The Cyber Ascension Arc 3 | Volume 3 |Chapter 26: A Night Without Dawn
It was a quiet night.
A kind of silence that felt too perfect, too gentle… the kind that only exists right before a tragedy.
Everyone was asleep.
Jin Yuan lay on his side, one arm wrapped securely around Emily. Her warmth pressed softly against him, her breathing slow, steady, peaceful. The window curtains fluttered a little from the night breeze.
He buried his face lightly into her hair.
Jin Yuan: "…So warm…"
She didn't answer — already asleep, breathing softly. The kind of breath that makes someone else sleepy too. Slowly, his eyes closed. He felt her heartbeat against his chest, a soft rhythmic tap, and he drifted off.
The room was peaceful.
Outside, the moon glowed pale white.
Nothing felt wrong.
Not yet.
---
A Morning That Should Not Exist
A faint light hit his eyelids.
Jin Yuan woke slowly… hazily… without any real awareness. His hand slid along the blanket, searching for Emily.
She was right there beside him.
But—
His fingers touched something… cold.
Not "cool from the morning breeze" cold.
Dead cold.
Jin Yuan's eyes opened fully.
Emily lay on the bed…
her pajamas normal…
her hair soft…
her face the same as every morning…
Except for one thing.
Her entire body was wet with blood.
Not dripping. Not gushing.
Just… covered, like she had bled silently in her sleep.
Jin Yuan sat up instantly, grabbing her shoulders.
Jin Yuan: "Emily?!"
He pulled her to him, feeling her head fall limply against his chest.
Her skin was cold.
Her body was heavy.
Her heartbeat—
none.
A thin tremble ran through Jin Yuan's hands.
Jin Yuan: "Emily… Emily, don't do this. Hey. Wake up."
His voice was shaking.
A rare thing.
So rare that even he didn't recognize his own tone.
He placed his ear against her chest.
Nothing.
He placed his palm where her heart should be.
Nothing.
He pressed harder.
As if trying to force her heart to move.
Still nothing.
Jin Yuan (whispering): "It's not funny… come on. You're warm. You're still warm—Emily—"
His voice cracked.
He cupped her face, thumbs brushing her cheeks, but her eyelids didn't move.
Her lips didn't twitch.
Nothing.
A thin line of tears slid down his cheek.
He gathered her into his arms, lifting her softly, cradling her like something fragile.
Then he stood up.
Jin Yuan:
"Sensei! Nashino! Yuzurei! Anyone—someone answer me!"
His shout echoed in the house.
But no one responded.
---
The First Door
Jin Yuan kicked open Nashino's room door.
And froze.
Nashino and Youchina were curled in each other's arms…
like they always slept…
a warm, gentle embrace…
Except…
Their bodies weren't warm anymore.
No blood on their clothes.
No injuries.
No wounds.
Just… dead.
Silent.
Lifeless.
Their faces looked calm.
Like they simply fell asleep and never woke again.
Jin Yuan's grip on Emily tightened until his knuckles whitened.
His breathing grew sharper.
Jin Yuan: "…What the hell is happening…?"
---
The Second Door
Musukoni's room.
He lay on his bed…
completely still.
Eyes closed.
Arms resting calmly at his sides.
As if someone had drained the life out of him without a sound.
Jin Yuan: "Damn it—!"
He slammed the door open so hard it broke off its hinge.
---
The Third Door
Yuzurei and Shinoki.
Hugged together the same way they always cuddled while sleeping.
Yuzurei's arms around her.
Her head against his chest.
Their faces peaceful.
No blood.
No marks.
No reason.
Just death.
A cold shiver ran down Jin Yuan's spine.
He clenched his teeth so hard his jaw shook.
Jin Yuan: "…Tch… This—this can't be real—"
---
The Fourth Door
Shioinkin.
Lying still.
Covered in nothing.
Killed by nothing.
Breathing gone.
Gone.
Gone.
Everyone was gone.
Everyone except—
Except him.
And the dead girl in his arms.
---
The House Turns Red
A soft sound.
Splsh.
Jin Yuan stepped back.
His foot sank into something warm.
He looked down.
Blood.
A thin layer.
Ankle-deep.
Flowing out from the rooms.
Flowing down the hallway.
Flowing like a river, filling the entire house.
The windows burst open.
The doors swung wide.
The moon outside turned—
Purple.
Half moon.
Violent.
Wrong.
Bats flooded the sky.
The world itself felt dead.
Jin Yuan held Emily tighter, pressing his forehead to hers.
His voice broke entirely.
Jin Yuan:
"Emily…
Please…
Don't leave me like this…"
His shoulders shook.
He wasn't strong right now.
He wasn't calm.
He wasn't collected.
He was just a boy who lost everything.
---
A Voice From Above
A shadow rose.
High above, sitting casually on a tall pole, was a figure cloaked entirely in black.
His legs crossed.
His posture relaxed.
His presence cold as death.
He watched Jin Yuan like watching a dying animal.
Then—
He chuckled.
A low, dark, mocking sound.
???:
"Hm…
How pathetic."
His voice echoed like thunder across the bloody world.
Jin Yuan looked up, eyes burning, teeth clenched, holding Emily's lifeless body as if it were the last piece of his soul.
The figure laughed again—
softly…
almost kindly…
yet colder than ice.
---
End of Chapter.