New Terra was dead.
But it hadn't decayed.
Not like the others.
There were no bodies in the streets. No collapsed buildings. No sign of rot or ruin. Only stillness—so complete it felt like the world had held its breath and never remembered how to let go.
Ezra stepped onto the broken rail bridge cautiously, Hollow Mercy vibrating across his back in faint pulses. Each step felt like it echoed through glass, yet the sound never came back. Rei moved just behind him, one hand on her blade, the other gripping the hilt tightly enough that her knuckles had turned white.
As they crossed the final span, a system prompt flickered like static in Ezra's vision:
[You are entering a Dormant Sovereign Domain: New Terra]
Status: Locked / Self-Sustained Loop
Warden Presence: Fragmented
Timeflow: Unstable. Memory Saturation: High.
Caution: Reality within New Terra may shift. Mental anchors recommended.
The city gates opened for them without sound.
Not automatically. Not triggered.
They simply knew they were coming.
And welcomed them in.
Inside, the streets gleamed like glass. The pavement had been replaced with obsidian-like tiles etched with intricate silver runes. Faint light shimmered underfoot, following their steps like shadows made of memory. Towering buildings stood perfectly still—too perfect, as if held in place by a design that refused to allow them to fall.
It wasn't just a city.
It was a preserved thought. A monument trapped in amber.
"Where are the people?" Rei whispered, her voice hushed even though there was no one to hear her.
Ezra didn't answer. He couldn't.
Because he had a sinking feeling—one that started deep in his gut and spread like ink through his veins.
There were people here.
They just weren't alive.
They passed through what had once been a central plaza. A fountain still ran, water flowing in slow, graceful arcs, defying gravity as it spiraled upwards and hovered before falling again. On a bench nearby sat a woman made entirely of shadow and static—clothed in white robes, her features a blur, as though the city itself refused to remember her properly.
She didn't move.
But the air changed as they approached.
Rei tensed. Ezra stepped forward.
The shadow turned her head slowly, as though remembering how.
[Memory Echo Detected – Designation: "Nyra Vale"]
Status: Sovereign Fragment / Non-Hostile
Message Sequence: Initiated
The figure's lips didn't move.
But her voice echoed anyway, smooth and cold, like moonlight on snow.
"If you're hearing this, it means I failed."
Ezra didn't breathe.
The voice continued.
"I left this city to sleep—to protect it from the wars that came after me. To protect you. If the final Gem has revealed itself… then the scythe is almost whole. And the world is not ready."
The echo turned toward Ezra.
"You were not meant to awaken it this early. But if you have, and if the Gem has bonded to another…"
The figure's static flickered. The next words came slower. Like someone speaking while slipping beneath water.
"…then you will have to choose. Between the world's survival… and hers."
Ezra stepped closer. "There has to be another way."
The shadow looked at him, and for a moment—just one—he saw eyes. Green, tired, sharp as the edge of grief.
"There always is. But they come with costs."
The echo collapsed into itself and vanished.
Rei stood beside him now, quiet. Watching him.
"I guess that answers one question," she said softly.
"She knew," Ezra replied. "She knew it would bond to someone else. And she made it happen."
Rei didn't flinch. "So the question now is… why me?"
Ezra looked at her.
Really looked.
She was tired. Bruised. Scarred. But unbroken. And beneath it all, he saw the same fire that had always burned behind her eyes. The same refusal to let go, even when the world begged her to.
Because she never stopped moving forward.
That was why.
"You were the only one I wouldn't hurt," he said.
Rei's eyes widened, just for a second.
Then she smiled, bitter and soft.
"Then she picked right."
They explored deeper into the city.
New Terra wasn't completely static. As they walked, the buildings shifted—walls adjusting behind them, hallways lengthening or shortening as if reshaping themselves to test their resolve. It wasn't hostile. Not exactly.
But it was watching.
Sometimes Ezra caught glimpses of himself in reflective glass—and the reflection didn't match. In one window, he was taller, draped in a white coat with Guild insignia. In another, his face was half-scorched, eyes glowing red. In a third, he stood alone, Hollow Mercy shattered at his feet.
The system said nothing.
And that frightened him more than anything else.
Eventually, they reached a tower at the city's heart.
It stood higher than the others—spires like fingers piercing the sky, covered in thousands of carvings that pulsed faintly with soullight. At its base was a gate sealed by five symbols. Four of them glowed.
The fifth was blank.
Ezra approached.
The scythe flared on his back.
[Final Gem Protocol Engaged]
User Soul: 78% Stable
Holder Soul: 91% Stable – Compatible
Fusion Ready.
WARNING: Fusion will permanently bind Gem to Scythe. Host will be separated from Gem.
Success Rate: Unknown
Risk to Host: 63% - Fatal Outcome Possible
He turned toward Rei.
She had already read the display.
Her face was calm.
"Do it," she said.
Ezra stepped back. "No."
"Ezra—"
"I said no."
"Then what's the plan?"
"I don't have one yet," he said. "But I will."
She closed the distance between them, her voice low.
"You think this is new to me? I've lived with death chasing us since we were kids. Every day, we made it by inches. So if I have to give up something now… then I will."
"No," Ezra said. "You don't get to make this choice."
Rei glared at him. "It's my soul."
"And it's my fault."
The silence cracked.
Rei shoved him, hard.
He didn't move.
She hit him again.
Still nothing.
Then her voice broke.
"I'm not afraid to die, Ezra. But I am afraid of being just another body that pushes you further into the dark. You need me. Not the Gem. Me."
He looked at her. Really looked.
And saw everything he stood to lose.
Everything the world had already taken from him before.
He pulled her into his arms.
And for once, she didn't fight it.
They stood there, in the ruins of a city that had buried the past, two broken souls clinging to the hope that maybe—just maybe—they weren't too far gone to choose something different.
Something better.
[System Override Detected]
Source: Nyra Vale / Warden Fragment Residue
Sequence Activated: Blood-Bond Transfer Ritual – Optional Protocol Enabled
Result: If successful, Power Gem can be shared. No soul loss. No death. Dual link established.
Cost: One memory from each.
Warning: Lost memories cannot be retrieved.
Ezra stared at the prompt.
Then showed it to Rei.
She read it.
Paused.
Then nodded.
Together, they placed their hands over the fifth sigil.
And offered the system a single word.
"Accept."