CHAPTER 40 — THE CRYSTAL WITHIN
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They kept walking through the dark, cold corridors. Amura's fireball still burned in his palm, illuminating the dusty, damp path. The sound of their footsteps echoed among the stone walls, like the ticking of a clock counting down time they didn't want to know. Kyoichiiro walked in front, his eyes straight ahead, but his mind wandered far—wandering to various places, various times, various events he couldn't forget.
He remembered Amura. Amura's extraordinary power—the ability to create gravitational pressure so immense it could shatter stone statues in an instant. Where did that power come from? Why had Amura hidden it all this time? Why had he only used it now, in the most critical moments? Kyoichiiro didn't know. But he knew that Amura was no ordinary child—not just a lost noble boy, but someone with power that couldn't be explained by common sense.
He remembered that house. The empty house in the middle of the forest. The house that hid a dark underground passage, leading them to this place. The house that might be the beginning of all these nightmares. Why did they have to enter it? Why couldn't they just leave it alone? Kyoichiiro didn't know. But he knew that house was the key—the key that opened the door to a darker, more dangerous, more unreasonable world.
He remembered the woman. The mysterious woman with white hair and a white dress who appeared behind the purple wall. The woman who knew his name—who called him with a gentle voice, who showed them the way out when they were nearly in despair. Who was she? Why could she appear in a place like that? What was her connection to Kyoichiiro? Kyoichiiro didn't know. But he knew that woman wasn't a hallucination—not a dream, not an illusion. She was real. And she appeared when Kyoichiiro needed her most.
He remembered the children. The children he met underground. The children he promised to save. Elunie. The little girl who hugged him tightly, who wouldn't let go of his hand. And the boy who ran from that place, who asked for help, who trusted them.
Kyoichiiro stopped abruptly. His eyes widened.
Kyoichiiro: (To himself) The children... I forgot. I completely forgot.
He clenched his fists, feeling his fingernails dig into his palms. The pain helped keep him conscious.
I promised them. I promised to save them. But here I am, trapped in an endless cycle of death, forgetting my main purpose.
He turned back, looking at Amura and Aetheria walking behind him. They looked at him with confused expressions—not knowing what was going on inside his head, not knowing what he was thinking.
Kyoichiiro: (To himself) I have to finish this first. I have to save that girl. Then I'll return to them. I'll keep my promise.
He began to run. Not fast, but with purpose—running toward where he might find the girl. Amura and Aetheria were startled, but they quickly followed, with faster steps, with more ragged breath.
Amura: (While running) "Kyoichiiro! Wait! Where are you going?!"
Kyoichiiro: (Not answering. He just kept running, his eyes fixed ahead, searching for the shadow of the little girl he had seen before)
The corridors grew darker, colder, more unfriendly. And then, Kyoichiiro heard a sound.
Not the sound of footsteps. Not the sound of a door opening. Not the sound of whispers. But another sound—a softer, fainter sound, like a child crying. The girl's screaming voice.
Girl's Voice: (From a distance, her voice breathless, frightened) "HELP...!"
Kyoichiiro: (His eyes widening) "That's her!"
He ran faster, passing turns he couldn't count, passing the same walls, passing endless corridors. And at the end of the corridor, he saw her.
The little girl was surrounded by a pack of Black Wolves—the same monsters they had encountered in the first dungeon. There were about eight or nine of them, with glowing red eyes, with sharp teeth bared, with drool dripping from their mouths. The girl was cornered, her body trembling, her hands raised to protect her face.
Little Girl: (Crying out, her voice breaking) "Please... I'm scared..."
Kyoichiiro: (Without thinking. He just ran toward the girl, drew his katana, and stood before her) "I'm here. Don't be afraid."
Amura: (Also arriving, his sword already drawn) "Ahhh, never ending, huh..."
Aetheria: (Behind them, her hands already raised, ready for a barrier) "I'm ready."
Amura darted forward—faster than Kyoichiiro expected, faster than he could see. His gleaming sword moved like lightning, slashing one by one at the Black Wolves that tried to approach. In seconds, three Wolves fell. Amura spun, his sword flashing again, and two more fell to the floor. Four remained—but not for long. Amura moved like a shadow, and in an instant, all the Black Wolves were dead, their bodies scattered on the stone floor.
Amura: (Sheathing his sword, exhaling) "Done."
Kyoichiiro: (Still in front of the girl, kneeling before her, his voice gentle) "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"
Little Girl: (Still crying, but beginning to calm down. Her wet eyes looked at Kyoichiiro with fear, but also relief) "I... I was scared... they... they suddenly attacked... I couldn't run..."
Kyoichiiro: (Smiling—a small, but genuine smile) "You're safe. We're here. It's all over."
He reached out his hand—his right hand—to pat the girl's head. The girl lifted her head, looking at Kyoichiiro with wet eyes, with an expression full of relief. She began to raise her own hand to touch Kyoichiiro.
Little Girl: (Whispering, her voice still trembling) "Thank you..."
Kyoichiiro didn't answer. He just looked at the girl—looking at her dark eyes, full of fear, full of hope. He wanted to say something—wanted to ask who she was, where she came from, what had happened to her—but before he could open his mouth, something happened.
His hand—his right hand—moved. Without command. Without awareness. As if some foreign force was controlling it from within.
Straight. Fast. Piercing the girl's chest.
Kyoichiiro: (His eyes widening, his mouth open, but no sound came out) "What—"
He felt flesh tear beneath his palm. Felt ribs break. Felt the warmth of blood spurting from the wound. His hand pierced the girl's chest—piercing skin, piercing flesh, piercing into her chest cavity.
Little Girl: (Her eyes widening, her mouth open, but what came out was only blood—blood flowing from her lips, dripping down her chin, soaking her torn clothes) "A-ah..."
Her body went limp. No scream. No cry. Only blood, and silence, and eyes that still looked at Kyoichiiro with confusion—with questions she couldn't voice. She fell to the floor, her body trembling, blood flowing from her gaping wound.
Kyoichiiro: (Still in a kneeling position, his hand reaching forward, covered in blood. His eyes unblinking, his mouth open, but no sound came out) "I... I..."
Aetheria: (Screaming, her voice shattering the silence) "KYOICHIRO-SAN—!"
Amura: (Also shouting, running closer) "Kyoichiiro! WHAT DID YOU DO?!"
Kyoichiiro couldn't answer. He just stood there—or rather, he was still kneeling—with his hand still reaching out, with blood dripping from his fingers, with an empty mind. He felt something strange at his fingertips—something hard, something cold. A crystal. A crystal embedded inside the girl's body, now shattered in his hand.
Kyoichiiro: (Whispering, his voice hollow) "I... I didn't—"
He pulled his hand back—quickly, panicked, with all the strength he had. Blood dripped from his hand, from his sleeve, from the floor beneath him. In his palm, there were shards of red crystal that began to crumble, leaving sparkling dust clinging to his skin.
Amura: (Grabbing Kyoichiiro's collar, pulling him angrily, his red eyes—Crimson Iris—blazing with uncontrollable anger) "Kyoichiiro! ANSWER ME! WHY DID YOU DO THIS?!"
Kyoichiiro: (Still unable to answer. He just stared at his hand—his bloodied hand—and saw the crystal shards remaining in his palm)
Aetheria: (Already kneeling beside the girl, her golden-glowing hands covering the wound on her chest) "I... I'll heal her!"
Golden light radiated from Aetheria's palms, enveloping the girl's wound. But the wound was deep—very deep—and blood kept flowing even as the healing magic tried to close it. The girl was still breathing—weak breaths, ragged breaths—but her color grew paler, whiter like paper.
Aetheria: (Her face anxious, her voice breaking) "The wound... is very deep... I can't close it completely..."
Amura: (Still holding Kyoichiiro's collar, his voice full of anger and disbelief) "YOU NEARLY KILLED HER! WHY?!"
Kyoichiiro: (Finally, his voice came out—soft, hoarse, barely audible) "I... I don't know..."
Amura: (His eyes widening) "Don't joke around!"
Kyoichiiro: (Lifting his head, looking at Amura with empty, hollow eyes) "I'm not joking. I didn't do it consciously. My hand moved on its own. Like something was controlling me."
Amura looked at him. His red eyes—usually sharp, usually calculating—were now filled with mixed emotions. Anger. Disbelief. Confusion. And beneath all that, there was something else—something like fear.
Amura: (Releasing Kyoichiiro's collar, stepping back) "What... what do you mean?"
Kyoichiiro: (Not answering. He just stared at his hand—his hand still covered in blood) "I just... I just wanted to help her. But my hand moved on its own."
Silence fell between them. Aetheria was still trying to heal the girl, but the wound was too deep. Blood still flowed, though slower than before. The girl was still breathing—weak breaths, barely audible—but she was unconscious. Not moving. Only lying on the floor, with a pale face, with a chest still rising and falling slowly.
Aetheria: (Tears flowing down her cheeks, her hands still glowing) "I... I can't... the wound is too deep..."
Kyoichiiro: (Still kneeling, looking at the girl—the girl he nearly killed, the girl still alive but unconscious, the girl who might hold the answers to all his questions) "She... she's still alive?"
Aetheria: (Nodding, but her voice trembling) "Yes... but she's weak. Very weak. I don't know if she can survive..."
Kyoichiiro didn't answer. He just looked at the girl—looking at her pale face, looking at her chest still rising and falling slowly, looking at her wound still gaping even though Aetheria's magic had tried to close it.
That crystal, he thought, and his mind began to move again. The crystal inside her body. The crystal that shattered in my hand. What was it? Why was it inside her body? And why could I feel it?
He looked at his hand—his hand still covered in blood. He clenched it, feeling the remnants of crystal still clinging to his skin. Tiny shards that sparkled under the dim light, that began to disappear, turning to dust that scattered in the air.
Amura: (His voice soft, but full of emotion he couldn't hide) "Kyoichiiro... what's really happening to you?"
Kyoichiiro: (Not answering. He just stared at his hand, with empty eyes, with a stopped mind)
Aetheria: (Still beside the girl, her voice soft) "She's... stable. But I don't know for how long. We need to get her out of here."
The three of them stood there, in the dark, silent corridor, with the little girl lying on the floor, with blood still flowing slowly, with questions that couldn't be answered. No one spoke. No one moved. Only silence, and confusion, and fear they couldn't express.