I open my eyes, and everything is dark—so dark that I can''t tell where the ground meets the sky, if there even is one. A cold, eerie void stretches out in all directions, endless and empty. I blink rapidly, trying to adjust, but it''s no use. The oppressive blackness presses against me from all sides. My heart starts to race, and panic swells in my chest. Where am I?


    "Nikko? Llamiryl?" My voice sounds small in the void, swallowed by the darkness.


    I feel a small hand grip mine tightly—Nikko''s. I can sense her fear even before I hear her trembling breath. Her fingers squeeze mine, and I pull her close, wrapping an arm around her protectively. "It''s okay," I whisper, though I''m not sure if I believe it. My own voice shakes.


    Llamiryl is here too, standing a little distance away, her long, flowing robes a barely visible silhouette in the gloom. Her raven-colored hair glints faintly, but even her calm, composed presence feels fragile here. She''s just as confused as we are, glancing around warily, though her expression remains unreadable.


    "Where... where are we?" I ask, the knot of dread tightening in my stomach. My thoughts dart immediately to Ryu—what if we''re too late?


    "In Ryu''s mind," Llamiryl says, her voice as serene as ever, though there''s an underlying tension. "We''ve entered his consciousness."


    Ryu''s mind. The words send a chill through me. This place feels nothing like the man I know—it''s cold, vast, and suffocating. Nikko''s fingers dig deeper into my palm, and I instinctively hold her tighter.


    "Where is Apollo?" Llamiryl''s voice breaks the silence, and I realize she''s scanning the void, frowning. "He should be with us."


    "He... maybe he let go?" I suggest, but my voice betrays the nervousness creeping into my thoughts. I don''t want Llamiryl to know more than she already does. I can''t reveal what Ryu really is—not to her, not now.


    Llamiryl raises an eyebrow, clearly not convinced, but after a moment''s pause, she simply nods and turns her gaze back to the void.


    "Strange," she mutters, as though to herself.


    I swallow, trying to push down the rising anxiety. "What''s wrong?"


    "Normally, we would see his memories by now," she explains, her tone thoughtful, "They would appear like doors, passageways into his past, but..." She turns slowly, her eyes narrowing as if sensing something hidden just beyond our reach. "There are none here. I feel a dark, powerful presence... It''s preventing me from accessing them."


    A jolt of realization runs through me. "The Shadowfell," I whisper, my stomach dropping. Of course—it has to be the creature, lurking here in the darkness, twisting everything.


    Llamiryl''s calm demeanor barely falters. "That is likely. But..." she trails off, deep in thought.


    "Can''t you summon anything?" I ask, desperation slipping into my voice. We can''t be trapped here with nothing—no way out, no way forward.


    Llamiryl lets out a soft chuckle. "Of course I can."


    She closes her eyes and raises her hands. I watch, holding my breath as the air around us trembles. There''s a pressure in the void, a heaviness that grows, as though the very space around us is resisting her efforts. The ground—if it can be called that—shakes beneath our feet. Nikko whimpers, clutching me tighter.


    Then, suddenly, a change. A distant rumble echoes, and out of the darkness, something begins to take shape. At first, it''s a blur—a ripple in the fabric of the void itself. And then, with a startling jolt, a hallway materializes before us, long and seemingly endless, stretching far beyond what the eye can see.


    But this hallway is like nothing I''ve ever seen before. The walls are smooth and metallic, gleaming with a cold, unnatural sheen. Black and gray panels line the sides, with strange patterns of lights embedded into them, flickering on and off like dying stars. The ceiling curves above us, a solid sheet of steel, adorned with thin, glowing strips of light that cast a harsh, sterile glow on the scene. Everything about it feels... wrong. Foreign. Not of our world.


    "What is this place?" I breathe, stepping closer but feeling a knot of unease twist in my gut. It''s too clean, too precise, too... lifeless. I glance at Nikko, who stares at the hallway wide-eyed, her ears twitching in confusion.


    "I do not know," Llamiryl answers, her voice tinged with curiosity. She steps forward, inspecting the strange metallic structure. "I''ve never seen anything like it."


    None of us have. The coldness of the hallway seeps into me, and as I look down its endless length, I feel a deep, unsettling emptiness. It stretches on forever, with no end in sight.


    Llamiryl reaches out to touch the wall, her fingers brushing the metal surface. "These should be his memories, yet they''re... hidden. Encased in something else."


    The shadows flicker along the edges of the hallway, as if alive, watching us. I shudder, pulling Nikko closer. I don''t know what terrifies me more—the fact that we''re inside Ryu''s mind or that we''re standing in a place that feels so utterly... alien.


    Llamiryl takes a confident stride forward, and I instinctively pull Nikko along, keeping her close. Each step echoes hollowly in the vast metallic hallway, the walls gleaming under the strange lights. It''s eerily silent, save for the faint humming from the ceiling panels. The longer we walk, the more unsettled I feel.


    Suddenly, Llamiryl stops in her tracks. Her head tilts slightly, as if she''s listening to something I can''t hear. Without a word, she steps up to one of the sleek, cold walls, her hand outstretched.


    "What are you doing?" I ask, my voice low, careful not to sound too alarmed. My heart is racing, and Nikko tugs gently on my sleeve, her ears twitching nervously.


    "Summoning a memory," Llamiryl replies, her fingers brushing the surface. Her expression is focused, her eyes narrowing. "I can feel the dark presence here. This is where a memory should be."


    Before I can ask more, the walls around us tremble violently. I grab Nikko, pulling her close, and the ground shakes beneath our feet. The tremors seem to ripple through the entire hall, as though something vast and terrible is stirring. Nikko gasps, her grip tightening around my waist, and I find myself gasping, too. I''m scared. I won''t lie.


    A low rumble fills the air, and the metallic wall before Llamiryl starts to shift. Slowly, impossibly, a door materializes—no, not a door like any I''ve seen before. It''s sleek, strange, and angular, not wooden or stone like the doors I know. It slides upward with a hiss, revealing a heavy frame embedded in the wall, the edges glowing faintly.


    "What... what kind of door is that?" I whisper, staring in disbelief. It feels utterly unnatural.


    Llamiryl stumbles backward, her legs almost buckling under her. Without thinking, I rush forward and catch her, bracing her weight against me. Her skin feels cold to the touch, and I can hear her strained breathing. "Are you alright?" I ask, feeling my own heart pounding in my chest.


    "I''m fine," she says between ragged breaths. Her voice is calm, despite the strain. "This creature is more powerful than I had anticipated." She closes her eyes, steadying herself, and after a few moments, she stands straight again, though her face remains pale. "Just let me catch my breath."


    I watch her closely, but she manages a soft smile, as if to reassure me. Her calmness is unsettling, given what just happened, but I try to steady my own nerves. Nikko, still holding tightly to my hand, stares at the door, her wide eyes reflecting both fear and curiosity.


    After what feels like an eternity, Llamiryl turns back toward the strange door. Her hand rises toward it again, but this time she hesitates, glancing at both of us. "Are you ready?" she asks.


    I swallow hard, feeling the weight of the question. I''m not ready—how could anyone be ready for this? But there''s no turning back. "I''m sorry for intruding," I whisper softly, almost to myself, but Nikko nods beside me, her small face full of determination despite the worry in her eyes.


    Llamiryl waves her hand once more, and the door hisses, sliding upward. A blinding white light pours through the opening, too bright for me to make out anything beyond. I raise my arm to shield my eyes, squinting against the brilliance. The light is overwhelming, almost unnatural in its intensity.


    Through the glare, I see Llamiryl step forward, her silhouette swallowed by the light. My heart races, but I can feel Nikko''s grip tighten around my hand, her trust in me holding me steady.


    Together, we step into the light, leaving the cold, metallic hallway behind. The moment I step forward, everything changes. The air is immediately heavy, suffocatingly hot, like stepping into a forge. My skin prickles, slick with sweat, and it''s as if the heat itself is trying to choke me. The smell hits me next—a sour, metallic stench mingled with something foul. It''s almost unbearable, and my stomach twists.


    Nikko clings tighter to my hand, her small body trembling beside me. I can feel her fear as she presses against me, and I instinctively wrap an arm around her, trying to shield her from the overwhelming heat and the terrible sights before us.


    ?????


    We are in a tunnel—no, a mine. The walls are jagged rock, dark and unforgiving, barely lit by faint, flickering lights embedded in the ceiling. It''s oppressive, cramped, and suffocating. The ground beneath my feet is uneven, covered in dust and shards of broken stone, and each step sends a puff of dust into the already toxic air.


    I glance at Nikko, her face pale, her wide eyes reflecting the faint, dim light. Her ears are pressed flat against her head, and her tail flicks nervously, mirroring the unease I feel deep in my chest. This place—it feels wrong. Like something out of a nightmare.


    But it''s what we see in the tunnel that makes my blood run cold.


    There are people—slaves, I realize—hunched over, their bodies gaunt and skeletal, covered in ragged clothing soaked with sweat and grime. Their faces are hollow, their eyes vacant, as if all life had been drained from them. Some have strange shapes—twisted limbs, unnatural proportions. Others are more human in form, but all are broken, their movements slow and mechanical. They swing heavy tools—pickaxes and hammers—against the rock walls, each strike sending echoes through the tunnel. The sound of metal on stone is relentless, like a heartbeat that never stops.


    I feel a wave of nausea as I watch them. How long have they been down here? How can anyone survive this?


    The air is filled with the constant clanging of tools and the occasional, sharp crackle of something else—something I can''t identify. I turn, and my heart leaps into my throat.


    Figures stand in the shadows, watching over the slaves. They''re draped in long, dark robes, their faces hidden behind masks—grotesque, featureless masks that glow faintly in the dim light. They stand tall, menacing, their postures rigid and cold. In their hands, they hold strange weapons—long staffs that crackle with energy at the tips. I don''t know what they are, but the sound they make—the low, buzzing hum—is enough to send a chill down my spine.


    One of the masked figures moves toward a fallen slave. A jolt of fear surges through me as the overseer—or whatever they are—raises the staff and presses it against the slave''s back. There''s a loud crackle, and the slave screams—an awful, high-pitched wail of agony. I flinch, pulling Nikko closer, but she''s already seen it. Her eyes widen in horror, her breath quickening.


    "Why are they hurting them?" she whispers, her voice trembling, her grip tightening around my arm.


    "I don''t know," I manage to say, but the words feel empty. I can''t understand this cruelty.


    Llamiryl stands a few steps ahead of us, her expression as cold and composed as ever, but there''s a flicker of disgust in her eyes. She watches the masked figures—their rigid postures, the way they move with such detached precision—and her lips tighten. She doesn''t say anything, but I can feel her revulsion.


    The air grows heavier with each step, and the heat makes it almost impossible to breathe. My skin feels sticky, and my throat burns with every breath. I try to push through the discomfort, but the sheer weight of this place is crushing.


    The slaves continue to work, their movements slow and labored. Some swing their pickaxes against the rock, while others sift through piles of broken stone, sorting through the debris with bloodied, calloused hands. The overseers stand watch, their staffs buzzing ominously as they patrol the mine. Occasionally, one of them strikes a slave, sending them convulsing to the ground with a crackle of energy. The screams echo through the tunnel, cutting through the oppressive silence.


    I turn my head, trying to shield Nikko from the worst of it, but there''s no escape from the horror around us.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    That''s when I see them—the children.


    They''re huddled near the far wall, their small, fragile bodies bent over piles of rocks. Their clothes are torn, barely hanging on to their tiny frames, and their faces are smeared with dirt and sweat. They can''t be older than Nikko, some of them even younger, their fingers bloodied from scraping through the sharp stones. Their faces are pale, exhausted, their eyes hollow.


    A little girl, her dark hair matted to her scalp, struggles to lift a stone, her hands trembling from the effort. A boy, his eyes wide with fear, sifts through the debris beside her, his movements slow and desperate. They don''t speak, they don''t look up. They just... work.


    "They''re like me," Nikko whispers, her voice breaking as she watches them. "They''re just like me."


    Her words tear at my heart, and I feel a lump rise in my throat. I don''t know what to say—how could I possibly explain this to her? How could anyone explain this?


    I try to steady my breathing, but my chest feels tight, and the overwhelming weight of what we''re witnessing crashes over me. Before I can even process it, I see one of the robed figures step toward the group of children.


    The robed figure steps forward, its movements sharp and rigid, and I feel my breath catch in my throat. It moves with a cold, calculated authority, the dark robes sweeping the ground as it approaches one of the children— a small, frail girl, no older than Nikko. The child barely manages to keep working, her hands trembling as she sifts through a pile of sharp rocks, her tiny body hunched and weak, her ribs visible through the thin, tattered rags that hang from her frame.


    The figure towers over her, holding the staff high. A low, buzzing hum fills the air, and it says something in a language I don''t recognize, its voice deep and harsh. The girl looks up, her wide, terrified eyes meeting the figure''s mask.


    "I didn''t! I swear!" the girl pleads, her voice weak and shaking. It''s clear she understands the figure, though I don''t know how. Her hands tremble as she raises them in a desperate attempt to shield herself.


    The robed figure doesn''t hesitate. It growls something—more forceful this time—and grabs the child by her collar, yanking her up from the ground as if she weighs nothing. The girl gasps, her small feet dangling helplessly in the air as the figure pins her against the rough wall of the tunnel.


    "Let her go!" I shout, the words tearing from me before I can stop them. My voice is loud, desperate. I take a step forward, my heart pounding with fear for the child, but... nothing happens. No one reacts. The figure doesn''t even flinch. The girl continues to plead for mercy, her voice small and pitiful.


    Llamiryl''s hand lands gently on my shoulder, holding me back. "They can''t hear you," she says softly, her tone almost apologetic. "This is a memory. Ryu''s memory. We are nothing more than spectators."


    Her words hit me like a wave of cold water. A memory. Ryu''s memory. I feel the blood drain from my face as the realization sinks in. Ryu. If this is his memory, then... where is he? I turn toward Llamiryl, my voice barely above a whisper. "Where is he? Where is Ryu?"


    Before Llamiryl can answer, the robed figure shouts again, its tone growing angrier. The foreign words echo harshly in the tunnel, like venom dripping from its mouth. The child struggles weakly in its grip, her breaths coming in short, panicked gasps.


    Then, out of the corner of my eye, I see movement. A boy—just as dirty and malnourished as the girl—steps forward from the shadows. His clothes are torn, his face streaked with grime, but there''s something about him that draws my attention immediately. His eyes... they''re filled with fear, but also with a fierce, defiant light. He drops the rocks he was sifting and stands tall, though his small frame is shaking.


    "Let her go!" the boy shouts, his voice cracking but full of resolve. "I did it! I stole the spice!"


    The robed figure turns sharply, dropping the girl to the ground. She lands with a thud, her tiny body crumpling as she gasps for breath. The figure now looms over the boy, its masked face unreadable, but I can feel the menace radiating from it.


    "I did it!" the boy repeats, his voice stronger now, despite the fear evident in his eyes. "Punish me instead!"


    The figure speaks again, the words harsh and foreign, but the boy doesn''t flinch. He stands there, staring up at the towering figure. Then, without warning, the figure thrusts its staff forward, pressing the crackling tip against the boy''s chest.


    The boy cries out in pain, a horrible, guttural sound that echoes through the tunnel. His body convulses, and he falls to his knees, clutching at his chest where the staff had struck. The figure doesn''t stop. It holds the staff against him, the energy pulsing through the boy''s small frame as he writhes on the ground.


    I can''t watch. I turn away, my heart hammering in my chest, and I pull Nikko closer, shielding her from the sight. She clutches at me, burying her face in my side, her small body shaking.


    The boy''s cries feel like they go on forever, each one cutting deeper into me. It''s unbearable. I can''t stand this—this cruelty, this suffering. It''s too much. My body trembles with a mixture of rage and sorrow, but I''m helpless. There''s nothing I can do.


    Finally, after what feels like an eternity, the robed figure lifts its staff. The boy falls forward, his body convulsing, his chest rising and falling with shallow, painful breaths. The figure says something again, pointing at the boy with a cold, commanding gesture. The words are foreign, but the meaning is clear. The boy is... nothing to them.


    I can''t take it anymore. "I don''t want to see this," I say, my voice thick with emotion. I turn to Llamiryl, my eyes pleading. "I can''t watch this. Where is Ryu?"


    Llamiryl''s expression is calm, but there''s a look in her eyes that tells me she finds this place as despicable as I do. She turns her gaze back to the boy, now slowly getting to his feet, his movements weak and shaky. He reaches out, helping the girl up, his hand trembling as he pulls her to safety.


    Llamiryl raises her hand, pointing toward the boy. "There," she says quietly.


    I freeze, my breath catching in my throat as I look at the boy again. It can''t be... I feel my heart pound in my chest as the pieces fall into place, and my mind reels. That''s... that''s Ryu.


    "That''s Ryu?" I stammer, my voice barely above a whisper. I take a step forward, my legs feeling like they might give out beneath me. I can''t believe what I''m seeing. Ryu... as a child. Here. In this awful place. A slave. Just like Nikko had been.


    Tears well up in my eyes as I approach him, my heart breaking at the sight. He looks so small, so vulnerable. I reach out instinctively, but I know I can''t touch him. He can''t see me. He can''t hear me.


    Nikko steps forward too, her tear-filled eyes wide with shock and sadness. She watches the boy—her Papa—with a look of pure heartbreak. "Papa?" she whispers, her voice barely audible.


    But the boy—Ryu—doesn''t react. He''s oblivious to our presence, lost in the torment of his past. The ground suddenly trembles beneath us. It''s a violent, jarring shake that rattles the walls of the tunnel. I nearly lose my balance, and Nikko clings to me, her little hands trembling as she holds on tight. My heart races, instinctively looking around for some sign of reaction, but... nothing.


    None of the children, none of the other slaves, not even the overseers react to the quake. They all continue as if nothing happened, their lifeless movements undisturbed by the chaos around them. It''s as though they''re frozen in this terrible moment, oblivious to everything.


    "What''s happening?" I whisper, my voice shaky, eyes darting around, trying to make sense of this. The tremors are getting stronger, and I can feel the ground shifting beneath my feet.


    "The dark presence," Llamiryl says, her voice calm, though her eyes remain fixed on the tunnel ahead. "It''s moved on... to another memory. We have to follow."


    I can barely process her words. My mind is still reeling from what I''ve just seen—Ryu, a child, suffering in this place. But there''s no time to dwell on it, no time to try to comprehend the weight of it all. I can still feel Nikko''s tiny hand gripping mine, and that''s enough to pull me back to reality. We have to move.


    Llamiryl doesn''t hesitate. With a smooth, practiced motion, she raises her hand and waves it toward the rough, jagged stone wall in front of us. I watch, my heart still racing, as the wall ripples, distorting as if the stone itself is bending to her will. Then, with a low hiss, the stone parts, revealing the same strange, foreign-looking door as before.


    It''s the same as the last one—alien, metallic, its design cold and unnatural. The door slides upward with that same, unsettling hiss, and the tunnel is suddenly bathed in blinding white light. The brightness stings my eyes, and I instinctively raise my hand to shield them, squinting against the brilliance.


    Llamiryl steps forward without a word, her figure silhouetted by the harsh light. There''s no hesitation in her movements, no fear in her posture. She walks straight into the light, her form disappearing into the brilliance.


    I glance down at Nikko, her tear-streaked face still pale from what we''ve just witnessed. She''s trembling, her wide eyes staring at the blinding light in front of us. I pull her closer, wrapping an arm around her small body.


    "It''s okay," I whisper, though the words feel hollow. I don''t know if anything is okay anymore, but I have to keep moving. For her. For Ryu. "We have to go."


    I take a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves, and step forward, pulling Nikko with me. The light is overwhelming, and my heart pounds in my chest as we step into the unknown, leaving the nightmare of the tunnel behind us.


    ?????


    As soon as we step into the room, I''m hit by an overwhelming stench that makes my eyes water. It''s rancid—like a mix of rotting food, unwashed bodies, and something sour that clings to the back of my throat. I immediately raise a hand to my nose, trying to block out the smell, but it''s no use. It seeps into everything. My stomach churns violently.


    "Where... where are we now?" I ask, my voice shaky as I fight the urge to gag. Beside me, Nikko does the same, pinching her nose and pressing her face into my side. The room is dark, save for a small crack of light leaking through the ceiling. It''s enough to make out the details—bones scattered on the floor, broken pieces of wood, rotting food piled in the corners.


    "K-Kessel..." Nikko whispers, her voice trembling.


    I glance down at her, barely able to hear her over the pounding in my ears. "What?"


    "In those mines," she says, her voice even smaller. "That was Kessel."


    Kessel... I don''t know the name, but from the look in Nikko''s wide, fearful eyes, it''s something terrible. Her grip tightens around my arm as we both take in the scene before us. My heart races, and I can feel a cold sweat breaking out on my forehead.


    And then I see him.


    In the middle of the room, a small boy is hanging from chains, suspended in the air. His body looks so frail, so broken. His arms are stretched above him, bound by metal shackles, his head drooping forward, too weak to lift. His skin is caked with dirt, his clothes little more than rags. My breath catches in my throat when I realize... it''s Ryu.


    A wave of emotion crashes over me—horror, disbelief, sorrow. My chest tightens painfully as I stare at him, my mind reeling. How long has he been like this? How could anyone do this to a child?


    The silence is broken by a sudden hiss—a door slides open on the far side of the room, filling the space with a harsh, white light. I squint, shielding my eyes from the brightness, and through the glare, two figures step into the room. One is cloaked, tall and imposing, while the other is... something I can barely describe. It''s reptilian, with glinting scales and a long, dragging tail. It moves with a predatory grace, its yellow eyes glowing faintly in the darkness.


    The cloaked figure''s voice cuts through the air, calm and authoritative. "Is this the child?"


    The reptilian figure hisses in response, stepping closer to Ryu with a cruel gleam in its eyes. "Yesss, thisss is the child," it says, its voice sharp and sibilant. "Thisss one isss quite the catch. He''ssss no ordinary ssslave. He hasss the ability to move objectsss with hisss mind. I sssawsss it. Broke itsss chainsss. Tried to essscape, he did. Caussseed quite the commotion, incapacitating many of my guardsss. Moved large rocksss with hisss mind. He even freed a group of child ssslaves... none of them made it."


    My breath hitches. He tried to save them. He tried to escape, and... and none of them survived. A heavy weight settles in my chest, and I can feel my hands trembling at my sides. I glance over at Llamiryl, but even her usual calm expression is tight with disgust. Her lips press into a thin line as she watches the scene unfold, her eyes narrowed at the reptilian creature.


    "Interesting," the cloaked figure murmurs, stepping closer, though his tone carries a hint of amusement. The way he moves, so deliberate, so controlled... it sends a shiver down my spine.


    The reptilian figure circles Ryu, inspecting him with cold, calculating eyes. "He''ssss been in here for four daysss without food or water. He''ssss weak. I have far healthier ssslaves."


    "No need," the cloaked figure replies smoothly, as if he''s already made his decision.


    I barely have time to process what''s happening when a flash of red light illuminates the room. The hissing sound fills my ears, and my heart leaps into my throat as I realize what it is. A lightsaber—bright and red, burning through the air—pierces the reptilian''s chest. The creature''s yellow eyes go wide in shock, a strangled hiss escaping its lips as it crumples to the ground.


    The smell of burning flesh hits me, mixing with the already foul stench of the room, and I feel my stomach twist violently. I turn away, instinctively pulling Nikko closer to shield her from the sight, but she''s already seen too much. Her small body trembles against me, her ears flattened in terror.


    The cloaked figure steps forward, the lightsaber still humming softly as it casts a red glow over the scene. He moves with such precision, such control, that it makes my skin crawl. Without a word, he slices through the chains holding Ryu in the air, and the boy falls to the ground with a dull thud.


    Ryu''s body barely moves. He''s too weak, too exhausted to even lift his head. My heart breaks at the sight, watching him tremble on the ground, his breath shallow and ragged.


    The cloaked figure kneels beside him, extinguishing the lightsaber with a soft hiss. He reaches out, his hand calm and steady, offering it to the boy.


    "Come," he says, his voice firm yet unnervingly gentle. "Your training has begun, my new Acolyte."


    I stare in horror, my mind racing, trying to comprehend what I''m seeing. The calm way he speaks to Ryu, as if this is something normal, as if this is right. I can barely breathe, my heart pounding in my chest as I look at Ryu''s small, frail form, so broken and weak.


    Ryu''s small, trembling hand reaches out, grasping the cloaked figure''s extended hand. My breath catches in my throat as I watch him, too weak to stand on his own, using the figure''s strength to pull himself to his feet. His legs tremble, barely supporting him, but there''s something in the way he looks at the cloaked man—a mix of fear, desperation, and... something else.


    The figure''s grip is firm, unyielding, and as Ryu stumbles to his feet, I see a flicker of... pride in the man''s dark eyes. The lightsaber is gone, but the menace in the air remains. The man regards Ryu with a strange mix of calmness and possession, as if this was always meant to be.


    Nikko''s small voice trembles beside me, her tear-filled eyes fixed on the cloaked figure. "That''s... that''s Papa''s master," she says, her voice quaking with fear. "The one he told me about."


    I can feel my heart racing in my chest, the weight of what''s happening crashing down on me. This man... this man must be this mentor Ryu had mentioned to me. My mind flashes back to Ryu''s tone when he spoke of him. I''d never heard him speak much about his master, but I remember the coldness in his voice when he did—the resentment, the lingering fear.


    "He... he mentioned him," I whisper to myself, barely able to voice the realization.


    I feel a shiver run through me, my stomach tightening as I watch the scene unfold. The memory... it''s real. All of it. The pain, the fear, the cruelty. And that man... he''s the one who started it all.


    Before I can even begin to process the horror of what we''ve just witnessed, the ground beneath us starts to shake again. This time, it''s more violent than before, the walls trembling as if the very world is tearing itself apart.


    Nikko clings to my side, her ears flat, her voice rising in panic. "What''s happening?!"


    "I don''t know!" I shout, my own panic rising as the room seems to warp and shift around us. The chains on the walls rattle, the bones on the floor scatter, and cracks begin to appear in the stone walls. Everything seems to be breaking apart, crumbling into nothingness.


    Llamiryl whirls toward us, her voice strained but controlled. "The memory is ending! The dark presence has moved on, and I wasn''t able to find it!"


    The shaking grows worse, and the very floor beneath our feet starts to splinter. My heart is pounding, and I can barely hold on to Nikko as she grips me, her small body trembling. "What do we do?" I cry out, the noise around us deafening as the world breaks apart.


    Llamiryl wastes no time. She waves her hand, and once again, the strange metallic door appears, hissing as it slides upward, the blinding light spilling into the chaos. "Quickly! We need to go! Now!"


    I don''t need to be told twice. Grabbing Nikko tightly, I sprint toward the door, my legs shaky as the ground beneath me cracks and shifts. The noise is deafening, the entire room dissolving into chaos around us.


    Llamiryl steps through first, and I follow, practically dragging Nikko behind me. We leap through the door just as the world behind us collapses entirely, and for a brief, terrifying moment, I feel weightless, lost in the blinding light.


    Then, suddenly, everything is still.