Vivian stood still, her body frozen for a moment longer than it should have been. It wasn't just shock—it was the kind that lingered, the kind that didn't leave immediately even when your mind told you to move. Her eyes moved slowly across what lay in front of them, trying to make sense of it, but something about it refused to fit into anything normal.
Dennis forced himself to stand up, his legs still unsteady beneath him. Fear was clear on his face, but he didn't step back this time. Even while shaking, he tried to hold himself together, his voice coming out lower than usual.
"So… are we really going on this mission?"
Vivian didn't answer immediately.
Her eyes stayed fixed ahead, her expression tighter than before. For a brief second, something slipped through—fear, stress, something deeper than just concern—before she forced it down. A drop of sweat ran down her temple despite the cold rain, her grip tightening around her sword.
"…Yes," she said, her voice firm, leaving no space for doubt. Then her gaze sharpened, more serious than Dennis had ever seen it. "We'll have to. This is bigger than just the Kingdom."
Dennis followed her line of sight again.
And this time—
He really looked.
---
In front of them stretched a massive pool of blood, dark and thick, spreading across the ground like it had consumed everything in its path. Bodies lay within it—some floating, some stacked over each other, and in one place, piled so high it almost formed a mound of flesh.
The smell alone was suffocating. But that wasn't what froze him. Not completely.
---
Scattered across the surface— were small, human-shaped puppets, drifting among the bodies as if they belonged there. At first glance, they looked out of place—too clean, too still—but the longer Dennis looked, the worse it became.
They weren't random, each puppet had marks, cuts, injuries.
The same as the bodies beneath them.
---
Dennis stepped forward slowly, almost without realizing it, his movements stiff, his breathing uneven. He crouched near the edge of the pool and reached out, his hand hesitating for a second before picking one up.
It was intact.
No damage.
Just… a puppet.
His fingers tightened around it slightly as he brought it closer, his eyes scanning it properly this time.
Then—
He froze.
---
It wasn't just a puppet, it was someone he knew... One of them, one of the Aegis.
---
Dennis's expression changed completely, the fear now replaced with something heavier—something that sank deeper than shock. His grip trembled slightly as he looked around again, really seeing it this time.
There were more.
Dozens.
Each one—
Every single member of Aegis…
Except—
Him.
And Vivian.
---
Vivian stepped forward, her movements more controlled but no less tense. She reached down and picked up one of the dolls, her eyes locking onto it for a brief moment. There was no hesitation in her face—just a quiet understanding settling in.
This wasn't random.
---
She stood up immediately.
"Let's go," she said, her tone low but urgent.
Dennis didn't argue this time.
He didn't speak at all.
They turned back the way they came, leaving the clearing behind—but the image didn't leave with them.
It stayed, vurned into their minds. And neither of them said it out loud—but they both knew.
This wasn't just a mission anymore.
--
Back to Vivian (present)
Vivian's breathing had slowed, but her mind hadn't followed. The past wasn't something she was remembering anymore—it was something she was being pulled into again, piece by piece, whether she wanted it or not. She lifted her head slightly and looked around, forcing herself to focus, but nothing had changed. There was no movement, no sound, no presence she could track—just darkness stretching endlessly around her.
And those two glowing red eyes.
They didn't move, didn't blink, yet it felt like they were watching her from every direction at once. The same feeling crept back into her chest, tight and familiar, the kind she hadn't felt in years but recognized instantly. It wasn't just fear—it was something deeper, something tied to memory.
Then the voice returned.
A low, dragging laugh echoed through the space, filling the emptiness as if it belonged there. "Remember, Vivian?" it said, the amusement in its tone almost casual. "How you came crawling here… looking for those puppets we made? You were terrified from the inside, weren't you? But you still stood there, acting all strong… all supreme in front of your little band of fools."
Vivian didn't respond, but something in her expression shifted. Her jaw tightened slightly, her eyes lowering just enough to break from the red glow ahead. It wasn't anger that surfaced.
It was regret.
The voice seemed to notice.
The laugh deepened, sharper this time, more satisfied. "And then…" it continued, dragging the moment just long enough to make it sink in, "it began."
---
Back to the past
The next night came faster than it should have, as if time itself had skipped forward to force the decision upon them. Vivian hadn't rested—not properly. Every moment had been spent preparing, thinking through possibilities, assigning positions, making sure there were no gaps she hadn't considered. Whatever was waiting inside that place, it wasn't something they could afford to underestimate.
Aegis stood ready.
They didn't know exactly what they were walking into, but they didn't need to. The absence of any five-star alone was enough to tell them what kind of mission this was. This was the kind of situation they existed for—the kind they were meant to handle when no one else could.
Vivian stood at the front, her posture straight, her expression controlled, but her thoughts sharper than ever. She looked at each of them, one by one, not just checking their readiness, but measuring it, making sure there was no hesitation left in them. They trusted her—that much was clear.
Then her gaze shifted.
To Dennis.
"We go first," she said, her voice calm but leaving no room for argument.
Dennis blinked slightly, caught off guard. "What?"
Vivian didn't hesitate. "Our puppets weren't there," she said, her tone steady, as if she had already gone through this conclusion a dozen times. "That means either we're already at risk… or we're the only ones they couldn't prepare for."
Her grip tightened around her sword, not out of fear, but focus.
"Either way," she continued, "we don't send them in blind."
Dennis stayed quiet for a moment, the weight of her words settling in. The fear in him hadn't disappeared—it was still there, clear in his eyes—but it had changed. It wasn't panic anymore.
It was understanding.
He nodded slowly.
"…Alright."
Vivian turned her gaze forward again, toward the forest ahead—the same path, the same silence, the same place that had unsettled them just a night ago.
But this time, there was no uncertainty.
They weren't walking into the unknown.
They were walking into something that had already begun.
After some distance, they abandoned their horses, leaving them tied near the edge of the forest where the ground began to harden and the air felt heavier. Neither of them said anything while doing it—the decision didn't need words. The closer they got to the castle, the more it felt like they weren't meant to bring anything living along with them.
Dennis's fear was obvious now. It wasn't hidden behind forced composure anymore; it showed in the way he walked, in the slight hesitation in his steps, in how often his eyes moved around as if expecting something to emerge at any moment. Vivian noticed it, and for a moment, it unsettled her—not because he was afraid, but because this was Dennis. She had seen him in battles, in worse conditions, and he had never looked like this.
But as they moved closer—
She began to understand.
The air changed.
Not gradually, not subtly—it pressed down on them, thick and suffocating, like something invisible was weighing on their bodies. The forest itself seemed to grow quieter, as if even the wind refused to pass through this place. Vivian's steps slowed without her realizing it, her focus tightening, her senses trying to make sense of something that couldn't be seen.
Then her heartbeat changed.
Faster.
Heavier.
Each beat felt louder than the last, echoing in her chest as if something inside her was reacting before she could think. The closer they got, the stronger it became, that pressure, that presence—something unnatural, something that didn't belong.
And then— Her legs gave out.
Vivian dropped to one knee, her hand pressing against the ground as she tried to steady herself, her breathing tightening for just a moment. It wasn't pain. It wasn't exhaustion.
It was the presence.
For the first time since stepping into this mission—she felt it.
Dennis stopped instantly, turning toward her, panic flashing across his face. "Vivian—"
She didn't let him finish.
Vivian clenched her jaw and forced herself up, pushing against the ground and rising back to her feet before the moment could settle. Her grip tightened around her sword, her posture straightening again, even though the weight hadn't disappeared.
"…I'm fine," she said, her voice steadier than she felt.
But now she understood. This wasn't just a place.
It was something else entirely.