Riko stopped before the door. The cold night air bit through the skin beneath her cloak. Before her loomed the Nuuva manor — the headquarters of the Volnica Holy Covenant, converted from what had once been a cluster of relic warehouses — sinking heavily into the darkness. Luminescent stones embedded throughout the walls cast a pale, bluish light. That light flickered, as if beckoning something closer. (*If I go in here, it all ends.*) Riko murmured the words inside her heart. With trembling fingers, she clutched the collar of her cloak and drew a deep breath. The cold air filled her lungs to their depths. The spiral scar on the back of her right hand throbbed sharply. The door was heavy. Iron-reinforced wood groaned and creaked, as if rejecting Riko's slender arms. From within, faint voices leaked out. Words of prayer. Many, many voices repeating the same phrases. The sound was low, undulating, making the very air tremble. Riko closed her eyes and pushed the door open with the full flat of her palms. The manor's interior was dim. A musty smell mingled with a cloying sweetness, like perfumed oil. The corridor walls were adorned with countless relic fragments. Broken lighting fixtures, cracked levitation stones, metal shards of unknown purpose — all of them slept quietly upon the walls, like grave markers for delvers. She advanced deeper inside. Her footsteps echoed, *clack clack*, against the stone floor. As if drawn by the sound, the assembly hall doors opened on their own. And then — "[gentle]Oooooh…" A sigh of wonder filled the vast space. At the center of the assembly hall, before the altar, stood Doreva Karsh. A deep hood covered his head, and his murky gray eyes fixed upon Riko's form. The alteration marks running from his left cheek down to his neck — scars like burns — glowed faintly. "[serious]The Shrine Maiden of the Abyss… graces us with her presence herself." Slowly, Karsh lowered himself to his knees upon the floor. He placed his right hand — the hand bearing the traces of his lost middle and ring fingers — against his chest and bowed his head deeply. Behind him, more than a dozen believers assumed the same posture in perfect unison. Only the rustle of clothing broke the silence. Riko's throat felt terribly dry. "[whispers]…Stop. No more speeches." Her own voice sounded impossibly distant. "[whispers]I'm… not a shrine maiden. Everything you said in the square — it was all lies." Karsh raised his face. A gentle smile rested upon his lips. But his eyes alone held Riko fast, unblinking, like a bird of prey hunting its quarry. "[gentle]Then allow me to ask you this." Karsh rose to his feet and took one step closer to Riko. "[gentle]The silver-white scales that dwell across your shoulders and back. The phosphorescence they emit in darkness. The spiral mark upon your right hand. Can you prove that you do *not* carry the Abyss factor within you?" Riko retreated a step. (*He knows.*) It felt as though an icy hand had seized her heart directly. Someone knew the alterations of her body in such precise detail. Behind her odd eyes, terror quietly seethed. The surrounding believers slowly tightened their encirclement. Their eyes were feverish with the heat of worship. "[gentle]Let us simply… talk." Karsh extended his hand. The gesture was so elegant, like a knight inviting a lady to a ball. "[gentle]Who you are, and why you have returned here — shall we not unravel the will of Mother Abyss together?" Riko's feet would not move. (*I can't run.*) Karsh's words pierced her guilt with precision. *She* was the one throwing the city into chaos. And she alone could end it — that conviction stitched her feet to the floor. Riko clenched her fists and hung her head. "[whispers]…Fine. Just to talk." Karsh's smile deepened. --- The innermost chamber of the assembly hall. The room called the Ritual Chamber was circular. Every wall, every surface, was densely embedded with countless relic fragments. Luminescent stones, resonance stones, shards of levitation stones — all of them glowed dimly in the darkness, making the entire room resemble a vast mosaic. At its center stood a pedestal of black stone. The moment Riko stepped inside — *Viiiiin…* The relics in the walls began resonating all at once. A faint vibration traveled through the air, crawling across Riko's skin. The scale-like alterations from her left shoulder down her back began to glow with a hazy, bluish-white light, as if answering a call. "[excited]Behold!" Karsh's voice now trembled with exultation. "[excited]Here is the proof! The relics respond to the Abyss factor within you! You are the true Shrine Maiden, returned to convey the will of Mother Abyss to us!" Riko clutched her own shoulder. Beneath her fingers, the altered skin pulsed like something foreign. (*No. This isn't me.*) Nausea welled up inside her. This resonance was no blessing to her — not in the slightest. It was the punishment for losing Reg and ceasing to be human. Nothing more. "[scared]…Enough. I'm going home." Riko turned on her heel and tried to head for the exit. But — Three believers stood blocking the door. The deference from earlier had vanished from their expressions. In its place was a blankness, like machines obeying an absolute command. "[cold]Oh? And where do you think you're going?" Karsh's voice came from behind her. That voice no longer contained even a shred of benevolence. It was a dry, cold, businesslike sound. Riko turned around. For the first time, Karsh's gray eyes had shed their mask of smiling. "[cold]You no longer have any need to leave this manor." Each word stabbed into Riko like a knife. "[cold]You are a holy relic. The Volnica Holy Covenant shall safeguard you for eternity. Be grateful." — A sound. The bar falling into place. A dull, heavy sound. Riko rushed to the door and seized the handle. Cold iron against her palm. It did not budge. "[angry]Open it…!" She pounded the door with her fist. "[angry]I'm not a shrine maiden, and I'm not a relic! I'm just —" "[cold]Just?" Karsh sneered. "[cold]You are not even 'just' human. You are a monster, cursed by the Abyss, returned in a form that is no longer human. The people of this city fear you. Your childhood friends, too, will reject you before long." Riko's hand stopped. (*Nat, Shigu —*) "[cold]But here, it is different. We shall enshrine you as a living god and worship you. We shall give meaning to your existence. What greater happiness could there possibly be?" Karsh signaled the believers with his chin. "[cold]Begin preparations for the ritual. Escort the Shrine Maiden to the pedestal." Riko backed against the wall. The cold surface of the embedded relics pressed into her back. The resonance intensified. The alterations on her shoulder ached, and the scar on her right hand burned as if on fire. The more she tried to flee, the more her body disrupted the room's power field. This room itself was a cage, designed to imprison her. (*A trap. From the very beginning —*) --- How much time passed after that? Riko sat slumped on the floor, her back against the pedestal. The relics in the walls resonated ceaselessly, enveloping the entire room in a faint, persistent vibration. A low hum, like tinnitus, gnawed at her thoughts. "[whispers]…Reg." Before she knew it, the name had slipped from her lips. He wasn't here. Not anymore. There was no one left to save her. (*Nat, Shigu — I'm sorry. I really did make the wrong choice after all.*) At that moment, a noise came from beyond the door. *Thud* — the sound of someone collapsing. "Riko!!" It was Nat's voice. A violent banging — the bar being forced off from the outside. The angry shouts of believers. The sound of something breaking. And then — "[screaming]Riko-nee!!" The door burst open. Shigu stood there. Her emerald-green bob was disheveled, her amber eyes brimming with tears. Behind her, Nat came running, past the two collapsed believers. "[crying]Riko-nee!" The moment Shigu tried to rush into the room — "Don't come in!!" Riko screamed. Her entire body had begun to emit an eerie light. The relics in the walls started shrieking with high-frequency resonance. "[scared]The power field is going haywire because of me…! If you get close, you'll —" "Like that matters!!" Nat cut her off. Without a moment's hesitation, he stepped into the room. His deep crimson hair blazed brilliantly in the light of the relics. Behind them, Karsh was laughing. The believers positioned at the four corners of the room began chanting their prayers in unison. The resonance of the wall relics intensified further. "[serious]You are a holy relic. I will not let you escape." Nat ignored him. He knelt before Riko and took her hand. It was cold and trembling. "[serious]We're going home. The three of us." Riko's odd eyes flew wide open. Left eye violet, right eye gold — Nat's face reflected in those heteromorphic pupils. "[whispers]…No. Let go." Her old habit. Words of rejection. But they were words she herself no longer believed. Nat gripped her hand tighter. "[serious]I won't let go." In that instant — Karsh laughed. "[cold]Now. Unleash the ritual formula." The entire wall of the room erupted with a flash of light. The embedded relic fragments began resonating at maximum output all at once. Dizzying light and vibration swirled through the circular chamber. The phosphorescence emanating from Riko's body swelled explosively in response. The resonance between Riko's Abyss factor and the relic cluster — Karsh had intended this from the start. The Ritual Chamber itself was a device designed to amplify the Abyss power field and trigger its violent release. "Uwaaaaaaaaahhh!!" Nat's scream. The torrent of the power field struck his left arm directly. An unnatural light coiled around his arm, seeping beneath the skin. Hot. Burning. But it was more than that. Something was rewriting his cells from the inside out — an indescribable agony, as if his very foundation was being altered. "[screaming]Nat!!" Riko's shriek echoed through the room. Before her eyes, the skin of Nat's left arm was visibly turning white. Scale-like patterns spread from his elbow toward his wrist, writhing like living things. The same marks as the curse-scars that White Whistle delvers were said to bear from the deep layers. "[crying]No… nooooo!!" Nat fell to his knees. The blood drained from his face, his entire body trembling with violent pain. And yet — His right hand still held Riko's. "[whispers]…It's… okay." A voice forced out through clenched teeth. "[whispers]I'm… fine…" Something inside Riko's mind shattered. (*Because of me — because I touched him.*) (*Because of me, Nat's arm —*) (*If I didn't exist, he wouldn't have been hurt.*) "[screaming]Aaaaaaaahhhhhh!!" Riko tried desperately to tear her hand away from Nat's. Touching him felt like pouring the curse directly into him. She had to let go. If she didn't let go, he would die. But — Nat's hand gripped hers back, refusing to release. "[angry]I don't think I should've stayed away." Cradling his altered left arm, Nat looked straight at Riko. His deep green eyes, twisted with agony, absolutely refused to look away. "[angry]So you — don't you dare think this is your fault." Tears spilled from Riko's eyes. "[crying]Both of you, hurry!!" Shigu wove through the stunned believers and rushed over. She hoisted Nat's right arm over her shoulder and grabbed Riko's hand with her other. The three of them tumbled out of the Ritual Chamber and fled into the corridor. Karsh did not pursue. "[cold]…This will suffice." He murmured quietly. "[cold]The Shrine Maiden's power has harmed a believer. It is the wrath of the Abyss. Spread this truth throughout the city. Once they know fear, the people will surely gather beneath our banner." The believers bowed and dispersed. Karsh surveyed the Ritual Chamber, where the remnants o