Chapter 114: The Thirteenth Door

The voice disappeared. For several seconds, nobody moved. Rin’s hand remained against the door, his fingers trembling slightly.

He could still feel the faint vibration beneath his palm. Someone was on the other side. Someone who knew his name.

Kaan stared at the door as if he were looking at a ghost.

"No..."

Lucien turned toward him.

"Kaan?"

Kaan took another step backward.

"No. That voice..."

"What about it?"

"I know it."

Rin looked at him.

"Who is it?"

Kaan shook his head.

"I don’t know."

"You just said you knew the voice."

"I know the voice."

His eyes remained fixed on the door.

"But I don’t remember the person."

Rin’s expression tightened. That made no sense. How could someone remember a voice but not the person attached to it?

The System suddenly appeared again.

[Warning: Memory inconsistency detected.]

Rin stared at the message. Then another line appeared.

[The memory exists.]

[The identity does not.]

Rin’s blood ran cold.

"What does that mean?"

No answer.

"System?"

Nothing.

Kaelith stepped closer.

"Rin."

Rin looked at him.

"Don’t open it."

Rin hesitated.

"Why?"

"Because something is wrong."

"With the door?"

"With everything."

Kaelith looked toward the twelve doors.

"They were created specifically for those twelve."

His gaze moved to the thirteenth.

"But that one doesn’t have a name."

Lucien nodded slowly.

"Which means it wasn’t meant to hold one of us."

Kaan’s voice trembled.

"Then who?"

A soft laugh came from behind the door. Everyone froze.

It wasn’t an evil laugh. It sounded almost amused. Then the voice spoke again.

"You’re asking the wrong question."

Rin’s eyes narrowed.

"Then tell us the right one."

Silence.

Then—

"Ask yourselves why you were allowed to remember."

Kaan’s face went pale.

Lucien immediately stepped forward.

"Who are you?"

The voice didn’t answer. Instead, the door opened another few inches. A cold breeze escaped from the room.

Rin instinctively stepped forward. Kaelith grabbed his arm.

"Stay behind me."

Rin didn’t argue this time. Kaelith moved first. Black magic gathered around his hand, illuminating the darkness beyond the doorway.

Nothing. The room appeared empty. A single chair stood in the center.

On the chair was a small pile of old clothes. Beside it sat a metal table covered with documents.

Lucien entered carefully. Kaan followed. Rin stayed beside Kaelith. Sol’s wind moved through the room, searching every corner.

"There’s nobody here," Sol said.

Rin frowned.

"Then who was speaking?"

"I don’t know."

Kaan slowly approached the table. He stopped. One of the papers had his name written on it. His face changed.

"What is that?"

Rin came closer. The paper contained several lines of writing. Most of them had faded. But one sentence remained clear.

SUBJECT 12 — MEMORY PRESERVATION FAILED.

Kaan’s breathing became unsteady.

"That’s me."

Lucien took another paper.

"Subject 11."

Then another.

"Subject 10."

They looked at one another. The entire room was filled with records. One for every Divine Knight. Rin looked toward the empty wall.

"There should be another."

Kaan nodded.

"The thirteenth."

They searched. Nothing. No file. No record. No name. Not even an empty page.

Rin’s eyes narrowed.

"That’s strange."

Lucien looked at him.

"What?"

"If someone was erased from the records, there should still be evidence that something was removed."

Kaan stared at him.

"What do you mean?"

"An empty space."

Rin pointed toward the table.

"There are twelve files. Twelve names. Everything is organized."

He turned toward the blank wall.

"But nothing is missing."

Lucien’s expression changed.

"You mean..."

"It’s as if the thirteenth person never existed."

Kaan whispered:

"But I remember him."

Rin looked at him.

"Then prove it."

Kaan froze.

"What?"

"Tell me one thing about him."

Kaan opened his mouth. Nothing came out.

He frowned.

"He..."

Silence.

"He had..."

His brow furrowed.

"I..."

Kaan’s breathing became faster.

"I can’t."

Lucien grabbed his shoulder.

"Kaan."

"I can’t remember."

He looked terrified.

"I know I knew him."

"But?"

"I don’t know his face."

Kaan’s voice broke.

"I don’t know his name. I don’t know when he joined us. I don’t know what he did."

He looked toward Rin.

"But I know I miss him."

Nobody spoke.

Rin felt a strange heaviness settle in his chest. That feeling. He knew it.

The feeling of missing someone whose existence he couldn’t prove. He had felt it before.

More than once. Kaelith noticed his expression.

"Rin."

Rin looked at him.

"I’m fine."

Kaelith clearly didn’t believe him.

But before he could say anything, Sol suddenly spoke.

"Wait."

Everyone turned.

The invisible god had stopped moving.

"What?"

"I found something."

A small gust of wind moved toward the back wall. Dust scattered. A symbol appeared.

It was hidden beneath layers of stone. Rin immediately recognized it. It was the same symbol from the metal fragment Kaan had found.

Rin stepped closer.

"What does it mean?"

Kaan stared at it.

"I don’t know."

Lucien shook his head.

"Neither do I."

Kaelith looked at the symbol. Then his expression changed. Rin noticed immediately.

"You know it."

Kaelith said nothing.

"Kaelith."

He continued staring.

"I’ve seen it before."

"Where?"

Kaelith’s eyes darkened.

"Long ago."

Rin waited.

"Before the Demon Realm."

That answer made everyone silent. Lucien stepped closer.

"What does it represent?"

Kaelith shook his head.

"I don’t know."

Rin stared at him.

"You’re sure?"

"Yes."

"But you’ve seen it."

"Yes."

"Where?"

Kaelith hesitated.

Then he answered.

"In Heaven."

Rin’s eyes widened.

Kaan looked confused.

"What would a symbol from Heaven be doing here?"

Kaelith looked toward the records.

"I don’t know."

Sol’s voice became serious.

"That means the Fallen God wasn’t working alone."

Rin nodded slowly.

"Maybe."

"No," Kaelith said.

Everyone looked at him. Kaelith stared at the symbol.

"If this symbol existed before the Fallen God..."

He paused.

"Then he didn’t create the curse."

Rin finished the thought.

"He inherited it."

Silence.

That changed everything. The Fallen God might not have been the origin. He might have simply continued something that already existed.

Rin looked at the twelve doors. Then at the blank thirteenth.

"Then the real question isn’t why the Fallen God cursed them."

Lucien nodded.

"It is who gave him the curse."

A sudden sound came from behind them.

Click.

Everyone turned. The thirteenth door had closed.

Kaan rushed toward it.

"Wait!"

He grabbed the handle. It wouldn’t move.

"Kaan," Lucien warned.

"I can’t open it!"

Kaelith immediately stepped forward. Black magic gathered around his hand.

"Move."

He released the magic. The entire door shook. But it didn’t break.

Kaelith’s eyes narrowed.

"That shouldn’t be possible."

Rin looked at the door.

A new symbol had appeared across its surface. Not the old one. A different one. A single letter.

R.

Rin froze. His heart began pounding. Kaelith noticed.

"Rin?"

Rin stepped closer. The symbol began glowing. The voice returned. This time, much quieter.

"Not yet."

Rin’s breath caught.

"Who are you?"

A pause.

Then:

"The one who remembers what you were before you became Rin."

Rin’s entire body went cold. Kaelith immediately moved between him and the door.

"Don’t speak to him."

The voice laughed softly.

"You still don’t understand."

Kaelith’s expression hardened.

"What?"

"You’ve spent countless lives searching for him."

A pause.

"And you still haven’t realized..."

The symbol on the door burned brighter.

"...that Rin was never his first name."

Kaelith went completely still. Rin stared at the glowing letter. The room seemed to disappear around him.

Then the voice whispered:

"When you find the thirteenth name..."

The door began shaking.

"...you will finally remember who you both were."

Bang.

The door slammed open.

And this time—

someone was standing on the other side.