Chapter 113: The God Who Refused to Disappear

For several minutes, nobody spoke. The ruins of the Fallen God’s territory stretched behind them, silent and lifeless.

Rin stood beside Kaelith, still thinking about their conversation. He had expected answers.

Instead, he had received something much harder to understand. Kaelith remembered too much. Rin remembered almost nothing and somehow, they were supposed to move forward together.

Rin finally turned toward the others.

"We need to go back."

Kaan blinked.

"Back where?"

"To the city."

Lucien looked at him.

"The city is mostly destroyed."

"I know."

Rin glanced toward the distant ruins.

"But the Fallen God is gone. His castle disappeared. His presence disappeared. And yet..."

His eyes moved toward Kaan and the other former Divine Knights.

"...the curse didn’t."

Everyone became silent. Kaan slowly looked down at his hands. His small hands. His expression darkened.

"That’s true."

Rin nodded.

"If the Fallen God was responsible for this curse, then removing him should have changed something."

Lucien crossed his arms.

"Unless the curse doesn’t come from him."

Rin looked at him.

"Exactly."

Kaelith immediately understood where Rin was going.

"You think someone else placed it."

"Or something else."

Sol appeared beside Rin, though only the movement of the air revealed him.

"That would explain why killing the Fallen God didn’t work."

Kaan looked toward the ruins.

"But then why did he say everything was because of Rin?"

Rin froze. That question had been bothering him too. The Fallen God had said it directly. Everything was because of Rin.

But why? Rin had never met him before this journey. At least, as far as he remembered.

"I don’t know," Rin admitted.

Kaelith’s gaze darkened.

"You don’t need to know."

Rin looked at him. Kaelith continued.

"We can investigate without putting you in danger."

Rin almost laughed.

"You know that’s impossible."

"No."

Kaelith’s answer was immediate.

"It isn’t."

Rin stared at him.

"You literally followed me into a ruined divine city."

"Yes."

"You fought a Fallen God."

"Yes."

"You almost destroyed the entire city because you were angry."

Kaelith’s expression remained completely serious.

"That was different."

Sol suddenly laughed.

"Different?"

Kaelith glanced toward the empty air.

"You’re not helping."

"I wasn’t trying to."

Rin sighed.

"Can we please focus?"

Lucien smiled.

"I agree."

Kaan stepped forward.

"There is something you should see."

Rin turned toward him.

"What?"

Kaan looked toward the ruins.

"When we were prisoners, there was one place even the Fallen God never entered."

Everyone became quiet.

"The underground laboratory?"

"No."

Kaan shook his head.

"Deeper."

Rin’s expression changed.

"How much deeper?"

Kaan looked at him.

"Below the prison."

Lucien frowned.

"Below the prison?"

"Yes."

Kaan’s voice became quieter.

"There was a sealed passage beneath the cells. None of us could open it."

"Why?"

"We didn’t have the key."

Rin stared at him.

"What key?"

Kaan slowly reached inside his clothes. Then he pulled out a small object. A fragment of metal.

It was dark, almost black, with a strange symbol engraved across its surface. Rin immediately felt something strange.

The moment he saw it, the System activated.

[Unknown object detected.]

[Unable to identify.]

Rin’s eyes narrowed.

"Where did you get that?"

Kaan looked at the fragment.

"One of the Divine Knights found it more than a hundred years ago."

"Then why didn’t you use it?"

"We tried."

Kaan gave a bitter smile.

"It never worked."

Rin reached toward it. Kaelith immediately caught his wrist.

"Don’t."

Rin looked at him.

"Why?"

"I don’t trust it."

Kaan frowned.

"It hasn’t harmed anyone."

"That doesn’t mean it is safe."

Rin looked between them. Then he gently pulled his wrist from Kaelith’s hand.

"We need answers."

Kaelith stared at him for several seconds. Finally, he let him go.

"Fine."

Rin took the fragment. The moment his fingers touched it—

Click.

Everyone froze. The symbol on the metal lit up. A faint line of light traveled across its surface.

Then another. Then another. The fragment began vibrating.

Kaan’s eyes widened.

"It never did that before."

Rin stared at it.

"Why is it reacting to me?"

Nobody answered. The ground suddenly trembled. A distant sound echoed beneath the ruins.

Something unlocking. Lucien immediately stepped forward.

"Everyone stay close."

The ground split. Not violently. Almost deliberately. A narrow staircase appeared beneath the broken stone.

It descended into darkness. Rin looked down.

"How far?"

Kaan shook his head.

"We never found out."

Sol’s voice came from behind them.

"I can check."

A gust of wind disappeared down the stairs. Several seconds passed. Then Sol returned. His tone had changed.

"There is a room at the bottom."

"And?"

A pause.

"There are twelve doors."

Rin frowned.

"Twelve?"

"Yes."

Kaan looked at the other former Divine Knights. There were twelve of them. His face slowly lost its color.

"No..."

Rin noticed.

"What?"

Kaan stared at the staircase.

"There were thirteen of us."

Lucien’s expression became serious.

"And one of them disappeared."

Kaan nodded.

"We thought he had died."

Rin’s heart tightened.

"Who?"

Kaan didn’t answer immediately.

"He was the first one to disappear."

Lucien stepped closer.

"What was his name?"

Kaan shook his head.

"I don’t remember."

Rin stared at him.

"You don’t remember?"

"No."

His voice trembled.

"We remember everything else."

The other former Divine Knights exchanged uneasy looks.

"But not him."

Rin felt a chill run through him. That wasn’t normal. Not even in this world. If they had lost their memories because of the curse, they should have lost everything.

But they remembered their battles. Their lives. Their names. Their friendships.

Everything. Except one person. Kaelith noticed Rin’s expression.

"Don’t go down."

Rin looked at him.

"We have to."

"No."

"There are answers down there."

"And there could be another trap."

Rin stepped closer.

"Then come with me."

Kaelith stared at him.

Rin smiled faintly.

"You said you wanted to protect me."

"I do."

"Then protect me while I investigate."

Kaelith’s expression softened despite himself.

Sol sighed.

"I hate that argument."

Lucien laughed.

"It seems to work."

Kaelith finally stepped forward.

"Stay beside me."

Rin nodded.

"I will."

They descended. The deeper they went, the colder the air became. The walls were covered in old symbols.

Some had been scratched away. Others were completely black. Rin stopped beside one.

"Do you recognize this?"

Lucien shook his head.

"No."

Kaan stared at it for several seconds.

"I’ve seen that symbol before."

"Where?"

"In the laboratory."

Rin looked at him.

"On the machines?"

"No."

Kaan swallowed.

"On the bodies."

Silence.

Rin slowly looked away. They continued downward. At the bottom, they found the twelve doors.

Each one had a name carved into it. Kaan approached the first. His face went pale.

"That’s mine."

Rin looked at the others. Every door had one of their names. Twelve doors. Twelve prisoners.

But there was one empty space at the end. No name. No symbol. Nothing.

Rin stepped toward it. Kaelith immediately caught his shoulder.

"Don’t."

Rin looked at the blank door.

"There’s supposed to be another one."

Lucien’s face darkened.

"The missing Divine Knight."

Kaan whispered:

"He wasn’t forgotten."

Rin turned.

"What?"

Kaan stared at the empty door.

"He was erased."

The room became completely silent.

Then—

Knock.

Everyone froze. A sound came from behind the blank door. One knock.

Then another. Rin’s heart began beating faster. Someone was inside.

Kaan took a step backward.

"No."

Lucien immediately stood in front of him.

"Stay behind me."

Another knock.

This time, a voice followed. Weak. Faint. Almost impossible to hear.

"...Kaan?"

Kaan’s eyes widened. He knew that voice. Rin looked at him.

"You know him."

Kaan’s lips trembled.

"I thought he was dead."

Kaelith’s magic slowly gathered around his hands. Rin stepped toward the door.

"Wait."

Kaelith looked at him. Rin stared at the blank door. There was something wrong.

Not dangerous. Something worse. Something familiar. He placed his hand against the door.

And somewhere on the other side—

a heartbeat answered his.

[Unknown connection detected.]

Rin’s eyes widened. The System displayed one final message.

[Warning: This individual should not exist.]

The door slowly began to open. And from the darkness beyond it, someone whispered—

"Rin..."

The entire group froze. Because the voice wasn’t speaking to Kaan.

It was speaking to him.