The Veilstone pulsed in Haruto's hand like a captured heartbeat. Its glow was soft, almost beautiful—until he focused on it, and it flared in warning. It was ready. All it needed now was the memory.
He closed his eyes.
The world around him dimmed. Queen Lysara's throne faded. The murmuring nobles above vanished into silence. And in that hollow space within himself, Haruto let go.
He remembered—
A battlefield cloaked in twilight. Blood soaking through his sleeves. A girl, her silver hair tangled with ash, lying broken in his arms. Serenya. Her voice, faint and trembling.
"You promised… you'd come back."
He had. But not in time.
The spell pulled harder now, hungry for the pain. Haruto gave it everything—every scream, every heartbeat that followed her death, every night he begged to forget. His chest cracked open metaphorically as the Veilstone flashed with white-hot light.
And then—
Silence.
He staggered forward. The weight of the memory, gone. A hollow space in its place.
"It's done," Lysara said, stepping forward, taking the glowing Veilstone from his hand with delicate care. Her voice was different now—softer, as if she too had seen a glimpse of the girl in his mind. "You carry a heavy past, Haruto Kisaragi."
He didn't answer.
Kaela looked at him warily. "Are you okay?"
"I don't remember… what I gave her." His voice was distant. "I know it hurt. But it's just… gone."
Lucien muttered, "This is why no one trusts memory magic."
But Haruto stood straighter. Lighter. As if a chain had been broken.
"Passage is granted," Queen Lysara said. "You'll find the Vault at the edge of the Crimson Valley. My guards will not interfere. But Haruto…"
He turned, gaze meeting hers.
"You may find that the pain you gave up… was the only thing keeping you human."
She stepped back onto the throne, cradling the Veilstone like a crown. The conversation was over.
---
That night, camped on the outskirts of the capital, Haruto sat beside the fire, his hand resting on the hilt of the Nullblade.
He tried to recall her face. The girl with the silver hair. He knew she mattered—but the image wouldn't form.
Kaela handed him a canteen. "You look like a man who lost something important."
"I did," he said. "And I don't even know what it was."
She sat beside him, her voice quiet. "You still have time to remember who you are. Even if you forgot someone you once loved."
Haruto looked up at the stars.
"I think that's what scares me."