SAI SHINU
The world bled away. In a flash, the two soldiers were dragged into my dimension of endless floor and dark sky. They barely had time to scream before I was upon them. My blade cut once, twice—clean, efficient. Their blood bloomed across the white floor, their bodies collapsing in silence. By the time the gate closed, they were gone.
I stood back on the road. Only the monsters remained.
And they came.
The first wave hit like a storm, claws and teeth flashing. I moved through them, fire surging from my palms, wind slicing the air into blades, the ground cracking under my command. Water whips lashed out, snapping spines and tearing wings. Every element I wielded became a weapon, and every strike left another beast broken.
Still, they kept coming. A wall of teeth and fury.
I raised both hands, pulling light and darkness into my core. They clashed, wrestled, and then—exploded.
"Eclipse!"
The world ignited. Light devoured, darkness resisted, the clash bursting into a wave of destruction. The explosion tore through the monsters, ripping them apart, their bodies unmade in the violent collision. Dust and black fire consumed the air, leaving silence in its wake.
When the smoke cleared, the field was littered with corpses. Yet still… a hundred chimeras remained. Their eyes gleamed with unyielding hunger, their roars shaking the trees.
I tightened my grip on the ring. My lips curved into something between defiance and grim resolve.
"Then let's even the numbers."
I poured energy into the ring. A pulse of light cracked through the air, and one by one, the beasts I had claimed spilled out into reality. One hundred. One hundred and fifty. My own army of nightmares, their howls answering the enemy's.
The battlefield became chaos. My chimeras clashed with theirs, blood spraying, claws tearing, the earth itself groaning under the carnage.
But I didn't stay. I couldn't.
I sprinted across the field, cutting down any beast that crossed my path, until I reached the soldiers' abandoned chariot. I seized the reins, snapping them hard. The horses screamed and bolted, the wheels biting into the dirt as the chariot lurched forward.
Behind me, the battlefield burned with the war of monsters. Ahead, in the distance, lay the path Namae had taken.
And I would reach her—no matter how much blood it cost me.
The chariot rattled beneath me, wheels grinding against the dirt road as the wind slapped at my face. The battlefield was behind me, but I couldn't escape the weight pressing on my chest. My breathing was uneven, not from exhaustion, but from something I couldn't name.
For days, something had been wrong. The nights were silent—too silent. I hadn't seen it. I hadn't felt it. For almost three years, every night had been the same: my father falling, the arrow piercing his heart, and the searing pain tearing through mine as if it were my own. A curse I had accepted, a curse I had learned to endure.
But lately… nothing. No visions. No pain. And that silence terrified me more than the torment ever had.
My hand drifted to my chest. I hesitated. Part of me didn't want to know, didn't want to see. But the unease was unbearable. I tugged at my shirt, pulling the fabric over my head, and froze.
The mark.
That damned symbol, carved into my flesh since the day I accepted the curse. It had always been there, a cruel reminder of my father's death. Two-thirds of a full moon, the missing piece ripped away with his life. But now…
My heart dropped.
It had changed.
No longer two-thirds, but one-third. A thin sliver of light clinging desperately against the darkness.
I couldn't breathe. My hand trembled as I traced the mark with my fingers, as if touching it could prove it was just a trick of my eyes. But it wasn't. It was real.
It must've changed when my mother died. I hadn't noticed—I'd been too consumed by grief, by rage, by survival. But the truth hit me now like a blade to the gut.
This curse… it wasn't just mine. It was tied to them. To the ones I loved. Every death stripped the moon away.
And when the last piece vanished… what would be left of me?
I clenched my fists so hard my nails cut into my palms. The familiar burn of blood grounded me, reminded me I was still here. Still alive. I couldn't afford to crumble now—not when Namae and the kid were counting on me.
But even as I forced myself to breathe, the truth gnawed at the back of my mind.
This curse wasn't done with me. It wouldn't stop until it had taken everything.
I pulled my shirt back on and gripped the reins tighter. I couldn't let them see me like this. Not Namae. Not the child. Not anyone.
For now, I would bury the fear as I always had. But deep inside, I knew.
The moon was fading. And with it… so was I.