Danger.
My right arm burned.
Not like a surface wound — but deep. Inside the bone. A twisting fire that surged through my body, rewriting me from the inside out.
My skin shimmered, rippled.
Then — shifted.
It happened fast. Too fast to understand.
In a blink, my arm wasn't my arm anymore.
It was a weapon.A claw, wreathed in roaring blue fire, pulsing with something ancient. Something furious.
And in my heart — I knew.
Twenty seconds.That's all I had.
Why did I know that? I didn't have time to ask.
Because the monster turned.
A second to react.
I twisted mid-air, shifting my weight to dive — faster.The wind screamed in my ears.I could hear the monster breathing.Smell it — a mix of old metal and rotting things.
It lunged.
I barely dodged.
Its jaws missed — but not by much.I felt its teeth graze my left arm.
That could've been it.It almost ate me whole.
But then — I saw the opening.Just beneath its twisted, armor-plated jaw.
Now.
I struck.
My burning claw tore through its shadow-flesh. A crack of force and flame.
The thing screamed.
A sound like a thousand dying voices echoing at once — loud enough to shake the trees far below.
Then—It sprouted wings.
Massive, skeletal, and unnatural.
It took off into the sky, dragging darkness behind it like a cloak.
But I couldn't follow.I didn't have the strength. Or time.
Because—
Yumi was still falling.
No time to celebrate. No time to think.
Just dive.
I threw myself down the black hole after her.Down, down, into the dark.
I couldn't see a thing.Only wind. Only panic.
My claws flickered — the flames dimming — but I pushed forward.
"I have to go faster."
As I descended, the shadows around me shifted.
Figures. Faceless. Floating.
Ghost-like.
Dead… but also alive?
They didn't look at me.But I felt them.
Energy like whispers. Like regret.
Then — something new.
A flicker of orange light ahead, glowing faintly in the abyss.
Not a shadow. Not a ghost.
Her.
"Yumi!"
My chest cracked open with relief.
I pushed harder.
Then —Snap.
I caught her.
Arms wrapped tight around her.
Her body, warm and shaking in mine.
I held her like the world was ending.
Because it almost did.
"I got you," I whispered.
And I wasn't letting go.
Her body trembled against mine.Breath shallow. But there.
Alive.
Then—A whisper.
Inside me.
"So you would dive into death... for her."
Jinrai.
His voice — no longer just a thought — echoed in my chest like fire licking stone.
"Interesting. That will make our bond... stronger."
I didn't respond. I couldn't.I just held Yumi tighter.
But I could feel it now.He was awake. Watching.
And this was only the beginning.