Night settled over the city like a slow-falling shroud.
Akira closed the shop late, exhaustion tugging at his bones. Not the physical kind — the one that settles after days of chaos, grief, and too many questions with no answers. He walked slowly toward the station, the pendant resting quietly against his chest.
But Yamitsurugi pulsed once.
A very faint tremor.
Akira paused.
"…Something's shifting."
He felt it — a ripple at the farthest edge of his senses, like a thread tightening somewhere he couldn't see. Not danger, not yet. Just movement.
Masahiro's voice drifted faintly.
> "Another piece moved tonight. You must stay alert."
Akira's jaw tightened. "Varek?"
> "Varek… and the one he awakened."
A memory flashed — that empty place where the wind froze, Lisa's name on the news, and Reiji standing behind Rina with a smile too calm to trust.
Akira walked faster.
Meanwhile, the wind carried a sharp scent through the alleys — like iron and cold stone. Ryozen landed silently on a rooftop, his coat settling around him. The eagle had already vanished into the far distance.
He scanned the city.
Something felt wrong.
The sigils he placed earlier to track dimensional distortions were trembling. One of them had cracked.
"…Here we go."
He stepped forward — and at that moment, the shadow behind a chimney moved.
Ryozen didn't turn.
"Stop hiding."
The shadow peeled away like liquid darkness.
Varek stepped out, hands in pockets, expression blank — too calm.
"You called him already," Varek said softly. "The letter flew past my domain. I could've torn it, but…"
He smiled, slow.
"Let's see how he fights."
Ryozen's eyes narrowed. "This is your game? Dragging every monster toward Akira?"
Varek tilted his head. "Not every monster. Just the ones who matter."
Ryozen turned fully now — cold, sharp, golden gaze cutting the dark. "You went too far. You touched someone he cares about."
"His mother?" Varek asked lightly. "Or the girl?"
Ryozen's grip tightened on the glaive.
Varek stepped closer, voice dropping into a smooth, chilling whisper.
"The strings have already been pulled. The boy will break. Or he will awaken. Both are fine for me."
And the next second — he disappeared into a black ripple.
Ryozen didn't chase.
He lowered his head slightly.
"…We're running out of time."
Rina sat on her bed, hugging her knees.
Lisa's face from the news wouldn't leave her mind.
Something was wrong with the city.
Something was wrong with her life.
Something was wrong with—
Her phone buzzed.
A message from Reiji:
Did you reach home safely?
Rina stared at it.
Such a simple text.
So normal.
So gentle.
But her hands trembled as she typed back.
Yes. Thank you for walking me.
She paused before sending it…
then pressed send anyway.
She didn't know it yet.
But the path she stepped onto was already stained.
Reiji walked through an abandoned underpass, whistling softly.
Blood dried on his fingers — Lisa's blood.
He flicked it away casually.
He held a photograph in his pocket.
Rina's.
The scent from the napkin Varek gave him still lingered on his skin.
"I'll find you again tomorrow," he murmured.
Behind him, something shifted.
A whisper.
A movement.
He smiled without turning.
"I know you're watching, brother."
From a twisted pillar, a thin figure with silver eyes emerged — another servant of the shadows, silently observing.
Reiji licked his teeth.
"Tell Varek I'm ready."
The figure vanished.
Reiji continued walking.
Still smiling.
Across the city, Akira stepped out of the train, unaware that his world was tightening from three sides.
Ryozen watched him from the rooftop opposite, unseen.
Varek watched them both from farther away.
Reiji planned his next move.
And somewhere in a distant land, an eagle crossed the ocean carrying the only hope Akira didn't even know he needed.