After the Hero was nudged into the portal by Alysia, the other girls let out cries and leaped in after him. He was the Hero, so him going first was just fine. I nodded for Shao to go, and then Alysia and I jumped through last. We ended up in the familiar experimental room where the scientist was trying to kill me. I half expected that he would be the final boss. I was wary of him throwing out that death curse again. I didn’t have Alysia in sword form to casually cut it in half again. I planned to let Hero take the curse and die, then take him out while he was recovering. That solved two problems at once.

However, upon entering the familiar room, I didn’t see the scientist at all. In fact, rather than being covered in light, the majority of the room was dark, with a single bright light shining on us. It was the same place, but a completely different atmosphere than the last time I had come here. As the portal shut behind me, the Hero was already walking to the edge of the darkness with a considering look on his face.

He lifted his hand and created an orb of light. Then, he tossed that orb into the darkness. It winked out as soon as it passed from the light to the darkness. I was sure Hero had also tried his light spell, but I wasn’t in his party like Alysia, so I didn’t get to take advantage of it. I cast my light spell, and just as I predicted, the light didn’t spread out into that suffocating darkness.

“Mmm! Mmmmghmmmm!” A muffled voice came out.

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Hero helped Celeste out. “What is it?”

“The light is shrinking! The darkness is closing in!”

The movement was imperceptibly slow, but she was right. After entering, the ring of light was slowly growing smaller and smaller.

“Is this a trap?” Alysia asked anxiously.

“I don’t know,” I responded. “Let’s check.”

I pulled out a piece of meat from a previous meal out of my inventory and tied it to a string. Then, I tossed the string out into the darkness. After a few seconds, I started rolling the line in and bringing the meat back into the light. An empty string appeared, completely devoid of the bait I had attached to the end.

“It’s gone.” Alysia’s eyes widened.

“Well, that’s not reassuring,” I muttered.

“Should we retreat?” Offered Alysia.

That was one option. I could make a portal and return to the hallway. As I was considering my next choice, the Hero spoke up.

“This is a test. My love will guide me!” He took a step directly into the darkness.

The girls all let out cries of surprise, but none of them followed him. As soon as he stepped out, I noticed the light stopped shrinking. I didn’t hear anything from Alysia and I glanced at each other. Then, I looked back at Shao.

“Should we go?”

“The party can’t follow.” She explained. “This part you’re meant to do on your own.”

I let out a sigh. “Seriously… we didn’t need the party after all?”

She chuckled, putting her hand over her mouth. “Whoever said Miki was a skilled storyteller? This is the final part… the part where the hero will prove his love and free her. The question is, will it be him or you who frees her?”

I shot her a small smile, reached out and grabbed Alysia’s hand, and then stepped into the darkness.