The hall remained silent.
But it was not an empty silence.
It was compressed—like the place itself was listening to their breathing, measuring their steps, waiting for something to break first. The sword remained fixed inside the crystal, unmoving at first glance, too beautiful to seem real, too dangerous to be just another ancient artifact. The golden glow between the sheath and the blade had already faded, but the sensation it left behind lingered in the air, thin and unsettling, like an ember buried beneath ash that had yet to cool.
No one moved closer.
Not Alexius.
Not Kidero.
Not Arthur.
But none of them looked away.
It was impossible not to.
The small figure resting between the blade and the sheath seemed too delicate to belong to that sword—and at the same time, far too ancient to be separated from it. Her tiny body remained curled in sleep. The faint, luminous contours still carried something pure, something primordial—something that felt as though it had existed before decay, before corruption, before fear itself.
Then she moved.
Just a tremor.
Small.
So subtle that, for a moment, Arthur thought he had imagined it.
But Mia saw it too.
Shirō saw it.
Ayame narrowed her eyes at the same instant.
Even Alexius shifted slightly.
The small figure trembled again.
This time, clearly.
Her shoulder contracted.
Her head lifted slightly, like someone waking from a sleep too deep to remember their own name.
And then her eyes opened.
The hall reacted immediately.
Not like an explosion.
Like an infection.
A dark energy began to seep around her—thin strands at first, barely visible, like black smoke slipping between the blade and the sheath. Then it thickened. Spread. Gained density. It clung to her small form as if the air itself around her was rotting. The gold of the sword remained, but now it seemed surrounded by something diseased—a darkness crawling along its edges, trying to devour the light without ever fully extinguishing it.
Arthur felt a chill run down his spine.
The primordial figure curled inward.
Her mouth opened.
No one heard anything.
But they all understood instantly—she was screaming.
Her face twisted into something that no longer matched the peaceful sleep from before. This was not a gentle awakening. Not a return to awareness.
This was pain.
Real.
Living.
The dark energy pulsed through her in violent surges, wrapping around her fragile form as if consuming her from within—and still, no sound came from the crystal. They saw the wide eyes. The open mouth. The body arching. But the hall remained silent.
Mia covered her mouth.
— She's—
— Don't touch it — Alexius cut in immediately, his voice sharper than before.
The cracks began right after.
First one.
Thin.
Vertical.
Climbing along the surface of the crystal.
Then another.
And another.
Fractures spread rapidly across the structure, crossing one another like veins, as if something inside was trying to tear its way out. The small entity continued screaming in silence, engulfed by that dark energy spiraling around her, while the sword itself trembled faintly behind her, as though it too felt the disturbance.
— Step back — Alexius ordered.
Everyone obeyed.
Even Kidero.
Arthur took two steps back without looking away.
The final crack split through the center.
And then it shattered.
The sound came all at once.
Not just breaking.
A scream.
A piercing, overwhelming scream that seemed to cut through stone, metal, bone, and mind at the same time. Mia staggered. Ichika clutched her ears instantly. Kazuko doubled over. Kidero cursed. The sound struck the pillars and returned in distorted echoes, as if the hall itself screamed along with it.
The small figure was thrown outward along with the fragments.
The sword fell with her.
But before anyone could react—
The hall responded.
The ground trembled.
The crystal structures around them vibrated.
A deep, resonant sound spread through the entire space, coming from hidden mechanisms beneath the floor—and then, in a brutal sequence, the structures began to descend.
One after another.
One after another.
The transparent containers sank into the ground as if the hall itself was reclaiming its secrets. Masks vanished. Orbs disappeared. Blades sank. Chains, scepters, books, crowns—everything was swallowed by the floor as hidden panels opened and sealed again without leaving a trace.
— The hall is retracting everything! — Shirō shouted.
— Defensive system! — Alexius responded, turning sharply.
The structure that held the sword began to sink as well.
But the explosion had changed its course.
The entity had already been thrown free.
The sword slipped sideways, struck the edge of the mechanism, and was forced out before it could be fully taken. The empty container vanished into the ground, sealing itself with a sharp, final sound.
Then the light faltered.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
And the shadows came.
Not just from the edges.
From between the pillars.
From the floor markings.
From the empty spaces left behind.
They poured in like something that had been waiting beneath the surface, now released. There were more of them. Faster. Denser. Some were still shapeless, unstable masses—but others began to take form.
Distorted silhouettes.
Echoes.
Remnants.
Mia saw it first.
— Arthur…
He had already seen.
A tall shadow surged forward with four elongated arms and a warped silhouette of a Khaelyr twisted into darkness. Another crawled along the ground, hunched, something like fangs flashing for an instant before fading. Some were thin. Some massive. Some impossibly fast. They were not complete beings.
They were shadows wearing memories.
— Formation! — Alexius commanded.
Flames burst from his hand in a violent flash, flooding the space with light strong enough to force several shadows back. Kidero followed instantly, his blade igniting more aggressively, while Ayame's lightning cut through the air in sharp arcs. The hall became a clash of light and darkness.
Arthur moved the moment a shadow lunged for Mia. His blade cut through it, and a faint blue energy tore open its form before it began to reconstitute again. Not enough to destroy—but enough to repel.
Kazuko fought.
Barely.
But he fought.
And the shadows near him hesitated.
Not out of fear.
Recognition.
They approached.
Paused.
Then withdrew.
Mia noticed.
Arthur noticed.
No one spoke.
— Don't let them surround us! — Ayame shouted.
— Like that's easy! — Kidero snapped.
The hall had become hostile.
Alive.
And then—
The door.
A wide opening revealed along the side, previously hidden by the shifting structure. It now stood open, as if triggered by the system itself. And from beyond it came an even heavier pressure than before.
Not just darkness.
Weight.
Something older.
Denser.
Watching.
Alexius saw it first.
— That way! Now!
They didn't hesitate.
They broke through.
Fighting to advance, not to win.
Arthur cut through another form. Mia blasted wind to clear space. Ayame struck with lightning. Sanzu shielded Ichika. Kazuko nearly fell, but Kidero grabbed him and dragged him forward.
They crossed the threshold.
Everything changed.
The space beyond was tighter.
Heavier.
Oppressive.
The walls were darker, marked with deep grooves—signs of containment.
And then they saw it.
At the center of the chamber—
Bound in black chains—
The creature.
Its lower body was that of a massive spider, wide and powerful, covered in a dark exoskeleton that reflected faint violet tones. Eight legs extended outward, each restrained by thick chains that pulsed with a sick, dark energy. From the waist up—
A woman.
Or something close.
Pale.
Too pale.
Her long white hair fell over her shoulders, down her chest, blending into the unnatural union between human form and monstrous body.
Her hands were bound.
Her legs restrained.
Her entire existence locked in place.
Arthur stopped.
Mia stopped.
The feeling came first.
She resembles someone.
But no one said it.
Not yet.
The Zaraqnil was not awake.
Her head hung slightly forward.
Her eyes remained closed.
But her presence—
Oppressive.
Dangerous.
Alive.
Even in stillness.
The air around her was heavier.
Even the shadows kept their distance.
— What… is that…? — Ichika whispered.
Alexius didn't answer.
Maybe he couldn't.
Maybe he knew too much.
The chains began to tremble.
One.
Then another.
A sharp metallic vibration echoed through the chamber.
The black links pulsed.
Cracks of dark energy spread between them, like something from within was pushing back.
Her hair shifted slightly.
There was no wind.
Mia held her breath.
Arthur felt his right eye burn.
And there—
Before the sleeping creature—
Before that impossible prison—
They all understood the same thing.
The real danger had not begun yet.
The chains pulsed again.
Stronger.
More unstable.
As if they were about to break.