The room was dark. Dante sat on the floor. His back was against the wall. His legs were stretched out in front of him. The notebook lay open on his knee. The pages were filled with handwriting. Sharp. Angular. Lists of memories. Dates. Facts. Some lines were crossed out. Some were marked Missing.

The safehouse was quiet. The crew was preparing for the mission. Gear was being checked. Engines were being warmed. Dante was not moving. He was listening.

(Dante): "Why her."

The voice echoed in the empty space of his mind. It did not sound like speech. It sounded like thought.

(Kairo): "Efficiency. Emotional weight provides higher energy yield."

(Dante): "Do not lie."

(Kairo): "I do not lie. I calculate."

(Dante): "You take the moments that matter. You leave the rest."

(Mūn): "..."

Dante opened his eyes. The darkness of the room matched the darkness inside his head. He looked at the notebook. The page marked Item Three: Missing. The first time Sophie saw him after the years apart. Her expression. Gone.

(Dante): "Mūn."

(Mūn): "I am here."

(Dante): "You feel what I feel. You know what is lost."

(Mūn): "I feel the absence. Yes."

(Dante): "Why is it always her."

Silence stretched. It was heavy. Thick.

(Kairo): "We have answered this."

(Dante): "You answered the mechanism. I am asking the reason."

Dante closed the notebook. He placed it on the floor. He stood up. He walked to the window. The glass was cold. He touched it with his fingertips. He did not feel the cold. Mūn dampened the sensation.

(Dante): "If I use you to fight tonight... what will I lose."

(Mūn): "I do not know."

(Dante): "You know."

(Mūn): "I know what is vulnerable. I do not know what will be taken."

(Dante): "Is it random."

(Mūn): "No."

Dante turned away from the window. He looked into the shadows of the room.

(Dante): "Then it is chosen."

(Kairo): "It is selected based on load."

(Dante): "Who selects."

(Mūn): "..."

(Dante): "Tell me."

(Mūn): "I cannot."

(Dante): "You can. You choose not to."

Dante walked back to the notebook. He picked it up. He held it in his hand. It felt heavy. Like a stone. Like a brick. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

(Dante): "I am losing her. Piece by piece."

(Mūn): "You are keeping her alive. That is the trade."

(Dante): "What is the point of keeping her alive if I do not know who she is."

(Mūn): "She will know. She will remember for you."

(Dante): "That is not enough."

Dante sat back down. He opened the notebook again. He looked at the list. Item Ten: The scar on her shoulder. Item Eleven: The song she hums. Item Twelve: The way she holds a weapon. These were still there. For now.

(Dante): "Mūn."

(Mūn): "Yes."

(Dante): "Was the bond random."

(Mūn): "No."

(Dante): "Was it accidental."

(Mūn): "No."

(Dante): "Then it was designed."

(Mūn): "..."

(Dante): "Answer me."

(Mūn): "Yes."

The word hung in the air. It settled into Dante’s chest. Designed. Not a side effect. Not a glitch. A feature.

(Dante): "Who designed it."

(Mūn): "I cannot say."

(Dante): "Why."

(Mūn): "Because knowing changes the outcome."

(Dante): "What outcome."

(Mūn): "The final test."

Dante’s hand tightened on the notebook. The paper crinkled.

(Dante): "Test."

(Mūn): "You are the vessel. She is the anchor."

(Dante): "Explain."

(Mūn): "The bond was made to be painful to lose. That was the intention."

Dante stopped breathing. For a moment.

(Dante): "Why."

(Mūn): "Because pain drives the vessel. Pain keeps the entities stable."

(Kairo): "Emotional volatility increases output."

(Dante): "You made me suffer to fuel yourselves."

(Kairo): "We did not make. We were placed."

(Dante): "Who placed you."

(Mūn): "..."

(Dante): "Ogata."

(Mūn): "..."

(Dante): "Edward."

(Mūn): "..."

Dante closed his eyes. He leaned his head back against the wall. The pieces fit together. Too perfectly. The memory loss was not just a cost. It was a weapon. Someone had built him to break. Someone had built him to lose the thing he loved most. And someone had built Sophie to watch it happen.

(Dante): "The person who created the bond... knew what would be most precisely painful to lose."

(Mūn): "Yes."

(Dante): "They knew I would choose her."

(Mūn): "Yes."

(Dante): "They knew I would pay the price."

(Mūn): "Yes."

Dante opened his eyes. He looked at the notebook. He thought about burning it. He thought about throwing it away. But if he did, he would forget faster. He was trapped. The notebook was a lifeline. But it was also proof of the design.

(Dante): "Is there a way to stop it."

(Mūn): "No."

(Dante): "Is there a way to break the bond."

(Mūn): "Yes."

(Dante): "How."

(Mūn): "Death. Yours or hers."

Dante stood up. He put the notebook in his pocket. He walked to the door. He placed his hand on the knob.

(Dante): "I will find another way."

(Mūn): "There is no other way."

(Dante): "Watch me."

Dante opened the door. He stepped into the hallway. The lights were on. The crew was moving. Isaac was checking the map. Kisuke was loading the van. Sophie was waiting by the door. She looked up when he entered. Her eyes were gray. Steady. She did not know. She did not know that her love was fuel. She did not know that her pain was planned.

Dante walked toward her. He stopped in front of her. "Ready," she said. "Yes," Dante said.

He looked at her face. He tried to memorize it. The shape of her eyes. The line of her jaw. The color of her lips.

(Kairo): "Storing image. High resolution."

(Dante): "Do not touch this one."

(Kairo): "I make no promises."

Dante turned away. He walked to the van. He did not look back. He could not. If he looked too long, he might forget why he was looking. He got into the vehicle. He sat in the dark. He touched his pocket. The notebook was there. He touched his chest. The demons were there. He touched his heart. The pain was there.

Designed. Planned. Engineered.

Dante closed his eyes. He would not let them win. He would not let the design hold. He would break the machine. Even if he had to break himself to do it.

The engine started. The van moved. They drove into the night. Toward Sector Five. Toward the truth. Toward the end.

A/N: Thank you for reading Chapter 36! The truth about the demons is chilling Dante’s pain was engineered. Who designed the bond? Ogata? Edward? Someone else? Drop your theories in the comments! Don’t forget to add Shadow Contract to your library and vote with power stones. See you in Chapter 37!