The room was quiet, just the soft hum of the single ceiling bulb buzzing in the corner the walls were covered in messy color painting
some cheerful, others a little weird a few plants sat in broken pots on the shelves drooping slightly, no windows, no clock just two futons on the wooden floor.
Nki suddenly grabbed one of the futons and tossed it across the room.
"Talk shit," she huffed, crawling into the other one with a dramatic flop.
She peeked her head out, smirking. "Come darling we're always sleeping together, hmph."
Enix raised an eyebrow, watching the futon hit a plant pot and nearly knock it over, he gave her a weird half smile and muttered "Don't throw stuff they might break we're broke remember…"
He sat down beside her with a sigh brushing his hair out of his face, nki didn't wait she reached out, hugged his wrist, and pulled his arm close resting her head on his shoulder.
"Sleeping timeee," she mumbled already half gone.
But Enix didn't lie down he stayed sitting there, still and quiet, eyes staring at the wooden wall like his brows were tight, his jaw locked.
Nki blinked then lifted her head to look at him. "What's wrong?"
Enix didn't answer right away, then softly, "I got a bad feeling something's gonna go wrong tomorrow…"
She blinked again confused. "What?"
He turned his gaze to her.
"The people we've met so far… they've been kind but that doesn't mean everyone here's like that right..."
Nki pouted and reached up gently pinching his cheek. "Everything will be fine..I think… we'll be together everything will be fine…"
Enix finally smiled barely. "It's been a while since you said something so romantic."
Nki's face went red immediately she looked away and muttered. "Sh-shut up you're the one sitting like a stressed old man."
The light bulb flickered once... then cut off.
The room went dark and they both slowly laid down beside each other.
Next morning.
The sky was still a dark shade of blue, the sun hadn't fully risen yet, just glowing faintly at the edges cold wind slipped through the thin cracks of the old building as Nki and Enix walked down a long wooden hallway.
It creaked with every step.
Windows lined one side giving glimpses of thick trees outside, ancient looking trees, fog moved past them like ghosts.
Aaru and Koru were walking silently in front guiding them.
No one spoke for a while.
Nki looked around a little bored then she speaks and said, "Hey, big bros when are we gonna reach?"
No reply.
She blinked. "Hey… I asked something."
Still no response the silence got heavier.
Enix and Nki exchanged confused looks, eyebrows furrowing.
They kept walking until they reached a fork two paths, left and right.
Aaru and Koru suddenly stopped.
Nki and Enix halted right behind them.
"What happened? Are we there?" Enix asked.
But before anything else could happen, two figures suddenly emerged from the shadows cast by Aaru and Koru.
Fully cloaked in black faces covered, silent.
Everything happened too fast.
They lunged forward, both grabbed Enix. Wrapped a blindfold over his eyes, tied his wrists before he could even speak.
"Wha—!" Enix barely gasped.
Nki's eyes went wide. "Huh?!"
She tried to move, but suddenly Aaru and Koru turned and grabbed her, arms pinned down, waist locked, she couldn't move.
"Huh?!" Nki's breath caught. "What're you doing?!"
The two shadowy figures landed a sharp chop on Enix's neck.
He collapsed instantly.
"Nooo!!" Nki screamed, her heart sank.
But nothing responded, Her limbs were shaking.
"Why… why can't I use..…?" She gasped.
She slowly lifted her head to look at them and froze.
Aaru and Koru weren't smiling,their faces were blank and cold.
The two dark figures picked up Enix's limp body and started walking down the right path.
Nki struggled hard, her legs kicked, her shoulders twisted, nothing worked.
"No!! Stop!! Let him go!!" she screamed.
Her voice echoed through the hall.
"Brothers! Please! Is this a joke?! Say something!!" Her voice cracked.
They didn't answer.
Instead Aaru and Koru turned dragging her down the left path.
"No! Please don't do this! Please!!" Nki screamed, looking back, her voice broken.
Enix's body disappeared into the dark hallway.
"Noooooooooooooooo—!!"...
It was dark.
Empty.
Then suddenly… cold.
Not the cold that just brushes the skin, This was deeper like something had crawled inside Enix's chest and started freezing him from the inside out.
His eyes shot open, he was standing breathing hard, sweat dripping from his forehead despite the freezing air.
"What the hell…" he whispered steam puffing from his mouth.
The ground beneath his feet looked like land, rough, cracked earth, but it was covered in a sheet of jagged frost, No snow, no powder, just raw ice creeping through the ground like veins, sharp little trees stuck out here and there, but they were frozen solid, crystal branches twisting unnaturally in every direction.
Above him, the sky was… white.
Pure, endless white, no clouds, no sun, no moon, no stars, just white.
Then he noticed the bones.
Skulls. Everywhere.
Some crushed, some piled in corners of the landscape, some just half buried in the frost, staring up with hollow sockets, bones stuck out of the frozen trees, tangled in their branches like trophies.
"What is this place…" Enix breathed, slowly turning in place, his boots scraped on the frost covered earth with a soft crunch.
Suddenly—
A spear appeared, standing upright in the ground just a few steps away from him.
It wasn't there before.
It was tall, sharp, the head carved into a deadly point with glowing lightning patterns crawling through it, black and red arcs pulsing along its shaft like veins of living electricity.
Enix blinked.
And in that one blink, the spear was gone.
In its place stood a figure.
No… floated.
A humanoid shape made entirely of thick, swirling red smoke, Its body had no face, no features, just that cursed, shapeless mass shifting like fire, red and black lightning flickered and cracked all over it, wrapping around its limbs like chains.
Enix stumbled back a step, his throat tightened.
The thing hovered there watching him without eyes.
"Who… are you?" Enix demanded. "Are you the corrupted soul inside me?!"
The figure didn't reply.
Instead, it slowly raised its arms, long, smoky, claw like fingers pointing two digits up.
Then, with a voice so deep it shook the ground and echoed in Enix's bones, it spoke.
"You will have two choices..."
Its voice wasn't human, It was like multiple voices layered over one another, some screaming, some whispering, some… crying.
"Answer it… wisely."
Enix's eyes went wide.