The sanctum pulsed in the distance.
Sylvie could feel it—the swirling vortex of void mana forming a black sun over a jagged cathedral of shattered stone. The air was thin, saturated with corruption. Each breath felt like poison.
But she was close.
Closer than she'd ever been.
All she had to do now… was survive.
She slid along a ruined parapet, eyes scanning the fog-choked corridors ahead. The system had warned her: an Elite Voidspawn guarded the sanctum gate. Strong. Fast. Deadly.
Good. Let it come, she thought, drawing her twin curved daggers.
And it did.
From the black fog ahead, a monstrous beast erupted—ten feet tall, built like a horned centaur stitched together with metal and sinew. Its limbs burned with purple fire, and its face was a featureless void.
Its shriek tore through the air like a banshee's wail.
Sylvie dashed forward without hesitation, her blade slashing across its leg—only for it to retaliate with a backhand so fast, it sent her crashing through a crumbled archway.
Blood filled her mouth.
She rolled, sprang to her feet, and launched again. This time, she struck its eye—if it could be called that—just as it reared back to crush her. The monster screamed again, then slammed both arms into the floor, sending a shockwave that cracked the entire platform.
Sylvie barely dodged, but her leg was grazed, leaving a long, searing burn.
Still, she stood.
Still, she fought.
Because there is no one else. There has never been anyone else.
But even that fire—fueled by years of chains and scars—was beginning to flicker.
Meanwhile – Just Outside the Sanctum Perimeter
Reynar paused mid-step as the ground beneath him trembled. Dust rained from the fractured ceiling above, and the sound of a monstrous roar echoed through the corridor.
"That's not normal," he said.
"No," Liora replied, eyes narrowing. "It came from ahead. Sanctum level."
Without hesitation, they ran toward the source.
Sylvie staggered backward, panting, one dagger broken, the other slick with corrupted blood.
The Elite Voidspawn bled from one eye, but it was far from finished.
She tried to move.
Her body said no.
And then, just as the beast raised its massive arms for a killing blow—
A bolt of wind-infused magic sliced through the air and struck its shoulder, staggering it sideways.
"DOWN!" a voice shouted.
Sylvie dropped.
A flash of silver steel cut across her vision—Reynar, his blade catching the monster mid-swing, driving it back. Liora followed with a flurry of wind knives, hammering its already-damaged limbs.
Sylvie stared from the floor, stunned.
They came.
Why?
They shouldn't have.
They shouldn't have.
"Don't just lie there!" Liora yelled, hurling a blade into the beast's throat. "Move!"
Gritting her teeth, Sylvie pushed to her feet and joined the fight. For the first time, she wasn't alone.
And the three of them, together, brought the monster down in a blur of teamwork—Reynar's strikes controlling its movement, Liora's ranged pressure disrupting its spells, and Sylvie's speed finishing it with a blade to the heart.
It collapsed in a steaming heap.
Silence returned.
Sylvie stood over the corpse, chest heaving. Her hand trembled.
"Why did you help me?" she asked without turning.
"Because you needed it," Reynar said plainly.
"You don't even know who I am."
"I don't need to," he replied.
And that broke something inside her.
Not enough to free her yet—but enough to make her question.
[System Notification]New Affinity Link Detected: Sylvie – 6%Status: Unclaimed Companion. Bond in Progress.