A heavy silence lingered as the group stood before the four ominous doorways. The chambers yawned open, each one cloaked in thick, impenetrable darkness.
A sickly pressure hung in the air—residue from the overwhelming Kagaki that had washed over them moments ago. Their breaths were ragged, chests heaving beneath the unseen weight that still pressed against their bones.
Then, the voice returned, rumbling from every corner of the chamber.
"Prove thy selves."
Kuro straightened; his eyes sharp despite the weariness weighing down his body. He glanced at the others. "Let's take one door each."
"But what about Artoria and Lilia?" Rulet asked, stepping forward. "They can't fight. What if something's waiting inside?"
"I'll go in," Artoria cut in, voice steady. "Lilia can stay out and watch the entrance."
"Okay," Kuro said, nodding slowly. "But don't do anything reckless. If there's danger, stay alive until one of us gets out."
They exchanged tense glances—no more words. One by one, the four moved toward their doors. Lilia stood alone near the altar, watching them vanish, her hands clenched tightly at her sides.
Kuro peered into the black void behind his door. Nothing. Not a flicker of light, not a shape, not even a whisper. Just endless dark. He pushed aside every other thought and stepped through.
Darkness swallowed him whole.
He turned back instinctively. The door slammed shut behind him. He was alone.
He took a cautious step forward, then another—
His foot slipped.
"Fuck—!" he yelled, heart lurching. There was no floor. Just an endless fall. Wind didn't rush past him; it was silent. Utterly silent.
"What the hell is this?!" he muttered, eyes squeezed shut.
Then—
A child crying.
He opened his eyes. He was no longer falling.
He was standing.
On solid ground.
Around him—gray walls, steel bars, low flickering lights. A prison.
Kuro's breath caught in his throat. "What the f*ck is this…" he whispered, swallowing hard.
He scanned the hallway. Then—a guard approached. Kuro flinched, ready to fight, but the man passed through him like mist.
"I'm a ghost?" he thought grimly. But realization hit hard and fast—
No.
He was inside a memory.
He took a slow breath.
It was his memory. He knew it the moment the laughter began—mocking, cruel, inhuman.
'Do you know that boy's a monster?'
'We're all here for murder, but that brat barely knows how to talk!'
'they say he turned into one of those green freaks and somehow lived. A rare case, huh?'
Kuro stepped closer but couldn't see any of their faces. "I don't remember what any of these fuckers looked like…"
A sudden movement caught his eye. A woman, trembling, tried to hand food to the child.
"What are you doing? You wanna die?" someone barked. More laughter.
Kuro clenched his fists. Looked down.
Then—
"Get aside, everyone."
A deep, cold voice.
A towering man entered with two guards. His face was a blur, obscured by memory, yet dread coiled in Kuro's gut. His body trembled on instinct. He couldn't stop it.
The man seized the crying boy by the wrist and dragged him into a separate room. The door slammed behind them.
Kuro's heart exploded in his chest. He rushed forward, slamming fists against the door.
"Open it! OPEN THE F*CKING DOOR!" he roared.
"Sorry, that area's off-limits."
The voice was calm, eerie. Kuro turned—
He was in a dark prison cell again. A blank-faced man stood before him.
"Who are you?" Kuro demanded, fists clenched.
"I'm no one," the man said, laughing softly.
"What was in that room? This is my memory—why can't I see it?"
"These are your memories," the man replied. "Shouldn't you know?"
"Who was that man? Why can't I remember him?!" Kuro shouted; teeth gritted.
The figure grinned. "Maybe you don't want to remember. Maybe… you're not who you think you are."
Kuro lunged forward—
But darkness returned. The man vanished.
Arthur's Room
He, too, was consumed by the dark.
But when the door closed, torches flared to life.
An empty corridor stretched out before him—long, endless. A path into nothing.
He narrowed his eyes, cautious. Then he began to walk.
"Damn it… where does this even go?" he whispered. "Hello? Anyone?"
Only silence answered. His voice echoed back like a stranger's.
He continued forward.
Then—click.
His foot sank. A pressure switch.
He jumped back instinctively. "Shit. A trap?"
But nothing happened. Still, he treaded carefully, muscles taut.
Then—he paused. Something felt… wrong.
He looked down.
He wasn't touching the ground.
He was floating.
The gravitational field around him had changed.
"…Fuck," he whispered, breath unsteady. "It's like this place was designed for me."
"Welcome, dear Arthur."
A voice he knew. Too well.
His pulse surged. He tried to turn, but his body wouldn't move.
"You look tired. Is it because of Colen?"
Arthur's eyes blazed silver. "Shut up!"
"He can be a problem, but still—he's your—"
"SHUT YOUR TRAP!"
Cracks split across the walls. The flames in the torches sputtered violently.
Then another voice.
Feminine. Familiar.
"My, my… you've grown so impatient, Arthur."
His gaze dropped to the floor.
His heart pounded like war drums.
"This can't be… I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm really sorry."
He didn't turn. He couldn't.
"Please… just go away…"
Then—
The ground quaked. Darkness fell again.
Arthur found himself back at the door, drenched in sweat, breath shaking.
"What the hell… was that?" he whispered.
Somewhere beyond the rooms, chains rattled.
The sound stirred them both.
They sat where they had entered. Doors still closed.
Yet they had seen so much.
Kuro's eyes flicked to the sealed door before him. A single thought echoed inside him—
"Then… what the hell was all that?"
He got lost in the swirl of ominous thoughts, shadows curling through his mind like smoke. Then—again—the cold, metallic rattle of chains echoed from beyond the door, sharper now, as if whatever lay outside was getting closer.
He stepped forward, cautiously, each stride deliberates. But no matter how far he walked, the door didn't come any closer. It just stood there—mocking him, unreachable, like a mirage in the dark.
His breath quickened. Thud. Thud. Each step echoed, but the distance never shrank.
"What the hell is this…?" he muttered, jaw clenched, eyes narrowing. A sick realization gnawed at his chest.
"Is that door even real…?" he whispered, teeth grinding together, fury and fear coiling inside his gut like a tightening knot.