As Esmeray's voice echoed through the cavern, the ground beneath the group trembled as the faint scent of charred sweetness filled the air.
Then the roof of the cave further cracked open, revealing a dark void above. From this void, red droplets began to fall in acid rain, burning holes into the earth wherever they landed.
His Leere, a glowing crimson book, hovered before him, its pages flipping with a ferocious speed like it was possessed.
His voice carried a despair that he had long endured as he proclaimed: "I have conquered the moon. With its power, I command not just light and shadow but the beasts born of it. Witness the hunger that devours all."
The red rain intensified, heralding the arrival of the Husks, dropping like sky eels upon their prey. They crawled, slithered, and leapt from the gaping void, attaching themselves to the cavern walls.
A grotesque menagerie of creatures emerged—hulking bear-like beasts with exposed ribs, skeletal birds with blackened feathers dripping shadow, serpentine fish thrashing through the air, and swarms of insects, their bony wings cutting the air like razor blades.
A black mist enveloped them all, pulsating with malice.
The group couldn't do anything but watch the hunter's oppressive haze gripping their lungs like a vice.
Tang-Ji stumbled backwards, her face pale, her nails digging into her palms so hard they drew blood. Besides her, Junyo muttered furiously under his breath, his fingers working on his gauntlet in a trance.
Kompto's normally calm demeanour fractured slightly; his gaze locked on the creatures as his thoughts exploded like fireworks.
'Their movements... they're calculating. They aren't mindless beasts. He's controlling them.'
But it was Emiko who broke the silence.
Her teeth clenched, her breath sharp as a blade, she gripped onto the paper talisman in her hand, the effigy she'd crafted, so tightly her knuckles turned white. The words Esmeray had spoken earlier burned in her mind: 'A golden bird cage.'
"I'll show him whose wings are clipped!" she snarled, her body trembling with raw, unfiltered rage. Without warning, she charged headlong into the black haze, her form disappearing into the shadow.
Her right arm drew back, fingers curling around nothing, tension coiling in her muscles, bracing against an unseen force. Her left hand shot forward, grasping at the air with an unrelenting grip, her stance solid—poised, aligning herself with something only she could see.
"Emiko, stop!" Ji-Soon called out, but his voice was drowned in the roar of the Husks.
A blur of motion—the metal giant lunged after her, his larger frame tackling her mid-run. They tumbled to the ground, his weight pinning her down.
"Get off of me!" She screamed, thrashing like a wild animal, her fists pounding against his iron chest plate. "I don't need you—or any man—to save me!"
The light that was flowing through Decker's mask flickered slightly.
Gripping her wrists with the mechanical arm, he barked, his tone dripping with sarcasm and barely contained rage: "Yeah, sure, Princess, go on! Charge in like some tragic hero! I'm sure those bones-for-brains beasts'll line up to thank you for the fight before they rip your dumb ass to shreds!"
She froze momentarily, glaring up at him, her chest heaving.
He leant closer, his voice low but cutting; his aggression sharpened into brutal clarity. She could also hear his faint breath through the blue mask.
"Listen here, princess. Its time to get your mind out of this little fantasy of yours about men being the big bad and women being angels." He dragged the words out, slow and deliberate.
"Grow up. Do you think this is about you? Do you think throwing yourself into their jaws is gonna prove you're strong? No—it proves you're a fuckin' moron. You wanna shove that creep's words down his throat? Then work with the team, not like some idiot trying to prove a point to a dead man."
Emiko scoffed, her head pressed against the simmering, unrelenting ground, heat curling around the edges of something she refused to name. "Says you. The asshole who decided to act mature for once."
"Go fuck yourself," Decker spat. "You can kill yourself later, but some of us would like to live, so help us and yourself, or I will make you."
For a moment, silence hung between them. Then, slowly, Emiko's struggling ceased, though her glare remained fiery. She hissed through clenched teeth, "Get off me."
"Hmph," Decker smirked grimly but relented, rising to his feet and offering her a hand. She ignored it, standing on her own, her shoulders squared.
"You can't make me do anything," Emiko muttered. "I'll do it for myself."
Before either could say more, Esmeray's laughter boomed through the cavern.
"How quaint," he sneered, his voice dripping with mockery. "Look at you—a pack of confused deer, huddling together, hoping the lion won't notice. But even deer have more sense than to challenge the chef."
He extended an arm, the glowing crescent moon tattoo on his chest pulsing with eerie light.
"I have spent my life scavenging scraps, turning them into feasts, only for others to consume what I laboured for. But now? Now, I am the one who decides the menu. And you..." He gestured at the group with a theatrical flourish. "...you are just the appetisers."
A sinister energy surged through the cavern as the creatures began to advance. The hunter smirked, his violet eyes gleaming.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The cavern trembled. Black mist crept in, an unrelenting tide swallowing space.
Kompto's voice rose above the chaos as the ground quivered beneath them with an uneven tremor that sent loose pebbles skittering across the stone. "Grab him! Get behind cover!"
Junyo's trembling hands clutched Kazami's motionless body as Kompto dragged him towards a large, jagged boulder near the wall.
Dust from the collapsing tunnel clouded the air, but even as the debris rumbled behind them, Kompto's attention snapped back to the others.
"Move!" he shouted, his voice raw. "We're running out of time!"
But no one moved.
Tang-Ji stood frozen, her legs rooted like deadened tree trunks. Her breaths came shallow, her gaze blank, and her mind a cacophony of fractured thoughts. Something heavy and cruel pressed down on her chest, an invisible weight that suffocated her will to act.
'I'm not even worth killing,' she thought bitterly, her vision blurring as a dark, inky shade began creeping over her sapphire eyes, fully hollowing them out like an abyss.
Kompto's frustrated cries grew distant, swallowed by the deafening silence within her mind. The world outside faded, and when her focus returned, she found herself standing in a void—a space stripped bare of everything except an old television flickering with static.
The sharp hum of static buzzed in her ears as she cautiously approached. The screen seemed impossibly vivid in this barren space, and as she drew closer, the distorted pixels began to resolve into a shape—no, a reflection.
Tang-Ji blinked. It wasn't quite her reflection, though it was eerily close.
The girl on the screen smirked, her sharp red eyes brimming with confidence. Her short bob haircut, streaked with vibrant crimson highlights, framed her face like a blade.
She wore her school uniform, but draped over it was a jacket adorned with intricate patterns, its bold design clashing against the uniform's simplicity.
"Hey," the girl drawled, leaning forward with a sly tilt of her head. "Been tryin' to reach you for a while. Looks like we've finally gone and done it."
Tang-Ji stumbled back a step, startled by the voice.
"You gonna keep gawking at me, or are you gonna speak?" The girl said, shrugging her shoulders.
"I—" She stammered, words tumbling over each other, but she couldn't form a proper sentence. So many questions occupied her mind. 'Who are you? Where am I? Why do you look like me? I... I need to get back to everyone—'
The girl cut her off, her voice sharp but laced with an amused edge. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Who are you, where am I, blah blah blah. Trust me, I've heard this script before."
Tang-Ji froze. 'How did she know what I was going to say?'
The girl's smirk widened, her expression dripping with mischief. "Oh, that's easy. I've seen this movie a hundred times. I know exactly what's coming next."
The void around them began to shake, the ground quaking beneath her feet. She stumbled, glancing around in panic.
"See?" The girl said with a casual shrug. "That's your cue. Things are about to go really bad out there. So, you ready to wake up yet?"
Tang-Ji's voice cracked. "Wake up? I... I'm not strong enough. I can't do it. Not even Kazami was able to win. Even with everyone's effort... there is no way I—"
"Stop." The girl's voice sliced through Tang-Ji's spiralling thoughts.
Her bold tone softened just slightly, but her red eyes burned with an almost primal intensity. "You still don't get it, do you? You don't need to be like Kazami or anyone else. You need to be you."
"You're not done yet, are you? There are still people waiting. Things only you can do."
She stepped forward, her fingers touching the screen.
"You already decided to face what scared you most—now you just need the strength to match it."
Tang-Ji's mind reeled, memories flashing before her eyes.
She saw her parents' faces, their strained smiles hiding a sadness they couldn't quite conceal. She thought of Kazami, his reckless kindness and his relentless determination to bring people together.
'He saved me,' she thought. 'He showed me a world beyond the hollow shell I was living in. Even in this nightmare, I've started to feel... alive.'
The girl behind the screen leant closer, her crimson eyes gleaming. "So, here's the deal. Its resolve that you need. The power that will free you from this boring life of yours. I'll give it to you. All you have to do is say the word."
She hesitated, her fists clenching at her sides.
"Tick-tock," the girl teased, tapping her wrist. The void began to crack and splinter, the tremors growing stronger. "Come on. He's waiting for you. You've got nothing to lose—except everything."
Tang-Ji's breath hitched. Her voice, quiet but steady, cut through the chaos. "I'll fight. Not for me, but for them. I'll protect them."
The girl's grin widened, and she clapped her hands together with exaggerated enthusiasm. "There it is! Finally, some fire! Now, go show them what you're made of. Although I do have to give you a word of advice..."
The mysterious girl paused for a moment, her eyes looking down as her tone changed. "It would be wise for you to give up on the idea of saving everyone. It'll only lead to more suffering."
As the void shattered, Tang-Ji felt a strange sensation coursing through her limbs. Her body trembled—not with fear, but for the first time with a resolve that she had been desperately seeking all this time.
Her long black hair began to glow faintly, red strands weaving through the darkness like embers catching flame.
Everyone stood still as the scene unfolded before them. Her appearance suddenly changed. Her once-clouded eyes now glowed a vivid, unrelenting red, and the faint light of her hair cast a brilliance across her face.
She stepped forward, her meek voice cutting through the oppressive silence with surprising strength. "Everyone! Get behind me," she said, her tone steady and sure.
The black mist hesitated, sensing the shift in her presence.
The hunter tilted his head, his amused smirk faltering for the first time. "Well, well," he murmured, his voice laced with curiosity. "It seems the deer has decided to become a wolf."