Kael Ardent’s katana gleamed cold beneath the fractured moonlight, its razor edge hovering mere inches from Akitsu Shouga’s throat. The blade did not tremble. Neither did the hand holding it.

  “Who are you?” Kael asked.

  “What are you doing inside private property?”

  His voice was calm—too calm—but each word carried the unmistakable weight of steel poised to fall.

  Akitsu did not flinch.

  “I live here,” he replied evenly.

  His fingers brushed against the wooden doorframe behind him, the familiar texture grounding him amid the pressure pressing down on his chest.

  Kael’s dark eyes narrowed, scanning Akitsu from head to toe.

  “You live here?” he repeated. “I thought you were a commoner. Why would a commoner be living in a mansion like this?”

  Akitsu lifted his chin just slightly.

  “Ask the owner,” he said. “He’ll confirm it. I live here. There’s no lie in my words.”

  For a long moment, Kael did not move.

  Then—slowly—his grip eased. The katana slid back into its white scabbard with a soft, controlled click.

  “Alright,” Kael said at last. “I sense no dishonesty.”

  Akitsu exhaled quietly, tension bleeding from his shoulders—but only for an instant.

  “We need to check on the others,” he said immediately. “They could still be in danger.”

  “Lead the way,” Kael replied, stepping aside with the precision of a trained soldier.

  They moved swiftly through the mansion’s shadowed corridors. The halls felt hollow now, stripped of warmth, the echoes of destruction lingering in cracked walls and broken doors. Kael followed closely behind, silent, his movements economical and deliberate—every step measured, every breath controlled.

  When they reached Kaoru’s room, Akitsu stopped short.

  The door wouldn’t budge.

  Something heavy had been jammed against it from the inside.

  “Rikuya-san? Renjiro-san?” Akitsu called out. “It’s safe now! Come out!”

  A pause.

  Then faint shuffling sounds. A breath held.

  The door creaked open.

  “Akitsu-kun!” Renjiro’s voice broke with relief as the barricade was slowly pushed aside.

  Kael stepped forward, his presence immediately commanding the room.

  “Do not worry,” he said evenly. “The danger has passed now that I am here.”

  Renjiro’s eyes widened.

  “It’s the Kingdom’s hero…!”

  The door swung fully open, and everyone spilled into the hallway. Rikuya collapsed to her knees, pressing a trembling hand to her chest as she exhaled shakily.

  “I thought…” she whispered. “I thought we wouldn’t survive…”

  Akitsu’s gaze shifted to Kaoru, who clung to her mother’s sleeve, half-hidden, eyes wide with lingering fear.

  Liora stepped forward, her voice calm but edged with concern.

  “What happened, hero?”

  Kael straightened.

  “A villain appeared,” he said. “I stopped him.”

  Akitsu clenched his fists, jaw tightening.

  “You… stopped him?” he muttered. “He escaped, didn’t he?”

  Rikuya’s voice cracked instantly.

  “So… he’s coming back?”

  “He’ll kill us?”

  Kael’s expression didn’t waver.

  “Do not worry. We will escort you to a safer place.”

  Akitsu’s thoughts churned violently.

  Safety?

  We can’t hide forever.

  Kael gestured toward the shattered entrance.

  “Follow me. We will leave the mansion.”

  The group moved together, hesitant but obedient. Akitsu lingered at the back.

  He stopped.

  The mansion—once a place of fragile peace—was now a charred skeleton. Blackened walls. Shattered windows. Scars carved deep into its structure.

  Seraphine Orion floated beside him, her glow subdued.

  “Yes… it is sad,” she said quietly. “But it wasn’t yours, was it?”

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Akitsu looked down.

  His clothes were torn, scorched, stained with a strange blue liquid clinging unnaturally to the fabric. He touched it—

  Agony ripped through his hand.

  The substance hissed, burning into his skin, dissolving flesh with horrifying slowness.

  He screamed.

  A sharp pain detonated inside his skull, overwhelming every thought, every sense—

  And the world went black.

  When Akitsu opened his eyes, he stood once more in the ethereal void.

  The red island awaited him, floating in endless black water. At its center stood the solitary cherry blossom tree, petals drifting lazily through the air.

  Fifteen petals.

  No more. No less.

  Red doors hovered above the water’s surface, silent, unmoving.

  I’m back… again.

  His footsteps echoed unnaturally as he approached one of the doors.

  He opened it.

  Silence swallowed him whole.

  Flashback

  Rain battered the sidewalks as Akitsu approached the apartment complex. His fingers dug into the rough edges of a concrete brick, knuckles white.

  Fourth floor. Room C4.

  Lights flickered inside.

  He hurled the brick.

  Glass exploded inward.

  Akitsu vanished into the stairwell.

  A bald man stepped outside moments later, tattoos crawling across his skin, cigarette smoke curling around his furious face.

  “Who did this?!”

  Akitsu emerged from the shadows.

  “I did that.”

  The man froze.

  “You? Who—tell me the truth!”

  Akitsu moved.

  A shard of glass drove straight into the man’s eyes.

  A scream tore the air apart.

  “I told you,” Akitsu said coldly. “I did it.”

  Another shard.

  Another scream.

  Akitsu entered the apartment.

  His sister crouched naked in the corner, bloodied, shaking.

  He grabbed clothes from the wardrobe, hands steady despite everything, and dressed her. Together, they walked out.

  Behind them, the man wailed—blind, broken, ruined.

  End Flashback

  Akitsu jolted awake.

  He lay in his bed, the night pressing heavy and suffocating around him.

  Seraphine Orion hovered nearby.

  “Nightmare?”

  “No,” Akitsu said, sitting up. “It was real.”

  He stood and moved toward the door. Seraphine followed, unease flickering across her expression.

  Outside—

  A girl stood waiting.

  No eyes.

  No mouth.

  White rags clung loosely to her thin frame.

  Akitsu froze.

  “Oh…”

  Seraphine hissed.

  “What the hell is that?!”

  The girl’s voice was soft, fragmented, barely holding itself together.

  “Father… My name… Ayaka Tachibana.”

  Akitsu stared at her—then smiled faintly, something almost tender touching his lips.

  “A pretty name,” he said softly. “For a sweet girl like you.”

  She nodded.

  Seraphine recoiled.

  “She called you father?! What is happening?!”

  “Hold on,” Akitsu said calmly. “I’ll explain later. For now… she’s harmless. Follow me. No questions.”

  “…Easier said than done,” Seraphine muttered.

  They descended the staircase cautiously.

  Then—

  Metallic footsteps echoed from above.

  “Orion,” Akitsu said quietly. “Make me two sharp wooden swords.”

  “Why?” she asked.

  Akitsu’s eyes lifted.

  “Because we have a visitor.”

  At the top of the stairs stood a man in a blue hoodie, soaked dark with blood. His face was wrapped in crimson-stained bandages. In his hands, two glowing semicircle blades hummed faintly.

  Malice poured off him, heavy enough to warp the shadows around his form.

  Akitsu tightened his grip.

  This night—

  It was far from over.