When my eyes opened, I found myself unable to turn around.
Before me stretched a narrow tunnel of bare, uneven stone, with a faint light flaring erratically at its far end.
With no other option available, I pushed forward through the tight passage.
It proved far more difficult than expected. My arms were still attached, yet I couldn't move them at all.
All I could do was crawl on my knees or shove myself ahead using my shoulders. Anything but turn around.
And I knew exactly why.
If I tried to look back, there would be nothing to see.
Not the cave, the world, or myself.
I would simply fade away faster than I already was.
The only saving grace was the absence of pain. Even as jagged stone tore at my skin, I felt nothing. That made it easier to keep struggling forward.
Soon, I reached the end of the tunnel, where I was certain I would be safe, and found a small, dry cavern that led nowhere else.
Still, I refused to turn around.
At its center burned a campfire, the only source of illumination in the chamber.
And seated before it, across from me, was someone I never expected to see again.
The difference between now and our previous meeting was stark.
Gone were the layered white hair and regal attire.
The king now wore rags unfit for even the lowest commoner, and his hair had faded to a dull, lifeless gray.
Yet his silver eyes remained as deep and bright as ever.
When I drew close enough to the fire, he finally lifted his head to acknowledge me.
He didn't look surprised by my expression, though it seemed to bother him enough to comment.
"That is quite the scowl. Is my appearance so displeasing to you?"
"Sorry. You just… look like someone else I know. And the longer I stare, the more obvious it gets."
"I see. I take it you do not get along well with this individual."
"…I'm not a big fan, no."
He gestured for me to sit beside the fire. I had no reason to refuse, so I obeyed.
The last time he spoke to me was the morning of my initiation, so part of me was relieved. I thought I would finally receive answers about those visions.
Though it wasn't lost on me that this was likely the last conversation I would ever have.
Amusingly enough, he seemed intent on erasing whatever doubt remained.
"I do not wish to burden you with despair," he said, "but your presence here is proof that you were dancing with death, and now you're only hanging by a thread."
***
"Rita… you were really going to let Cosmo die?" Blue asked, disbelief settling in after the woman's words faded.
The girl beside her could no longer meet her eyes.
"Do not waste your breath," the woman replied. "Ending his life was a non‑negotiable desire of ours, regardless of her will. It was a conclusion we had already deemed inevitable."
Blue turned toward her, perplexed as to why she felt the need to clarify such a thing. "Are you–"
"I couldn't care less about your dysfunction," the woman cut in. "It matters little. Remaining here would be a kinder end for you than continuing to follow that knave."
Blue paused, weighing her next approach.
Cosmo had warned her not to negotiate with this woman, but she couldn't ignore the possibility that the wounded soul before her was still clinging to the edge of detachment.
"Rit–" She tried to call her name, but the word caught in her throat. "What happened… between you and the Captain?"
It was impossible to miss how the woman's emotions flared sharply at the question.
Blue wasn't oblivious to the lack of communication between Rita and Cosmo, but she never imagined it could decay into something resembling irreversible disdain.
She could have asked Rita, the one she knew, but instead she chose to question the one who had suffered the rift's consequences.
"What makes you hate the Captain so much that you'd go this far just to see him dead?" Blue asked. "He might've been rude when you first met, but holding a grudge this long… to the point you're in pain just hearing about him… it doesn't make sense."
"You won't understand," the woman scowled. "The man you think you know is nothing like who he is at the depths of his heart. His true ambition dwarfs whatever value he places on any of you."
"That can't be true…"
"You don't know the slightest bit of what's true," the woman snapped. "How will you feel when you see how willing he is to leave you behind? To let any of you die without lifting a finger?"
Her voice carried no restraint. She wanted Blue to accept what she believed was inevitable.
But to her astonishment, Blue only exhaled softly, relief washing over her expression before she smiled.
"Now I know for sure that you're wrong."
"What?"
"The Cosmo you're talking about isn't the same one who brought us here. I'm certain of it now, so thank you."
The woman blinked, taken aback. Blue's response made even less sense than anything she had expected.
"What could you possibly be grateful for?" she asked, genuine curiosity slipping through.
"All of this happened because of you," Blue said, "and because it did, I can say with confidence that our Captain isn't anything like what you're describing. I know he got hurt trying his best to save us that night. I know he was worried about both of us."
She glanced at Rita.
"He even got mad on my behalf, enough to fight a meaningless, life‑threatening battle. He didn't say it, but I knew."
"No, you didn't," the woman snapped. "That's just what you wanted to believe. A fantasy to replace the worthless leader you saw."
Shockingly, Blue returned a sharp, unwavering glare.
"Have you ever considered that the only reason you believe what you do is that you never tried to think otherwise?" she countered. "I can't blame you. He has a bad habit of letting people hate him. He probably thinks it makes things easier for them. But he's wrong. And that's why I won't let anyone badmouth him anymore. Not even you."
For the first time, Blue's anger surfaced, directed squarely at the woman.
The woman, in turn, could not accept the rage she felt was misplaced.
"Would you say the same thing if you saw what she did?" she demanded.
At that, Blue looked at Rita.
Rita closed her eyes, guilt weighing heavily, before speaking.
"She… showed me a glimpse… a glimpse of a horrible future. I still don't fully understand it, but he looked… terrifying. It was enough to make me accept her offer without thinking."
"Even if he currently wishes to protect you on a whim," the woman continued, "does that guarantee he won't abandon you later? Does it ensure he won't take advantage of you for something far more important? Can you say that now, when there's proof to the contrary?"
Blue saw the hunger in the woman's eyes, eager for her to denounce their leader, desperate to be validated.
But instead of anger, Blue only felt even more pity.
"I accept that I can't change what you both saw," she said quietly. "And I can't deny it either."
"Then you see–"
"But I still choose to believe in him."
Blue's declaration cut through the woman's words like a blade.
"You're a fool!" the woman exploded. "A worthless, naive fool who clings to delusions for comfort! Even with the truth before you, you choose improbable fantasies!"
"I've never lived by absolute certainties," Blue replied. "So maybe I am a fool. But I'd rather be that than ignore the things I consider my own irrefutable proofs."
"And what could those possibly be?" the woman demanded.
Blue raised a finger.
"One, the Captain is too cheesy and arrogant to ever let us see him being that uncool."
"That's not evidence, that's just–"
"Two." She raised another finger. "Even though he admitted that leaving Rita behind would've made defeating that shadowbeast easier, he never once showed any intention of doing it. Saving her was always at the forefront of the plan, even before his survival."
Then she pointed directly at the woman.
"You knew he was that kind of person, too. That's why you're hurt. That's why you're so heartbroken thinking he left you behind. Did you ever stop to consider why it happened? Don't you think you'd know more if you tried to talk–"
"I couldn't care less!" the woman screamed. "It was still his fault! He always interfered in our affairs without need. But when we truly needed him, he was already far from the man we knew, and he had no qualms about leaving us behind!"
At her outburst, even Rita began to see things differently.
The pain Blue had noticed earlier now became unmistakable.
And for the first time, Rita doubted the authenticity of what she had been shown.
Blue, however, began to act strangely.
Her shoulders jolted as if startled.
Then she chuckled softly and raised a third finger.
"Three."
As she spoke, the white void around them shifted.
A crack appeared, then widened into a fracture.
The space began to break open.
"Dragging my spirit in here and leaving my body behind wasn't my mistake," Blue said with a smile. "It was your error."
Both Rita and the woman stared, confused.
"It wasn't just my body you left behind," Blue continued. "You left behind his will. The will that became a part of me by sheer accident. And that will is the clearest proof that he feels the same way about Rita as I do."
***
Yon heard the repeating clang of shattering metal from a distance as he sprinted toward the same pure white dome Blue had gone towards.
When he finally slowed to a stop, he found her hacking away at the dome's surface, each strike carving deeper, like a drill boring toward the center.
Intent on verifying her condition, he reached out and placed his hands on her shoulders to turn her toward him.
The moment she faced him, he recoiled several paces back in alarm.
Her eyes were pale and dull, yet the glare burning behind them was so fierce it sent a chill through him.
As soon as he released her, she turned back and resumed hacking at the dome with unwavering ferocity.
Yon recognized the state she was in. She and Cosmo had spoken of it, but he had no idea how to handle it now that it was happening before him.
On one hand, losing control of her body to Cosmo's intent suggested she was in danger.
On the other hand, the way she moved wasn't aimless.
There was purpose in every swing, something beyond self‑preservation.
His mission was to help Blue, but he couldn't imagine what would come from letting this hollow shell act freely.
Still, if this was the will of his Captain and his comrade, then perhaps the outcome wouldn't be a net negative.
"I guess I'm taking this gamble with you, Blue," he muttered, drawing his sword with a steadying breath.