The knights moved cautiously through the abandoned lair, the air thick with the scent of blood and ruin. Shadows stretched long across broken cages, shattered weapons, and walls scarred with the violence of battle. Silence hung over the place, but it wasn't peaceful—it was the kind that settled after something unspeakable.
One of the younger knights swallowed hard. "What… happened here?" His voice barely rose above a whisper.
"A war," another muttered. "A one-sided one, by the looks of it."
The older knight ran a gloved hand over the deep claw marks in the walls. "Whoever did this didn't just kill… they erased."
The younger knight hesitated. "But… then where are the bodies?"
A cold hush fell over them.
Elsewhere in the ruins, a group of knights gathered in what had once been the boss's chamber. The thick scent of ink and dust lingered as papers lay scattered across the floor. Behind the desk, flipping through the remains of old ledgers with a methodical patience, stood a man who didn't belong in this chaos.
Inspector Angelo.
The crisp brown uniform he wore had not a single wrinkle, his cap tilted at the exact right angle, his movements precise. But his fingers moved with an urgency, his eyes scanning documents with an intensity that suggested something important was missing.
A knight stepped into the room, snapping to attention. "Inspector, we've secured everything we need, sir."
Angelo didn't look up. "And the weapons?"
"All transported safely."
"Good." He turned a page, eyes narrowing. "And the slaves?"
The knight hesitated. "Gone, sir. Not a trace."
This time, Angelo paused. He lifted his gaze, his sharp eyes locking onto the knight like a blade pressing into flesh. "Gone?"
"Yes, sir. No remains. No chains left behind. It's like… they were never here."
A slow smile crept onto Angelo's face, but his eyes remained unreadable. "And the one who tipped us off?"
The knight shifted uncomfortably. "No trace of them either. It's like they vanished into thin air."
A low chuckle left Angelo's lips. "Vanished? No… I don't think so." He tapped a gloved finger on the desk, a silent rhythm of thought. "Whoever they are, they did exactly what they came to do. Nothing more, nothing less."
The knight stood stiffly, unsure whether to take that as reassurance or a warning.
Angelo returned his gaze to the papers, but his movements had changed—less calculated, more restless. He flipped through them faster, his fingers gripping the pages tighter. The disappointment was faint, but it was there.
Something was missing.
Something important.
With a slow exhale, he whispered under his breath, "Where are you hiding?"
. . . . . . . .
As the moon shone brightly, Subaru walked steadily, with Raphael's weight secure on his back, his breathing light but steady.
A faint murmur broke the silence. "…Lily…"
Subaru glanced back slightly, his expression unreadable. But then, in a rare moment of softness, he muttered, "Your sister's safe, kid." His voice carried no doubt, only certainty.
As he pressed forward, his gaze darkened, lost in thoughts he hadn't visited in a long time. "Didn't think I'd still see traces of you…" he whispered to himself. A bitter chuckle followed. "Still trying to find your way back, huh?"
Then, just ahead, two small figures lay nestled beneath a tree. Subaru's sharp eyes took them in instantly—Lily and Kibo, curled up against each other, asleep. Beside them, two unmoving bodies.
His steps quickened. He crouched beside them, his gaze sweeping over their faces first—unharmed. A slow breath left him, but his focus shifted to the bodies. He studied them, his expression unreadable. Did Kibo do this?
Then, a stir. Lily's eyelashes fluttered. Her drowsy eyes met his, filled with hazy confusion.
"Hey, little one," Subaru said, his voice softer than usual. He shifted Raphael slightly. "Look—I brought your big brother."
The sleep vanished from Lily's eyes. She scrambled up, rushing to Raphael's side. "Big brother! Big brother!" Her tiny hands clutched his, her voice shaking.
Subaru watched as her fingers tightened around Raphael's, her small frame trembling. He exhaled quietly. "He's alright, kid. He's tougher than he looks."
Lily blinked up at him, her lips parted as if she wanted to believe him but couldn't quite yet. But Subaru's gaze was steady—unshakable. Slowly, she nodded, as if absorbing his certainty.
A beat of silence. Then, Subaru stood, shifting Raphael on his back again. He reached down, scooping Kibo up with practiced ease. The boy didn't stir.
"Let's go," he said simply. "It's getting dark."
Lily didn't hesitate. She wiped her face with the back of her hand and fell into step beside him, small but determined.
With Lily walking close by his side, they left the forest as the last rays of sunlight disappeared behind the trees, fading into night.
. . . . . . .
I was floating.
No ground beneath me. No sky above. No sound at all.
Just darkness, stretching out endlessly in every direction, swallowing everything it touched. My body felt light, almost like I wasn't real anymore. No breath moved through me. No weight pulled me down. No warmth touched my skin.
Am I dead?
I couldn't remember falling asleep. Couldn't remember waking up either. There was just this, whatever this was, and nothing before it.
Then something shifted in the dark.
A sound rolled through the void, deep and slow, a vibration that seemed to move through the emptiness itself rather than through any air.
Like a heartbeat, except wrong somehow. Too large. Too old.
Then a voice followed it. Low, rumbling, carrying the weight of something ancient. It crawled under my skin and wrapped itself around my bones, and the air, if there even was air here, grew heavier with every word.
"So. This is the one that crazy witch gave my heart to?"
I spun around fast, and froze the instant I saw it.
There, looming out of the nothingness, was a dragon. Not just large. Massive beyond anything I could measure against. Its body was made of shadow, shifting like smoke caught in wind, but its head burned. Fire wreathed its face, and its golden eyes cut through the dark like twin suns that had no business existing in a place like this.
I couldn't move.
Couldn't breathe.
This wasn't a dream. It felt too solid, too real, too much like something with weight behind it.
The dragon leaned in close, the flames around its face flickering and casting shifting light across the void. Heat rolled off it in waves, close enough to feel but never quite burning me. Its mouth twisted into something that might have been amusement, if amusement could look that cruel.
"Tch. Pathetic. I expected more from you."
I tried to step backward, but there was no ground under me to step onto.
"What." My voice came out barely above a whisper, cracking halfway through the word. "What are you?"
The dragon's eyes narrowed to slits.
"You're not even worth knowing that yet, brat."
The void seemed to tighten around me all at once, pressing hard against my chest until I struggled just to draw breath. The dragon exhaled slowly, and even that alone burned.
"Get out, brat."
Then its jaws opened wide, wider than anything should be able to open.
The fire roared.
And everything snapped apart at once.
I gasped awake, my chest heaving like I'd actually been drowning somewhere real. Sweat clung to my skin, cold and sudden. My hands shot down to my stomach on instinct, expecting pain, expecting blood, expecting something.
There was nothing there.
No wounds. No scars. Nothing to prove any of it had happened at all.
What was that? What the hell was that?
Footsteps reached me then, soft and slow, coming from somewhere down the hall.
I turned my head too fast toward the sound, my body still half convinced danger was still close.
The door cracked open, and a small figure peeked around the edge of it. A girl, holding a tiny cup of water carefully in both hands, blinking up at me with wide, uncertain eyes.
I didn't think it through. I just moved.
I reached out and grabbed her shoulder, pulling her closer, too fast, too hard for someone her size.
The cup slipped from her hands and hit the floor, shattering, water splashing dark across the wood boards.
"Are you hurt?" My voice came out rough, breathless, still half caught somewhere between the dream and whatever this was. "How did we escape? Where are we?"
Her eyes went even wider than before. Her mouth opened, then shut, then opened again, but nothing came out. Just pure shock written across her small face.
Then, from somewhere behind her, a familiar voice cut through the silence.
"Kibo."
Dry. Amused. Unmistakable.
I looked up, and there he was. Grandpa, leaning lazily against the doorframe with his arms crossed, wearing that smirk he always had when he'd just witnessed something he found far too entertaining.
"Looks like you're after more than just answers, boy."
It took me a second to catch what he meant.
Then it landed, and I realized I was still holding onto her. Still too close, my grip still too tight around her small shoulder.
I let go fast, stepping back hard enough to nearly stumble. "Sorry." I bent down and grabbed the fallen cup, holding it back out toward her. She just stared at it, then at me.
She looked like she wanted to say something. Her mouth worked for a moment before anything came out.
"M-my name's." Her voice barely reached above a whisper. She fidgeted, gripping the hem of her dress tight in both fists.
Then, even quieter than before, "Lily."
Lily. That was a nice name. Simple. It suited her.
I hesitated a beat, then gave her a small, tired smile. "Kibo."
Her face went pink at that, and she nodded quickly, reaching out to take the cup back from my hands.
Silence settled between us, thick and awkward.
Then her gaze drifted down to the spilled water still pooling on the floor.
"I'll clean it," she mumbled, already turning to grab a cloth from somewhere near the door.
I wanted to argue, to tell her I could handle it myself.
"No, you're hurt," she said quickly, before I'd even gotten a word out. "You should rest. Please."
I opened my mouth to push back anyway.
Then pain hit me, sharp and sudden, right in the center of my chest.
I sucked in a breath and gripped the front of my shirt, doubling forward slightly.
Her eyes went wide with alarm. "A-are you okay? Are you okay?"
I forced a weak grin onto my face, more for her sake than mine. "Yeah. I'm fine. Really."
She clearly didn't believe a word of it.
Her small hands pushed against my arm anyway, guiding me firmly back toward the bed like she had more strength in her than her size suggested.
"Rest," she whispered, tucking the blanket up around me before I could protest again. "I'll clean this up. And, thank you."
She hesitated there, chewing on the words before she let them out.
Then, softer still, "You and your grandpa saved me and my big brother."
I blinked, caught off guard. Grandpa?
I glanced past her toward the doorway, where he still stood watching the whole exchange with that same damn smirk plastered across his face.
He raised one eyebrow at me, grinning like he'd just watched the funniest thing he'd seen in weeks.
"I'll leave you kids to it," he said, voice lazy and unbothered, before turning on his heel and strolling off down the hall without another word.
I watched him go, then looked back to Lily.
She was staring down at the floor now, twisting her fingers together in front of her.
She looked shy. Like there was something more she wanted to say but couldn't quite find the courage for it.
I wanted to say something too. Something that might make this less strange for either of us.
But I didn't know what that would even be.
So instead I let her finish tucking the blanket around me, and watched in silence as she slipped quietly out of the room, pulling the door shut behind her.
I lay there afterward, staring up at the ceiling, my mind still turning over everything.
That place. That thing. The crazy witch he mentioned.
What the hell did any of it mean?
My eyes grew heavy despite everything racing through my head. My whole body still ached from wherever I'd just been.
Sleep pulled me back under before I could chase down a single answer.
And the questions stayed exactly where they were. Unanswered.