They ran through the ruins — past collapsed towers, statues with cracked skulls, and fountains spilling black ichor.
"Where are we going?" Rivan asked.
"To the Shrine of Sanity," Lunaria said. "You need a name. Without it, this world will eat your mind."
He frowned. "Rivan. That's my name."
"No," she said quietly. "That's just a piece. Your real name… is sealed in the shrine. And the truth will hurt."
As they reached the shrine — a floating, broken temple chained in the sky — the ground trembled. A figure stepped out of the darkness.
He wore a doctor's coat, soaked in blood. His face… was exactly like Rivan's.
"Hello, me," the figure said, smiling. "Remember what you did to her?"
Rivan froze. Lunaria stepped back, trembling.
"That's your other self," she whispered. "The one you left behind. The one who refused to die."
---
End of Chapter 3