Chapter 11: The Lifeline and the Lunar Twin
The light of the Ascension Gate was brief but absolute. One moment, Rin was kneeling in the ruined, flooded temple, the dead weight of Aiden in his arms; the next, they materialized on a pristine, circular marble platform bathed in soft, perpetual sunlight.
This was the Assembly Platform of Floor 2.
Rin remained kneeling, Aiden's cold, limp body still cradled against his chest. The invisible fate tether between them thrummed painfully. Now that Aiden's mana core was completely depleted, Rin felt the strain of supporting both their lives, like an invisible weight pressing on his heart. He could feel every shallow breath Aiden took, every agonizing beat of his exhausted core.
The eight other Vanguard Hunters appeared around them, looking physically recovered but spiritually drained. Master Wei was the first to approach, his face a mask of furious confusion.
"Rin, what are you doing?" Wei's voice was low and laced with protective urgency. "Put him down. He used you, and he broke himself to secure a tactical window. His calculations nearly killed him! Let the System's healing pools deal with the Arbiter."
Rin slowly stood, maneuvering Aiden's taller, heavier frame against his shoulder, supporting him with an arm locked around his waist. Aiden's head rested uncomfortably on Rin's shoulder, his usually stoic face relaxed and utterly vulnerable in unconsciousness.
"He secured the win, Wei," Rin replied, his voice flat and tired. "And the tether is stronger than you think. If he falls completely, I will be dragged down with him. I am simply ensuring my own survival."
The explanation was a lie of convenience, a shield for the genuine, agonizing fear that had seized him when he saw Aiden collapse.
Wei's green eyes narrowed, searching Rin's face for the truth. He saw the genuine exhaustion, but also the possessive grip Rin maintained. "He is a master manipulator, Rin. Even unconscious, he controls the narrative. Don't let him into your heart again."
"His heart," Rin said, looking down at the pale, still face beside his own, "is the only thing he hasn't used as a weapon yet. I need to know why."
He walked past Wei, taking Aiden to the edge of the platform where the perpetual sunlight seemed warmest. He lowered Aiden gently to the marble floor and used his coat to cushion his head. The touch was agonizingly tender, a stark contrast to his cold words.
The System's Reward
The platform suddenly flashed with gold light, and the Authority's voice boomed in their minds, disrupting the charged silence.
[FLOOR 1 CLEARANCE REWARD ACQUISITION: THE DRAGON'S SCALE OF RESILIENCE.]
A large, pulsing emerald scale, the source of the high Qi they had sensed, materialized above the platform. It was almost the size of a shield, glowing with a vast, untapped reserve of life-force and defensive energy.
[ARTIFACT EFFECT: THE SCALE CAN BE USED ONCE PER FLOOR TO INSTANTLY RESTORE 50% OF DEPLETED HEALTH AND MANA TO A TARGET. IT ALSO APPLIES A MINOR, TEMPORAL SHIELD AGAINST CHRONOS-BASED PARADOX DAMAGE.]
The final line caught Rin's attention. A Temporal Shield. Designed to protect against Chronos-based paradox. The Naga Dragon's blessing, or perhaps the Tower's attempt to fix the problem Aiden created.
Rin reached up and caught the scale as it drifted down. Its surface was warm and smooth, humming with powerful, ancient energy.
He looked at the scale, then at Aiden. Wei watched, hands clenched, knowing what was coming.
Rin didn't hesitate. He pressed the scale firmly onto Aiden's chest, directly over his heart.
The scale vanished into Aiden's body with a flash of emerald light. The painful thrumming in Rin's tether instantly eased, and the crushing exhaustion lifted from his own core. He felt the massive rush of restorative power flow from the scale directly into Aiden's depleted mana reserves.
Aiden gasped, his eyes snapping open. They were still dull, but the ice-blue clarity was returning. He blinked, instantly aware of his surroundings, his revived mana core, and the excruciating intimacy of Rin's face hovering over his.
The first thing Aiden did, true to his nature, was scan his own systems.
"My mana is at 50%," Aiden stated, his voice a dry rasp, the cold mask immediately returning. "You used the Dragon's Scale on me, Hunter Rin. A critical defensive artifact, wasted on a single individual."
Rin stared down at him, his face inches from Aiden's, his own eyes burning with the sting of Aiden's immediate, calculated ingratitude.
"I didn't use it on a single individual, Arbiter," Rin hissed, leaning closer until their foreheads almost touched. "I used it on my lifeline. You are tethered to me. If you are weak, I am weak. It was an investment in the Vanguard's highest-value asset."
He used Aiden's own cruel logic against him, mirroring the coldness to mask the overwhelming relief that Aiden was stable.
Aiden looked at him, his expression finally flickering. He saw the raw, unshed tears of fear in Rin's eyes, and the possessive warmth of the arm that had carried him. He knew Rin had just risked the entire floor's defensive power on him, the traitor. He couldn't speak the truth—that he was grateful, that he loved him—so he only offered a cold nod.
"A logical choice," Aiden conceded, pushing himself up to a sitting position. He immediately scanned the perimeter, resuming his strategic role.
The Oracle of Apollo
Before the tensions could explode further, the air on Floor 2 shifted again. The soft sunlight intensified, turning white-hot, and a new presence filled the space—brilliant, arrogant, and overwhelmingly masculine.
A towering figure of pure golden light materialized near the center of the platform. He was flanked by a radiant bow and a golden lyre . It was Apollo, God of the Sun, Prophecy, and Twin Brother of Artemis.
"The Vanguard has endured my sister's judgment," Apollo's voice was a rich baritone, filled with the warmth of mid-day and the sharp clarity of prophecy. "You passed not with purity, but with a necessary compromise. A love that is fatal, but strategically sound."
He fixed his gaze on Aiden, then on Rin. "The knot of your fate is now tight. Do not mistake the stability for safety, Hunters. I am not Artemis; I do not test your spiritual worth. I test your strategic wisdom."
Apollo gestured toward a massive, shimmering gate that had appeared at the far end of the platform.
"Floor 2 is the Achaean Labyrinth, a shifting maze guarded by creatures of cunning, not brute force. It is also the location of an unauthorized intrusion. The Devil's Cult is here, attempting to destabilize a minor Divine Nexus."
His golden gaze lingered on Rin. "Hunter Rin, your Blade of the Rending Gale is useless against a phantom. Hunter Aiden, your Arbiter of Chronos is useless when the path itself defies temporal logic."
"We will not be fighting demons or monsters," Apollo announced, his voice taking on the weight of prophecy. "You will be fighting Apollo's Harpies, creatures that steal not your life, but your memories, destroying the integrity of your minds. The further you penetrate the Labyrinth, the more chaotic the memory loss."
He looked directly at Aiden. "To guide your team through the Labyrinth, Hunter Aiden, you must perform a feat of supreme strategic risk. I offer you an Oracle. A single, true prophecy regarding the final destination."
Apollo held out a shimmering, golden scroll. "The Oracle is true, but requires a sacrifice. You must willingly give up one core memory of your previous life to pay the price of the prophecy. A memory that defines your purpose."
Rin stiffened, already knowing what Aiden would sacrifice.
Aiden pushed himself to his feet, still wobbly, but his eyes were already calculating the value of a true prophecy versus the cost of a memory. He needed the Oracle to navigate the Chronos-defying maze.
"I accept the price, Lord Apollo," Aiden said, his voice steady.
"Choose the memory, Arbiter. The one that defines your new life."
Aiden's gaze locked onto Rin's. He had manufactured a betrayal to protect Rin's soul, sacrificing their love for survival. The memory that defined him now was the final moment of Rin's betrayal and death.
"I forfeit the memory of Rin's final moment of life in the previous timeline," Aiden stated, the words cold and precise.
A wave of golden light washed over Aiden. Rin felt the pain of the tether spike, not from mana loss, but from the sudden, violent erasure of a shared past. Aiden gasped, clutching his head for a brief moment, the defining memory of his sacrifice gone forever.
Apollo smirked, impressed by the cold resolve. "A strategic choice. You destroy the evidence of your highest crime. Receive your prophecy."
The golden scroll flew into Aiden's hand.
Rin, watching the agony and the subsequent, immediate strategic focus, felt a fresh wave of despair. Aiden hadn't destroyed the memory of their love—he had destroyed the memory of his sacrifice. He was rewriting his own history to maintain the cold façade.
Master Wei stepped forward, placing a protective hand on Rin's shoulder, his disapproval of Aiden radiating silently. "He is truly cold, Rin. Let him lead us into the maze, and we will watch his back."
Rin shook off Wei's hand, the familiar touch grating against the residual tenderness from holding Aiden. He looked at Aiden, who was already focused on the prophecy, his heart now shielded by a new, deliberate emptiness.
"Let's move, Arbiter," Rin commanded, drawing his sword. "I will not let my memory be stolen just because you decided to forget your own past."
The two men, one fueled by the hatred of the past, the other by the strategic necessity of forgetting it, turned toward the Achaean Labyrinth.
The choice to sacrifice the memory of Rin's death means Aiden has erased the memory that kept his betrayal justified and necessary, forcing him to rely purely on cold logic and the Oracle for the path ahead. This is a severe emotional setback for both of them.