Kaito stumbled backward as he got up, coughing into his elbow, blinking as his interface flickered wildly across his vision.
> SYSTEM ERROR: COMPATIBILITY THRESHOLD EXCEEDED WARNING: UNKNOWN ARCANE SIGNAL DETECTED SYNC LEVEL 27% - INCOMPLETE
"Great," Kaito muttered, wiping dust from his face. "Well, good to know."
Lyria sheath her blade in a swift motion. She walked up to him, her scowl more furious than usual. "What in all the flaming realms was that stunt? You nearly got crushed."
"And was the kiss necessary?"
"I was trying to help!" he snapped, holding up his hand. "Besides, I didn't see you complaining when I hacked its attack cycle."
Lyria stepping closer. Her hand grabbed the collar of his shirt, yanking him down to eye level. "If you die, I get stuck with her."
"Hey," Seren turned in from where she was examining a shard of glowing stone in the rubble. "I'm charming company when not trapped."
Kaito tried to step back, only for Seren to appear on his other side in a flash of an eye. Shadow magic. She leaned in close enough for him to feel the warmth of her breath.
"But if you're going to throw yourself in front of giant creature," she whispered, "you might as well look pretty doing it."
Lyria's grip tightened. Seren smirked. Kaito panicked.
"Alright!" he barked, pulling himself away from both. "Can we maybe check the door that just appeared instead of arguing over how I tried to save you?"
"And I didn't kiss it, she kissed me."
"No, she didn't."
The chamber, once sealed, now revealed a long corridor glowing in bright blue light. Strange symbols also glowed along the walls, twisting like animated calligraphy.
Lyria moved first, brushing past him with a shove. Seren followed, slow and calculated.
"This place is very ancient," she murmured. "Some of this... might be divine glyphwork."
Kaito frowned, stepping in after them. His system flared again, flashing red.
> [WARNING: DIVINE RESONANCE DETECTED AUTHORIZATION: OVERRIDE ENACTED]
Without warning, the ground moved. The corridor reconfigured itself like sliding tiles on a board. They dropped into a lower chamber.
"Ow," Kaito groaned from where he landed on the stone. "My tailbone just realigned my soul."
"Quit whining," Lyria muttered. "We're not alone."
Indeed, as soon as the dust settled, they saw the chamber fill with shifting constructs—sleeker, faster. Each had a different crest: flame, blade, eye and shadow.
"Trial room. Again." Seren said grimly. "Ancient ones loved this crap."
Kaito barely drew the dagger lyria had given him from his belt before the first construct attacked.
Lyria met the constructs head on, steel clashing with enchanted alloy. Her sword lit up.
Kaito ducked behind a fallen pillar and slashed his dagger through a glyph-lock. The magic backfired, a spark flared around his hand, and suddenly the air grew thick with tension.
> SYSTEM ALERT: LUST AURA ACTIVATED – DURATION: 90 SECONDS
"Wait, WHAT?!" Kaito screamed as one of the constructs swerved and stopped in front of Seren to... stare.
She blinked, then looked at him, flushed.
"Kaito," she said very calmly, as fireballs whizzed past her face, "did you just cast a seduction aura on the murder machines?"
"It's a glitch! It's not on PURPOSE!"
Lyria roared from across the room, beheading another construct. "I swear, if they start trying to kiss me—"
Seren blinked, then used the opportunity to shatter the distracted one with a bolt of black flame.
"...I hate how useful that was," she muttered.
Kaito facepalmed. "This system hates me."
By the time they finished, the chamber was littered with stone scrap. Kaito collapsed beside a half-crushed platform, breathing heavily.
Lyria wiped blood from her cheek. "Next time, you glitch us into an orgy, warn me first."
Seren flopped down beside Kaito, legs sprawled. "I give the chaos magic a solid seven out of ten."
He groaned. "I need therapy."
Then, in the silence a click echoed. A hidden wall slid open, revealing a mural covered in symbols. At its center was the figure of a god being torn apart, his face disturbingly similar to Kaito's.
Lyria drew in a sharp breath. "That's..."
"Him," Seren finished, pointing at Kaito
Kaito stared. "Okay. That's creepy."
His interface flashed again.
> SYNC LEVEL: 34% MEMORY LOCK UNSEALED NEW OBJECTIVE: DAZARA CITY – LOCATION OF NEXT FRAGMENT
More importantly, the only visible exit began glowing.
Kaito stood. "Let's go before something else decides I look like a dating profile for divine destruction."
Lyria nodded. "And Kaito?"
He paused.
"Next time before you die for me, you better buy me dinner first."
Seren grinned. "I want dessert."
Kaito looked skyward, muttering, "I was better off with the golem."