The seventh bell rang.
And the Ghost City screamed.
Not the people.
Not the monsters.
The city itself.
Buildings twisted.
Bridges cracked.
Floating streets dropped from the sky before freezing in midair.
The silver tree beneath the District of Lost Memories suddenly appeared through the ground, its enormous roots spreading beneath the entire district.
Rive stared.
"…That wasn't there before."
Vikram's expression became grim.
"It was."
"What?"
"We just couldn't see it."
A deep vibration passed through the ground.
Lysara stood motionless.
Her eyes were fixed on the silver tree.
Then the voice came again.
"Lysara…"
Her hands trembled.
Rive had never seen her like this.
Not even when they faced monsters.
Not even when the Reapers threatened him.
"Seraphine," Lysara whispered.
Vael smiled.
"You finally heard her."
A crack opened beneath them.
Black mist poured upward.
The Reapers immediately raised their weapons.
"Unauthorized spiritual entity detected."
"Containment protocol activated."
Silver chains shot toward Vael.
He moved.
One step.
Two.
Then vanished.
The chains struck empty space.
He appeared behind a Reaper and struck its back with a wave of dark energy.
The Reaper flew through a building.
Rive stared.
"…So we're fighting everyone now?"
Vikram sighed.
"Apparently."
"Excellent."
The ground suddenly collapsed.
Rive dropped.
"WHOA—!"
Vikram grabbed his arm.
Lysara grabbed Vikram.
For a few seconds, all three hung over a massive opening.
Rive looked down.
There was no bottom.
Only darkness.
"…I have a question."
Vikram tightened his grip.
"Not now."
"What if I let go?"
"You die."
"Again?"
"Yes."
"Okay. I'll keep holding."
Vikram pulled them back onto solid ground.
The opening remained.
Something moved far below.
Large.
Slow.
Breathing.
Rive's expression changed.
"…Something's down there."
Lysara nodded.
"Seraphine."
Vael landed beside the opening.
He looked down.
"My sister."
His voice was strangely quiet now.
Not threatening.
Not angry.
Almost hopeful.
Lysara stepped toward him.
"You don't understand what she's become."
"I know exactly what she became."
"You don't."
"You left her."
Lysara's eyes hardened.
"I tried to save her."
"You chose yourself."
The words struck harder than any weapon.
Lysara said nothing.
Vael looked at Rive.
"And now you know why she erased her memories."
Rive frowned.
"Why?"
"Because the ritual didn't kill Seraphine."
Vael pointed toward the darkness.
"It transformed her."
The ground shook.
A silver hand emerged from the darkness.
Then another.
Rive stepped back.
"…That's a hand."
Vikram nodded.
"Yes."
"Why is everyone in this world obsessed with hands?"
"Focus."
The creature pulled itself upward.
Silver hair.
Pale skin.
Long black markings across its body.
Its eyes remained closed.
A crown of silver branches surrounded its head.
Lysara whispered:
"Seraphine…"
The woman slowly opened her eyes.
They were completely silver.
She looked at Lysara.
And smiled.
"You came back."
Lysara couldn't speak.
Seraphine tilted her head.
"You took so long."
The Reapers immediately surrounded her.
"Unknown entity."
"Identify yourself."
Seraphine looked at them.
Then smiled.
"You still haven't changed."
The lead Reaper froze.
"You know us?"
Seraphine raised one hand.
Silver energy spread through the district.
Every Reaper was thrown backward.
Rive's eyes widened.
"That was…"
Vikram finished the sentence.
"Reaper-level power."
"No."
Lysara shook her head.
"Higher."
Seraphine looked toward Rive.
Her expression changed.
"You."
Rive pointed at himself.
"…Me?"
"You carry three worlds inside one soul."
Rive swallowed.
"How do you know that?"
Seraphine smiled.
"I can hear them."
Rive felt something inside his chest pulse.
His Tri-Vessel energy responded to her.
The living.
The dead.
The In-Between.
All three reacted simultaneously.
Seraphine stepped closer.
Rive instinctively activated Future Echo.
For a moment—
He saw hundreds of possible futures.
Seraphine standing beside him.
Seraphine attacking him.
Seraphine crying.
Seraphine disappearing.
Then—
One future appeared differently.
Seraphine touching his chest.
His soul breaking apart.
Rive immediately stepped backward.
Seraphine noticed.
"You saw it."
Rive's expression hardened.
"Saw what?"
"The future where you die."
Vikram stepped forward.
"Stay away from him."
Seraphine looked at Vikram.
"You are the Guardian."
Vikram froze.
"How do you know?"
"I remember your kind."
Rive looked between them.
"You two know each other?"
"No," Vikram answered immediately.
Seraphine smiled.
"He doesn't remember."
Vikram's expression changed.
"What did you do?"
"Nothing."
She looked toward Rive.
"Your memories are being protected."
"By whom?"
Seraphine's smile disappeared.
"Someone who doesn't want you to remember how you died."
Silence.
Rive's stomach tightened.
"How I died?"
"Yes."
"My accident?"
Seraphine nodded.
"It wasn't an accident."
Everything became silent.
Even Vael stopped moving.
Rive stared at her.
"What?"
Seraphine continued.
"Someone wanted you to enter the In-Between."
Vikram's eyes widened.
"That's impossible."
"No."
Seraphine looked at him.
"It's planned."
Rive felt cold.
His death.
The ritual.
His unique body.
His ability to cross worlds.
The strange connection to Arin.
Everything suddenly felt connected.
"Who?"
Seraphine looked toward the distant sky.
"I don't know."
Then she smiled faintly.
"But they know you."
A massive explosion interrupted them.
Vael and the Reapers collided again.
Silver energy tore through the buildings.
Lysara immediately summoned her cards.
"Rive!"
He looked at her.
"Stay behind me."
Rive shook his head.
"No."
She stared.
"I've spent too long surviving behind everyone else."
His eyes glowed.
"If someone planned my death…"
Energy gathered around his body.
"…then I want answers."
Future Echo activated.
Memory Thread followed.
This time—
The two abilities connected.
The world changed.
Rive could see the future.
And the memories connected to it.
Threads spread throughout the city.
One connected to Lysara.
One to Vael.
One to Seraphine.
One to Arin.
And one—
Far beyond the Ghost City.
Connected to his own death.
Rive reached for it.
The moment his fingers touched the thread—
Pain exploded through his mind.
He saw a road.
Rain.
A vehicle.
A shadow standing nearby.
Someone watching.
Someone waiting.
Then—
A voice.
"Once he dies, the Tri-Vessel will awaken."
Rive gasped.
The memory shattered.
He fell to one knee.
Vikram rushed toward him.
"Rive!"
Rive grabbed his arm.
"I saw…"
"What?"
"My death."
Vikram's expression changed.
"What did you see?"
Rive looked up.
"Someone was waiting for me."
Before Vikram could respond—
A voice echoed across the district.
"Correct."
Everyone froze.
The voice did not belong to Seraphine.
Not Vael.
Not the Reapers.
Not Lysara.
It came from everywhere.
The sky.
The ground.
The buildings.
The memories.
A shadow appeared above the silver tree.
A figure stood there.
Its face was hidden.
Its presence alone made the Reapers retreat.
Seraphine looked upward.
For the first time—
Fear appeared in her eyes.
Vael stopped fighting.
Lysara whispered:
"No…"
Rive stared.
"Who is that?"
Vikram's voice was barely audible.
"The person we've been looking for."
The figure looked directly at Rive.
"You finally remembered."
Rive's blood ran cold.
The stranger raised one hand.
The entire Ghost City went silent.
Then—
The figure spoke.
"Welcome back, Rive."
And every memory in the city turned toward him.