Kenji stood before him.
"Ki, you have to remember… I'm still me. Even if you know everything now."Kenji's smile was warm, steady, surrounded by a soft glow that felt like sunlight after rain.
Ki reached out, desperate to say something, anything, to apologize, to cling to that warmth—
The world snapped.
The light blinked out.The ground softened beneath his feet, turning black, then red.
Blood.
It spread endlessly, swallowing the floor, rising around his ankles like warm sludge. Ki looked down and saw his own reflection rippling in it. A hollow-eyed kid. Skin stretched tight over bones. Starving. Filthy. Barely alive.
He forced himself to look up.
Kenji was still there, still smiling… but now drenched in blood. It dripped from his hair, soaked his clothes, ran down his cheeks like tears.
And behind him stood the scarred man.
Laughing.
Quiet at first. A slow, hateful-growl of amusement. Then louder. Louder. Until his voice drowned out everything else.
"Run," he hissed. "Run. Run all you want… you can't escape me."
The man raised his blade, the same one that took Kenji's head, and swung for Ki—
Ki dodged. Instinct. Terror. Survival.
And his eyes snapped open.
An axe slammed into the pillow beside his head, ripping feathers into the air.
Ki froze, pupils shrinking.
This wasn't a dream anymore.
A barbaric man loomed over him, breath reeking, grin crooked and eager. He yanked the axe free, spitting on the floor.
"Stop squirming, boy. Just give me your head already."
He charged.
Ki kicked at him out of pure panic, rolling off the bed and hitting the floor hard. The man stumbled but didn't fall, only laughed harder, like this was entertainment for him.
Ki threw a punch—a weak, useless swing that barely made the man blink.
The man grabbed Ki by the shoulder and hurled him into the wall. Ki's back exploded with pain. His ribs screamed. Blood spilled from his lips.
Still, he stood.
Another swing. Ki dodged, half-conscious. Another. Another. His body reacted on borrowed instinct while the rest of him lagged behind. He was slow, exhausted, starving.
Then his foot caught the floor.
He tripped.
The axe handle slammed into his throat, pinning him to the ground.
Ki gagged. His lungs clawed for air. Black dots swarmed his vision.
He searched blindly with one hand, fingers scraping the floor, until they closed around something metal.
He swung.
The man jerked.
The axe slipped from his hands. He stared at Ki with surprise frozen on his face. Blood seeped down his forehead.
He collapsed onto his knees… then onto the floor.
Still.
Ki coughed violently, sucking in breath after breath, his throat raw. His hands shook so badly he didn't realize he was still holding the dagger.
A bloody dagger.
He stared at it.
Then at the corpse in front of him.
His vision shrank. His heartbeat pounded in his skull. His mouth hung open, unable to form words.
His fingers cramped. His arms trembled uncontrollably. His chest tightened so hard he thought his ribs might snap.
"I…" he choked."I just… killed… a man…"
His voice cracked. His lips trembled. His entire body was rejecting what he had done.
Minutes passed before his breathing slowed. Before his shaking dulled into numbness instead of terror. Before he could move again.
Silent, empty, he put his clothes back on.
He stepped into the hallway.
He expected screams. Blood. Maybe the old lady and the little girl hurt or hiding. Maybe danger waiting.
What he found instead made his stomach twist.
The old woman and the girl were behind the counter, smiling, counting a pile of coins. The coins they earned by selling him out.
They didn't even look ashamed.
Just pleased with their profit.
Ki stared at them with hollow eyes.
Something inside him shifted. Quietly. Slowly.
Something that wouldn't shift back.