Mira stood on the tavern rooftop, moonlight laying pale silver across her face.
The wind stilled.
The shadows thickened.
And then a voice curled around her like cold fingers.
"Mira…"
She exhaled slowly.
"What now?"
Death's presence deepened behind her.
"The child."
Mira stiffened.
"You mean Satoro's child?"
"Yes.
The final ancient soul grows within Nova."
Mira's eyes softened with both awe and dread.
"And my job?"
Death whispered:
"Protect her.
At all costs."
Mira looked down toward the tavern below — Nova sleeping, unaware of the life inside her.
"Arkhamis will sense the shift soon."
Death responded:
"He already has."
Mira's stomach dropped.
"What does that mean?"
"He will attack the weakest link…
Haruto's mind."
Mira clenched her jaw.
"So he's going to use Haruto."
Death's tone was grave.
"He will try to make the boy kill Nova.
He will lie.
He will manipulate.
And he will hide the true reason."
Mira gritted her teeth.
"Then I'll stop him."
Haruto's Breaking Point
In his small room, Haruto trembled violently.
His breath came in short, sharp bursts.
The shadows bent and twisted around him.
Arkhamis's voice slithered into his mind:
"Boy…"
Haruto covered his ears.
"No— not again—"
The voice grew deeper.
"Listen to me."
Haruto shook, eyes watering.
"What do you want?"
"The woman."
"…Nova?"
"Kill her."
Haruto froze.
"What?! Why would I—"
Arkhamis snarled with venom:
"She weakens Satoro.
Distracts him.
Pulls him from the path."
Haruto's pulse quickened.
"That's not true… Nova helps us—"
"She is poison."
"Stop lying—"
"SHE WILL BETRAY YOU."
Haruto screamed, grabbing his head.
"NO!!"
Arkhamis hissed:
"Protect your brother.
Remove her."
Haruto slammed his head into the wall—
Trying to drown the voice.
Trying to fight it.
Trying not to break.
Mira Confronts the Ancients
Later that night, Mira slipped into the abandoned palace ruins where Sable and the Dreaded Knight stood guard.
Sable raised an eyebrow.
"You look troubled."
Mira stepped forward, breath sharp.
"The cycle has changed."
Sable straightened.
"What?"
The Dreaded Knight leaned in.
"What do you mean?"
Mira crossed her arms.
"You remember last cycle.
The one Arkhamis possessed had a child.
You—" she looked at the Dreaded Knight,
"—your daughter carried the ancient soul."
The Dreaded Knight bowed his skeletal head, remembering the tragedy.
"But this time," Mira said carefully,
"…it's Sable's soul that created a child."
Sable's eyes widened only slightly.
"You're saying—?"
"Yes," Mira said.
"Satoro carries your reincarnated soul.
And the child inside Nova is the fifth ancient soul we need."
The Dreaded Knight stepped forward, voice rattling:
"Brother! This changes everything—"
But Sable turned away.
"No.
It changes nothing."
Mira's eyes narrowed.
"Sable— listen—"
"No," he snapped.
"Cycle or not, if that boy loses control, Arkhamis awakens.
If he awakens…
we lose the world."
The Dreaded Knight grabbed Sable's arm.
"Brother… this is hope. This is the FIRST time fate has changed the pattern!"
Sable shoved him away.
"HOPE means nothing when a demon god is trying to rise inside a child.
The solution remains the same."
Mira felt dread sink into her stomach.
"…And what solution is that?"
Sable looked at her with a cold, ancient emptiness.
"We kill Haruto."
Mira's Resolve
Mira stepped forward, voice trembling with fury.
"You will NOT touch him."
Sable's eyes glowed faint blue.
"You have five years.
Train him.
Control him.
Break the book."
He leaned in closer.
"Because if Arkhamis takes over before then…
I will end the boy myself."
Mira didn't flinch.
"You'll have to kill me first."
She teleported away—
Carrying the prophecy,
the unborn child,
and the weight of five years on her shoulders.