Darkness.
No wind.
No sound.
Shichiro stood alone.
The world around him was nothing but an endless black void.
His own breathing echoed back at him.
...
Ahead of him...
A crater.
Silent.
Empty.
His heart sank.
He knew this place.
His legs refused to move.
No...
He didn't want to move.
He already knew what had happened here.
He stared into the crater where Typhon...
...and Isocrates...
...had vanished.
"No..."
The word barely escaped his lips.
He tried again.
"Typhon..."
Nothing.
No sound.
His throat tightened.
"TYPHON!"
Silence.
No matter how hard he screamed...
...his voice never reached the world.
Above him...
The sky slowly began to bleed.
Black.
Then crimson.
The colors spread across the heavens like ink soaking through paper.
His heartbeat quickened.
"I..."
"I couldn't..."
His chest tightened.
His hands trembled uncontrollably.
The crater seemed deeper now.
Endless.
As though it wanted to swallow him too.
Then...
A single white feather drifted down from above.
It landed softly at Shichiro's feet.
The bleeding sky stopped.
The darkness became perfectly still.
A calm voice echoed from somewhere beyond the clouds.
"Your heart is loud."
Shichiro slowly raised his head.
High above the crimson sky...
Something stood among the clouds.
Its face was hidden behind magnificent white wings.
Watching him.
Waiting.
Then.
Shichiro's eyes snapped open.
He bolted upright, gasping for air, one hand pressed tightly against his chest.
Cold mountain air rushed into his lungs.
The scent of pine trees and damp earth slowly replaced the nightmare.
"...Just a dream..."
He wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked around.
The camp remained quiet.
Katsu was still asleep.
Rokuro had somehow managed to steal almost the entire blanket.
Aegis and Kyuuketsuki slept peacefully beside one another.
Ryosen sat against a tree, appearing to meditate even in his sleep.
And from inside the cabin...
"KHHHHHHH..."
"KHHHHHHH..."
Kentaro's snoring echoed through the mountains.
Shichiro sighed.
"...Damn it, Kentaro."
"...Even my nightmares can't drown you out."
He quietly stood and stepped outside before anyone else woke.
The sunrise had only just begun.
Golden light spilled over the distant mountains.
For the first time since yesterday...
Everything looked peaceful.
Yet something refused to leave his mind.
"Your heart is loud."
Those words echoed over and over inside his head.
"...Who were you?"
No answer came.
Only the wind.
Shichiro stared toward the horizon.
Then...
Something caught his eye.
Far beyond the sea of clouds...
For only a single heartbeat...
He saw a silhouette.
Standing impossibly high above the mountains.
Its wings concealed its face.
Exactly like the figure from his dream.
Shichiro blinked.
It was gone.
"..."
"...I'm definitely losing it."
A few hours later...
The camp was anything but peaceful.
"WHO STOLE MY BREAKFAST?!"
Kentaro's voice shook the forest.
Kyuuketsuki immediately pointed at Rokuro.
"He did."
Rokuro slowly opened one eye.
"I literally woke up six seconds ago."
"Sounds like something a breakfast thief would say," Kentaro replied.
"I don't even like your breakfast."
Katsu pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Can we please go one morning without accusing each other of crimes?"
Shichiro chuckled.
For a moment...
Things almost felt normal again.
He reached into his pocket and unfolded an old, weathered map.
"I want to check something."
Kentaro glanced over.
"What is it?"
"I'm not sure."
Shichiro stared toward the distant mountain range.
"...Just a feeling."
Ryosen looked in the same direction.
"...Then let's trust it."
The Haven gathered their belongings and began their journey.
One hour passed.
Then two.
Then three.
The mountain paths grew steeper.
The air became thinner.
Even Rokuro had stopped complaining.
"...Okay."
"...Now I'm curious."
Shichiro rounded one final bend.
Then...
Everyone stopped.
Silence.
Floating high above the valley...
An enormous ancient temple rested among the clouds.
Stone bridges stretched into empty sky.
Golden banners danced in the wind.
And beneath the temple...
Two colossal stone golems carried the entire structure upon their shoulders as though its impossible weight meant nothing.
Nobody spoke.
Shichiro scratched the back of his head before laughing awkwardly.
"...Okay."
"I knew the temple was floating..."
"...I definitely didn't know there were giant golems holding it up."
Kentaro slowly looked upward.
"...Yeah."
"...That's somehow even crazier."
Then...
A single white feather drifted from the sky.
It landed between them.
Shichiro's smile disappeared.
His eyes slowly rose toward the highest rooftop of the floating temple.
There...
A lone figure stood silently.
Its face remained hidden behind six brilliant white wings.
Watching them.
Waiting.
The same figure...
...from his dream.