The café was restless, alive with murmurs, the faint chill of autumn wind drifting in from the open doors.
Yen moved behind the counter, her eyes half-fixed on the TV mounted to the wall.
It was supposed to be ordinary weather reports.
But then.....
"Breaking News!"
The anchor's voice pierced through the chatter, firm and urgent.
"A murder has taken place in the city just moments ago. Police have gathered at the scene and are urging civilians to stay back. We are told that a sixteen-year-old girl has been killed. A special officer from Taiwan has been summoned to take this case, though their identity has not yet been revealed."
Gasps rippled across the café. The atmosphere shifted, freezing over with dread.
All eyes turned to the screen where flashing red banners screamed the news, and a photograph of the girl in her school uniform appeared.
Yen's stomach twisted.
Her thoughts darted instantly to Wee and Lamai.
Fear clenched her chest.
Across the city, Lamai too sat frozen in front of the same broadcast, the same horror spreading like wildfire everywhere.
---
But even as fear swept through the streets.....
in one hidden room, something else bloomed.
Kai stood in front of Wee, her gaze locked, their breaths still tangled from moments before.
Her phone buzzed. A message from Teanguan.
When are you coming?
Reality struck.
She had come here for the key.
She had almost forgotten.
Kai turned, her heart torn. She had to leave.
But her eyes betrayed her.
One last look.
One last silent promise.
Her gaze lingered on Wee's face as if swearing:
"I won't let you go. Not now, not ever."
Wee understood. She didn't need words.
Her lips curved into the faintest smile, an answer to the vow left unspoken.
Kai forced herself away.
She had no key in her hands.
But fate had played its trick....her fingers curled around the very pendant that once belonged to Yim, the one Talotkan had given with the words:
"This will never leave you."
And it hadn't.
Through lifetimes, through blood and loss,
the pendant had returned.....
not lost, not gone,
but bound.
Destiny had done its work.
But destiny was far from finished.
For storms far darker were stirring on the horizon.
Storms that belonged not to Kai and Wee.....
but to Lu.