Yet somehow…
Our meeting had already begun changing the future.
—xXx—
“Ah…”
My arm had gone completely numb.
I opened my eyes and found Alice sleeping on top of me.
She was holding me tightly, as if she were afraid that if she let go, I might somehow run away.
Little by little, I began remembering everything that had happened last night.
Everything Alice had done.
For a while, the two of us had completely lost ourselves in each other.
Sunlight fell directly across my face.
Alice had buried her face against my chest, safely shielded from the sunlight.
I looked down at her red hair and gently wrapped a strand around my finger, playing with it.
Just then, Alice slowly opened her eyes.
When she saw me, a small smile appeared on her face.
Looking at her like that, I couldn’t help but speak honestly.
“You look really beautiful.”
A faint blush spread across Alice’s face.
She immediately hid her face against my chest again.
I placed a hand on her head and gently stroked her hair.
“Get up.
We have work to do.”
“We have to go to that temple today.”
Alice nodded.
“Okay.”
She got out of bed and walked toward the bathroom.
I stood up and stretched my back.
Then I looked toward the bed.
There was blood on the sheets.
It had been Alice’s first time.
A faint smile appeared on my face.
I picked up the cloth from the table and tied it around my eyes.
After leaving Alice’s room, I ran into Noctis.
He looked at me and gave me a knowing smile.
“So… everything happened last night, huh?”
My face immediately turned red.
I said nothing.
After a moment, I spoke.
“I’m going to that place now.”
Noctis nodded.
“Okay.”
I made the necessary preparations and left the camp.
Outside, I found Alice waiting for me.
Unlike usual, there was no seriousness on her face today.
She looked much happier than she normally did.
Maybe it was because of last night.
I walked toward her.
“Shall we go?”
Alice nodded.
We passed through the kingdom’s borders, crossed the desert, and eventually entered the jungle.
Nameless and Alice slowly made their way through the dense forest.
Huge trees surrounded them from every direction.
Some were so old that their roots spread across the ground like enormous snakes.
Even sunlight could barely reach the forest floor.
The thick canopy above almost completely blocked out the sky.
There was something unnatural about the silence inside the jungle.
No birds were singing.
No animals could be heard.
Only the occasional sound of wind passing through dry leaves broke the silence.
Alice suddenly stopped.
“Nameless.”
“Hmm?”
“Are we going the right way?”
I didn’t stop walking.
“Yes.”
Alice frowned.
“How are you so sure?”
“I came here yesterday and searched the area carefully.”
Alice sighed.
“Then what exactly was written in that diary?”
I answered,
“There was only one sentence written beneath it.”
“Where sunlight cannot reach the ground, the Door of Death sleeps.”
Beneath that sentence was the location of the temple.
Nothing else was written.
Alice looked ahead again.
“How much farther?”
“According to my calculations, not much.”
Alice looked around uneasily.
“I don’t like this place.”
“Neither do I.”
“Then should we turn back?”
I stopped walking.
Then I turned toward her.
“You can go back right now if you want.”
Alice stared at me for a moment.
“And you?”
“I’ll continue.”
“Alone?”
“Yes.”
Alice spoke irritably.
“You know I won’t let you go alone.”
A faint smile appeared on my face.
“I know.”
We continued walking.
About ten minutes later—
The trees suddenly came to an end.
A huge open area appeared before us.
But there was no grass.
Not even a single small tree.
The entire ground was covered in black stone.
And in the middle of those black stones— stood a massive temple.
Alice stopped.
Her eyes slowly widened.
“We found it.”
I didn’t answer.
I simply stared at the temple.
This was it.
The same temple that had been drawn on the map inside the diary.
Two enormous stone statues stood on either side.
Between them was a massive black door.
Above the door was the same crescent-shaped symbol.
Alice spoke softly.
“The diary only gave us the location.”
“Yes.”
“But this…”
“I know.”
“Who built this?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why is it so deep inside the jungle?”
“I don’t know.”
“What is inside?”
I remained silent for a moment.
Then I answered,
“That is all I know.”
“That’s why we came here—to find out what it is.”
Alice looked toward the temple.
“Do you think the person who wrote the diary came here?”
“Probably.”
“Then why didn’t they write anything about it?”
I didn’t answer.
Because I had the same question.
Why would someone who knew the location of this temple leave behind no information about what was inside?
Were they afraid?
Or—
Alice slowly walked toward the temple door.
I followed her.
When we reached the door, Alice reached out her hand.
But I stopped her.
“Wait.”
Alice looked at me.
“What?”
“Let me try first.”
“Why?”
I stepped in front of the door.
“I don’t know what’s inside this place.”
“So?”
I placed my hand against the door.
Nothing happened.
I pushed.
The door didn’t move.
I applied more force.
Still nothing.
I stepped back.
Alice asked,
“It won’t open?”
“No.”
“Then what do we do?”
I remembered the words written in the diary.
Where sunlight cannot reach the ground, the Door of Death sleeps.
Then I noticed two small symbols carved into the lower part of the door.
One represented a man.
The other represented a woman.
I remained silent for a moment.
Alice asked,
“What are you looking at?”
“Come here.”
Alice stood beside me.
I pointed toward the two symbols.
“One man.”
“One woman.”
Alice didn’t understand.
“What does that mean?”
“Perhaps this door wasn’t made for one person.”
“For two people?”
I nodded.
“Maybe.”
Alice looked at me.
“Then?”
I stepped back.
“Let’s try together.”
Alice stood beside me.
We placed our hands against the door at the same time.
At first, nothing happened.
Then—
Thump!
A sound like a heartbeat came from inside the door.
Thump!
Another heartbeat followed.
Black light began to glow beneath our hands.
Then the entire jungle surrounding the temple began to tremble.
Clouds rapidly gathered across the sky.
And—
BOOM!
The massive stone door slowly began to open.
Alice stepped backward.
“It’s opening for us.”
I stared into the darkness beyond the doorway.
“Yes.”
“Are you afraid?”
I remained silent for a moment.
Then I answered,
“Yes.”
Alice looked surprised.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“You’re afraid?”
“Being afraid and backing down are two different things.”
A small smile appeared on Alice’s face.
“That’s true.”
The two of us stepped inside the temple.
The moment we entered, every sound from outside disappeared.
Even the sound of the wind in the jungle was gone.
There was only darkness inside.
The walls were made of black stone.
Strange symbols covered every surface.
There were images of humans.
Images of battles.
Images of death.
And in some places, a person was depicted kneeling before an unseen entity, their head lowered.
Alice spoke softly.
“None of this was in the diary.”
“Perhaps the writer deliberately left it out.”
“Why?”
“Maybe they didn’t know.”
“Or…”
Alice stopped.
We both fell silent.
Suddenly—
BOOM!
The door behind us slammed shut.
Alice immediately turned around.
“The door!”
I looked back.
The massive black stone door was completely closed.
Alice walked toward it and tried to open it.
Nothing happened.
“It won’t open.”
“We came inside.”
Alice looked at me.
“And now we can’t get out.”
“Yes.”
“You’re very calm.”
“Because there is no way back now.”
“That’s your reason for staying calm?”
“For me, yes.”
Suddenly, a sound came from deep within the darkness.
Knock.
We both stopped.
This time, the sound was closer.
Alice immediately prepared her power.
I became alert as well.
Then—
A person emerged from the darkness.
He wore black clothing.
Half of his face was covered.
There was no emotion in his eyes.
He stopped in front of us.
Then slowly lowered his head.
“Welcome.”
Alice asked,
“Who are you?”
The man raised his head.
“I am the Servant of this temple.”
I asked,
“Servant of whom?”
The man remained silent for several moments.
Then he answered,
“The one whose name I am forbidden to speak.”
Alice narrowed her eyes.
“The God of Death?”
The Servant looked directly at her.
He didn’t answer.
I noticed his silence.
“So this temple is connected to the God of Death.”
The Servant replied,
“You still know nothing about Him.”
“You don’t know either.”
The Servant’s voice became even lower.
“Knowing Him and being His Servant are not the same thing.”
He stepped forward.
Suddenly, two stone pillars rose from the center of the temple.
A black mask rested on the first.
A black box rested on the second.
The Servant spoke.
“Your trial begins now.”
Alice looked at the mask.
“What is that?”
“The Mark of Fate.”
“What is its ability?”
The Servant answered,
“Anyone who wears it will be forgotten by everyone.”
Alice’s eyes widened.
“Everyone?”
“Everyone.”
“But if the user wants to…”
“They can turn the effect off.”
I stared at the mask.
The Servant continued,
“And while wearing it, you will be able to see the Lines of Fate.”
Countless glowing lines appeared in the darkness.
“The connections between one person’s fate and another’s.”
“Who is connected to whom.”
“And where their fate is leading them.”
Then the Servant turned his attention toward the second box.
“The Abyss Box.”
The box opened slightly.
Black smoke escaped from inside.
“It requires a human sacrifice to activate.”
Alice’s expression hardened.
“A human sacrifice?”
“Yes.”
“And that sacrifice can be used to increase someone else’s power?”
“Yes.”
I asked,
“Then was this used to increase the Star Gate’s rank?”
The Servant nodded.
“Exactly.”
Then his eyes moved toward our wrists.
A black mark suddenly appeared on both Alice’s and my wrists.
Dead Mark.
Alice looked at her hand.
“When did this happen?”
I was surprised as well.
“I don’t know.”
The Servant spoke calmly.
“This is your true bond.”
“This mark will connect the two of you until the moment of death.”
“Even if you are on opposite sides of the world, you will still be able to communicate with each other.”
Alice suddenly looked at me.
Then she spoke inside her mind.
Nameless?
I stopped.
“I can hear you.”
A look of astonishment appeared in Alice’s eyes.
“So it really works.”
“Yes.”
The Servant spoke again.
“Now you understand.”
“Why you were brought here.”
I looked at him.
“No.”
The Servant fell silent.
I continued,
“We only came here to find out what is inside this temple.”
An unnatural smile appeared on the Servant’s face.
“Then keep searching.”
He slowly backed into the darkness.
“Because this temple will answer your questions.”
“But for every answer—”
A huge bell rang from deep within the temple.
DONG!
The Servant continued,
“There will be a price to pay.”
Fire suddenly ignited along the walls.
Then a sentence appeared in the darkness.
TRIAL ONE
I looked at Alice.
She tightened her grip around her weapon.
I asked,
“Ready?”
Alice nodded.
“As ready as I can be.”
We moved forward.
The Servant remained standing in the darkness behind us.
And even farther behind him— in a part of the temple where no light could reach— an unseen entity silently watched us.
It said nothing.
It gave no orders.
It simply waited.
Because Nameless and Alice’s arrival at this temple was not an accident.
This temple had been created because their fates had changed.
Long before we arrived— this trial had already been prepared for us.