The tavern was loud with laughter and song—their first real celebration in months. They'd just cleared the abandoned Fortress of Black Spires, a mission that had broken three other parties before them. Tankards clinked, meat roasted over the fire, and for the first time since Nogare had joined them, he saw warm colors swirling around his companions.
Haruto's aura held streaks of bright yellow, radiating toward him as the swordsman slapped his back and declared him the "brains of our operation." Sakura's gentle green—usually muted by the gray of exhaustion from healing—was edged with gold, and she smiled at him with a warmth that made his chest ache. Even Kaito's cold blue had softened, flecks of amber dancing in it as he raised his cup in a silent toast.
This was worse than any seething red or murky brown he'd ever seen. The bonds they'd forged made every potential future more vivid, more personal—each afterimage felt like a knife twisting in his own heart. He'd spent months keeping them safe, but the weight of knowing how easily he could lose them was crushing him.
Three days later, Haruto burst into their usual room at the guild hall, waving a rolled parchment above his head.
"Listen to this!" he roared, his face flushed with excitement. "The Royal Archive has a contract—clear out the Sunken Temple of the Silent God. Pay's ten times what we got for the fortress, and they'll give us first pick of any relics we find."
Nogare reached for the parchment, and the world tilted.
His sight exploded into clarity—sharper, more detailed than it had ever been. He saw every moment play out like a film in front of his eyes:
- Sakura, kneeling to tend to a wounded guard, impaled by a hidden spike trap that shot up from the floor. Her eyes were wide with shock, her healing herbs scattered in the dust.
- Kaito, taking aim at a statue that housed a trigger mechanism, as the ceiling above him crumbled. Great stones crashed down, pinning him under their weight.
- Haruto, charging ahead to clear a path, his sword raised high—when a blade hidden in the doorway swung down, clean and precise, severing his head from his shoulders.
There was no room for doubt. Every image was absolute, inevitable.
"I won't go," Nogare said, his voice barely audible.
Haruto's smile vanished. "What did you say?"
"I won't do this mission. We need to turn it down."
The swordsman stepped forward, his face darkening. "Turn it down? This is our chance to make real coin—enough to set us up for life! Are you scared? After everything we've been through, you're going to run like a coward?"
Sakura moved closer, her brow furrowed with concern. "Nogare, what's wrong? You've never turned down a mission before. Is it something you saw? Something you're not telling us?"
He looked at her, then at Kaito—whose eyes held only quiet disappointment—and the words he'd been holding back for years spilled out in a broken whisper.
"I can't do this anymore. I don't have luck, or instincts, or a good nose for trouble. I see it all—every trap, every wound, every death that's waiting for you. It's more than sadness… it's seeing the endless, inevitable ruin of people you care about, every single day."
Haruto stared at him, jaw tight. "You're saying you've been lying this whole time? That you knew about every danger and never told us why?"
"I told you what you needed to hear to stay alive!" Nogare shouted, his voice cracking. "If I'd said I saw you dying, would you have believed me? Or would you have called me cursed, like they did back home?"
He pulled his guild badge from his pocket and set it on the table. "I'm quitting. I'm leaving the city. Don't take that mission. I'm begging you—don't go to that temple."
Without waiting for their response, he turned and walked out. He didn't look back, even as he heard Sakura calling his name. The warm yellow of their camaraderie had already faded in his mind, replaced by the clear, final images of their deaths. He was walking away from the only people who had ever cared for him—but if it saved their lives, it was a cost he would bear alone.