The oppressive air grew heavier with each step deeper into the cavern, each footfall draining more of Aera's strength. It wasn't just the stifling heat—it was something else, something unseen that seemed to wrap itself around her chest and squeeze. It felt alive in a way that was suffocating, as though the very walls of the cave were watching, waiting.

Aera's breaths came shallow, but she forced herself to keep moving. Sable was ahead of her, his pace unbroken. She tried to match it, but the effort was becoming unbearable.

"You feel it, don't you?" His voice was calm, but it cut through the heavy atmosphere, making her jolt.

Aera nodded without speaking, her throat too tight to respond. She couldn't explain it—this growing sense of being stalked, of being trapped in something far more powerful than her. It was as if the air itself was alive, pressing against her skin, seeking out her weakness.

"It's like the air... is alive," she muttered, more to herself than to him. "Watching us."

Sable's lips twitched into a grim smile, his eyes never leaving the path ahead. "That's the curse. It knows we're here."

Aera's heart skipped a beat. The curse. She had heard rumors of the curse—whispers of its power, its endless reach—but nothing could have prepared her for the sheer weight of its presence. It was not just a trap—it was a living thing.

"Great," she said dryly, her voice tight with irritation, "Just what I needed—sentient curses."

He didn't respond, but Aera could feel the tension in the air rising, thickening as they continued forward. Every step felt heavier, as though the earth beneath her feet was sinking deeper into the ground with each passing second.

They moved further into the cavern, the air growing thicker, the temperature rising with each step. Suddenly, Sable stopped in his tracks, and Aera nearly collided with him. He held up a hand, signaling for silence, and she obeyed instinctively, even though her heart was pounding in her chest.

She could hear it now. The faint hum in the distance, barely perceptible at first, was now growing louder, resonating in her bones like a low, insistent pulse. Her eyes flicked to Sable, but he didn't look back.

"What is that?" Aera whispered, her voice barely audible over the pounding of her heart.

Sable's eyes narrowed, his jaw tightening as he focused ahead. "It's close."

Aera took a hesitant step forward, her mind racing. She could feel the hum vibrating through the walls, reverberating through her very core. The cavern seemed to warp around them, twisting in unnatural ways. She reached out instinctively to steady herself against the stone wall, but her fingers brushed against something unnervingly warm. Too warm.

"Stay alert," Sable's voice cut through the tension, his words like a command.

Aera nodded, but the creeping sensation of being watched only intensified. The hum seemed to grow louder, closer, vibrating through her very bones. She glanced around, her mind racing, but saw nothing.

Without warning, the ground trembled beneath them. Aera stumbled, her heart leaping into her throat. The tremor lasted only a moment, but it was enough to set her nerves alight. Cracks appeared in the stone floor, thin veins of light glowing sickly green, pulsing with an otherworldly energy.

"What the hell was that?" she demanded, her voice shaky despite her best efforts to stay composed. Sable didn't answer immediately, his gaze fixed ahead. He clenched his jaw, a low growl vibrating in his throat as he raised his weapon, scanning the darkness.

"It's not the ground," he said, his voice tight with warning.

"Something's here."

Aera's breath caught in her throat as a bone-chilling laugh echoed from the shadows, sending a ripple of terror down her spine. The sound was low, cruel, and unsettling, like the hiss of something waiting to strike. It lingered in the air, growing louder with each passing second, until it felt as though the very walls of the cavern were alive with the sound of it.

The air grew colder, unnaturally so, despite the heat that had filled the cavern moments before. She shivered involuntarily as the darkness seemed to shift around her, warping, stretching, bending until the very stone walls felt like they were closing in. It was too much. She couldn't breathe, couldn't think.

And then, the world around her dissolved.

Aera gasped as the familiar weight of the cavern lifted from her shoulders, replaced by an entirely new sensation. The air was no longer oppressive—it was cool, fresh, but it carried the unmistakable scent of grass, the kind that only bloomed under a moonlit sky. The world shifted around her, the walls of the cavern evaporating into the open night. She looked around, blinking in confusion.

She was standing in the middle of a wide, moonlit field, the grass swaying gently in the breeze. A feeling of calm washed over her, too peaceful, too serene for what she had just endured. This place didn't belong here, didn't belong in her reality.

In the distance, a figure stood, their back turned to her, as though waiting for something—or someone. Her heart stuttered in her chest. The figure was so familiar it was almost painful to look at.

"Da-on?" she whispered, her voice trembling with the sudden flood of emotion.

The figure turned slowly, and the world seemed to still in that moment. Da-on's face was the same, yet not. His eyes met hers, but there was a coldness in them, a distance that hadn't been there before. The warmth and care that had once defined his gaze were gone, replaced by something colder, more distant.

"Aera," he said, his voice carrying a weight of accusation, thick with betrayal.

Her throat tightened, and she reached out instinctively, but her hands seemed to pass through the air between them. She stepped forward, but it felt as if an invisible wall separated them, holding her back.

"This isn't real," she whispered, her voice shaking with disbelief.

"This can't be real."

"You lied to me," Da-on's voice cut through her like a blade, each word laced with venom.

"All this time, you pretended to be one of us. Pretended to care."

"No," Aera gasped, her heart aching with the weight of his words.

"I did care. I still do."

"You're not human, Aera," Da-on continued, his voice rising with each word, his expression hardening.

"You're a demon. And worse, you're Justitia's sister. How could I ever trust you?"

The words hit her like a physical blow. Aera staggered, her chest tightening painfully as the weight of his words crashed down on her. She hadn't chosen this. She hadn't chosen to be what she was. She had tried, she had fought to remain human, to protect what was left of her soul. But now... now it all felt so distant, so out of reach.

"I didn't choose this," she managed, her voice barely above a whisper, her chest heaving.

"I didn't choose to be what I am."

But Da-on didn't seem to hear her. He just stood there, his gaze hollow and filled with judgment. The world around her shifted, the moonlit field fading into the background as the landscape darkened. The ground beneath her feet cracked, and the air became thick with the stench of smoke and burning wood.

The scene twisted into flames, and in a heartbeat, she was no longer standing in a peaceful field but in the midst of a burning village. Buildings crumbled around her, flames licking the sky as the air became hot and suffocating. Her eyes scanned the devastation, but Da-on was no longer there.

Only the wreckage remained, and his voice echoed in her mind, louder now, reverberating with every step.

"You bring destruction wherever you go," he spat.

"This is what you are, Aera. This is what you'll always be."

"No!" she screamed, reaching out, but her hands passed through the smoke, her voice lost in the roar of the flames.

The fire spread faster than she could run. She tried to move, tried to escape,but her legs were frozen in place, her body paralyzed by the heat and the overwhelming weight of the hallucination.

"Aera!" The voice ripped her from the nightmare, harsh and full of concern.

Her eyes snapped open. The cold, oppressive air of the cavern surrounded her once more. Her chest was heaving, her breaths ragged as if she had just run a marathon. Her hands were shaking uncontrollably, and she felt as though the remnants of the vision still clung to her like smoke.

Sable was crouched beside her, his hand resting on her shoulder. His face was drawn with concern, his brows furrowed in worry.

"What happened?" he demanded, his voice urgent but gentle.

Aera shook her head, the words stuck in her throat. She couldn't speak, couldn't explain the depth of the hallucination, the way it had consumed her. She could still feel the heat on her skin, the burn of Da-on's words echoing in her mind.

She closed her eyes and exhaled slowly, trying to steady herself.

The curse was not just in the cavern. It was in her mind, in her soul, twisting the very fabric of her reality. And she didn't know how long she could hold onto herself before it consumed her completely.