The sun rose weakly over the mountain ridges, bleeding pale gold into the mists. Frost clung to the edges of the rocks like silver dust. The group stood at the mouth of a crumbling staircase that spiraled downward into darkness.
Riku ran his hand along the stone wall, tracing the faded carvings. "These symbols again," he murmured. "They look like the ones we saw near the Temple of Sorrow."
Kai, already halfway down with a glowing crystal strapped to his forehead, called back up. "Ah, yes! Soul script — very rare! Pre-relic era, possibly predating the Shattered Veil. You can tell by the symmetrical glyph alignment!"
Ren blinked. "That means absolutely nothing to me."
"Exactly," Kai replied cheerfully. "That's how you know it's genius-level stuff."
Arin sighed. "We should probably keep him away from anything that glows too much."
Mina lingered near the entrance, staring into the endless dark below. Her violet eyes shimmered faintly. Every step closer made her heart pulse faster — not from fear, but recognition. She knew this place somehow. The scent of old earth, the hum beneath her skin… it all whispered of memories long buried.
Riku noticed her hesitation and stepped beside her. "You okay?"
She nodded slowly. "I think I've been here before."
Riku frowned. "Before?"
Mina's voice was distant. "Before I woke up in this world."
⸻
The descent felt endless. The air grew colder, heavier. Strange runes pulsed along the walls as they walked, reacting faintly to Mina's presence. Kai couldn't stop taking notes.
"Oh, this is fantastic!" he gushed, scribbling wildly in his journal. "We're standing inside what appears to be a sub-dimensional nexus — an ancient channel between life and afterlife! You see these runes? They're not just decorative. They're conducting residual energy!"
Ren muttered, "You mean ghosts."
"Pfft, semantics," Kai said. "Energy, souls, ethereal particles of regret— same idea."
Mina brushed her hand against one of the glowing symbols. It flared brightly at her touch, then dimmed again. "They react to me," she said softly. "Just like the relic did."
Riku exchanged a look with Arin. "It's connected. Whatever's inside her isn't just keeping her alive… it's tied to this entire world."
Arin nodded. "And maybe… to what broke it."
⸻
The staircase ended in a vast underground chamber. The air shimmered faintly, and in the center stood a circular stone platform surrounded by broken pillars. Carvings of winged beings and spiraling orbs covered every surface — all pointing toward a massive door of crystal and bone.
The Celestial Gate.
Even damaged and dormant, it radiated awe.
Mina stepped closer, drawn as if by an invisible thread. "It's… beautiful."
Kai adjusted his goggles, practically vibrating with excitement. "Oh, you have no idea! If my readings are correct, this gate once connected the mortal realm to the Soulflow — the current that carries spirits after death. It's like… a cosmic doorway!"
Ren smirked. "You make it sound like a train station for ghosts."
Kai pointed at him dramatically. "Exactly! But instead of trains, you have— well, screaming souls and existential torment, but you get the gist!"
Roku rubbed his arms. "I vote we don't open it."
Mina's expression softened. "What if it's already open… somewhere?"
Her voice echoed strangely, as if the chamber itself had repeated her words.
Then, faintly, the Gate hummed.
A low, melodic vibration rippled through the floor. Runes along the walls began to glow — one by one — responding to her presence. The light was cold, blue-white, but beautiful in its precision.
Riku instinctively drew his blade. "Mina, step back."
But she couldn't move. The energy around her wrapped like mist, flowing into her chest. She gasped — flashes of memory flooding her mind: a blinding white field, voices calling her name, a city burning in shadow.
Then a single phrase echoed through her thoughts — clear, ancient, and sorrowful:
"Child of the Fractured Dawn… the gate remembers you."
She collapsed.
Riku caught her instantly, lowering her to the ground. Her pulse was faint but steady. The glow from her eyes dimmed.
"Mina!" he shouted.
Kai dropped beside them, waving his scanner wildly. "Okay, okay, don't panic! She's fine — I mean, not fine-fine, but alive-fine! Her soul resonance just spiked into a synchronization loop!"
Ren's brow furrowed. "English, Kai."
"She's… remembering," Kai said quietly. "Something deep."
⸻
Minutes passed. The lights dimmed again, the gate falling silent.
Mina stirred, opening her eyes slowly. "I saw it," she whispered.
"What did you see?" Riku asked.
"The gate when it was still whole. Souls flowing through it like rivers of light. But something shattered it. Something… wearing armor like the Generals." Her voice trembled. "They destroyed the balance. That's why this world became what it is — a grave that refuses to sleep."
The group exchanged uneasy glances.
Kai leaned back, letting out a long breath. "Well. That's horrifyingly poetic."
Roku swallowed. "If the Generals broke the gate, maybe that's why souls can't rest."
Riku clenched his fists. "Then the relics might be pieces of what remains. Fragments of the gate itself."
Kai's eyes widened. "Which means collecting them all could—"
"Rebuild it," Mina finished softly.
Arin shook her head. "Or destroy it completely."
The silence that followed was heavy.
Then Kai broke it with an awkward cough. "Sooo… who's hungry?"
Ren blinked. "Are you serious?"
Kai shrugged. "Existential dread always makes me crave noodles."
Riku actually laughed under his breath, tension easing just slightly. Mina smiled faintly.
Even in the depths of the earth, with destiny pressing on their shoulders, Kai's ridiculous optimism felt like a flicker of life they desperately needed.
⸻
As they made camp in the ruins, the group settled around a small fire. Kai pulled out a metal tin, poured in some water, and dropped in something suspiciously green.
"Behold!" he announced proudly. "Mountain stew à la Kai — now with 30% fewer explosions!"
Ren eyed it warily. "What happened to the other 70%?"
"Still testing," Kai said cheerfully.
Mina laughed softly. The sound echoed gently off the crystal walls. "I think I'm starting to like him."
Riku smiled at her. "I think that's his secret power."
Kai grinned. "Charm and mild chaos — a deadly combination."
The laughter faded into comfortable quiet. The Gate loomed behind them, faintly pulsing with light — like a heartbeat waiting to awaken.
Mina gazed at it long after the others had fallen asleep. Her reflection shimmered faintly in its crystalline surface, but for a brief moment, it wasn't her face she saw. It was someone older — wiser — with the same violet eyes, and a crown of ethereal light.
She blinked, and it was gone.
But the whisper remained.
"When the fragments unite, so too will your truth."
Mina pressed a hand to her chest, where the faint pulse of her revived soul still glowed.
Whatever she had been before… it was coming back.
And the world would never be the same once she remembered.