"Your name… is carved here."

  Rain's voice was quiet, but the weight of his words was undeniable.

  Vierd didn’t answer.

  His golden eyes were locked on the ancient inscription carved into the cracked stone wall before him.

  "V I E R D"

  The letters were etched in an old language, yet clear enough to read.

  There was no mistake.

  It was his name.

  But that was impossible.

  "What… does this mean?"

  Slowly, he stepped forward, brushing his fingers over the cold surface of the wall.

  The carving wasn’t recent.

  It looked as if it had been here for centuries.

  But that couldn't be.

  "I’ve never been here before… right?"

  And yet—

  Something deep inside him wasn’t sure.

  Rain’s voice pulled him back to the present.

  Vierd turned to face him, finding those crimson eyes studying him.

  Not with curiosity—

  But with understanding.

  As if Rain had experienced something like this before.

  Vierd exhaled.

  "No."

  But for the first time, his voice lacked certainty.

  Because no matter how much he denied it—

  Something inside him wanted to remember.

  It just couldn’t.

  Not yet.

  He shook off the thoughts.

  This wasn’t the time for unanswered mysteries.

  They had to keep moving.

  "The only entrance we used… vanished when the creature collapsed."

  Rain nodded. "Then that means there must be another way out."

  Vierd scanned the chamber, his sharp gaze sweeping over every inch of the ruined stonework.

  Then, he saw it.

  Behind the shattered throne, half-hidden beneath fallen debris—

  A stone doorway.

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  Unlike the sealed Gates they had encountered before…

  This one was slightly open.

  "This could be our way out."

  He approached cautiously, placing a hand on the cold stone and pushing steadily.

  A deep grinding sound echoed through the chamber as the heavy door shifted, dust spilling into the air.

  Then—

  Darkness.

  What lay beyond wasn’t an exit.

  It was a descent.

  A spiral staircase, disappearing into the depths below the fortress.

  Vierd didn’t move immediately.

  Instead, he glanced at Rain—who was watching the staircase with the same unreadable expression.

  "Thoughts?" Vierd asked.

  Rain exhaled.

  "There’s no other way."

  He was right.

  But Vierd wasn’t a fool.

  "A place like this… it’s hiding something."

  And there was only one way to find out what.

  "Let’s go."

  Step by step, they descended.

  The air around them grew colder.

  Not natural cold.

  But something deeper.

  Something old.

  The further they went, the heavier the silence became—

  As if they were walking into a place untouched by time itself.

  Then—

  They reached the bottom.

  And what they saw wasn’t what they expected.

  The underground chamber was vast—far larger than any room in the fortress above.

  But what drew their attention wasn’t the architecture.

  It was the massive stone at its center.

  It wasn’t just a rock.

  It was a crystal—

  A massive, glowing blue crystal, pulsing with an uncanny energy.

  And it felt familiar.

  It was just like the stone Vierd carried.

  Except—

  This one was cracked.

  Its energy was leaking.

  Like something that was dying.

  Vierd’s grip on his own stone tightened.

  His own crystal… was reacting.

  Then—

  Rain spoke.

  "This… looks like the stone that destroyed my world."

  Vierd turned sharply.

  "What did you just say?"

  Rain didn’t change his expression.

  He simply gestured toward the damaged crystal.

  "The stone in my world looked just like this… It was a source of unimaginable power."

  "But over time… it began to crack."

  His voice remained calm—but there was something beneath it.

  Something darker.

  "And when it finally shattered… my world collapsed with it."

  Vierd said nothing.

  But the weight of those words settled heavily in his mind.

  This wasn’t a coincidence.

  The Gate stone he had found…

  And this damaged crystal…

  They were connected.

  They were part of something much bigger.

  And whether that was a curse or a key to unlimited power…

  He had to know.

  Vierd moved toward the stone, his every step slow and cautious.

  With each inch forward, he felt an invisible pressure pushing against him.

  Like something was trying to stop him.

  Then—

  Just as he reached out—

  The stone reacted.

  A sudden pulse of energy erupted from it, blasting both him and Rain backward.

  But it wasn’t just a wave of power.

  It was—

  "A message."

  This time, the vision wasn’t distorted.

  It was clear.

  He saw a figure standing before this same stone—

  Before it cracked.

  A tall man, draped in black robes, his face hidden in shadow.

  But this time—

  His voice was unmistakable.

  "It must be destroyed… before it destroys this world."

  Then—

  Before Vierd could see more—

  The vision shattered.

  He was back in the underground hall.

  The cracked crystal standing before him.

  Vierd inhaled slowly, turning toward Rain.

  "We found something…"

  "But it isn’t an answer."

  It was another question.

  And now—

  They had a choice.

  1 - Destroy this stone— as the man in the vision intended?

  2 - Or try to understand it first— before taking a step that could be a fatal mistake?

  One of these choices could be the key.

  The other—

  Could lead to disaster.

  But Vierd never feared difficult decisions.

  Because the path he walked…

  Wasn’t one that allowed for hesitation.

  His golden eyes hardened.

  "Time to find out the truth."