"Go on, ask me."
Kagami's voice cut through the morning silence.
Ren was still sitting by the cold remains of the fire. Light had begun slipping into the room in pale streaks, making dust and displaced objects stand out more.
He looked over his shoulder.
"Ask you what?"
Kagami moved through the room, inspecting each corner, calmly and methodically, as if storing it in memory before they left. She sniffed a few of the illustrations that lay fallen on the floor, then yawned in apparent disinterest in them all.
"It's been bothering you since last night," she said. "So ask."
Ren hesitated, then turned back toward the fireplace with his gaze lowered.
"…Can your eyes unbind me from the Pact?"
"That wouldn't help you now, would it?" she said with a calm voice that lacked the dismissiveness Ren had expected his question to trigger. "The Pact is built on the very act of you returning them to me. Once that is fulfilled, it will release you on its own."
Ren leaned forward slightly as if bracing himself for whatever her next response might be.
"Not if someone else has them. And if I manage to find them, I can ask them to undo it instead. Can't I?..."
That made her pause for a few moments. A small smile pulled at one side of her mouth, still strange to see, given her feline shape.
"You really are a child of the underworld," she said, and there was a slight trace of irony in her voice, as if she'd seen countless like him in her time, and yet the underworld still found new ways to surprise her.
But Ren didn't want to stop at just that.
"Can they?"
Kagami continued her slow inspection of the room, offering no answer just yet. She stretched with ease as the morning light caught on her fur, making it shine and giving her an almost ethereal look. Ren couldn't help admiring it, even if he knew what she was.
After a while, she granted him enough to leave him with something to think about.
"Nothing is given freely, Ren. Not up there in the city. Not in the underworld. And definitely not in magic."
He watched her, unsure if that meant yes or no.
Then she turned, curling her tail once.
"If you really want your answer that badly," she added. "You'll need to put in the effort and dig for it yourself."
Of course, Ren thought. Here we go again.
----
Naraku felt different in daylight. The ruins of old residences and temples remained unchanged, but the morning light softened them in a way, easing the weight of their history and making it easier for Ren to be near them.
He stepped carefully over the cracked pavement, lost in thought over how much had unfolded in just a single day of being there.
Kagami moved ahead at a casual pace.
"We should go back to the library," he said eventually, catching up beside her. "There were too many things left to understand. I want to check again."
"Suit yourself," she replied without slowing.
They turned the corner of a wide street, following the curve that led toward the library building. As they reached the end of it, both of them stopped at the same time.
Smoke rose from the far end of the road.
As they advanced toward their destination, they saw a long portion of scorched ground leading to where the library stood the day before.
Ren moved first as he realized with each step he took what he would find once they reached the building. He sprinted, unable to bear the growing weight of anticipation, needing to see it with his own eyes and be done with it already.
The library building was still there, but it was only about one-third of its original size. The sides of it were blackened, and parts of the roof had caved in. The air everywhere reeked of ash.
Inside, nothing looked as it had the day before. Shelves were crumbled, and the books were all reduced to piles of ash. Those once filled with scrolls were now only twisted metal and scorched wood.
Behind him, Kagami entered slowly and stopped near the center of the destroyed room. Ren could see a profound grief in her expression, grief for everything that had been lost. He had never seen her show emotion like that before, so he was taken aback. Just an hour earlier, she had barely shown any interest in the old illustrations in the house where they had taken shelter. But now, she was mourning this place.
"So much wasted knowledge…" she whispered.
Ren didn't know what to say. He moved further inside, stepping around all the mess. He kept looking, even though there was barely anything left to find.
"Is this what we heard last night?" he asked aloud.
Kagami was still looking around at all the destruction, as if her thoughts were following a path separate from his.
"There's someone else here," she said.
Ren moved toward where he remembered the Guardians had fallen, but that space was left empty now. Not a single fragment remained of them or the fight itself.
"They're gone," he said, confused by it. "The Guardians. They're just… gone."
Kagami stepped forward, inspecting the space for herself.
"I don't know," she admitted. "Something's wrong."
Then he went where he had found the manuscripts and tablets that spoke of Kagami's history, and of that second figure, still shrouded in mystery. But the cabinet was completely incinerated. The papers and tablets were also gone. Some had turned to ash, while others were reduced to unreadable sheets of metal.
He crouched and tried to dig through the mess anyway, but he found nothing of value to their search.
"What now…" he mumbled, disheartened.
There was no answer Kagami could give him at that point. His thoughts felt scattered again, like being back at square one.
Then a sudden sound snapped through the silence.
Ren stood up instantly, turning toward it. It had come from outside, somewhere close. Something had moved, and it didn't sound like wind or falling debris.
Kagami's ears twitched.
Then he saw something beyond the far staircase. It was a figure, just barely visible through the haze, standing by the steps. And then, just as suddenly as it had appeared, it was gone.
"Kagami..." Ren said quietly, as if letting her know with just that one word.
She was already beside him as he darted toward the staircase, toward where the figure had stood. His thoughts raced with the possibility of danger, but he couldn't ignore it. Whatever thread had just revealed itself, he needed to follow it.