CHAPTER 1007: CHAPTER 154 - SHREDICA’S WINTER AND THE FINAL PIECE (3)

I ducked my head and slipped into the cave. The entrance was ridiculously narrow—so tight that every inch I moved forward felt like squeezing through stone itself. My shoulders scraped against the jagged rock, and for a moment, I thought I wouldn’t fit. But after some struggling, twisting, and forcing my body through that tiny slit, I finally managed to get inside.

The moment I stepped in, I could feel the biting cold that had been clinging to my skin outside suddenly faded, melting away like frost under sunlight. The air inside was still chilly, but nowhere near the kind that could gnaw into your bones. It was strange, almost unnatural, but I didn’t care. I needed the warmth. The cave’s stale, heavy air felt like a damn blessing compared to the world of ice outside.

A few seconds later, Claire squeezed in behind me. Honestly, I thought she’d use her phasing ability and just pass through the solid rock instead of forcing her way in. But no—she crawled through the same crack, pushing herself in like any normal person.

She noticed me staring, of course. "What? I can’t exactly phase through something like this without losing my clothes," she said, frowning. "And if I did, I’d freeze to death the moment I step out. You know how cold it is out there."

Right. That actually made perfect sense. Whenever she phased through solid matter, her clothes never went with her. If she did it now, she’d appear completely naked on the other side. And considering how harsh the cold was out there, she wouldn’t last a minute. The chill outside was like a living thing—it bit, clawed, and sank its teeth into your flesh until you couldn’t feel your body anymore. Going naked in that would be suicide.

I shrugged, letting the thought go.

Still... something about this cave was bothering me. The deeper I went, the heavier the air felt. There was this strange, suffocating pressure lingering all around, like something ancient was watching me from the shadows. Every step echoed in a way that made the sound feel wrong—like it bounced off walls that weren’t quite there. It was eerie. Too quiet. Too still.

Even so, I pressed on, my blade already drawn. The caves beneath the underground city weren’t exactly known for their danger—most monsters here were low-level trash—but that didn’t mean I could let my guard down. The last thing I needed was to die because I got too comfortable.

Besides, I didn’t trust Claire. Not completely. She was still unpredictable—an anomaly. Someone who could turn on me the moment it suited her. For all I knew, she could stab me the second I looked away.

"It looks like this might be an ancient ruin, don’t you think?" she said, running her hand along the wall.

I glanced around. The walls were covered in old carvings—inscriptions etched deep into the stone, weathered and faintly glowing as if the symbols themselves were alive. I couldn’t read them, but just looking at them gave me chills.

Claire mentioned earlier that this cave was somehow connected to the dungeon from the underground city. But honestly, I wasn’t so sure. For all I knew, this could’ve been something far older, something she didn’t want me to know. Maybe she was lying. Maybe I was just walking straight into a trap.

And yet... I followed her anyway. Like a fool.

I guess desperation does that to people. This was my last lead—my last hope of finding the final piece. The one thing I needed to complete the ritual. The only way to open a rift through time and space—to summon heroes from another world. The last key to getting home.

"Shredica," Claire said suddenly, breaking my thoughts. Her voice echoed faintly through the narrow passage. "Can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"That boy you were with during your academy days... do you know more about him?"

The boy from my academy days? I stopped walking for a moment, confused, until realization hit me. She was talking about Leon. The one I got close to back then.

"I..."

Do I really know him? The more I thought about it, the more I realized how little I actually understood him. Leon was... strange. Always quiet, but never harmless. There was something unsettling about him—like he was always thinking three steps ahead, always aware of something no one else could see. No matter how much I tried, I could never read him. He was like a locked door with no keyhole.

Could I really say I knew him? Probably not.

"It seems like you don’t know him that well," Claire said quietly. "But out of everyone I’ve met... no one else has ever made me feel fear. Real fear."

That caught me off guard.

Leon...? She met him? They fought? When? How? I had no clue what could’ve led to that, but the way she said it—there was a chill in her voice that didn’t sound like exaggeration.

"It’s baffling, really," she continued. "I’ve never felt fear like that before. Not the kind that comes from danger or death. It was... ancient. Like something primal inside me was being dragged into the dark. It’s terrifying, yet somehow... fascinating, don’t you think?"

"I wouldn’t know," I said, shaking my head. "We weren’t close. I just used him to get what I wanted."

And that was the truth—or at least, that’s what I kept telling myself. Our connection had always been shallow, built on convenience. I never saw him as anything more than a means to an end. He was useful, that’s all. Nothing deeper.

But... as I said it, something in my chest tightened. My heart ached—not from guilt, but from something else I couldn’t explain. It felt wrong, hollow, like I’d lost something I didn’t realize mattered.

Why did it hurt to say that?

That feeling—it reminded me of the dreams. The ones where I saw a man named Tsubasa. Someone I didn’t know, someone who only existed in my head... and yet, every time I dreamed of him, my chest would tighten the same way. That same quiet pain that never really went away.

"It’s best if you don’t get involved with that man, Shredica," Claire said at last, her tone firm, cold. "Even if we came from different places, I don’t want you turning into someone who ends up in our way."