Noel crossed the threshold first.

Revenant Fang rested firmly in his hand, familiar and steady, its weight grounding him rather than slowing him down. He didn't hesitate. Not because he was careless, but because his role was clear. Whatever waited inside, he would face it first. If something struck, it would strike him before anyone else.

Elyra followed close behind, posture composed, eyes sharp and alert. Elena stepped in next, magic quietly gathered beneath her skin, senses stretched thin as she read the air. Laziel brought up the rear, staff held tighter than usual, every sound inside the building keeping him on edge.

Noir stayed at Noel's side.

The moment they entered, her nose lifted, body angling slightly as she followed the trail deeper within.

'The smell is much stronger here,' her voice echoed in their minds. 'This is where it leads.'

That was enough.

The tension settled instantly. Shoulders stiffened. Breathing slowed. Everyone was alert now.

Light from outside still filtered in behind them, pale and weak, stretching across the damp stone floor. The door remained open, unmoving, offering no comfort despite the thin strip of brightness it allowed inside.

The cold wasn't natural. It wasn't simply the absence of warmth. It felt imposed, like the space itself resisted comfort.

Moisture clung to the stone walls, dark patches spreading along cracks and corners. The air was thick and old, heavy with neglect. Rust lingered in the scent, layered with something sharper beneath it. Residual mana hung in the space, saturated and stubborn, as if it refused to fade.

This place hadn't been abandoned.

It had been used.

Noel moved forward, boots echoing softly. His thoughts brushed against the system's earlier notification, the word clue lingering in his mind like a quiet assurance.

This wasn't optional.

Noctis didn't point him toward empty paths. If this place had been marked, then it mattered. Whatever lay ahead was connected. To the island. To the chains. To the reach of the Second Pillar.

And possibly more.

Something here was still active.

Not a presence he could see or hear, but a constant pressure, woven into the walls and floor, subtle and unyielding.

Noel adjusted his grip on Revenant Fang and continued deeper inside, shadows shifting faintly at his feet in response to his resolve.

"Stay close," he said quietly.

Noir slowed, then stopped completely.

Her body went still in front of a narrow doorway half hidden behind cracked stone and creeping moisture. She lowered her head, inhaled once more, then lifted her gaze toward Noel.

'It's here,' her voice echoed in their minds. 'The source of the smell is behind this door.'

Noel stepped forward and placed a hand against the wood. It felt cold through his glove. With a controlled push, he opened it.

The room beyond was darker than the corridor, the cold sharper. A faint light pulsed at its center, weak but steady, like a heartbeat struggling to be heard. It illuminated the space just enough to reveal bare stone walls slick with dampness and chains embedded deep into the floor.

And at the center of it all.

A shard.

It hovered slightly above the ground, wrapped in thick metal links that bound it from every side. Unlike the shard Noel had seen in the Holy Capital, this one looked complete. Refined. Its surface was smooth, unbroken, glowing with contained energy that pressed outward without escaping.

It didn't leak power.

It stored it.

Laziel lingered just outside the doorway, peering in with caution. "Is it dangerous in there?" he asked, voice tense.

"No immediate danger," Noel replied. "It's a shard. And not a crude one." His eyes narrowed slightly. "This thing's finished. It looks like it's been powering something important."

Elyra glanced back at Laziel. "You can come in," she said calmly. "If it were going to explode, we'd already be ash."

Elena nodded in agreement. "You're safe. For now."

Laziel hesitated, then stepped inside. Elyra didn't miss the chance.

"Is this why you can't find a girlfriend?" she asked dryly. "Too afraid to walk into a room?"

Laziel blinked. "No. I doubt that's the reason," he replied defensively. "I think it's more that no one appreciates me enough."

Noel almost smiled.

Elyra turned back to him. "So. What do we do now?"

Noel approached the shard and reached out. His fingers brushed the chains.

They didn't budge.

He tried again, harder this time. Nothing.

"…Figures," he muttered.

Straightening, he lifted Revenant Fang. Mana surged through him without restraint, flowing cleanly into the blade.

"Eclipse Rend."

The strike was singular and precise. Shadow and force converged in one clean arc. The chains shattered instantly, snapping apart as if they had never been anchored at all.

The shard dropped.

Noel caught it midair without thinking.

Up close, the power was undeniable. It felt similar to the shard from before, but stronger. Focused. Built to amplify something on a scale far beyond a single person.

Elena stepped closer. "Now what, Noel?"

Noel didn't answer right away.

'Noctis,' he thought quietly. 'A hint would be nice right about now.'

Nothing came.

With a breath, he slipped the shard into his Dimensional Pouch, sealing it away for the moment.

"At least it's secure," he said. "We'll figure out the rest soon enough."

The air shifted.

It wasn't dramatic. No shockwave, no sudden surge of mana. Just a subtle release, like a tension line snapping somewhere far beyond the room.

Then the system spoke.

[Clue found. You have weakened the Second Pillar by 5% of her power.]

Noel's eyes narrowed.

So that was it.

The shard hadn't been a weapon. Not directly. It had been a conduit. A reinforcement. Something designed to push the Second Pillar's influence far beyond what her own core should have allowed.

His thoughts aligned quickly.

The shard amplified her reach.

The reach manifested as chains.

The chains enforced control.

Not just over creatures.

Over the island itself.

As if to confirm it, a distant sound echoed through the building. Metal scraping against stone.

Letting go.

They felt it through the floor before they saw it. The faint pull of mana that had pressed constantly against the island loosened, thinning like mist burned away by morning light.

Outside, chains embedded in walls and streets began to slacken. Links that had been taut for who knew how long lost their grip, falling inert against stone. Somewhere beyond the building, a bound structure cracked free of its restraint.

Elena inhaled sharply. "Did you feel that?"

Elyra nodded once. "Her hold just weakened."

Then came the sounds.

Low at first. Distant.

Growls.

Rough breaths.

Movement, sudden and uncoordinated.

The creatures roaming the island had noticed. Whatever leash had guided them, whatever pressure had kept them aligned, was gone or breaking. And they knew exactly where the disturbance had come from.

Laziel tightened his grip on his staff. "So… they know where we are now."

"Yes," Noel said calmly.

He stepped toward the doorway, already turning his attention outward. The doubt, the shard, the questions about its finer purpose, all of it fell into place behind him.

This island was done.

Whatever advantage they could gain here, they'd already taken it.

"Objective's complete," Noel said. "We've done what we came for."

He looked at the others, steady and composed.

"We move on. Next island."

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