The air began to move again.
Slowly.
Heavy.
But stable.
Kazuko was still breathing with difficulty, leaning against the rock, his body trembling at irregular intervals. His skin was far too pale, cold sweat running down his forehead, and even with the wound mostly closed… something still wasn't right.
Mia kept her hand over him for a few more seconds.
The healing now came in smaller pulses.
Controlled.
Cautious.
— It's the most I can do for now — she said, quietly.
Shirō nodded.
— He's not going to die.
Ayame added, without softening it:
— But he's not going to fight either.
Kazuko let out a small sound, almost a weak laugh.
— Great… timing…
Kidero didn't respond.
He simply watched.
Still silent.
Still with something held in his gaze.
Arthur noticed.
But said nothing.
— We need to move — Ayame said. — Staying here won't help.
Shirō looked at Kazuko.
— Can you walk?
He took a moment.
Then nodded, with effort.
— If I fall… you drag me.
— If you fall, I leave you — Ayame replied, in a joking tone to break the heavy atmosphere from before.
Kazuko gave a faint smile.
— Fair.
They organized themselves.
Kazuko stayed supported between Shirō and Ayame, his steps slow and unsteady. Mia walked close by, ready to intervene at any moment. Arthur stayed slightly behind — observing.
And Kidero…
Kidero followed in silence.
Without looking at Arthur.
But without forgetting.
The group moved forward through the corridor again.
With each step, the Mount seemed more… aware.
The walls began to change once more.
At first, subtly.
Then with intention.
The stone surfaces became smoother, more structured, as if the space had been prepared for something. Natural markings gave way to inscriptions — not written, but carved.
Records.
— Again… — Shirō murmured.
This time, they weren't just scenes of battle.
They were figures.
A sequence.
The first appeared on a wider wall.
A form.
Small.
With human traits… but not fully defined.
The body seemed ordinary at first glance — but on closer look, there were details that didn't fit. Lines crossing through the form, structures that seemed to coexist in the same space, as if something was there… beyond what could be seen at once.
Mia slowed her steps.
— This…
Arthur was looking too.
The figure didn't seem still.
Even as stone.
There was a strange sense of presence.
As if it was being remembered.
— It's not just a drawing — he said, quietly.
They moved on.
The next wall showed more.
The same figure.
Now with greater detail.
Parts of the body seemed composed of different forms — as if it carried elements that didn't belong to a single kind of existence. Even so, it still resembled… a girl.
Or something close to that.
Mia felt a chill.
— She looks like…
She didn't finish.
She didn't need to.
The feeling was there.
Something ancient.
Something greater than that space.
They continued.
More images appeared.
Sequences.
The figure repeated in different positions, in different contexts — sometimes alone, sometimes surrounded by shapes that weren't fully visible, as if the environment itself were part of her.
And then, further ahead—
The pattern changed.
The next wall was larger.
And so was the carving.
Three forms.
Three elevated structures, represented as mountains.
Two of them were immense.
The third… smaller.
Inside each one, a figure.
The two larger ones held forms similar to the one they had been seeing — but simpler. Less defined. Less… layered.
The smaller one—
Was different.
Far more detailed.
The same figure they had seen before.
But now complete.
The body was made of multiple visual layers, as if different structures coexisted within it at the same time. Lines crossed through its interior, secondary forms overlapping, creating the sense of something far too complex to be fully represented.
Mia stopped.
— That is…
Arthur didn't answer.
But he understood too.
Or at least…
Felt it.
The three were connected.
But they were not the same.
They never were.
The group fell silent for a few seconds.
Until Ayame spoke:
— This isn't just history.
Shirō nodded.
— These are lived records from the past… they carry sensations to whoever observes them.
Kidero kept walking.
— Or a warning.
No one answered.
They continued.
The images ended after that.
The corridor returned to being just stone.
But the air…
The air was different.
Heavier.
Slower.
As if the space itself were holding something in place.
The path ended.
And the chamber opened.
Different from the others.
No inscriptions.
No columns.
Nothing.
Just a vast space.
Empty.
Too perfect.
Arthur took a step forward.
And then—
Stopped.
Not by choice.
His body simply… didn't move.
The air stopped.
Sound vanished.
Mia tried to breathe.
Her chest didn't respond.
Kazuko froze mid-movement.
A drop of blood, still clinging to his skin, did not fall.
Nothing moved.
Nothing changed.
Not even time.
Arthur realized it.
Not with his body.
But with something deeper.
— …
There was no voice.
But there was awareness.
Time… stopped.