The smoke never gone. Even as the survivors combed through the ruins, ash fell from the broken ceiling of Floor One like gray snow. People dug through rubble with bleeding hands, pulling out charred fragments of furniture, cracked trinkets, scraps of lives that would never return. Every discovery sparked new grief.
Lior stood among them, silent. His home, the crooked roof, the creaking chair, even the silly arguments with Ashley, was nothing but splinters and ash. No trace of her remained. Not even a keepsake.
Korrin stayed close, her usual shyness drowned by the weight of shared loss. She helped where she could, bandaging cuts,lifting rubble, but every so often her gaze strayed to Lior, as though checking if he would collapse under the silence that seemed to devour him.
Later that day, the Federation made their decision. Settlement C was no longer liveable. Too much destruction. Too many breaches. Those who wished to live had to join other settlements or follow the caravans deeper into Floor One.
The announcement crushed what little spirit remained. Families huddled together, arguing over where to go. Some chose Settlement B or Settlement F, while others looked beyond, hoping for safety in lower floors.
Lior said nothing during the debates. He only listened, his hand occasionally touching the orb in his pocket. Ashley's absence still gnawed at him. She wasn't dead, he refused to believe it.
Probably she had been taken. Somewhere beyond Floor One, she was probably still alive. Waiting. That was all that mattered.
On the second day, when most survivors had chosen their paths, Korrin found Lior standing at the edge of the ruins, staring at the shattered walls where the monsters had poured in.
"So… where will you go?" she asked softly.
Lior voice was steady, his eyes staying locked on the ruins. "Not here.Not to another settlement, either. I'm leaving . I have to."
Korrin hesitated, her small hands twisting in the hem of her shirt. "…To find her?"
He turned at last, meeting her gaze. There was no need to explain who her meant. Ashley name hung unspoken between them.
"Yes."
For a moment, Korrin lips trembled like she wanted to argue, to tell him it was too dangerous, too reckless,that his sister might be dead that he was just going on a wild goose chase. But instead, she drew in a shaky breath and nodded. "Then… I'll come too."
Lior blinked, surprised. "Korrin", "I know I'm not strong," she cut in quickly, her cheeks flushed. "But… my mom, my home… they're gone too. I don't have anywhere else to go. And…" She lowered her voice, almost ashamed.
"You're the only one I know here. If I stay alone, I'll break."
Her words made him realize that it was around five days ago that she moved to Settlement C, she had probably not been able to make some friends since the disaster struck the second day she came.
He exhaled, shoulders heavy. "…Alright. But you'll have to keep up." Then a small, wobbly smile tugged at her lips. "I'll try."
After making his decision . he realized that words alone couldn't carry them through the dungeon. If they were to leave, they needed supplies, food, water, weapons, and whatever else could be bought in the ruins of a shattered settlement.
The evacuation center had become more than a shelter. It was now a marketplace of desperation.
Merchants who had survived dragged out what little stock they had salvaged, spreading it across blankets and broken tables. Individuals who still had rations brought them out to sell, and farmers who still had little produces bought them out to sell, demanding twice the usual price. Even guards were selling spare knives and dented armor, trading survival for survival.
Korrin tugged at Lior sleeve, pulling him toward the bustle. Her panda-print shirt was smudged with ash, her eyes shadowed by sleepless nights, but there was a strange excitement in her eyes.
"If we're really leaving… we need to count what we have." She pulled a small pouch from her satchel and emptied it into her palms. The clinking sound of coins and crystals spilled into the dim light.
"Thirty-two credits," she said, lips pressed tight. "And… one shard."
Lior raised a brow. "A shard?"
She opened her other hand to reveal a dull, fist-sized fragment of crystal. Its glow was weak, barely more than a flicker. "It's low quality shard," she admitted.
"But it should trade for a little extra item."
Lior reached into his own pocket. Aside from the warm pulse of the orb, he fished out a torn wallet. The contents were pitiful, eight credits and his chipped knife. His face flush, feeling embarrassed.
He muttered lowly, "it not much"
Korrin tried to smile, but it was strained. "It's enough to get what we need."
They walked between the makeshift stalls, every step weighed down by the noise of bargaining, arguing, and pleading.
"Dried roots, one bundle—five credits!"
"Clean water, fresh from the river vein! Ten credits for a flask!"
"Crystal dust, best quality—trade only, no coin!"
Prices had doubled overnight, sometimes tripled. The disaster had made everyone greedy,and desperate. A man was trying to sell half-burned bread for three credits. Another waved a chipped and rusted spear like it was worth gold.
Lior hand curled into a fist. "They're robbing us."
"They're surviving," Korrin whispered back. "Just like us."
After moving through the stalls, they bought carefully, every credit counted twice…..
Two flasks of water, twenty credits. Dried root bundles, ten credits. And a small pouch of salt-moss, three credits.
That left them with only seven credits and the weak shard. Barely enough for anything more. When they reached a corner that spread weapons in the ground planning on buying something they can use to defend themselves in the dungeon, the merchant, a scarred woman with sharp eyes, sneered
at their small pile of coin.
"Seven credits? That'll buy you a kitchen knife at best. Real blades cost
crystal. Or blood."
Lior set his chipped dagger on the table. "What about this?"
The woman laughed harshly. "That thing? You'd be lucky if it doesn't snap the first time you stab a rat. Keep it."
Korrin glanced at the shard in her hand. Reluctantly, she placed it on the table. The woman's eyes lit up at the crystal's faint glow.
"…That'll do," she said at last, picking a short iron sword from the carp she lied on the ground. The blade was plain, old, but solid. "it is a normal low teir." it won't break easy. Consider it a mercy sale."
Korrin flinched at the loss of the shard, but nodded. "We'll take it."
When they walked away, Lior adjusted the sword at his side, testing its weight. It wasn't much, but it felt steadier than the chipped dagger. Korrin carried the rations close to her chest, guarding them like treasures.
At last, with their supplies gathered, they sat at the edge of the plaza. Survivors moving around them, some still bargaining, others crying quietly over their losses.
Korrin broke the silence first. "This… is all we have left."
Lior looked down at the pack between them. "It's enough," he said. "We'll work with these." then it became silent between the two again.
Just as the silence kept dwelling between them, the federation officers voices were heard, barking orders, directing groups of survivors to caravans bound for different settlements.
He and Korrin stood up at the southern edge of the ruins, watching smoke drift lazily over the broken rooftops. The silence between them stretched until Korrin finally broke it.
"Where should we first begin from?". Lior said calmly "we should head north, that where the gate of Floor Two is located". "We need to pass through it to reach the second floor below us."
Korrin nodded quickly, hugging the straps of her pack, but before they could take their first step towards the north gate, she stopped short and looked down at herself.
Her cheeks flushed red. "…This isn't going to work."
Lior blinked. "What?"
She looked down at her dirty panda-print shirt, her voice trembling slightly. "I can't... I can't face monsters like this."
For the first time in days, a rough chuckle slipped out of Lior. "You'll distract them, at least."
Athena shot him a glare, then sighed and muttered under her breath. "Not funny."
Still, the weight of the moment broke just a little, and for a heartbeat, the grief didn't feel so suffocating.
They turned back to the scattered stalls one last time, trading what little was left of their credits for a worn traveling cloak and sturdy boots. The clothes were plain, patched from years of use, but when Korrin pulled the cloak over her shoulders, she finally looked less like a lost child and more like someone ready to step into the dungeon.
"Better," she said with a small, defiant smile.
"Much better," Lior agreed, noddind his head.
And together, they headed towards the north gate.