The door was heavy.
Harvie touched it. Cold. Old. It was made of silver stone, covered in carvings—crowns shattered in half, swords stuck into thrones. A quiet voice echoed from the walls.
> "Only kings of regret may pass."
Harvie looked at Edna. Her lips were tight. Her hand gripped her staff.
"I'll stay outside," she said. "It's your Seal."
Harvie nodded. "If I don't come back in an hour…"
"I'll come in. And burn everything."
They smiled, just a little. The door opened slowly. Harvie stepped inside.
---
It was not a room.
It was a dream made of screams.
A floating land of broken stone, where ruined thrones hung in the sky. Ghosts in crowns walked with no faces. Time bent here—Harvie could feel it pulling at his chest like a hook.
This was the Chamber of Echoing Crowns.
> "The 4th Seal… is pain," said a voice from nowhere.
> "The power to break time… costs the people you love."
The sky turned black. The world twisted. And then—
Edna appeared in front of him.
But something was wrong.
Her eyes were wide. Her throat was cut. She fell.
Blood splashed on Harvie's hands.
"What…?"
It happened again.
Edna appeared. A flash of battle. She burned bright. Harvie raised his hand. His power moved without him.
She screamed.
She died.
Again.
And again.
Over and over, he killed her—with fire, with rewind energy, with the system itself. He begged. He cried. But the trial didn't stop.
Each version of Edna looked at him like she was afraid.
And each time, Harvie felt something inside him crack.
> "Make it stop!" he yelled. "I don't want this! I never wanted this!"
A voice answered. Cold. Empty.
> "Then let go of your power."
> "Die, Harvie. Die… without pressing rewind."
---
He was kneeling now.
Tears hit the floor.
Edna's body lay in front of him again. This time, she was smiling, even in death. Like she trusted him. Like she forgave him.
He raised his trembling hand.
The rewind icon glowed on his system panel.
All he had to do was tap it.
But he didn't.
He closed his eyes.
"I'm not a god," he whispered. "I'm not a hero. I'm not… anything."
"I just want her to live."
He let the power fade.
And slowly, he felt himself die.
---
The chamber broke apart.
Light poured through the cracks.
The floating thrones shattered into ash.
And then—he gasped.
He was alive.
Back on his feet.
In his real body again.
A golden crown floated in the air, then turned into a key-shaped light. It entered his chest.
> [4th Seal Acquired: Time Trial Survived.]
> [New Passive: Delay of Death – You can choose to delay death by 3 seconds once per day.]
---
Outside, Edna was waiting.
She saw him step out.
His eyes were empty. His hands were shaking.
"Did you… see her?" Harvie asked, his voice thin.
"I always see her," Edna said, pulling him into a hug. "Because she's still here."
They stood there for a long time.
Neither of them spoke.
But in the silence, Harvie made a choice.
Next time… he wouldn't let the system choose for him.
Next time, he'd fight it.
Even if it meant breaking everything.