Muffled Man's Voice: "We'll be gone soon. As soon as he wakes, we will take our leave."

  Muffled Woman's Voice: "Leave...?! LEAVE?! Where do you suppose you'll go now, Ballo? You bumped into every wall coming in here!"

  Muffled Man's Voice: "I'll get used to it..."

  Virno stirred. Slowly opening his eyes, he found himself lying on the bottom bunk of a creaky metal bed. The air was heavy and humid, tinged with the metallic tang of oil and the sharp scent of smoldering metal. The clanking of distant machinery reverberated faintly. Outside the small room, the muffled conversation continued.

  Virno: "Ballo..."

  As he tried to sit up, the bunk above him creaked. A second later, someone leapt to the floor. A girl, around his age, stood before him, her bright ginger hair tied back in a messy bun. Her eyes sparkled with curiosity and mischief.

  Rotavitea: "Well, well! Sure took your sweet time waking up, didn’t you?"

  Before Virno could respond, she stepped forward, raising her arm. It was covered by a strange mechanical gauntlet that extended to a pressurized container strapped to her upper arm.

  Rotavitea: "Now, the real question is... was the old bird telling the truth?"

  Virno blinked, confused.

  Virno: "What are you --"

  Before he could finish, she clenched her fist, and the gauntlet’s pistons fired with a deafening clank. A steel fist slammed into his ribs, sending him sprawling back into the wall with a groan of pain.

  Virno: "ARGH! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"

  Furious, he clutched his ribs and glared at her. To his surprise, she didn’t look apologetic -- instead, her face was lit up with awe.

  Rotavitea: "No way... It's a miracle...!"

  Virno: "A miracle?! Only miracle here's that I haven't punched *your* ribs in yet...!"

  She pointed at his torso with a triumphant grin.

  Rotavitea: "Look, dummy! They’re fixed!"

  Virno froze. For the first time in days, he noticed the absence of the deep, sharp pain that had plagued his every breath. There was a dull ache where her gauntlet struck him, but it was nothing compared to what he’d endured before. He felt his sides experimentally. His ribs, once fractured and bruised, felt... whole.

  Virno: "What...? B-but how?!"

  Before she could answer, the door swung open, and a stern woman stormed in, dragging Ballo by the hand. Her weathered face was lined with equal parts exhaustion and anger.

  Clavia: "What was all that racket?! Rota, what did you do this time?"

  The girl sheepishly hid her gauntleted arm behind her back, though it hissed loudly as the pressurized container released steam.

  Rotavitea: "Nothing! Just testing a theory!"

  Clavia: "Testing?! You’d better not have used that janky contraption of yours on him --"

  Rotavitea: "Ballo, you were right! His ribs're as good as new!"

  Virno: "What the hell is going on here, old man...?!"

  The old man stepped forward, his white, burned-out eyes staring blankly ahead. Charred black markings ringed his sockets like scars.

  Virno: "W-what happened to your eyes...?"

  Ballo’s voice was steady, though it carried the weight of weariness.

  Ballo: "We’ll have plenty of time to talk on the road. Since you're up, we ought to get moving."

  Virno: "On the road...? Where even are we?!"

  Rotavitea: "You’re a long way from home, boy. And you’d better start pulling your weight while you’re here!"

  Clavia sighed in exasperation as she delivered a strict thwack to the back of Rotavitea's head.

  Rotavite: "OW! Hey!"

  Clavia: "That’s enough out of you. Come on, back to the workshop you go..."

  She pulled the girl by her non-mechanical arm.

  Rotavitea: "Fine, fine...!"

  The girl shot Virno a wink before being dragged out. Clavia shut the door firmly behind them.

  Ballo turned to Virno, his expression unreadable.

  Virno: "I'm not going anywhere 'til you start talking. I'll ask again -- what happened? How did we even survive that fight...?"

  The elder sighs in frustration.

  Ballo: "Help me to a chair, at least. Would you?"

  Virno hesitated, but eventually helped the old man to a seat. They sat at a round table in the dimly lit room, the distant clatter of machinery filling the silence.

  Ballo: "In short -- we lived. Lacerbus didn’t. I used magic beyond my means to ensure it -- and paid the price."

  He gestured to his ruined eyes. Virno’s anger faltered, replaced by a pang of guilt.

  Ballo: "After the battle, I brought us here."

  Virno: "What place is this...?"

  Ballo: "A friend's smithy. The very one who made the armour you're wearing, in fact."

  Virno looked at insignias in some of the walls. They matched with the symbols that adorned on his armour pieces.

  Ballo: "We are in a city far, far from the one your mother and friends are at. Far away that we're safe enough... But not for long."

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  Virno: "Safe enough...? From what?!"

  Ballo: "From Lacerbus' faction -- Nox. They know about you, Virno. They will hunt you relentlessly, because they know what you carry!"

  Virno slammed his fist on the table, his frustration boiling over.

  Virno: "Then let them come! We’ll kill them like we killed the last one, but we can't leave the people of the slums unprotected...!"

  Ballo’s tone grew sharp.

  Ballo: "That was no victory, Virno. It was desperation... In order to survive, I drew upon magic I am not meant to wield. Magic that has taken my very sight from me. It is gone... Burned away from me. I can still see faint blurs... But I fear I am too blind to be of any use real against them."

  Virno’s voice faltered, as did his bravado.

  Virno: "I-I'm sorry... I shouldn't have drawn the blade."

  Ballo: "No, you shouldn’t have."

  His tone hardened as his next words came down like a hammer.

  Ballo: "You have succeeded in making it known to the enemy exactly who you are by summoning that weapon. Do you realize the repercussions of that? Now, it could very well be that they will raze those slums to the ground looking for you."

  Virno’s heart sank. The weight of Ballo’s words crushed him.

  Virno: "No... no, they wouldn’t... would they?"

  Ballo: "They would -- and most likely will. Do you know what it feels like to hear the screams of people who believed in you as their homes are torn apart? Because if they come looking for you, that’s exactly what will happen."

  Virno’s fists trembled as tears welled in his eyes.

  Ballo: "You are young, reckless and weak. Yet your worst offense was failing to acknowledge this... Resulting in the likely deaths of tens of innocent people, who wanted nothing else but to restore peace. "

  Virno looks down at the table, his lower lip trembling as he grinds his teeth.

  Virno: "Take that back right now, old man..."

  Ballo’s voice grew louder, filling the room with its unyielding authority.

  Ballo: "No, Virno. Your overconfidence and rash decisions have already done much more harm than good. So now I ask you, and I want you to answer honestly -- was it all in vain? Or have you at least learned something from this?"

  Virno’s shoulders shook. He couldn't fake it any longer. His pride shattered under the crushing weight of Ballo’s words. He broke down completely, his sobs echoing in the dimly lit room.

  Ballo: "Cry if you must... you’ve earned the right to grieve. I believe you have much to cry over, von Virtus."

  Ballo rose from his chair, his movements slow but deliberate. He made his way toward the door, pausing as he rested his hand against the worn wood.

  Ballo: "When you’re done crying, come find me. You still have your part of the deal to uphold... I helped you destroy Cabdan’s ring. Now, it’s your turn to live up to what you promised me."

  The door closed behind him with a soft click, leaving Virno alone in the heavy silence. He buried his head in his arms, his tears falling freely now. His mind raced through the memories of the past months -- his father’s death, his family’s downfall, his mother’s growing despair. The faces of those who had been hurt, who had lost their lives, flashed before his eyes. He thought of Jargen, Punjo, Rel, and all the others who had believed in him, who had fought alongside him. How much of it was his fault? How many wrong turns had he taken?

  Ballo’s voice echoed in his mind.

  “Was it all in vain?”

  Virno whispered into the darkness, his voice barely audible through his sobs.

  Virno: "Father... how much of a disappointment am I? You wanted me to be better... to do good... but all I’ve done is bring misery to those around me. I’m... I’m a failure. Truly..."

  With his head resting on his crossed arms, he cried himself back to sleep, the weight of his guilt and self-doubt overwhelming him.

  Virno: "A failure... too weak... too ignorant... too..."

  A sinister yet familiar voice pierced the stillness of his thoughts.

  Disembodied Voice: "Human."

  Virno’s lips moved without thinking, echoing the word back like a curse.

  Virno: "Too human..."

  Darkness swallowed him. In this dreamscape, Virno drifted through an abyss so vast and empty it felt eternal. At its center flowed a calm yet unnaturally buoyant river, carrying him along effortlessly. He floated as though untethered from the world, utterly alone, the last flicker of life in a void.

  Disembodied Voice: "Shed your humanity."

  The words echoed ominously across the void. Virno’s gaze followed the sound, but there was nothing -- only the oppressive darkness pressing in from all sides.

  Virno: "What do you mean...?"

  Massive structures began to rise from the black waters around him. Towering buildings of impossible size loomed overhead, their yellow lights flickering eerily. The sound of distant movement -- something enormous -- reverberated through the void. A shadow flew above him, its vast form occasionally rippling the water below.

  Disembodied Voice: "Friends... family... let them go."

  Virno’s jaw tightened.

  Virno: "Never."

  The voice, calm and insidious, continued its assault.

  Disembodied voice: "They hold you back. They make you weak. Without them, your judgment would be clear... Your strength unshackled."

  Virno’s eyes darted toward the dark sky, his resolve unshaken.

  Virno: "Why do you care...? You said you didn’t need me anymore!"

  A cruel laugh reverberated through the abyss.

  Disembodied voice: "And I don’t. But, *you* need *me*. Without me, you will never be strong enough to protect them. Is this not obvious to you yet...? Have you not seen what you are truly up against?"

  Virno hesitated for a moment, the voice’s words digging into his doubt. But then he clenched his fists.

  Virno: "Maybe you’re right. But I’ll never push them away just to make things easier for me. If caring about them makes things harder... then that’s my burden to carry. I’ll just have to find a way to deal with it."

  The voice hissed with disdain.

  Disembodied voice: "And how many more will suffer as you find how to ‘deal with it’?"

  Virno’s expression hardened, though he could not muster an answer.

  As the river carried him further, it reached a long staircase. At its top, a towering monolith stood, riddled with countless glowing orbs, each one pulsating with an otherworldly light. Sitting down on the final step of the stairs rested a hazy green silhouette, its hand raising in a casual wave.

  Disembodied voice: "... Greed. Nice to meet you face to face."

  Virno stepped onto the staircase, ascending toward the enigmatic figure.

  Virno: "What is this place...? "

  Greed (Disembodied voice): "A random spot in your dream, or so you’d think."

  Virno’s brow furrowed.

  Virno: "I don’t buy that for a second."

  Greed chuckled, his voice dripping with amusement.

  Greed: "Fair enough. This is a place very dear to me... Now it’s locked away, forgotten by most if not all. Welcome Virno, to the cradle of the world."

  He gestured with a theatrical flourish, his green-glowing form casting eerie shadows across the space.

  Greed: "You’re fortunate, you know. Most humans never get to lay eyes on it."

  Virno: "... But why am I here?"

  Greed rose from where he sat, his silhouette shifting like smoke against the monolith’s glow. He turned to face Virno, his tone layered with intrigue.

  Greed: "Why indeed...? I must admit, I’d have preferred if you’d never left the forest. But you overcame my influence last time... so I suppose I’m no longer steering this particular ship."

  Greed’s finger slowly rose, pointing toward the colossal monolith, its surface riddled with glowing orbs.

  Greed: "I didn’t bring you here, Virno. You did. This... this is the nexus of all that exists. Every law, every being, every fragment of reality -- it’s all defined here. The orbs you see? Each one represents a piece of existence. Together, they form the grand puzzle of reality as you know it. The rules of your world, laid bare. It was created by the gods who once walked your earth."

  Virno stared at the monolith, its countless glowing orbs mesmerizing him. Each one seemed alive, pulsing with meaning he couldn’t comprehend. Greed stepped closer to him.

  Greed: "If life were a game, the orbs are the rules... but not the players. How those players act? That’s not written here. That’s entirely up to them."

  Greed turned and pointed directly at Virno’s chest, his gaze piercing even as his expression remained unreadable.

  Greed: "So... look within, Virno."

  Virno froze as Greed’s form began to morph. The figure twisted and reformed, reshaping itself into an indistinguishable copy of Virno. The mimic stared back at him, its expression uncannily mirroring his own.

  Greed: "Because now, more than ever, you have a grasp of your place -- your role -- in this game we call life. The question is... how do you intend to play it? How do you want to perform?"

  Virno hesitated, his mind racing.

  Virno: "How I want to perform..."

  The doppelg?nger smirked, its face glowing faintly with green light.

  Greed: "That’s right! The choice is yours. But try not to keep me waiting, Virno..."

  With that, Greed’s form dissolved into countless emerald particles, scattering into the air and leaving Virno alone. The monolith loomed over him, its glowing orbs beckoning, but offering no answers.

  Virno stood in the quiet, his heart heavy and his mind spinning as he whispered to himself.

  Virno: "How do I want to perform...?"

  And as silence enveloped him, he began to ponder endlessly -- not just about who he had been, but who he could become.