Youri stood at the edge of Gaisen's shattered domain, the violent winds of Tartarus sweeping across the jagged cliffs beneath his feet. The crimson sky stretched endlessly above them, cold and oppressive, casting its blood-red glow over the broken mountains and floating stone pillars scattered across the horizon. Behind them, Altopereh stood motionless like a forgotten god, dark energy slowly slithering across the damaged parts of its armor as the machine regenerated in silence.
Not far away, Gaisen rested in his weakened state, curled into a massive sphere of scales and wings atop the ruined rocks after the brutal battle against Tikadello and Albatros. The mighty ruler of the domain no longer resembled the unstoppable force Youri had first encountered. Even monsters capable of shaking worlds could fall.
And somehow, that thought lingered in Youri's mind.
Everything in Tartarus eventually broke.
Even gods.
Youri slowly turned toward Lea. The wind brushed against her dark cloak, making the tattered fabric dance softly around her frame. Her wooden mask hid most of her expression, but the faint silver strands of hair escaping beneath the hood shimmered under the crimson light.
For a long moment, he stayed silent.
Then he finally spoke.
"Lea…"
His voice was lower than usual.
More serious.
"I need to get to Atlantis."
Lea did not move.
Youri clenched his fist slightly before continuing.
"And no matter what stands in my way… I'm going to try."
The air between them grew heavy.
"I'm not asking you to risk your life for me," he added. "And I'm not asking you to come with me either. But I need to get there."
Lea slowly lowered her head.
The winds howled louder across the cliffs.
For several seconds, she said nothing at all.
Then finally, she spoke.
"I'm going to tell you something about myself."
Youri narrowed his eyes slightly.
Lea slowly turned toward the crimson sky above them.
"I once walked among the Sacros."
The words struck harder than any attack Youri had taken since arriving in Tartarus.
His eyes widened instantly.
"You what?"
"I was one of them."
Youri instinctively stepped back.
The image of the visions Altopereh had shown him immediately flooded his mind once again. Entire worlds consumed by fire. Cities annihilated beneath the feet of GOD Orbitons. Countless screams swallowed by golden light as the Sacros declared themselves saviors while destroying civilizations in the name of order.
And now Lea stood before him claiming she had once been part of them.
Youri's voice hardened immediately.
"You were Sacros?"
Lea did not answer him directly.
Instead, she kept staring upward at the endless crimson sky of Tartarus as though reliving memories she wished had stayed buried forever.
"I joined them long ago," she said quietly. "Back when I still believed they were something greater."
Her voice carried bitterness now.
"I was searching for someone… someone I once made a promise to."
The wind swept harder through the cliffs.
Youri remained silent.
Lea continued.
"I thought the Sacros could help me find him. They traveled between worlds. They possessed knowledge beyond anything I had ever seen. I believed that if anyone could help me… it would be them."
Her hands slowly tightened beneath the sleeves of her cloak.
"But I was wrong."
The tone in her voice darkened.
"They call themselves guardians of existence. Gods who preserve balance between realms. But the truth…" she paused, "…the truth is that they are monsters."
Youri watched her carefully.
"Even worse than the creatures down here," she whispered.
For the first time since meeting her, Youri could hear genuine hatred in her voice.
Not fear.
Not sadness.
Hatred.
Lea slowly turned toward him.
"You've seen what they do now, haven't you?"
Youri didn't answer.
He didn't need to.
The visions inside the watery abyss had already changed him forever.
The Sacros didn't conquer worlds.
They erased them.
Lea took a slow breath.
"I know how you feel, Youri."
He frowned slightly.
"You woke up in a foreign realm surrounded by monsters, with no path home and no idea what waits ahead of you." Her voice softened. "You're trying to survive in a world that was never meant for you."
Youri looked away briefly.
"It's been a long time," Lea continued quietly, "but I remember that feeling too."
The wind calmed slightly around them.
For a moment, the endless chaos of Tartarus seemed strangely distant.
Lea slowly walked toward him.
One step at a time.
Youri remained still as she approached until she finally stood directly in front of him.
Close enough for him to hear her breathing beneath the wooden mask.
"I kept telling myself I didn't care anymore," she whispered. "I convinced myself that surviving here was enough. That I could keep wandering Tartarus forever pretending the past no longer mattered."
She lowered her gaze slightly.
"But every day…" her voice trembled faintly, "…I was lying to myself."
Youri looked at her silently.
Then Lea slowly raised her hand.
"I can't keep doing that anymore."
Her fingers gently touched his face.
"And because of that…"
The moment her hand brushed against his skin, Youri felt something strange surge through his body.
A familiar sensation.
Warm.
Deep.
Youri's eyes widened slightly.
Lea looked directly at him.
"I'll take you to Atlantis."
The words echoed inside his mind.
Even Altopereh remained silent.
The winds of Tartarus roared around them once again, yet for that single moment everything felt distant to Youri.
Atlantis.
The ancient city buried within the heart of Tartarus.
The place where the Sacros first arrived.
The place where the ship capable of leaving this realm still rested.
And the place guarded by Almosis.
Youri stared at Lea.
"Why?" he asked quietly.
Lea's fingers lingered against his face for another second before she slowly pulled her hand away.
Then she answered him.
"Because this was always your destiny."
Youri froze slightly at those words.
Destiny.
He hated that word.
Every time someone spoke it, suffering followed shortly afterward.
But before he could question her further, Lea stepped away and turned toward the horizon where the endless desert stretched beneath the crimson sky.
"You were brought to Tartarus for a reason," she said softly. "And whether you realize it or not… everything that's happened since your arrival has been leading you toward Atlantis."
Youri looked toward the distance.
Toward the endless wasteland separating them from whatever awaited ahead.
Then his gaze slowly shifted toward Altopereh.
The towering black Orbiton stood silently against the crimson sky, dark energy slowly repairing the wounds carved into its armor from countless battles.
The machine almost looked alive.
Youri narrowed his eyes.
No matter how dangerous Atlantis truly was…
No matter what waited within Almosis' domain…
No matter how terrifying the Sacros were…
He had already made his choice.
He was going.
Even if Tartarus itself tried to stop him.
Youri slowly looked back at Lea.
"Then show me the way."
Lea remained silent for a moment.
Then she gave a small nod beneath her hood.