The snow had stopped falling.
Now only ash drifted down from the gray sky.
It fell slowly, coating the rocks, the dead trees, and the scorched edges of what used to be a mountain path. Chi walked through it like a ghost moving backward through her own memories.
She hadn't spoken a word since the battle with the priestess.
Hinata walked beside her but stayed quiet too. She kept one hand resting on her sword handle, the other clenched into a tight fist.
They were getting close to something.
But not to a destination, but to a choice that had waited for Chi her entire life.
A ruined outpost rose from the cliffs ahead.
It was built from ancient demon-carved stone, blackened by old wars. A watchtower had snapped in half. The outer walls slumped inward, as if melting. But the symbol carved above the main gate was still clearly visible: the Flame Sigil.
Hinata slowed. "You know this place?"
Chi nodded once.
"This is where she tried to brand me."
Hinata glanced at her friend. "The Queen?"
Chi didn't answer.
She didn't need to.
She stepped through the broken gate.
The outpost was completely hollow inside.
Not abandoned, but emptied on purpose.
The Pulse energy of this place felt wrong.
It buzzed against Chi's ribs like angry bees trapped in ice. Red Crescent shuddered faintly in its sheath. Chi's fingers moved toward the sword's handle but didn't draw it.
Not yet at least.
At the center of the stone courtyard stood a circle of carved rocks.
In the middle of that circle sat a throne made of bone and black glass.
It was Empty and burnt.
Black as a moonless night.
Hinata walked slowly around the edge of the circle, studying the ancient markings.
"Is this where you made your choice to run?"
Chi stared at the throne without blinking.
"I didn't make a choice."
Hinata turned to face her. "Then why didn't she succeed in claiming you?"
Chi finally looked away from the throne.
"I think she tried to."
Hinata frowned. "Then what went wrong?"
Chi walked to the center of the circle.
She stood exactly where the throne faced.
Where she had once been forced to kneel.
"I think something inside me refused to accept it."
Hinata stepped closer. "Could have to do with your sword? What do you call it, Red Crescent?"
Chi touched Red Crescent's handle gently. "Maybe."
Hinata sat down on the edge of the stone circle. "You know, when I first met you, I thought you were just some wanderer. Another rogue Pulse user with a nice weapon and a bad attitude."
Chi remained silent. Her expression remained neutral.
"I followed you because I was curious about your story. I stayed because you were interesting to be around. But now..." Hinata's eyes narrowed with concern. "Now I think I'm watching someone slowly fall apart."
Chi sat down across from her.
The wind stirred the falling ash around them.
Then she said quietly, "She's still inside me."
Hinata nodded. "The girl from the crystal?"
"Ys her too. But something deeper than that."
Chi looked down at her own hand.
It was trembling.
"I hear her voice sometimes. Not actual words. Just... pressure. Like someone pushing against the inside of my skull."
Hinata leaned forward. "Chi."
She looked up.
"You're still sitting here talking to me. That means you're still you."
Chi was quiet for a long moment.
Then she finally spoke again
"I'm not sure that's good enough anymore."
They stayed in the ruined courtyard as the sun set.
Then the ash stopped falling completely.
Chi stood up.
And so did the Pulse energy buried beneath the ground.
It was neither Chi nor Hinata's pulse.
Something much older and ...angrier.
The ground began to rumble and shake.
The bone throne cracked down the middle.
And the Queen's voice spoke, not out loud, but directly into their blood and bones.
"So you would choose to walk alone. Let me remind you what waits at the end of that path."
The stone circle split open with a sound like breaking thunder.
A figure rose from the crack.
It sounded so Twisted and unnatural.
Born from ash and fire and old hatred.
It wore Chi's face again but this wasn't the girl from the crystal.
This wasn't the perfect copy.
And not the sealed echo either.
This creature was made from all three versions combined.
A living consequence.
A final judgment.
Red Crescent burst into flame in Chi's hand.
Hinata drew both her swords.
The ash-creature stepped forward on legs that weren't quite solid.
"I am what happens when you bury everything and expect it not to grow," it said in Chi's voice.
The battle didn't start slowly.
It exploded.
Chi struck first.
Hard and clean.
The creature met her burning blade with hands made of glass and fire, claws that shattered on impact and reformed instantly.
Hinata moved to flank it, slashing deep into the creature's side her fire met its fire.
But this thing didn't bleed.
Didn't scream when hurt.
It just burned brighter.
With every strike they landed, it became more solid. Like they were sculpting it into reality with their violence.
And it was learning from their attacks.
Chi tried to parry its next strike
but she was too slow.
A glass claw raked across her ribs.
P painful wound formed on her torso.
But she pushed through the hurt and kept fighting.
Hinata shouted over the sound of clashing weapons, "We can't kill this thing!"
Chi gritted her teeth against the pain. "We don't have to kill it."
She stepped inside the creature's guard.
Dropped Red Crescent to the ground.
And opened her arms wide.
The creature stopped attacking.
It hesitated, confused.
Chi whispered, "You want to claim me?"
The thing twitched.
"Then do it."
The Pulse energy in the air surged like a tidal wave.
Hinata screamed Chi's name.
The world went completely white and then perfectly quiet.
When Chi opened her eyes, she was lying on the cold stone.
The ash-creature was gone.
Red Crescent lay beside her, a thin crack running down its blade.
Hinata knelt nearby, breathing hard, her eyes wide with fear and confusion.
"Don't you ever do something like that again."
Chi sat up slowly, her ribs aching.
She looked around the courtyard.
The air felt clean for the first time in days.
The falling ash was completely gone.
The bone throne had vanished.
Just open sky above them and cold mountain air that continued to kiss her skin.
Hinata picked up Red Crescent and handed it to her carefully.
Chi took the damaged sword gently.
The crack in the blade glowed with faint red light.
It was damaged but till alive.
Hinata stood up and brushed ash off her clothes.
Chi followed her example.
They walked toward the broken gate together.
Away from the ruined outpost and away from the circle of stones.
They headed west
Still unclaimed by the Queen's power.
Still being hunted by forces they didn't fully understand.
Still alone in a world that wanted to consume them
But not completely alone.
Not as long as they had each other.
As they walked down the mountain path, Chi felt the whisper in her mind one more time.
Fainter now.
Farther away.
But still there.
"This is not over."
Chi smiled grimly.
She knew it wasn't over.
But for the first time in years, she wasn't afraid of what came next.
Red Crescent pulsed once against her side.
Cracked but not broken.
Just like her.