One by one, everyone jumped into the water, their laughter echoing through the trees as the cool splash filled the air. Haru swam in circles, waving a hand toward the edge.
"Yuri! Come on, get in!" he called.
But Yuuri stood still on the bank, his face unreadable, his hands in his pockets. The water shimmered in the sun, yet his eyes remained distant, unfazed by the joy around him.
Hikari noticed.
Without saying a word, she walked out of the water, droplets trailing down her skin as she stepped barefoot over the smooth stones. She stopped in front of him, her eyes meeting his.
Then—softly, without hesitation—she reached for his hand.
He didn't move.
She didn't let go.
For a moment, nothing else existed but the quiet hum of the forest and the sound of rushing water behind them.
Her fingers curled around his more tightly, and only then—slowly—he stepped forward.
They walked side by side into the water, silent, connected.
Everyone played in the water, laughing and splashing around, their voices echoing through the trees.
Later, when things calmed down a bit, Yuuri turned to Haru and asked, "Didn't you say you can't be in water because of your power?"
Haru shrugged with a grin. "Yeah, I just can't use my power in water. Doesn't mean I can't enjoy it."
After a while, everyone stepped out, drying off.
The group packed up their things, the mood still light, and continued deeper into the forest to complete the task ahead.
As the sky slowly darkened, the warm light faded and the moon rose, casting a soft silver glow over the trees.
Haru looked up at the sky and stretched. "How about we rest here and continue tomorrow?"
They gathered some wood and lit a small campfire. The flames crackled gently as they sat around it, talking, laughing, and sharing stories under the moonlit sky.
One by one, everyone drifted off to sleep under the soft warmth of the campfire. Yuuri lay down, closing his eyes, letting the calm of the night wash over him.
But suddenly, the voice returned, a sharp sound that tore through the silence.
"Yuuri!"
His eyes snapped open.
He sat up, glancing around. The sky above was no longer dim—it was glowing unnaturally bright, almost blinding. He looked to where his friends had been… but they were gone. No campfire. No sound. No one. He thought it was a dream, but it wasn't
He stood, heart pounding, scanning the empty field.
Then, the branches nearby began to rustle violently. Something was coming.
Yuuri took a cautious step forward—and from the shadows, a monstrous beast emerged. Towering, twisted, its eyes burning like embers.
Without thinking, Yuuri turned and ran.
The ground raced beneath his feet, the monster's growls thundering behind him. He didn't look back. He just ran—until he couldn't anymore.
He came to a dead stop.
The earth ended beneath his feet. A cliff. A sheer drop into nothingness.
The monster's growl echoed closer.
Yuuri stood frozen at the edge, breathing hard, trapped between the beast and the void.
The voice returned.
"Now choose, Yuuri. Fall… or fight."
The bear roared and swung its massive paw with crushing force, aiming straight for Yuuri."
He fell.
When he hit the water. It wasn't Yuuri at all.
It was Haru drowning. He plunged deep, his limbs thrashing in the suffocating cold. His body twisted, bubbles streaming from his lips, his mind spinning between fear and disbelief.His power—useless. Fire couldn't exist here. He was drowning.
A pale light appeared below.
Something moved beneath him—vast, graceful.the water wasn't dark anymore. It glowed.
A soft, eerie white light pulsed below. And then… a shape.
A dragon.
Long as a mountain's spine, its body coiled through the water like a ribbon of moonlight. Its scales shimmered, white as snow. Two eyes opened, glowing with ageless calm. It didn't blink. It only stared.
The dragon began to move. Smooth. Silent. Too fast.
The pressure in Haru's chest grew unbearable.
The water shifted violently as the serpent came closer.
He couldn't match its speed.
It wasn't elegant, it was ancient.
Its body spanned the river like a leviathan god awakened from centuries of sleep.
Its eye opened — a single, burning void. White at its core. Piercing.
The water boiled around Haru as the creature rose.
Its maw opened.
Rows upon rows of hooked teeth stretched impossibly wide. Its breath wasn't air — it was pressure, suffocating and endless.
He kicked upward, flailing, lungs aching.
But the serpent came.
It swallowed —and when he screamed, it was Hikari's voice that tore free.
She stood in the blaze, not drowning but burning, a golden lion's jaws closing around her.
Its body shimmered with unnatural gold, mane writhing like it was woven from smoke and fire, and eyes glowing with hollow light. Magic. Hunger. Malice.
"Ahh... "
Its jaws trembled around her, rows of jagged teeth pressing close like a prison of ivory thorns. Muscles coiled, ready to snap shut.
But Hikari held.
The blade of her sword was wedged between the beast's upper and lower fangs, stopping its mouth from closing in a desperate stalemate. Her arms trembled as the beast snarled, trying to crush her with sheer force. Cracks split across the blade's surface, groaning with every passing second. "Ahh–! I... Can't... hold it!"
Her knees were drawn up, pressed against its lower jaw, every tendon in her legs burning to keep it apart.
If she slipped even once, she would be gone—devoured whole.
The lion growled again. Saliva dripped over her shoulders, and its breath scorched her face.
Still—she screamed and pushed harder.
A scramble through blood and saliva and wind
She forced her way out of its mouth, wedging her sword between its jaws before it could snap shut.
Then a shadow fell over her.
A massive gust of air, like wings tearing the sky open.
She looked up.
A giant eagle, black as smoke and crowned with burning red eyes, snatched her. The beast below roared, furious, shaking the trees—but it was too late. She was already rising into the storm, limbs dangling in the air, heart pounding like a war drum.
As the lion's roar faded behind her, the sky opened above. The storm was far from over.
Something else awaited her in the clouds.
The eagle released her.
Hikari plummeted, the storm ripping past—
—and her body began to warp midair.
Black hair shimmered, threads of midnight bleeding into deep blue.
Her brown pupils darkened, swallowed by endless black.
By the time she struck stone, it was no longer Hikari who rose.
It was Aiko.
She slammed down, knees bending sharply as her boots struck the stone. She didn't stumble.
Her clawed fingers brushed the ground for balance. The impact sent a ripple through the dust beneath her feet. Eyes burning with calm fury, she rose slowly, every motion coiled with lethal grace. A predator in human skin.
"Where am I... "
She walked, Each step was heavy, her skin streaked with dried blood. The forest opened up just enough to reveal it—a pond, still and glassy beneath the dying light. She stepped closer, her reflection warping in the water,
She cupped it, brought it to her face, and let it wash away the blood, the dirt, the ash—yet nothing could cleanse the fear in her eyes.
The moment the water touched her face, it stung—like something ancient didn't want her there. She flinched but didn't stop. Again and again, she washed, as if trying to erase something far deeper than grime.
She stared into the still pond, breath trembling.
Her reflection wavered… then distorted.
The left side of her face began to sag—flesh dissolving, melting like rotten wax. Bone shifted beneath skin. A second face pushed through the warped image—Hikari's. Beautiful, wide-eyed… and her long hair. It merged with hers, feature by feature, as if stitching two souls together in raw agony.
Aiko shrieked—a ragged, throat-tearing scream that cracked the silence like thunder. From somewhere deep inside, Hikari screamed too. The pain echoed between them, a shared torment no one could see.
"My face...!"
Then came another face.