Chapter 156: Cradle of Tears

The fire crackled loudly, throwing dancing orange shadows against the broken stone walls of the ruined courtyard. I stood over the makeshift stone hearth, my face covered in dark ash, aggressively flipping chunks of sizzling monster meat with a flat piece of sharpened iron.

Sweat dripped down my neck. My chest heaved from the sheer frustration of the task.

A few feet away, sitting comfortably on smooth stone pillars, the others were loudly talking and arguing.

"I’m just saying, your footwork during the last fight was awful," Alice said, leaning back with a smirk as she tossed a small pebble into the air. "If I hadn’t covered your left side, you would’ve been eating dirt, Riven."

Riven’s hand went to the hilt of his dagger, his eyes glaring at her. "I had it under control! I didn’t need your help!"

"Oh, please," Cordelia interrupted, smoothing out her dress. "Both of you were making too much noise. A real fighter moves with grace. Right, Amelia?"

Amelia sat quietly beside Julia, her staff resting against her knee. She gave a small nod but kept her eyes on the map Caster was making.

Julia just huddled closer to Amelia, looking over at me with hungry eyes. Lyssaria sat apart from the rest, cleaning her gloves. Caster was tinkering with his glowing map, his glasses sliding down his nose.

I stared at the noisy crowd, my grip tightening on my cooking spoon.

My eye twitched.Ugh, fuck it. I hate this!

I threw the spoon onto the stone with a loud clang, pointed my finger at the group, and shouted, "Why the fuck do I have to be the one cooking?!"

The whole courtyard went silent.

Every head snapped up. Alice stopped tossing her pebble. Riven froze. Cordelia blinked. They all stared at my angry, soot-covered face for a few seconds. Then, without a word, they all looked back at each other and went back to talking like nothing happened.

"Anyway, as I was saying, the west side—" Cordelia began.

"Damn it!" I groaned, running a hand through my hair. "Are you ignoring me? I’m the one making the food here!"

Cordelia sighed, looking up at me. "Leo, I am a princess. I do not know how to cook meat without ruining my hands. Besides, you already know Amelia and Lyssaria tried to help yesterday, and they almost burned the whole place down."

Amelia blushed and looked away, coughing into her hand.

I glared at the others. "What about those two? Alice! Caster!"

Alice laughed, pointing at me. "Don’t even try it! I don’t know how to cook. Besides, you lost to me in Rock-Paper-Scissors. The loser cooks until the exam ends. Rules are rules, loser!"

Caster raised his hand, his voice shaking. "I... I would help, but my hands are covered in oil from fixing the radar. If I touch the meat, I might... poison everyone by accident."

I gritted my teeth. "Damn you all..."

After everyone ate, and complained the meat was too salty. I sat alone near the edge of the ruins, staring down at my wrist.

The timer on my bracer glowed.Only two days left.

I looked at the group.

They were still talking. Alice and Riven were arguing again. Cordelia was giving Julia advice on how to stand like a royal. Amelia was talking softly with Lyssaria. Caster was still working on his device, his tongue sticking out.

These idiots,I thought.How did I end up with them?

I remembered how we all got here.

Alice, Julia and Cordelia came together. Cordelia was trying to act like a princess, but her dress was torn and her face was dirty. Alice was laughing at her. They had been running from a group of corrupted candidates when they found my group.

Riven and Caster showed up last.

They had crossed paths with Cordelia’s group while running from a horde of puppets. Caster used his radar to track my mana signature. Riven was yelling at him for running too slow. Caster was crying, saying something about "crazy nobles" and "why did I sign up for this exam."

They’re loud. They’re annoying. But they’re still here.

But then Caster showed me the data on his radar.

...And my good mood died.

I looked down at my hands. They were shaking.We are completely fucked.Not just normally fucked. Completely fucked.

According to Caster’s radar, the entire center of the eastern ruins was covered by a massive purple dome. Inside that dome were thousands of candidates. The strongest students of our generation hadn’t run away.

They had been captured. Their minds were hollowed out, and they were being used as a living shield.

And the thing controlling them?

Caster had pulled up the old Academy records of this Forbidden Zone. He told me the name of this place. It was once called theCradle of Tears.

A small settlement from before the Descent. People lived here, worked here, died here. When the mana flood came, the ground cracked and the sky broke, and this whole area was swallowed by the fog.

Most of the monsters were cleared out years ago by the Academy. But the deeper you go, the worse it gets. The inner side of the ruins still holds old, dangerous things.

And right now, at the heart of this zone, there was a monster. The records said there were some Grade 5 monsters sealed in this valley.

One of them was listed as an ancient, immobile entity.

The Statue of Unforgotten Sorrow.

I remembered it from the game. In the original timeline, this thing didn’t show up until years later. It was a Grade 7 calamity then, and it killed a lot of people before the high rankers put it down. But here it was, right now, a Grade 5 High and completely awake and pushing toward Grade 6.

How could I be so dumb?I thought, my teeth clenching.I should have known. That bastard is a mind-type monster.

In the gameHero Chronicles, the power system wasn’t just basic elements like fire or lightning. There were rare abilities called Concepts. Mind abilities were some of the trickiest. They didn’t attack your body.

They attacked your soul and mind.

The Statue of Unforgotten Sorrow was a pure Mind Concept monster. It didn’t swing a sword or chase you. It sat in the dark and waited. Its ability was simple, cruel, and effective.

It found your worst memory, the moment that broke you, the face of the person you couldn’t save, and made you live it again and again. It fed on your grief, your regret, and your fear. The more you suffered, the stronger it got.

And if you didn’t have trauma?

It would give you one. It would show you the people you loved dying. Your mother. Your father. Your sister. Everyone you cared about. And it would make you watch them die over and over, telling you it was your fault.

In the game, Arthur had fought this thing and barely survived.

The monster showed him his family dying in Oakhaven millions of times. Each loop made him hollower, and he almost gave up. The only reason he survived was because Amelia was there, anchoring him to reality.

And now we have to fight it?I thought.To hell with this. Fuck! I hate when someone use my past and I absolutely hate these mind ability monsters.

This whole situation had to be the Astra Union’s doing. Those old bastards must have changed the exam. Only they had the power to alter the seals on a Forbidden Zone. They didn’t care about us. We were just tools, weapons to be tested.

They threw us into a massacre to see who would survive.

Damn those bastards, I thought, anger rising in my chest.They expect us to kill a Grade 5 monster?

Power... in the end it’s all about the power, who holds the most. And I don’t hold any other than my family name. I don’t have anything other than this name backing me. I need power. I need to get stronger.

I stood up and walked back to the group. "Everyone, gather around. We need to talk."

They stopped their chatter and looked at me. I signaled to Caster, who opened his holographic map.

"Listen," I said.

"You all know this place is a Forbidden Zone, right?" They nodded.

"Each zone has its own environment, history, and monsters. The deeper and more dangerous it is, the stronger the monsters. This one is called the Cradle of Tears, a settlement from before the Descent. When the mana flood came, this whole area was swallowed by fog. Most of the monsters were cleared out by academy, but the inner side still holds old things."

I pointed at the map.

"Right now, we’re on the outer edge of the eastern ruins. The heart of the zone, the inner side is here." I pointed at a pulsing red dot. "That’s where the monster is. The Statue of Unforgotten Sorrow."

Alice raised an eyebrow. "How do you know so much about this monster? About its abilities?"

I looked at her flatly. "I read old books and family records. It doesn’t matter. What matters is what it can do."

Of course, they didn’t believe it, but it’s not like I could tell them. Without giving them a chance to think more, I continued and told them everything.

I explained how the statue didn’t fight with claws or teeth, but sat in the dark, reached into your mind, and pulled out your worst memory. I told them how it made you live through your pain over and over until you broke, feeding on your grief.

The closer you got to it, the stronger its power became. The purple fog was its influence, spreading through the ruins like a disease. The thousands of brainwashed candidates weren’t enemies; they were victims being used as shields.

When I finished, the camp was silent. Riven’s face was pale. Cordelia’s hands were shaking. Alice wasn’t laughing anymore.

Julia whispered, "...That’s what we’re supposed to fight?"

"Yes," I said.

Cordelia’s voice was sharp. "And the Academy expects us to kill it? Is this a test or a death sentence?"

No one answered.

Amelia spoke. "...You must have a plan and that is the reason you are telling us about everything? I can see it in your face."

I looked at her. She knew me too well. "Yes," I said. "I have a plan."

I looked around at the group. "We rush into the ruins. We fight through the brainwashed candidates, and reached the statue. And then... I kill it."

Another silence.

Riven laughed — a dry, bitter sound. "You? You want us to follow you? You have the lowest rank among us aside from Julia. You’re Elite High. Alice and Cordelia are Expert. I am Expert Mid. And you want us to trust you with our lives?"

I didn’t flinch.

I let his words hang for a moment, then I spoke, keeping my voice low, cold, and steady. "Listen. I’m not saying you have to follow me. Honestly? I don’t care if you leave. But given the situation, I have to work with you. Unlike you all, I actually want to live."

I let that sink in. "Do you really think the Academy will come to save you when the two days are up? Open your eyes. Look where you are. They sent us here knowing what was waiting. Do you really believe they don’t know about this monster?"

Riven’s jaw tightened.

"They know," I continued.

"They knew, and they sent us anyway. They don’t care about our lives. They won’t shed a tear if we die. And they don’t care which family you belong to. Even if you’re a princess. Even if you’re the son of a Great House."

Cordelia’s face went pale. "That’s..."

"Your families are helpless against the Astra Union," I said. "The Union does what it wants. And right now, they want to see who survives."

I paused. "I need you because I can’t fight through thousands of brainwashed candidates alone. It would take too long. The monster would get stronger. We’d all die. But together? We have a chance."

I looked at each of them. "So here’s your choice. Follow me, and we try to survive together. Or go your own way. I won’t stop you. But if you stay here waiting for rescue, you will die."

Julia was the first to speak. "I.... I’ll follow you, Lord Leo." Her voice was small but steady.

Amelia nodded. "I’m with you."

Lyssaria raised her hand. "Me too."

Cordelia sighed. "...If Julia is going, I’m going. But don’t think I’m doing it because I trust you."

Alice grinned. "I’ll follow you. Better than dying like a coward. Let’s crush those bastards."

Everyone looked at Riven and Caster. Caster raised his hand nervously. "I... I’ll come. I... can’t survive alone anyway."

All eyes turned to Riven.

He clicked his tongue. "...Fine. But if we die because of your plan, I’ll kill you myself."

I smiled. "Fair enough."

"So what’s the plan?" Alice asked.

I pointed at the map. "The statue is here, in the inner ruins."

My finger traced the glowing red dot at the center of Caster’s holographic display. "These ruins are shaped like a wheel. The outer ring is where we are now — broken buildings, open courtyards, and the collapsed walls you’ve seen. That’s the safest part, but it’s also where the fog is thinnest and the corruption is weakest."

I moved my finger inward. "The middle ring is tighter. Narrow streets, collapsed towers, and old plazas. That’s where most of the brainwashed candidates are gathered. They’re not just wandering, they’re being used as a wall. A shield around the heart of the zone."

Then I tapped the red dot. "...And here, at the center, is the inner sanctum. A large, temple-like chamber where the statue sits. That’s where the fog is thickest, where the whispers are loudest, and where the monster’s influence is strongest. The closer we get, the harder it will be to think clearly."

I looked at the surrounding terrain on the map.

"There are three ways to reach the inner sanctum. One from the west, through a collapsed tunnel — but Caster’s radar shows that route is blocked by rubble. One from the south, through a flooded crypt, but the water is deep and the candidates are thick there. And one from the east, through a series of broken archways and a long, straight courtyard. That’s our best bet."

I traced the eastern path with my finger.

"We’re here, on the outer edge of the eastern side. We’ll move through this alley here, then cut across this plaza, and follow the archway corridor straight to the inner sanctum. It’s the fastest route, but it’s also the most exposed. The candidates will see us coming. We’ll have to fight through them."

I looked up at the group.

"From the other directions, north and south of the ruins, I’m picking up other signatures. Some are moving. Some are still. They could be other survivors. They could be Arthur’s group. But we can’t wait for them. We move now, and if we meet them on the way, good. If not, we go in alone."

Caster zoomed out the map, showing the whole valley. "There are also paths leading from the forest into the ruins from the north and west. If Arthur is out there, he’ll probably come from the north, that’s where the main road from the forest entrance leads."

I nodded. "Then we keep our eyes open. If we see his light, that golden glow, we push toward him. But our main target is still the inner sanctum."

I grabbed Tempest. "Now let’s move."

We walked into the ruins. The fog was thick, and the purple glow pulsed in the distance. The whispers were already starting — soft, familiar voices calling my name, telling me to stop, to rest, to close my eyes.

I ignored them.

Two days left,I thought.Two days to kill a monster and get out of here. I’m not dying in this place.

We moved east, toward the heart of the Cradle of Tears, toward the Statue of Unforgotten Sorrow, and whatever nightmare waited for us in the dark.

Behind us, the fire died. Ahead, the purple glow grew brighter.

There was no going back.