The palace groaned — a long, deep, rumbling sound that vibrated through every bone in their bodies.Cracks split the floor beneath them like lightning, racing in jagged, chaotic patterns.
Yui gasped as the ground vanished under her feet."Ayumi!" she screamed, reaching out instinctively. Ayumi reached back, fingertips just inches away—
But then the floor broke between them.
The fall was violent. Wind screamed past her ears. Debris, blood, shards of the palace's heart swirled in the air like a storm of memory and death.
Yui's fingers clawed at nothing.
She shut her eyes tight, she didn't want to see, didn't want to see Ayumi falling too far away, didn't want to feel like she'd lost her.
Then—impact.
She slammed onto cold, cracked pavement,for a moment, there was nothing but ringing. Her body ached like she had shattered. Her lungs pulled in smoke.Yui blinked hard, disoriented—then the world around her snapped into clarity.
Her home. What was left of it.
Flames consumed buildings that once held schools and homes.
Power lines sparked and hissed in pools of blood.
Dead bodies littered the streets, twisted unnaturally.The air reeked of fire, rot, and something worse. She staggered to her feet, eyes wide with horror.Not a dream. Not a nightmare. This was real.
"Kaito…?" she heard herself say before she saw him.
Kaito was a few feet away, coughing as he tried to sit up, eyes glassy with shock.
Nearby, Haru stood already — scraped, filthy, trembling. His hair was matted, blood drying on his temple.
His eyes locked on Yui, Ayumi, and Daichi as they pulled themselves off the pavement.A flicker of relief crossed his face.
"You're both okay…" Yui's lip quivered, and despite everything, she smiled at the sight of him — tired, but alive.
But Haru looked away. The weight in his voice returned like iron.
"Haruka is dead."
It hit like a car crash. Yui's stomach dropped. Her face paled. "What…?" Ayumi staggered back like someone punched her. Her arms hung limp. "No… no, no, what..how…? I mean..shit.."
Daichi shook his head slowly. His hands were balled into fists. "Are you sure…?"
"I found her." Haru said, his voice empty.
The fire cracked in the distance.
Yui covered her mouth as tears built. Her legs felt weak. Ayumi collapsed onto her knees, a shaking mess, eyes unblinking. Daichi turned away, a tear slipping down his cheek even as he clenched his jaw.
Daichi's voice was heavy, breaking the brittle silence that hung over the group like a shroud. "Airi and Haruka are really gone…" he said softly, eyes darting between them.Yui's eyes brimmed with tears again, the weight of loss pressing down on her chest like a stone.
Ayumi swallowed hard, voice barely a whisper. "We've lost so many… I don't know how much more I can take..."
The four of them stood there, broken and silent, surrounded by the ruined world — grief settling over them like cold ash.
No words could fix what was lost. Only the haunting ache of absence.
The group slowly stood, their limbs trembling, clothes torn, blood crusting on their skin. The ground beneath them was cracked and ruined — familiar streets now warped beyond recognition. Fire licked the edges of collapsed buildings, and distant screams echoed like sirens of the dead.
Then Daichi pointed, horror curling in his voice. "Look… up…"
They followed his gaze.
In the sky, looming like a god over a shattered world, The Watcher swallowed the planet slowly — as if consuming it like a fruit. A black void spiraled behind its jagged form, its silhouette stitched across the clouds like a tear in the fabric of reality.
Its wide maw opened, rows of teeth gnashing as it devoured whole pieces of the sky.
Yui gasped, stumbling back. "It's him… b-but… how…" Her voice cracked as she stared at the abomination that had once offered her a wish.The others looked up, Ayumi's face pale, Daichi clutching his chest, Kaito frozen in terror. Around them, spirits swarmed like insects crawling through the wreckage like parasites. The limbo had fully invaded the living world.
A screech tore through the air.
From the smoke emerged a massive spirit — grotesque and disjointed. Its arms bent at impossible angles, eyes bulging from its skinless face. It lunged.
Haru shouted, charging in first. "Get ready!"
The spirit slammed its arm down toward Ayumi, but she rolled away, tossing a blast of orange energy from her sword and slashing its shoulder, it burned the spirit's shoulder, forcing it back.
Yui tried to get up, her ankle injured, but Daichi helped her up just in time. "Stay close to me!"
The spirit snapped toward them, its massive jaw opening. Daichi launched a glowing spear of energy from his sword — it pierced the creature's chest, but it barely flinched.
Kaito appeared beside Yui, holding his transformed sword in both hands. "On your right!"
But Yui wasn't fast enough. The spirit struck her across the side, sending her flying against the debris with a sickening crack.
"YUI!" Ayumi screamed.
Yui let out a ragged cry of pain, her body twisted, blood pouring from her side.
The spirit turned toward her again —
"No—!" Ayumi jumped between them, the spirit grabbed her leg and she was thrown back, skidding across the pavement, her shoulder dislocated, her ribs likely broken.
Daichi ran to shield her, launching another attack at the spirit. It hit, but the spirit grabbed Daichi by the arm and slammed him into the ground — once, twice — before tossing him aside like a rag doll.
Still, he got up, limping, blood dripping from his mouth. "I'm not done," he growled.
Meanwhile, Haru stared up at The Watcher in the sky, the fires of rage consuming him.
"I'm not letting him die," he hissed. "I'm ending this."
"Haru, wait—!" Kaito called, but it was too late.
Haru launched himself into the sky with a powerful burst of energy, leaping impossibly high toward the towering figure that consumed the heavens. Kaito chased after him, propelled by his own transformation, terrified.
"Haru!!"
Haru flew up to the watcher gripping his sword and raising it up "You bastard ... .What is this…huh?! We trusted you!" He unleashed a barrage of attacks — his sword slicing The Watcher in each direction— each one hitting The Watcher's , but it was like hitting a stone.
The Watcher's head turned slowly, no emotion, no flinch.
Kaito reached him, grabbing Haru's arm mid-swing. "Stop! Haru — you're going to get hurt! You can't fight it alone!"
"Get off me!!!!" Haru's voice cracked, full of grief. "It took my sister! It took her! I watched it!!" He struck again, his palm bleeding from his nails digging into it as he gripped his sword— The Watcher didn't even blink.
Down below, Yui screamed in pain, Ayumi clutched her side while shielding her friend, Daichi stood
Ayumi leaned over her, shaking. "Haru's going to get himself killed—"
Daichi coughed hard, wiping blood from his chin as he struggled to stand. "If he keeps that up… the Watcher might finally respond…" Haru wanted to hurt it. Needed to. If he stopped moving, stopped hitting, it would all come back. As he was fighting, he remembered something, he remembered when Airi comforted him in the palace, their last interaction, he regrets not saying something back to her, he wished so hard that she was still alive.
——————FLASHBACK——————
|| She broke the silence, her voice soft yet firm. "Remember when you comforted me… after my dad was possessed? After he killed my mom and then himself?"
Haru didn't answer, but the tension in his body eased just a little.
"Ever since that day," Airi continued, "I wanted to be a good friend to you. To help you. And right now… I really want to help." ||
—————————————————————————-
than he remembered Haruka, He remembered the time they were with each other in Egypt,
"Can't I enjoy the ocean without being accused of plotting?" Haruka said
"No," Haru said flatly. "Because I know you."
She turned toward him. "You know I could kick your ass in this water, right?"
—————————————————————————-
He smiled and laughed softly, remembering the fun times they had together, he got a bit distracted. The Watcher lightly flicked him with his finger and he went flying back, his body engraved in the streets as he dragged across it. Haru's body flew like a ragdoll, flung from the sky.
He crashed into the street below, then skidded. His back tore through asphalt and broken glass. Concrete scraped flesh. His shoulder smashed into a flipped-over streetlight, which folded on impact. He finally came to a stop against a shattered wall, blood trailing behind him like a red comet.
Kaito ran to Haru's side, sliding to a stop next to his bruised and bloodied form.
"I told you to stop!" Kaito hissed, panic and frustration fighting in his voice. Haru was breathing hard, half-conscious, his arm twitching, blood smearing the cracked pavement beneath him. Kaito's eyes darted to the shattered storefront just a few feet away — a half-destroyed convenience store. He saw water bottles strewn inside. A plan clicked. "Stay there! I'll be right back!"
Before Haru could even grunt, Kaito was already moving.
He darted into the store, grabbing a water bottle that hadn't burst open and yanking a rag from the shelf. He sprinted back, panting hard, kneeling beside Haru.
"Flip over," Kaito said, twisting open the cap.
Haru grunted but obeyed with a flinch, rolling onto his side with great effort.
His piece of armor stuck to his back with dried blood and ripped open where skin had been torn raw by the asphalt. Kaito winced, but didn't hesitate — he poured the cold water directly onto the worst part of the wound.
Haru jerked, letting out a sharp hiss. "God—!"
"I know," Kaito muttered. "Breathe. I need to stop the bleeding." He pressed the soaked rag onto the wound firmly. Haru tensed, digging his fingernails into the pavement, but didn't push Kaito away.