"Let me heal you," Elincia said softly, her hands already glowing faintly.
Bao shook his head.
"Save your mana," he muttered. "We don't know what's waiting for us down there."
She frowned slightly.
"Why do we even have to go down?" she asked. "Couldn't we have used that golem weapon to destroy this thing?"
Bao let out a dry chuckle.
"We could've," he admitted. "If we knew how to reactivate it."
He glanced at his wounded shoulder.
"And honestly… I don't feel like fighting that thing again. One hole in my body is enough."
Elincia giggled softly.
"I offered to heal you, you know."
Bao smirked faintly.
"Yeah… you did."
Then—
They continued downward.
The staircase spiraled deep into the earth.
Step after step.
Echo after echo.
The darkness swallowed everything around them.
Only the faint glow of Elincia's floating lights guided their path.
Without them—
One wrong step…
And it would've been over.
Bao exhaled slowly.
Falling to his death would've been a pretty pathetic ending.
Time blurred.
Minutes.
Hours.
Or maybe just exhaustion.
By the time they reached the bottom—
Bao's head was spinning.
Then—
Solid ground.
A low hum filled the air.
Beeping.
Rhythmic.
Unnatural.
Cold air rushed past them in artificial gusts.
Ahead—
Blinking lights flickered in the darkness.
"What… is this?" Elincia whispered.
They stepped forward.
And the scene unfolded.
Towers of machinery.
Endless cables.
Pipes running like veins through the room.
Massive cooling units roared—
Struggling to keep the system alive.
Bao stared at it all.
Even he barely understood it.
But he knew one thing.
This—
Was the reason he had come here.
"This…" Bao said quietly, "…is why Nelenia is dying."
Elincia's eyes widened.
"This is what causes the 'eternal slumber'," he added.
Silence.
"…So we just destroy it?" she asked, forcing a small smile.
"That's it?"
Bao didn't answer immediately.
Instead—
He looked at her.
Really looked.
Her face.
Her eyes.
Everything.
"…David?"
He took her hands.
Trembling.
Tears welled up in his eyes.
"Elincia…" his voice cracked. "I don't know how to say this…"
A pause.
"But after this…"
He swallowed hard.
"…I won't be me anymore."
Her expression froze.
"What…?"
"I might act differently," Bao continued, his voice shaking. "I might forget things… you… me… us…"
"No…" she whispered.
"But listen to me," he said, gripping her hands tighter.
"No matter what happens…"
His voice softened.
"I'll still love you."
Her eyes filled with tears.
"I'll always be by your side."
"David… you're scaring me," she said, her voice trembling. "What are you talking about…?"
Bao looked past her.
At the machines.
At the cables.
At the truth.
"This is for the best," he whispered.
He stepped forward.
"David, stop!"
"This will save you."
"Stop!"
"This will save Nelenia."
"I don't want it if it means losing you!"
His grip tightened around his sword.
"This is for the best."
One last time—
He looked at her.
Burning the image into his memory.
Then—
He turned.
And swung.
Metal screamed.
Cables snapped.
Sparks exploded into the air.
The hum of the machines faltered—
Then broke apart into chaos.
"This is for the best…" Bao whispered.
Again.
And again.
Until—
Everything went silent.
Darkness.
…
When Bao opened his eyes—
He wasn't in Nelenia anymore.
Familiar faces surrounded him.
Ning.
Aika.
Yan.
Xun.
The shopkeeper.
All watching him.
Waiting.
Bao's lips trembled.
"I… did it," he whispered.
Tears streamed down his face.
"I did it…"