The path that opened after the first layer was narrow and low. The stone walls were no longer smooth; their surfaces seemed to breathe, expanding and contracting slowly, as if alive. With every step, the ground groaned beneath them.
Asmodeus still carried Aeris in his arms. Each step was heavier than the last.
The first layer had kept its promise.
The burden was increasing.
Aeris's breathing was uneven. Her fever had risen. The bleeding had slowed—but that did not mean she was healing.
"Asmodeus…" she whispered.
"I'm here."
This time, his words were not only for her—but for the dungeon itself.
Gael walked ahead. His eyes followed the new symbols carved into the walls. These were not records.
They were moments of decision.
The corridor suddenly widened.
The second layer had opened.
It was a hall. Circular. Vast. With a high ceiling. There was nothing at its center—no enemy, no door, no path. Only a massive circle carved into the stone floor.
Within the circle, a single word was etched:
CHOICE
The ground trembled.
The air grew heavy.
And the dungeon spoke.
"Second layer price:
Bond."
Asmodeus's heart tightened.
Gael slowly turned around. He looked at Asmodeus. For the first time, his expression was clear.
"This layer…" he said quietly,
"cannot be passed alone."
Aeris forced herself to lift her head.
"What… does that mean?"
The ground split open.
At opposite ends of the circle, two paths emerged. One was narrow, dark, and descended downward. The other was wider—but its end could not be seen. Between them rose a stone pillar.
A chain hung from it.
And at the end of the chain…
a seal.
Gael approached. The moment his hand touched the seal, the symbols ignited.
The dungeon answered:
"A bond can only be paid through separation."
Asmodeus took a step forward.
"No."
Gael raised his hand.
"Listen."
Asmodeus stopped.
Gael's voice was calm. Too calm.
"The first layer measured burden. The second wants to sever bonds. But this bond…"
He looked at Asmodeus.
"…is not only between you and Aeris."
Asmodeus understood.
Too late.
"We can't continue as three," Gael said.
"The dungeon won't allow it."
Aeris shook her head weakly.
"No… Gael… don't…"
Gael knelt. For the first time, he placed his sword on the ground.
"I don't belong beyond this point," he said.
"I am not the end of this path."
Asmodeus's hand went to Excalibur's strap.
"I'll pay the price."
Gael smiled. A short, tired smile.
"The dungeon doesn't take strength," he said.
"It takes meaning."
Gael stood. He grasped the chain.
The dungeon hesitated.
As if it were listening.
"My bond is you," Gael said.
"And I choose to sever it."
Aeris began to cry. Silently. As much as her strength allowed.
"Asmodeus," Gael said one last time.
"Keep her alive. Don't be a hero.
Be the one who survives."
He wrapped the chain around himself.
The seal burned.
The ground collapsed.
Gael did not step back.
There was no light. No explosion.
Only a void opened—and pulled Gael into it.
The hall shook.
The dungeon spoke:
"Second layer cleared."
The paths merged.
Gael was gone.
Silence fell.
Aeris's tears dripped onto Asmodeus's armor.
Asmodeus did not move.
Then, slowly, he stood.
He looked toward the path ahead.
Excalibur was on his back.
Aeris was in his arms.
And now he knew:
This dungeon would take something from him on every layer.
And one day…
there would be nothing left for it to take.The dungeon did not fall silent after Gael's disappearance.
The silence deepened.
When Asmodeus took a step forward, the sound of his boots did not echo—it was swallowed by the walls, as if buried inside the stone itself. The hall lay behind them now. The path ahead was no longer straight; it twisted, bent inward, folding into itself. The ground was cold—but not with the chill of stone. This was the cold of decision.
Aeris's breathing rose and fell against his chest in an uneven rhythm. With every tremor, her face tightened in pain, her fingers instinctively gripping Asmodeus's armor more tightly.
"Gael…" she whispered.
Denial still lingered in her voice.
Asmodeus did not answer.
There were no words left to give.
As the passage narrowed, the walls began to change. Stone ceased to look like stone. The surfaces darkened, thin fractures spreading across them. From within those cracks, an ancient breath seemed to seep out. When Asmodeus looked closer, he saw reflections inside them.
He saw himself.
Younger.
Carrying less weight.
Then he saw Aeris—smiling, uninjured.
The image lasted only a moment.
Then the crack sealed shut.
Asmodeus turned his gaze away.
The dungeon was reminding him.
After a time, the corridor opened into an unnatural clearing. This was the threshold of the third layer. But this time, there was no line on the floor. No gate. No seal. No waiting guardian.
Only an open space.
And at its center stood three empty stone pedestals.
Aeris forced her eyes open slightly.
"Why… is it so quiet here?"
Asmodeus gently lowered her to the ground. For the first time, he set her down from his arms. His chest tightened—not because the dungeon demanded it, but because he had reached his own limit.
"Stay here," he said.
"Don't move away."
Aeris managed a faint smile.
"As if… I could."
Asmodeus stood. The weight of Excalibur on his back was more pronounced now. The sword was still silent—but no longer sleeping. This silence was not rest.
It was anticipation.
As he approached the pedestals, the ground trembled.
The dungeon did not speak.
But it offered something.
Images formed above the pedestals.
On the first: Aeris.
Alive—but alone.
Asmodeus was gone.
On the second: Asmodeus.
Powerful.
But hollow inside.
The third pedestal remained dark.
It showed nothing.
Asmodeus understood.
This layer did not demand loss.
It demanded direction.
For the first time, the dungeon whispered.
Its voice did not come from the stone.
It came from within Asmodeus himself.
"The third layer has not yet begun."
"Because no choice has been made."
Asmodeus stood between the pedestals. He closed his eyes.
To be a hero… was one option.
To survive… was something else entirely.
He opened his eyes.
And looked at the third pedestal.
At what had not yet been shown.
Behind him, Aeris's breathing was weak—but real.
Asmodeus spoke.
Not loudly.
But with certainty.
"I choose the end."
The ground trembled.
The pedestals cracked.
And for the first time, the dungeon reacted.
Because Asmodeus had not chosen one of the paths fate offered—
he had chosen to create his own.
And the third layer…
was no longer waiting.
It was awakening.