Alter's expression softens, the sharpness in her gaze fading into sothing quieter, almost fragile. Slowly, hesitantly, she lifts her free hand and lays it over Eris's. Her fingers linger there for a breath too long before she begins to ease Eris's grip away from her wrist.
"Relax," she says, her voice quieter now. "Even though one or two of the sealing swords have been pulled out, my wife is still not fully awake. I just need to go in, put the sword back, and fix the barrier with my spells. That's all. It's simple. Nothing serious."
But…
If she thinks that kind of calm voice and tired smile can fool Eris, she's wrong.
Eris doesn't move at first. Her hand trembles slightly in Alter's.
Then she tightens her grip.
Not letting go.
She grabs Alter's wrist again with a sharp breath, and this ti, her voice is trembling.
"Tch. You think I'm going to believe that?"
Her tone is sharp, but beneath it, there's hurt.
And fear.
"If it's really that easy," she says, her voice breaking more with each word, "then why are you shaking? Why are you so afraid? Why can't you even look in the eyes and say it like you believe it?"
Alter opens her mouth, however, no sound cos out.
She tries again, but her throat closes around the words.
She looks up, eting Eris's gaze for just a second, long enough for their eyes to et.
Then she looks away.
She can't hold it.
Because the truth is bleeding through her silence.
Eris is right.
Alter bites her bottom lip, her jaw tightening with the weight of everything she doesn't want to say. Everything she doesn't want to admit.
Eris doesn't give her ti to hide.
She steps in close, placing both hands on Alter's shoulders, her fingers gripping with a desperation that trembles beneath the surface.
"Tell the truth," she whispers. "Alter… can you even promise ? Can you swear that you'll bring my Felicia back? That you'll protect her, no matter what happens in there? That you'll make sure she cos back to ?"
Her voice cracks at the end.
And in that mont, I feel it.
A deep, stabbing pain in our chest, like sothing tearing loose from the inside, so much that I want to scream, I want to rip this damn heart out with my own hands to stop the pain.
Eris… she must be hurting so much, breaking right in front of us.
Her voice shakes.
Her eyes are filled with tears she refuses to let fall.
Her hands are cold, clinging to the only hope she has left.
The weight in her voice, the fear in her fingers, the way she's barely holding herself together…
It hurts more than anything I've ever felt.
It hurts because it's real.
It hurts because it's love.
For a long mont, no one speaks.
Only the sound of breathing, ragged, uneven from all of us.
Then, finally, Alter breaks the silence.
Her voice is low hand honest, heavy with sorrow.
"That… I can't," she replies quietly. Her voice is so soft, so fragile, it almost disappears into the stillness. "The truth is… no one knows what's on the other side of the barrier. Not even ."
For a mont, the air feels like it stops moving.
Eris closes her eyes.
A shaky breath leaves her lungs, slow and heavy, like she's trying to swallow a storm that's rising inside her chest. Her shoulders rise, then fall, as if the weight of the truth has settled there, too heavy and cruel.
And then, her body begins to shake.
Her arms tremble as they cling to Alter, not out of anger now, but out of helplessness.
When she speaks again, her voice is fractured. Each word sounds like it's being torn from sowhere deep.
Tears begin to slip down her cheeks.
"If that's the case…" she chokes out, her words catching in her throat, "then tell … how am I supposed to let her go in there with you? How can I possibly agree to sothing so cruel… so unfair?"
Alter says nothing.
She doesn't move.
Doesn't argue.
She just stands there, silent, as if silence is the only answer she has left.
And so Eris continues.
"Maybe you don't want to lose your wife," she says, her voice thick with emotion, cracking under the weight of love and fear. "But what about ? What about Felicia? Do you even understand what this feels like? Even a little?"
She pauses, her hand rising to wipe her tears away—but they keep falling anyway.
"Yes, maybe the world ends tomorrow," she says, softer now. "But as long as we're still alive… shouldn't today matter too? Shouldn't today still be a happy day?"
Her voice falters.
And then… silence.
A silence that stretches, long and unbearable.
Alter doesn't speak. She doesn't lift her head. Her gaze remains fixed on the ground, as if the truth has rooted her there, unable to move.
And in that silence, I feel it.
The ache in Eris's voice, the tremble in her hands, the way her heart is breaking and holding on all at once.
Of course she doesn't want to lose .
And ?
Gods, I don't want to die either.
I want to live.
I want to laugh with her, cry with her, curl up beside her and sleep in peace. I want to see the sunrise with her—just once more.
Even if it's only for one day…
That would be more than enough.
…
Well…
Haha…
Who am I kidding?
I already know. Deep down, I've always known.
There's no way we'd ever be content with this.
Just giving in, surrendering our lives to fate, accepting this cursed situation for what it is and walking away.
That's not who we are.
After all, all of us—Alter, Eris, and —we're all stubborn to the core.
Ti and ti again, we've proven it. No matter how impossible the odds, no matter how dark the world becos… if even the smallest glimr of hope remains, we'll chase it. We'll cling to it with bloody hands and bruised hearts. We'll fight for it with everything we have.
So even if it costs my life… I still want to try.
To save Morvena.
And to save Alter, too.
Maybe Eris is thinking the sa thing. Or maybe she already knows how I truly feel.
"Silly Felicia," she says softly, shaking her head with a small smile.
Then, quietly—
"Let co with you," she says, her voice low, her grip loosening around my shoulder. "I'm not weak. I can be of help, right?"
Alter turns to her.
There's a softness in her eyes. A quiet warmth in her smile.
"Thank you," she says gently, eting Eris's gaze.
But after a pause… she lowers her head slightly.
"Unfortunately, like I told you," she whispers, "you can't co."
Her voice trembles, just a little.
"No one else can enter the barrier. Unless you carry the demonic curse like I do, or you have divine blood in your veins… anyone who touches it, even with a finger, will be burned alive."
Eris exhales sharply, shoulders sinking as she lets out a heavy sigh. Her hands tighten for a mont, then relax.
"Fine," she says, after a pause. "Then take this. You'll need proper equipnt, won't you?"
She slips a black ring from her finger. It's just a plain ring at first glance, an unmarked band with no gems, no engraving.
But as she places it into Alter's palm, sothing stirs.
The mont it touches our skin, I can feel it, there's an imnse power sealed inside.
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