Chronicles of Forgotten Extra

The world returned in a flash of golden light.

Same forest… same dungeon.

Kyun's wings were still wrapped tightly around Alden—as if she feared he might disappear if she let go.

She didn't move a single bit.

Huh?

When Alden looked carefully, she was asleep.

Peacefully curled against him, completely out.

He supported her with one arm, careful not to wake her.

She must've burned through a little too much power when she attacked earlier.

So the moment things calmed down… she must've just dozed off.

A system window appeared before his eyes:

[DUNGEON COLLAPSE IN 02:56 MINUTES]

Not much time has passed, huh?

Barely a few seconds had passed.

Alden's thoughts were quiet.

Caera—his sister—stood beside him.

…Sister.

Honestly, it felt strange to call her that. She was a stranger in every way that mattered.

But still… he couldn't bring himself to push her away.

She looked so lost. So hollow.

He couldn't ignore the weight she carried.

Alden didn't understand everything.

Not yet.

How could she be his sister?

How had she been trapped here for hundreds of years… when he was only seventeen?

Why was there such a massive gap between them?

It didn't make sense at all.

And the more he thought about it, the more confusing it became.

So he made a choice.

Those answers… He'd get them from the only person who could give them.

His mother.

Until then, he pushed the questions to the back of his mind.

And for now… he stood quietly.

Besides the sister he barely knew.

__

Caera snapped out of her hollow look.

Her eyes wandered towards Alden.

She looked like she wanted to say many things but wasn't sure how to do that.

She had imagined many things she would say once she met her brother… but now that she was in front of him, none of them left her mouth.

He looked at her like a stranger.

A complete stranger.

She didn't blame him.

She had countless memories of him. But he had none.

He didn't remember her laugh.

Her voice.

The way she used to hold him when he cried as a baby.

To him, she was nothing.

She was twenty when that event happened.

When everything shattered.

In her sealed state, her biological body didn't grow a single year old… but her mind suffered.

She didn't know how much time actually passed… as time was completely irrelevant in this dungeon.

But it had to have been hundreds of years.

Should that have made her emotionless?

Cold?

Mature?

But it hadn't.

It had only intensified everything.

Every heartbeat.

Every longing.

In that seal… in that void. Her family had been the only anchor left in that emptiness. The only light in an endless dark that kept her alive.

The drive to meet them.

She had clung to the image of her mother's embrace.

To the memory of her baby brother's tiny hands reaching for her.

Her father's training.

Her uncle's light teasing.

She had held onto them like lifelines.

Because without them…

She would have broken.

Completely.

So no, she wasn't cold.

She was burning.

Burning with everything she never got to say.

Her bloodline ability was another anchor that held her sane.

Every time she was at a breaking point, it gave her clarity. It healed her mind.

It didn't heal the loneliness.

But it reminded her she wasn't just a memory. She was still alive.

And she still had someone to find.

She looked at Alden again.

"Are you okay?" That was all she could muster to say.

The question was simple.

But everything she wanted to ever say was compressed in that single question.

Alden looked surprised.

His eyes blinked.

"Yeah." he replied.

The words left an awkward silence.

But silence wasn't necessarily bad.

Caera's lips curled up slightly.

At least he isn't pushing me away completely.

His body had completely healed… and her white flames had receded.

"I'm sorry." Caera muttered quietly.

For not being there when you grew up.

For letting you suffer alone.

For not being strong enough to save you.

For failing to break free sooner.

She didn't know which pain hurt more — the years she lost or the years he lived without ever knowing her.

He didn't say anything elaborate and just nodded slightly.

He acts just like Father.

Caera thought as his little act reminded her of her father.

One of the strongest people in the world.

The one who tried to act cold and strict outside but was too soft inside.

—

Alden looked at her.

He didn't fully understand the weight behind her small, quiet "sorry."

Maybe she was apologising for the near-death experience she'd dragged him into.

Or maybe… he did understand. He just didn't want to admit it.

His thoughts were a storm.

He'd heard what she went through — trapped in a timeless void for centuries. Helpless. Alone.

Anyone would've shattered.

Anyone would've turned cold.

But instead… she had looked at him with nothing but warmth.

And Alden didn't know what to do with that.

He didn't know how to receive that kind of affection — especially from someone who had every right to hate the world.

Even now, he couldn't make sense of her.

This strange sister who cared for him without asking for anything in return.

This person who remembered every piece of him while he remembered nothing of her.

He had read scenes like this before.

In novels — when the protagonist would suddenly meet a long-lost sibling or parent and feel an instant connection.

He used to scoff at those scenes.

Used to scroll through the comments that mocked them.

"Too unrealistic."

"So forced."

"You can't just love someone you've never met."

"You can't form a bond so fast."

He had agreed.

He was also one of the stupid people who left such comments.

But now…

Now, standing here, watching his sister.

He realised something.

Some bonds don't need time.

Some connections just… happen.

And when they do — they feel like they were always meant to be there.

That didn't mean Alden suddenly felt some overwhelming love for his sister.

No.

It just meant… he didn't mind having someone like her around.

He recalled the sisters he had in this life.

Not in his past one—Damien had no sisters.

But here… he had two.

One was trying to kill him.

The other wanted nothing to do with him.

Not even a single word.

That was the extent of the "sisterly love" he had known until now.

So maybe… that was why Caera's warmth felt so foreign.

So disarming.

It wasn't something he had ever expected.

And yet… here it was.

In the form of a woman who barely knew him and still looked at him like he was the most precious thing in the world.

He didn't know how to respond to that.

But he didn't hate it.

And maybe that was enough.

—

Time was running fast. Not many words were exchanged but the emotional exchange was there.

People say only words can exchange emotions… They were wrong.

Sometimes silence exchanges more words than any word ever could.

Alden looked at the time remaining.

[00:50 Seconds]

That was all the time left.

Should I say something?

A goodbye perhaps?

Fuck, why is it so difficult?

He wanted to say something, just a normal farewell but he felt too awkward.

And just as the moment was about to slip away—

"Take this." The words shattered the silence.

Caera slipped off a golden ring from her finger and tossed it to him. It arced through the air with ease.

Alden caught it instinctively.

The ring was cold. Ancient.

Intricate patterns were etched across its surface—elegant and purposeful.

"Yeah, the ring carries most of the things I have collected in this dungeon."

She continued with a soft voice.

"Many people challenged this dungeon and failed. I was… barely conscious. But when I started to wake up, little by little, I learned to influence things inside."

She paused.

"I used my ability. I extracted cores. Skills. Artifacts. From the people who died here."

She exhaled.

"All the things I couldn't use… they're in that ring."

[00:14 Seconds]

Alden glanced at the ring in his palm.

It was warm.

Not just from the faint mana it held… but from the hand that had worn it for centuries.

He didn't say anything for a moment.

He just stared at it.

The kindness felt overwhelming.

Then the number shifted again.

[00:11 Seconds]

The silence returned.

But this time… it wasn't heavy. It wasn't awkward.

It was the kind of silence that came before partings.

Like the hush before a train leaves a platform.

Then— Caera moved.

Without hesitation.

She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him.

Gently.

As if she was afraid he might disappear again if she squeezed too tight.

Alden didn't move at first. He didn't flinch—but he didn't respond either.

He didn't know how to.

She didn't say anything. She just held him.

And softly, almost against his shoulder, she murmured—

"I'm glad you're okay."

Alden blinked.

Her voice was trembling, but she kept it together.

"I don't know when or where," she whispered, "but I'll find you again. That's a promise. And next time—"

Her voice cracked but she smiled through it.

"Next time, I'll be a proper sister. So don't get hurt, okay?"

The timer blinked behind.

[00:03 Seconds]

Alden exhaled slowly.

For a moment, he just stood there… letting the silence do the talking.

He didn't know what else he was supposed to do. But he didn't push her away.

Then, his hand rose—awkwardly.

He rested it lightly on her back. Not a full embrace.

Not yet.

But enough.

Just enough to accept her.

Enough to show he didn't hate her.

"…Thank you," he said softly.

Then, after a breath:

"Sister."

The word was strange on his tongue.

He had said 'Sister' before.

But for the first time, the word actually carried weight.

It didn't feel wrong.

Caera's smile turned radiant through the mist of her tears, the golden light started swallowing her whole—

And she was gone.

[DUNGEON COLLAPSE COMPLETE]

As golden light started swallowing Alden.

He understood one thing.

Caera—No—his sister, she was like an eternal flame that refused to go cold.

Those were his last thoughts before he was teleported away. [See paragraph comment.]

___

Author's Note:

If this chapter made you tear up, smile, or whisper "damn" under your breath, consider feeding this poor author some digital love:

Gift, Golden Tickets and Power Stones.

Every bit of support helps me keep this series going strong (and keeps me from emotionally collapsing like the dungeon did)

Thanks for reading, legends. Stay warm—like an eternal flame that refuses to go cold.