The rest of the day passed without trouble, though Loretta had slipped away from the group. The Visionaries spent the afternoon bonding with citizens and merchants, building trust and lifting the overall mood as the tournament's continuation drew closer. By nightfall, they parted ways, and Heartz and Rui headed back to their room.
As soon as Heartz unlocked the door, he handed Rui the key.
"Hold that for me. I'll be back in ten minutes," he said.
Before he could turn, Rui caught his hand.
"Babe... if something's going on, you know you can talk to me, right?" Her voice carried a tremor — fear or something close to it.
"It's nothing, Rui. I'll be quick."
But she didn't let go.
"It's just..." Tears slipped down her face. "Ever since the day they brought you back from the brink of death... you've been different. Distant. Cold. It feels like you're not even you anymore."
Heartz opened his mouth, but she pushed on.
"I know we have responsibilities now, but please... think of us. Please."
Heartz cupped her cheeks gently.
"Rui... no. Baby, I promise you — I'm okay. I don't fully understand what happened that day either, but I felt something shift deep inside me. I just want to be better. For myself... and for you."
He kissed her softly, letting the moment quiet their fears, just for a breath in time.
"Believe in me," he whispered, closing her fingers around the key. Rui stepped into the room, though worry lingered in her eyes.
Heartz's expression hardened as he walked toward Loretta's door. But before he could knock, Loretta swung it open.
"C'mon. I found somethin', mate."
Heartz followed him inside. The cloak was spread across the floor.
"With my Evil Eye, I could see a loose but stubborn miasma clinging to it," Loretta said. "Didn't stick to me or anything else, so I think it's safe."
He flipped the cloak over.
"Now this... this is something."
On the back was a symbol: a single eye with eight jagged spikes radiating from it.
Heartz froze. His blood ran cold — then surged hot. Veins bulged across his skin as rage thundered through him. He clenched his fists, trying to steady himself, but failing.
Loretta looked up, confused.
"Hey... you alright? You recognize it?"
But Heartz didn't respond. His face twitched with fury, his blood pumping so violently that it burst from his nose.
...
There were hardly any screams left — only the crackle of burning fire refusing to die, even under the black rain that drowned the ruined land. A young boy sprinted through the chaos, gripping a little girl's hand as tightly as she held his.
"My mommy and daddy are still back there! We have to get them too, Heartz!" she cried as they pushed through the collapsing structure.
Young Heartz's stomach twisted. He knew what had happened to her parents, but he couldn't bring himself to shatter her hope.
"It'll be alright, Rui! Your dad is strong — I know he is! Just believe in him!" he shouted over the roar of flames.
Rui only squeezed his hand harder.
If I can just make it to my dad... he can protect us... Heartz thought—
until a crumbling beam crashed down between them.
"HEARTZ!" Rui screamed, pinned beneath the fallen pillar.
Heartz lunged toward her, clawing at the debris with all the strength he had, but it didn't budge. Panic clawed up his throat. He knew the truth — he wasn't strong enough. And worse... he couldn't control chi. Every attempt ended in an explosion, a failure.
But now wasn't the time for fear.
Heartz pulled every drop of chi he could muster into his hands and struck the pillar again and again. Tiny explosions blasted from his fists — pop after pop — tearing his skin open, painting his hands red. The black rain came down harder, soaking him as his strength faltered. Eventually, his punches weakened, and he collapsed to his knees, sobbing.
"I'm sorry, Rui..." he choked out, pressing his forehead against the pillar, smashing it again and again until it bled.
Then — through his tears — he noticed the cracks spidering through the granite.
The young Heartz pushed himself back to his feet, eyes burning with raw determination. He slammed his fists into the pillar again and again, pouring even more chi into each strike until a final blast shattered it to splinters. He scooped the unconscious Rui into his arms, hoisted her onto his back, and sprinted through the crumbling streets toward his father's home.
Around him, cultists continued their destruction — torches thrown, buildings collapsing, the echoes of the thudding footsteps of the calamity fading only as its perpetrators retreated. Heartz ignored everything except the desperate hope beating in his chest.
He burst into his home and raced up the stairs, praying — begging — that his father was still alive. But the moment he pushed open the bedroom door, any glimmer of hope died. A blade sliced through the air with a wet whisper, and his father's head rolled across the floor, stopping at his feet.
Heartz collapsed to his knees. No scream. No tears left. Just empty shock.
The cultist stepped toward him, licking blood from his blade before raising it to Heartz's neck. But Heartz didn't move — he collapsed fully, consciousness slipping away under the weight of fear and exhaustion. His eyes went white, utterly blank.
As the man lifted his sword for the killing blow, a crushing wave of chi swept over the room. He froze, scanning wildly for its source — until movement caught his eye.
Rui.
Still unconscious, still draped across Heartz's back... yet slowly rising into the air. Bright green wind-wings unfurled from her shoulders, glowing through the smoke.
"The hell..." the cultist muttered.
Before he could strike, his blade began to corrode. Rust swallowed the metal, racing down the weapon, leaping to his fingertips. He gasped and flung the sword away, but it didn't matter. The decay spread across his arm, then his body, until the man crumbled entirely — blown apart by a sudden, violent gust of wind.
Rui fell limp atop Heartz, both children unconscious, untouched by the chaos around them. They remained that way for days, until a search squad from the Land of Nirvana's capital found them buried within the ruins.