Live on, Luciel

The echo of their footsteps faded into the endless stone pathway, a rhythm oddly comforting for some reason, despite everything they had experienced.

“Only two more layers, Luciel…” Lilith murmured, letting out a grin, as she held up the conjured sphere of light from her palm.

“And we’ll meet Fenn soon, hope he’s fine…”

“Don’t doubt him! Of course he’s still fine—Well probably battered…”

Still smiling at the thought of a roughed-up Fenn—they walked side by side—shoulder by shoulder, clearing every room with precision, focus, and practiced coordination.

“You owe me another date after this…” Lilith muttered.

“I’ll take you to any place you want, that’s a promise…”

“Then… can we go back to our village once this ends?” she leaned closer to him, looking at him with curiosity painted on her pink-stained cheeks.

“Well that’s what I planned anyway…” he muttered, keeping his gaze forward. determined to find a way out—a way to clear the dungeon.

Lilith pouted, since his gaze is not meeting hers. On impulse, he grabbed his face with her two feeble hands, forcing him to meet her emerald gaze.

“When will you look at me…”

“I’m looking at you right now,” returning the gesture by cupping her cheek.

“Ok.. let’s just m-move forward, I-I guess…” she replied, her cheeks deepened in color.

They continued to walk forward, clearing every room once more, until they finally reached the final layer—Layer Twenty.

As they walked, neither spoke. The silence between them wasn’t awkward—it was heavy, full of unspoken thoughts.

But as they walked deeper inside the cobbled hallways—a stillness hung in the air—too quiet, too clean.

“It doesn’t… feel right,” Luciel muttered, scanning the narrow corridor.

“Stay sharp. Whatever’s waiting, it knows we’re coming.”

Slowly, they approached the narrow corridor—until a carved metal door, looming with dark aura.

Luciel gulped, looking at Lilith with a worried face. But she comforted him, placing her hand on his cheek, before whispering to him softly.

“Everything will be ok Luciel… As long as we’re together.”

Luciel smiled, as he nodded in response, “As long as we’re together…” he murmured, his fingers closing gently over hers on his cheek.

After comforting each other, they pushed the door together, pushing it with all their might.

It grinded along the cobbled floor, leaving an unpleasant sound when pushed. Still, they pummeled through revealing a pitch-black area, leaving it completely ominous.

As they stepped in the room, one by one, torches flared—boom, boom, boom—trailing a fiery path around the stone chamber.

Each burst of fire echoed through the stone chamber, casting long, wavering shadows against the walls. The flames traced a circular path around them, forming the outline of what resembled a coliseum long abandoned.

There it revealed, at the center of the coliseum, is a stone throne, cracked due to age, and covered with creeping moss. With no one seated on it, Luciel decided to investigate it, until…

“Luciel, Look out!” Lilith’s voice cracked like a whip through the silence.

She moved in an instant, faster than thought—grabbing Luciel by the shoulder and shoving him aside with all her strength.

A massive stone fist slammed into the ground where Luciel had just stood, shattering the cobbled floor and sending shards flying.

From the dusts and shadows, what emerged was a large, hulking figure. An armored stone statue, chiseled from black stone and bound by glowing runes that pulsed with a golden glow.

Its eyes flickered open like dying coals reignited.

Luciel rolled to his feet beside Lilith, stunned but unhurt. “That… thing was hiding?”

“No,” she whispered, “It was watching—all this time…”

Then, the air grew heavy.

Just then, the figure began to shift. Luciel noticing the stance the statue seemed to have taken, he immediately signalled to Lilith to move.

“Lilith, Run! It will dash forward!”

Without doubting him, she ran away from him, letting Luciel tank the attack. He then drew out his sword, igniting it with his surplus of mana.

And just like he predicted, the statue dashed forward, unsheathing its black-stained stone sword. Luciel then pushed his sword with all his might, and countered with a move of his own.

He shouted, his sword flared crimson, “Blood Veil: Moon Arc!”

His sword seemed to curve, sending shockwaves in the coliseum.

Crack…

Just then, the arm of the statue started to crumble. The statue then glanced at its crumbling hand, before being attacked by a volley of fireballs from Lilith, and another attack from Luciel.

Their teamwork was fluid, and clean—flawless even. It was already comparable to that of a seasoned duo of dungeon explorers with years of experience.

But then—something unexpected happened.

Even though the statue crumbled even more, slowly revealing its magic core—it exploded into shreds, sending debris in all directions, fogging up the entire place.

“How rowdy…”

A voice broke through the swirling dust—calm, almost amused.

As the debris began to settle, a shadowy figure emerged from the fog. He looked no older than twelve, with stark white hair falling over his pale white skin, with glinting red eyes that shimmered like garnet over torch light.

Clad in an ornate, old-fashioned cloak that seemed like it was something from centuries ago, fluttering despite the absence of wind. He stepped over shattered stone and cracked earth, as if treading on withered petals.

“You two fought quite well… I must say…” he said in a cold, amused tone, cracking his neck while muttering those words.

He then tilted his head playfully, “Want to pla—”

Luciel interrupted, instinctively stepping in front of Lilith, “Who are you?”

“Tch. Manners, kid? I’ve had those for two centuries now.” He scoffed, flipping a chunk of rubble with his foot. “Name’s Farsen. Some call me the Reaper of the East—but that’s a mouthful. Just Farsen’ll do.”

His red eyes narrowed, still glinting with a childlike glow. “I was hoping someone might reach the end eventually. Just to make sure I haven’t gone rusty.”

The arena began to shift. Runes embedded in the stone pulsed, and a magic circle spread outward beneath their feet.

“So,” he smiled, snapping his fingers. “Shall we dance?”

In an instant, Farsen dashed forward, cracking the air with a thunderclap as he broke the sound barrier.

Surprisingly enough, Luciel managed to counter the blow with his own sword, and the collision unleashed a massive shockwave, followed by a sonic boom that shattered the ground beneath them.

“Impressive, kid,” Farsen said with a grin. “But let’s see if you can read this.”

The onslaught continued, with Luciel and Farsen exchanging blows that echoed in the coliseum. But of course, it wasn’t just Luciel fighting Farsen—Lilith also supported him with buffing spells, making him fight as fast as Farsen.

But in an instant, he vanished, leaving Luciel and Lilith scanning the battlefield, unsure where he’d repositioned.

“I thought he was going to rush again…” Luciel muttered between ragged breaths.

“Don’t drop your guard,” Lilith said, glancing at him. “Not even for a second.”

Then without warning, he dashed in like a lightning strike, reappearing behind them—grinning, sword already inches from Lilith’s throat.

“She seems precious to you… Too bad I’m going to kill her.”

As Luciel was about to save Lilith, he felt someone tug him from behind causing him to be pulled away from her.

But when Farsen stabbed her throat, a blinding explosion erupted, shaking the ground and swallowing everything in white-hot fog. The force knocked Farsen off balance, and his senses dulled beneath the weight of smoke and heat.

Luciel blinked, coughing as he turned toward the one who had pulled him out of harm’s way.

Standing beside him—battered, scraped, and smudged with soot, was none other than Lilith. Her face was messy at best, with ash and blood smothered all over her face, but still—her charm remained.

“What a move,” he commented, stunned as he looked at her.

Lilith gave a tired smirk. “I’m not just a mage for decoration, you know. I’ve got a brain too.”

But before they could catch a break, the white fog dissipated instantly, revealing a charred figure, hunched and smoking. Its body twitched once. It seemed like any moment, the body would collapse.

Then, a raspy voice escaped the disaster that befell.

“Splendid indeed…” he sighed, “But I’m taking one before I fall…”

From his charred arm, spikes erupted—twisting and growing at an unnatural speed, locking onto Luciel.

SHNK—

But as Luciel braced for impact, closing his eyes and accepting his fate—the pain of being stabbed never came.

Slowly, Luciel opened his eyes—and in front of him was a gaping hole, carved clean through the chest of the crumbling Farsen.

Relief began to wash over him. But then he looked around.

No Lilith. Nowhere.

Thud—

Something collapsed beside him. Luciel’s breath hitched. He turned—and froze.

It was Lilith.

Her body lay twisted on the ground, blood pooling beneath her. A gaping wound tore through her abdomen—the same hole he thought belonged to Farsen alone. It hadn’t been a clean strike. It hadn’t just pierced the enemy.

It had gone through her. She had stepped in front of him.

“No—no no no—” Luciel dropped beside her, trembling hands already glowing with faint magic as he tried to heal her. “Lilith, stay with me—! You’ll be okay, I promise—”

But her hand, small and shaking, reached up and stopped him.

“W-What are you doing!?” Luciel’s voice cracked. “Why are you stopping me!?”

Lilith forced a faint smile, blood slipping down her lips. “T-That’s enough… Luciel. At least I know you’re safe…”

Tears welled in his eyes. “Don’t you want to eat my mom’s porkchops? What about our date? What about us…?”

She laughed weakly, a breathless, broken sound. “Luciel… Even back then… I liked you. No—I loved you… loved you so much, I’d sacrifice anything.”

“If you love me—then why!?” His voice shook. “Why throw your life away like this!?”

“That’s why…” she whispered. “Because I love you… so much that I couldn’t let anyone else take you away…”

Luciel trembled as she raised a weak, cold hand to his cheek, pulling his face close.

And then, she kissed him. Soft. Trembling. Final.

“I can’t let anyone else have your first…”

Luciel’s tears fell freely. “T-That’s… unfair…”

She smiled gently and wiped them away with her thumb. “Just live on for me… okay?”

“D-Don’t say that kind of stuff—! You’ll be fine! I’ll save you! I—I can still—”

But her hand slipped from his face. Her eyes drifted shut. And her smile stayed frozen, peaceful and still.

“…Lilith?” he whispered.

No answer.

“Y-You’re joking… right?” His voice cracked, childlike and desperate. “This is just one of your pranks… right…?”

Only silence.

And the stillness of a girl who gave everything for him.

He wailed, holding the lifeless body of the girl he once loved.

“I’m weak… I’m so goddamn weak…” he choked out, sobbing. “If I wasn’t such a coward… if I hadn’t hesitated…” He slammed a fist into his own face, again and again. “This is all my fault…”

Time passed, but he didn’t know how much. Minutes. Hours. Days. It didn’t matter. But eventually, he rose. Still shaking, and broken.

He stepped out of the dungeon, revealing a dense forest unlike he had seen. He looked around, finding if someone was there.

There was no one. Just the wind, and the crushing weight in his chest.

With hands still stained in blood, he drew his sword, and slowly raised it to his neck.

But just as the blade kissed his skin, a force stopped him from doing it. Gentle, but firm.

He spun around to face the direction where the force came from—and stopped breathing for a moment. There, standing beneath the broken light of the forest canopy, was a girl.

Blonde hair. Soft features. A face shaped almost exactly like hers. He squinted, trying to see her eyes—but the shadows obscured them.

Fatigue clouded his vision. His heart still ached from trauma. Maybe it was a dream. Maybe he’d finally gone mad.

But all he could whisper was…

“Lilith?"