Within the cold chamber, Alden was sleeping peacefully.

His body had mostly healed with blood from the battle still clinging to his body.

Then—

A poke.

Light. Playful. And without hostility.

Another one.

He stirred, his brow twitching.

A third poke, this time to his cheek.

His eyes snapped open.

For a moment, his vision was blurred.

Then focus returned with clarity.

"What the fuck?"

He sat up fast, cursing as he saw a little girl crouched beside him. Her black hair was messy. Her soft brown eyes were filled with innocence and curiosity.

She blinked at him like he was something interesting.

If Alden had seen her for the first time, he might have thought—what's a little child like her doing in such a dangerous place?

But he knew better.

The child wasn't the victim. She was the danger of this place—The one who controlled all those people.

But Alden was surprised by something else entirely…

How the hell did I not notice her?

His senses were always sharp—especially while asleep. If anyone got that close, he should've felt it.

But he hadn't.

Why?

Is it because she didn't have any hostile intentions?

He didn't understand.

"What are you doing here?" He asked her.

The trial was over. She shouldn't be able to attack him anymore.

So what was she doing here?

And how the hell did she resurrect so quickly?

The girl just tilted her head, blinking her eyes.

"You were making weird faces in your sleep," she said. "I was just checking."

Alden's face twitched. "Everyone does that."

She shook her head and pointed toward the edge of the platform.

"My friends don't."

He followed her gaze. The puppets were there—lined up neatly with their eyes closed and bodies still.

So they got resurrected with her as well.

Alden didn't flinch. He had expected something like this. They were part of the trial, after all.

The girl sat beside him. Her fingers twisted the ear of the teddy bear in her hand.

Then she looked at him again, head tilted just a bit.

"Is the sky outside blue yet?"

Why's she asking that?

Still, he answered. "…Yeah."

Her eyes widened. "Really?"

She clutched her teddy tighter, almost bouncing where she sat.

"Then she'll be back soon. Mama said when the sky turns blue, she'll come find me!"

"What do you mean?" Alden asked.

"Mama told me the sky was going to turn red… and that monsters would rain out of it. She said it was coming soon. That's why she sent me here. To the temple."

She took a pause.

"She said it would keep me safe."

She hugged her teddy closer, her small fingers curling tight around its stitched paw.

"She said she'll come back… once the sky turns blue again." Her voice was low this time.

Just then—

Her eyes lit up. Not metaphorically—actually lit up, faint with a strange glow that could've been magic or something deeper.

"Ah! Are you…?" she asked quickly. "Did Mama send you? Did she send you here to take me back?"

Alden stared at her. A child, asking a simple question.

The answer was just as simple.

No.

That's all he had to say.

But the word wouldn't come out.

The single question she asked seemed to be her hope in this hell. The one fragile thread still holding her together.

He didn't know how long she'd been trapped…

But it felt like she truly believed her mother's words…

… words that were probably just a lie. A soft story to ease the sting of being left behind. To be sacrificed.

Or maybe…

Maybe her mother did try. Maybe she entered the temple but never made it past the first floor.

Either way, the truth would shatter something delicate.

Some people might think—shouldn't hope have withered by now?

But that question only made sense to those who had never truly needed it.

Hope didn't fade like flesh or crumble like stone.

No.

Hope was cruel.

The more you tried to let it go, the tighter it clung to you, whispering that maybe, just maybe, tomorrow would be different.

And for her, maybe that whisper was all she had left.

Or maybe, she knew it was pointless long ago. But still, she didn't want to let it go.

Alden didn't want to be emotional.

He reminded himself: The girl before him had probably killed thousands.

She wasn't even really a child. She'd probably lived for centuries probably. He didn't need to be kind. He knew that.

And yet, he just couldn't bring himself to shatter her hope.

Because when hope breaks… it doesn't go alone.

It takes the person with it.

Alden didn't know what would happen to the guardians once he completed the temple.

But from everything he'd seen, none of them seemed truly alive. They were like echoes. Fragments.

Souls trapped in something that refused to let them rest.

They died and came back. Over and over.

So… what would happen once it was over?

Would they vanish?

Would they finally be free?

He didn't know.

But if there was even the smallest chance she would be released, he didn't want her to disappear in fear or doubt.

If a single, soft lie could give her peace—

Then it was a lie worth telling.

So he gave the only answer that made sense.

"Yes," he said. "Your mother sent me ahead… to tell you she's coming soon. She wanted me to find you first."

Maybe he was being cruel, feeding a hope that had already starved for centuries.

And maybe…

Even she knew that.

At least a few challengers must have survived her. Maybe they told her the truth. Maybe they didn't.

But the moment he spoke—

A small smile bloomed across her face. It was bright enough to light the dark chamber around them.

It wasn't the kind born from desperation or a mask to hide sorrow.

It was the kind that only bloomed for hope. Pure and Simple. Like something she hadn't let herself wear in a very long time.

"Really?" she asked with a trembling voice.

Then,

She fidgeted with her fingers. "Can you tell her I was brave?"

Her voice dropped to a whisper.

"I didn't let a single person cross this door till now."

Alden understood what it meant. Not a single person had survived her.

She said it with pride. And somehow, that made it worse.

All those challengers—killed and torn apart—because her mother told her to stay brave.

He didn't know whether to feel pity… or grief… or something colder.

But her smile was still there. She just wanted to be told she'd done well.

So Alden nodded.

"You were brave," he said.

And without another word, he got up and walked towards the door to the next chamber—a portal which had appeared after he cleared the trial.

"Then I'll stay right here. So she knows where to find me."

He could hear her soft voice from behind… but he didn't turn anymore.

As he stepped into the swirling portal of grey… he only had a single thought.

The world doesn't always break you with pain. Sometimes, it does it with hope.

____

Author's Note:

The girl might seem immature, even after centuries but emotions don't always age with time.

Hope can freeze a person where they last believed.

She never grew up… because she never stopped waiting.

Thanks For Reading As Always.

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