For a long moment after Lucifer vanished, no one in the Breath of Battle Universe spoke.
The arena still floated in fractured silence, its chained statues trembling faintly as if they too had witnessed something beyond their comprehension. The battlefield — once overflowing with killing intent — now felt eerily hollow.
Vicky stood quietly at the center, his silver hair drifting in the slow cosmic winds. His expression remained calm, but deep inside his crimson eyes, faint ripples of thought moved like distant storms.
Aarna was the first to break the silence.
She puffed her cheeks slightly, hands on her hips, and looked up at Aerito.
"Big bro… what did Lucifer mean?" she asked softly. "Who is… waiting?"
Aerito scratched the back of his head, his usual carefree smile returning, though his eyes still carried a trace of seriousness.
"Well…" he stretched the word lazily, "…that guy always loved speaking dramatically."
But then his gaze slowly shifted toward Vicky.
And his tone changed.
"Still… if he said the time hasn't come yet…" Aerito muttered, "…then things are already moving faster than we expected."
Luka's sharp eyes narrowed.
"What exactly are you hiding, Aerito?"
The atmosphere tightened again.
For once, Aerito didn't joke immediately.
Instead, he looked directly at Vicky and spoke clearly.
"…Master."
Vicky lifted his gaze slightly.
Aerito continued,
"If we want your memories back… if we want to understand what's really coming…"
A small pause.
Then he dropped the key information.
"…we need to go to the Void of Fallen Universe."
The moment those words were spoken—
The space around them seemed to grow heavier.
Even Kael, who usually kept things light, frowned.
"…Void of Fallen?" he repeated slowly. "That doesn't sound like a tourist spot, bro."
Eren's expression had also turned serious.
"I've heard of it," he said quietly. "A dead universe… where broken fragments of existence drift."
Arelia folded her arms thoughtfully.
"They say even time behaves strangely there."
Aarna immediately moved closer to Vicky, her fingers lightly clutching his sleeve.
"Master… it sounds dangerous…"
Her voice was soft — but determined.
Vicky looked down at her briefly.
His expression didn't change much.
"…Danger has been following us for a while now," he said calmly.
Then his crimson eyes shifted back to Aerito.
"What is there?"
Aerito's playful grin slowly returned.
"The first payment."
Everyone blinked.
"…Payment?" Kael repeated.
Aerito nodded.
"Yeah. The first fragment anchor… the thing that will start restoring Master's lost memory chain."
Now the air truly changed.
Luka's eyes sharpened dangerously.
"…You mean," Luka said slowly, "…his first fragment is there?"
Aerito snapped his fingers.
"Bingo."
There was no long debate.
No dramatic hesitation.
Because deep down—
Everyone already knew.
If Vicky's past was tied to that place…
They were going.
Kael groaned loudly.
"…Why is it never something simple like a beach trip?"
Aarna immediately bonked his arm lightly.
"Don't complain!"
Then she looked up at Vicky with bright, determined eyes.
"Master, wherever you go… I'm coming too."
Her voice was soft—
But absolutely firm.
Vicky looked at her for a second.
Something faint — almost invisible — softened in his gaze.
"…I know," he said quietly.
Aarna's cheeks turned slightly pink.
Since the arena space was still unstable, Aerito quickly took charge.
"Alright, alright," he clapped once. "No time to stand around looking cool. The Void of Fallen isn't exactly next door."
He raised his hand.
Instantly, layers of spatial maps unfolded in glowing geometric patterns around the group. Countless broken star paths flickered in and out of existence like shattered glass pieces.
Eren stepped closer, impressed.
"…That navigation grid is insane."
Aerito winked.
"Of course it is. I made it."
Luka crossed his arms.
"How long?"
Aerito's answer was immediate.
"With normal travel? Months."
Kael nearly screamed.
"MONTHS?!"
Aerito smirked.
"But with me here… we'll take the unstable cross-rift route."
Now even Arelia looked slightly surprised.
"That path is dangerous."
Aerito shrugged casually.
"So are we."
•Departure
Within the hour, preparations were complete.
The ruined arena slowly faded behind them as Aerito carved open a long, spiraling dimensional corridor. Unlike normal portals, this one looked unstable — its edges flickering between existence and nothingness.
Cold void energy leaked from inside.
Aarna instinctively moved closer to Vicky again.
"…It feels creepy," she whispered.
Kael nodded rapidly.
"Very creepy. Extremely creepy. Maximum creepy."
Luka ignored both of them and stepped forward first.
"If we delay, the trail may go cold."
One by one—
They entered the corridor.
And the journey began.
Travel through the cross-rift route was nothing like normal space movement.
Fragments of destroyed worlds drifted past them like cosmic ruins.
At one point, they passed the frozen remains of what looked like an entire shattered moon.
At another—
They saw streams of reversed time flowing like silver rivers through empty space.
Even Arelia looked quietly amazed.
"…So this is what lies between universes."
Aarna, meanwhile, stayed very close to Vicky — sometimes walking beside him, sometimes almost unconsciously matching his steps.
After a while, she spoke softly,
"Master… when your memories come back…"
Vicky glanced slightly toward her.
"…Will you change?"
For the first time in a while—
There was genuine emotion in her voice.
Vicky was silent for two full seconds.
Then he answered simply.
"…I don't know."
Aarna lowered her gaze slightly.
But instead of looking sad—
She gently reached out and held the edge of his sleeve.
"…Even if you do," she murmured, "…I'll still stay."
Vicky didn't reply.
But he didn't pull away either.
Aerito, watching from ahead, smiled very faintly.
"…Yeah," he muttered under his breath. "…things are definitely starting to move."
• The Edge of the Fallen
After what felt like hours of unstable travel—
The corridor finally began to darken.
The temperature dropped sharply.
Even space itself felt… quieter.
Aerito slowed.
His voice lost its playful tone.
"…We're close."
Ahead of them—
A massive region of dim, broken stars slowly came into view.
A universe that looked…
Wounded.
Ancient.
Half-dead.
Aerito's eyes sharpened slightly.
"…Welcome," he said quietly, "…to the edge of the Void of Fallen Universe."
The group fell silent.
Because even from a distance—
They could feel it.
Something inside that dead universe…
Was waiting.