Two years.

  It had been two whole years since Kazuki vanished from the forest—swallowed by a vortex of darkness none of them understood.

  The Guild had declared him “lost in action.” The officials never spoke his name again.

  But for the party he left behind, time hadn’t dulled the ache.

  ---

  Elara stood in the middle of a blooming field near the edge of the forest. She held a small bundle of wildflowers—white lilies, Kazuki’s favorite.

  Every week, she placed them beneath the tree where they last saw him. Her eyes never left the sky, as if waiting for him to return.

  “He wouldn’t just disappear,” she whispered. “He promised…”

  She still wore the cloak Kazuki had gifted her. It was old and a little tattered, but she refused to replace it.

  ---

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  Garron had grown leaner. Stronger. He now bore a scar across his cheek from a mission gone wrong. But his eyes… they were always heavy.

  He trained every day, obsessively perfecting his swordsmanship.

  But when asked, he never once referred to himself as a leader.

  “Don’t call me that,” he’d snap. “That was Kazuki’s role. I’m just… here.”

  He blamed himself for being too weak that day. For not protecting the one who had brought them together.

  ---

  Drake had changed the most.

  Once loud and reckless, he had become cold and withdrawn. He’d taken dozens of missions—often solo—and returned injured more than once.

  His hatred for Kairyuuha simmered just beneath the surface.

  He didn’t know why, but every time he saw the new “prodigy” who replaced Kazuki at the Guild, a cold rage filled him.

  “That guy,” he muttered, “he smiles like Kazuki used to… but there’s nothing behind his eyes.”

  ---

  Rinara, now a B-rank, refused to accept Kazuki was gone.

  She still researched ancient sealing spells in her spare time, hoping for a breakthrough. Her room was filled with scrolls, cursed relics, and incomplete translations.

  “He’s not dead,” she told herself constantly. “He’s sealed. And seals break.”

  She and Elara were the only two who truly believed he’d return.

  ---

  Back at the Guild

  Rumors swirled of a new adventurer who resembled Kazuki—same age, eerily similar aura, but different.

  Cold.

  Distant.

  His name was Kairyuuha, and despite only joining a year ago, he had already climbed to A-rank.

  People called him a genius.

  The Guild called him their new hope.

  But Kazuki’s old party knew something was wrong. Kairyuuha would occasionally stare at them… and for a moment, it felt like he knew them.

  Garron clenched his fist every time it happened.

  “Someday… I’ll make you tell us what you did to him.”

  ---

  Somewhere Else…

  Kairyuuha stood atop a hill overlooking the town. His eyes glowed faintly in the twilight.

  “They haven’t broken yet,” he whispered. “Good. Let’s see how long they can hold on…”

  Behind him, the sigil connecting to Kazuki’s sealed realm flickered once more.

  And somewhere, deep within the void, Kazuki felt… something.

  Faint.

  A heartbeat.

  Hope.