… may walk his past."
Aarav's gaze hardened.
"I don't know him," Aarav said calmly."But I understand him."
The guardian tilted its head.
"Understanding… is heavier than knowledge."
Aarav nodded."I carry both."
The Archfallen raised its spear — forged from collapsed stars.
"Then prove it.""Face the First Trial.""The Trial of Origin Pain."
Lunaris panicked."Origin Pain—?! Aarav, that's a memory trial! If you enter it—"
Umara finished, voice shaking:"—the Demon's anguish will carve itself into your mind!"
Seraphyne grabbed Aarav's cloak."Memory pain is not combat. It's not physical. It rewrites who you ARE!"
Aarav removed her hand gently.
"I know."
He stepped forward.
The Archfallen slammed its spear into the ground.
Reality shattered around him.
Aarav was sucked into the Demon's earliest memory—
Aarav's Trial — The Demon's First Cry
Darkness.
Cold.
Loneliness.
A single heartbeat echoed.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
Aarav opened his eyes inside a shattered cradle of stone.
He wasn't himself anymore —he was seeing through the eyes of—
A child.A newborn.
A being born alone in a dead realm.
He gasped.The loneliness stabbed deeper than any blade.
He saw:
A broken world
A dead sky
An empty crib
No parents
No warmth
Only silence
He felt:
Hunger
Fear
Betrayal
Abandonment so total the soul convulsed
This was the Demon's first memory.
The memory that birthed rage.
Aarav staggered.
His vision blurred.
His chest tightened.
But he didn't break.
He whispered—
"I've felt loneliness too."
The memory froze.
A small figure appeared — a child with horn buds, trembling violently.
Its voice was tiny.Fragile.
"Don't… leave me alone…"
Aarav knelt.
"I won't."
The memory cracked.The Archfallen appeared again.
"You endured the Demon's origin.You understood his ache.You did not deny it.You did not fear it."
Aarav stood.
"I don't abandon the broken pieces of others."
The guardian bowed — a deep, formal bow.
"The First Gate is open."
The battlefield dissolved.
Aarav returned to Lunaris, Umara, and Seraphyne—all of whom instantly grabbed him.
Lunaris hugged him fiercely, tears forming ice crystals.
Umara clung to his sleeve, shadows trembling protectively.
Seraphyne pressed a hand to his cheek, eyes wet despite herself.
They spoke together:
"Aarav—are you okay?!"
Aarav smiled softly.
"I'm fine."
The system chimed.
[Memory Sea — First Layer Cleared][New Ability: Heart of Understanding (Lesser)][Allows Aarav to calm and rewrite traumatic memory echoes.]
Aarav looked ahead.
The Memory Sea opened wider.
Eight more guardians.Eight more trials.Eight more moons.
He whispered:
"Let's keep going."
And all three women stepped beside him—
Together.