Haruto floated in darkness.
Cold.
Weightless.
Alone.
Then a voice slid through the void like poison.
"Little vessel…"
Arkhamis' silhouette stepped out of the shadows — tall, horned, dripping in chains of fire.
Haruto tried to move.
His body wouldn't respond.
"Stop… leave me alone…"
Arkhamis' form twisted around him like smoke.
"Why fight me?
Why fear what you already are?"
"I'm not you!" Haruto shouted.
Arkhamis laughed.
"Not yet."
Haruto's chest tightened.
The demon leaned forward, placing a cold clawed hand on Haruto's heart.
"But you WILL be."
Images slammed into Haruto's mind:
Bjorn dying.
Nova thrown through the cave wall.
Sataro bleeding.
Children screaming.
Sable watching and smiling.
Haruto clutched his head, screaming.
"STOP!"
Arkhamis whispered in his ear:
"Hate them."
"Hate the world."
"Hate the king."
Haruto shook violently.
Arkhamis' voice deepened, echoing like a nightmare in a cavern:
"Kill Sable."
"Kill him."
"Kill everyone who stands between us."
Haruto fell to his knees.
"I—I don't want to kill anyone…"
Arkhamis' tone shifted — almost gentle.
"Haruto… you lost Bjorn."
Haruto's eyes widened.
Pain stabbed through his chest.
"The king took him from you.
The king took your parents.
The king took your childhood.
The king will take your brother next."
Haruto shook in terror.
"No… he won't…"
Arkhamis chuckled.
"He WILL.
Unless you surrender to me."
The darkness tightened.
"Hate is strength.
Give me yours."
Haruto snarled through tears.
"NO!"
Arkhamis' eyes flashed.
"…You will.
Soon."
The demon's hand reached toward Haruto's chest—
Haruto gasped awake.
⸻
Waking to Fear
Haruto sat up with a violent inhaling scream.
"—AHHH!!"
The kids recoiled at first, terrified…
Then Lira burst into tears and hugged him tightly.
"H-HARUTO!!"
He clung to her, confused and shaky.
"Lira…? What— where—"
"You scared us!" she sobbed.
"You weren't breathing— you were shaking— you were glowing— you—"
Nova came closer, bruised arm still throbbing.
"Calm down, Lira. Let him breathe."
Lira sniffed and slowly backed up.
Haruto grabbed Nova's hand weakly.
"…I saw him."
"Arkhamis. He… he talked to me."
Nova's expression tightened.
"Yeah. That tracks."
⸻
Nova Explains
Nova carefully sat in front of him.
"You passed out after your demon tantrum, and then Sataro collapsed too.
You both scared the hell out of us."
Haruto blinked hard.
"S-Sataro? Is he okay?"
Nova nodded.
"Thanks to her."
She pointed to Lira.
Haruto's eyes widened.
"Lira… healed him?"
Nova nodded again.
"Turns out when stuff gets bad enough, she's got healing magic.
And not the normal kind everyone uses now."
Haruto stared at Lira like seeing her for the first time.
"She… she saved him?"
Nova smiled.
"Yeah. She saved both of you."
Then Nova pointed at Ren.
"And he's gifted too.
Don't know what it is yet — but it's something."
Haruto looked between them.
The fear in his chest eased—
but only a little.
Because Bjorn's absence was a giant hole in the room.
He swallowed hard.
"…Where's Bjorn."
Nova didn't answer.
Her silence was the answer.
Haruto's eyes filled with tears.
⸻
Bjorn's Funeral
They buried Bjorn beneath a great oak in silence.
Ren cried quietly.
Lira sobbed openly.
Even Haruto broke down, placing Bjorn's broken wooden sword at the base of the grave.
Nova stood with her stuffed wolf clutched to her chest.
But Sataro…
Sataro wasn't there.
He was sitting outside the cave, sharpening his sword with dead, cold eyes.
⸻
Sataro's Cold Turn
Nova stormed into the hideout afterward.
"What is WRONG with you?!"
Sataro didn't look up.
"We don't have time for funerals."
Nova's voice cracked with anger.
"He gave his LIFE for your little brother!"
"He's dead," Sataro replied flatly.
"We're next if we don't move."
Haruto froze behind Nova, staring at his brother.
This wasn't Sataro's voice.
This was someone else.
Nova shook her head.
"You didn't even say goodbye."
Sataro finally looked up — no warmth in his eyes.
"There's no use crying over something I can't change."
Nova stepped closer.
"You're becoming heartless."
"Good."
She trembled.
"You're acting like King Sable."
Haruto gasped.
Ren and Lira looked terrified.
Sataro paused for just a moment…
Then he went back to sharpening his blade.
"If being like Sable keeps us alive, fine."
Nova's heart dropped.
"You can't mean that."
"All that matters," Sataro said quietly,
"is finding a safer place…
and killing that man."
⸻
Planning Their Next Move
The room fell silent.
Nova finally exhaled shakily.
"…I know a place we can go."
Sataro looked up.
Finally.
"But before we go," Nova continued softly,
"…we're honoring Bjorn.
Properly.
Whether you care or not."
Sataro's jaw tightened, but he didn't argue.
He just said:
"Fine.
After today… we move."
Nova nodded.
"After today