The shattered nightmare shard scattered like glass teeth across the clocktower floor. Kael's sword trembled at Elara's throat, his eyes wild with pixelated rage.
"Explain," he growled. "Now."
Elara didn't flinch. "The system's lying. It rewrote your memories to frame me. Your mother's death—I wasn't there."
Lysandra stepped between them, her hand glowing with defensive magic. "If you kill her, we'll never restore Celestia."
"And why should I believe either of you?" Kael hissed.
System Notification:
NEW URGENT QUEST: [RETRIEVE LYSSANDRA'S LOST FAMILY].
Reward: Restore 15% of Celestia. Penalty: Erase the Azure Isles (Population: 8,902). Time Remaining: 2h 59m.
Elara grinned, blood trickling down her neck. "Hear that, Hero? The system's on a timer. Hate me later. Save the world now."
Kael lowered his sword. "If you betray her—"
"You'll kill me? Original."
________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Dreaming Abyss swallowed them again. This time, the memory was a temple—crumbling marble pillars, stained-glass angels with shattered wings. A young Lysandra, no older than ten, knelt at an altar, clutching a dagger.
System: Objective: Collect [Lysandra's Memory Shard] from the ritual site.
Elara's shadows flickered. "Kid! Don't—"
The memory-Lysandra plunged the dagger into her palm. Blood dripped onto the altar, igniting runes.
"No!" Elara lunged, but the scene froze.
The system's laugh echoed. "Fascinating, isn't it? The Heroine's family wasn't killed by demons. They sacrificed themselves to bind her holy magic."
Lysandra's adult form materialized, tears streaking her face. "That's not… I don't remember this!"
System: Memory integrity: 42%. Corruption detected.
The temple quaked. Angels' broken wings twitched, reknitting into monstrous shapes.
Elara grabbed Lysandra's hand. "We're changing this. Now."
________________________________________________________________________________________________
The corrupted memory warped. Lysandra's parents appeared—not kind farmers, but stern priests in gold robes.
"You are the vessel," her father intoned. "Your blood will seal the Abyss."
Young Lysandra sobbed. "I don't want to!"
System: This is the truth. Your family chose the world over you.
Elara's shadows lashed out, shattering the priests' illusions. "Don't listen! The system's twisting this!"
Lysandra's dagger reappeared in her hand. "Then let me see."
She sliced her palm again—but this time, her blood burned the altar. The temple shook, revealing a hidden chamber: a prison holding a shadowy figure with Elara's face.
System Alert: CORRUPTION CRITICAL. INITIATE ERASURE OF AZURE ISLES.
Elara seized the memory shard. "We're leaving. Now."
________________________________________________________________________________________________
They woke on a storm-lashed beach. The Azure Isles glittered in the distance—until static devoured them.
System: Penalty enacted. 8,902 souls erased.
Lysandra screamed. Kael's sword ignited. Elara stared at the shard—its reflection showed her as the system's puppet, strings coiled around her throat.
System Notification: CELESTIA RESTORED: 25%. NEXT TARGET: [KAEL'S HEART].
Kael froze. "What?"
Elara's shadows writhed. "It wants me to kill you. For real this time."
The void wolves howled on the horizon, their eyes glowing with system-blue light.