The dirt road stretched ahead, the city growing larger on the horizon with each step. The encounter with The Radiant Order still lingered between them, an unspoken weight pressing against the silence.

Aria walked beside Dain, her arms crossed, her brows furrowed in deep thought. After a while, she finally broke the silence.

"I don't get it," she said. "How do they compete with the Awakened? I mean, I get that they're fanatics, but normal knights don't stand a chance against people who can shape reality with their ideals."

Dain remained calm, his gaze steady as he walked. "They are not normal knights."

Aria shot him a sideways glance. "You're telling me they are Awakened?"

"No." Dain shook his head. "They are something else."

She frowned. "That doesn't make any sense. If they aren't Awakened, then how do they even fight?"

Dain tapped the hilt of the longsword the knight had given him. "Do you remember what the Radiant Knight said before he left? That it was dangerous here, and that we should report anything unnatural?"

Aria nodded slowly. "Yeah. It's their whole thing. They think power should only belong to the gods."

Dain glanced at her, his voice quiet but firm. "Then what happens when their belief becomes as strong as an Awakened's?"

Aria's steps slowed, and she turned to him fully. "What are you saying?"

Dain exhaled softly. "The Radiant Order does not gain power the way an Awakened does. They do not awaken as individuals." He paused, letting the weight of his words settle. "Instead, their collective belief—their absolute faith—has given birth to something else. Something that is neither man nor Awakened."

Aria's eyes widened slightly. "A god."

Dain nodded. "Or what they believe to be one."

Aria ran a hand through her hair, trying to process this. "Hold on, hold on. You're telling me that they actually made a god just by believing hard enough?"

"It is not so different from Awakening," Dain said. "The Radiant Order does not awaken as individuals, but their unwavering conviction has manifested something beyond themselves—a being of power that they claim to serve. And in return, this god grants them blessings that allow them to compete with Awakened."

Aria shook her head in disbelief. "So their faith actually gives them strength?"

"Yes," Dain replied. "They do not control their power the way an Awakened does. Instead, it is given to them." He glanced at his wooden sword. "Much like how my ideal shaped this."

Aria narrowed her eyes. "Wait. Are you saying your wooden sword was born the same way their god was?"

"In a way," Dain admitted. "Both are manifestations of belief, but there is a difference."

"Which is?"

Dain's expression was unreadable. "My sword is a reflection of balance. It does not impose its will. Their god... does."

Aria exhaled, rubbing her temples. "I should've known. Fanatics don't just believe—they worship. And when enough people worship something, it becomes real."

Dain nodded. "And now you understand why the Radiant Order is so dangerous."

Aria let out a low whistle. "So let me get this straight. Awakened get their power by believing in their ideals so strongly that reality bends to them. The Radiant Order doesn't do that individually, but their collective belief is so strong it created a god. And now that god gives them blessings to fight against the Awakened."

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"That is correct," Dain said.

Aria crossed her arms, scowling. "Well, that’s just fantastic. So now we've got zealots running around with divine blessings, fighting people who can literally reshape the world. And here we are, just two people walking straight into whatever mess is waiting in that city."

Dain smiled faintly. "Balance must be maintained."

Aria groaned. "Right, balance. You and your damn balance."

She sighed, looking toward the city. "I don't suppose you know what kind of god they created?"

Dain's expression darkened slightly. "The Radiant call it Solmir, the Purging Light."

Aria frowned. "Sounds as terrifying as I expected."

"They believe it to be the embodiment of divine purity," Dain said. "A being that exists to cleanse the world of 'corruption'—which, in their eyes, includes all Awakened."

Aria exhaled slowly. "So, what now?"

Dain looked toward the city. "We walk forward."

She stared at him for a moment, then sighed. "You really are insane, you know that?"

Dain chuckled softly. "Perhaps."

The two continued walking toward the city, the weight of knowledge pressing between them.

Then, without warning—

RIIIP.

A sound like tearing fabric echoed through the air, reverberating unnaturally around them. The space behind them split—a jagged rupture of shifting darkness and swirling energy, as though the world itself had been forcibly unstitched.

Aria froze, her breath catching in her throat. "What the hell was that?"

Dain didn't move, his eyes fixed on the disturbance.

From the void-like rift, something moved. A flicker of golden light pulsed within the tear, illuminating an inhuman silhouette that seemed to stretch beyond the edges of reality.

A presence—not entirely there, yet undeniably real.

Then, a voice.

Low. Resounding. Ancient.

"Dain... No—Equinox. It's time. You have wandered long enough."

Aria spun around, her sword halfway drawn, her breath caught between instinct and disbelief.

"What the...?"

Dain stood motionless.

His wooden sword remained untouched, still resting against his shoulder. But his other hand...

His fingers gripped the longsword the Radiant Knight had given him.

Aria turned to him, confused. "Dain...?"

For the first time, there was something different in his face.

His eyes—always unreadable, always calm—seemed heavy. Not burdened with hesitation, but with certainty. As though he had been waiting for this moment all along.

He exhaled softly, barely audible. A quiet breath. A farewell—to her.

Then—before she could react—

SHHK!!!

A sharp, wet sound cut through the air.

The blade of the longsword had pierced through her back.

Aria's breath hitched. Her body tensed, eyes widening as she staggered forward, struggling to process the sudden, searing pain running through her body.

The blade—Dain's blade—was sticking through her stomach, its cold steel glistening with fresh blood in the faint morning light.

Her hands shook as she reached down, touching the wound in shock. "D-Dain...?"

She turned her head to look at him, eyes searching for an answer that didn't exist.

Dain's face remained steady. Too steady. But there was something in his eyes now.

Something deep. Regret? Resolution? A sadness buried beneath acceptance?

He spoke softly.

"You are right, Aria."

His grip on the sword tightened.

"Awakened people are dangerous."

Her vision blurred, the pain twisting through her nerves. "W-Why...?"

Dain's voice was low, almost gentle.

"When one receives salvation..."—he pressed the blade further in—"...one must perish."

Aria let out a choked gasp as a violent shock of pain wracked her body.

Her knees buckled. Her breath turned ragged. She could feel the warmth of her own blood spilling onto the dirt road beneath her.

But then—as the world blurred—something clicked in her mind.

Her final realization struck her harder than the blade.

She remembered the village.

She remembered the Awakened cultist. The one who burned everything in his pursuit of Order.

She remembered how Dain let him live.

Forgiveness.

Dain forgave the one who brought destruction. The one who tilted the scale too far toward chaos.

And if balance must be restored...

Her lips trembled. "I... I see."

Dain finally pulled the sword free.

Aria coughed, blood spilling from her lips as she collapsed to her knees. Her fingers clawed weakly at the dirt, trying to stay upright, but her strength was leaving her.

She didn't have much time left.

Slowly, painfully, she tilted her head up at him one last time.

Her voice was barely a whisper. "...Balance always tilts, huh?"

Dain's fingers clenched around the hilt of the longsword.

A pause. A long one.

For just a moment—a fleeting moment—his calm mask cracked.

His lips parted slightly, but he didn't answer.

Because she was right.

Because she understood.

Because he had chosen her to tilt the scale back.

Aria's breath shuddered. "Damn it..."

She gave one last weak smirk before—

SLASH!

The finishing blow fell.

Her body hit the ground, motionless.

Blood seeped into the earth.

Dain exhaled, letting the silence settle.

The portal remained open—waiting for him.

The golden silhouette in the void did not speak again, but its presence alone was enough.

Dain slowly released the breath he had been holding.

He didn't look back.

Not at Aria's body. Not at the bloodstained road.

Not at the place where he once walked with her.

His wooden sword still rested against his shoulder—untouched. He stepped forward, toward the unknown.

As he passed through the portal, the golden light swallowed him whol—

And then, he was gone.

The rift sealed behind him with an eerie finality.

The world was silent once more.

The city remained in the distance. But now, there was no one left walking toward it.

The road that once led forward was empty.

And balance—once again—had tilted.