The building had finally gone silent.
Broken walls. A destroyed floor. Cold wind slipped through the cracks in the concrete, carrying dust and the faint smell of burned ozone. The fight was over, but Yoru's heart was still beating fast.
He sat slumped against a cracked wall, breathing heavily. Every part of his body ached.
"Damn..." he muttered. "That monster..."
Sairi stood nearby. Her icy aura had faded almost completely, leaving only a faint chill behind.
"Experiment," she corrected quietly.
"Same thing."
Yoru leaned his head back against the stone wall. Akira's last words were still echoing in his mind.
They're afraid of you.
Afraid?
He let out a short, bitter laugh.
"What's funny?" Sairi asked.
"I don't even know what I am..." Yoru said, staring at his hand. His eyes flickered with a faint red glow. "And yet, they're terrified of me."
Silence followed.
Distant city sirens drifted in from far away, sounding like they belonged to another world. Yoru looked down at his hand. The claw had vanished, but his fingers were still trembling.
Inside him, darkness stirred.
Then that voice returned.
He's right.
Yoru's face twisted in irritation. "You again."
The voice gave a low chuckle.
You're weak.
"Try an original line for once."
But you felt it, didn't you?
Yoru didn't answer.
The fight against that creature had never really been a fight. It had been survival. If Akira hadn't shown up...
You would be dead.
Yoru shut his eyes tightly. "Shut up."
In the real world, Sairi was watching him carefully.
"Again?" she asked.
Yoru opened his eyes and blinked. "What?"
"The voice."
He froze for a moment. "…How did you know?"
"Your face."
Yoru let out a tired sigh. "Great. Now even my own face is betraying me."
Sairi stepped closer. Her tone was no longer cold. It was serious.
"Yoru... that thing inside you isn't normal."
"Yeah, no shit."
"I'm serious," she snapped.
Yoru looked at her. Sairi was usually calm, almost emotionless. But right now, there was real worry in her eyes.
"Voices don't just happen to power users," she said quietly.
"Then why is it happening to me?"
Sairi went quiet.
The silence in the ruined room grew heavy again. Yoru forced himself to stand, though his body protested with every movement.
"Tell me about Akira," he said.
Sairi's expression changed at once. "Why?"
"Because that guy is a freak. Even for us."
"No one here is normal, Yoru."
"You know what I mean."
Sairi hesitated for a moment before answering in a lower voice.
"Akira was connected to Eclipse."
Yoru's eyes widened. "Was?"
"In the past."
"Meaning he isn't anymore?"
"I don't know."
Yoru looked at the deep marks his claw had left in the wall. "He destroyed that monster just by touching it... who the hell can do something like that?"
Sairi's eyes turned cold.
"Someone dangerous."
Silence.
Then—
Footsteps.
Both of them snapped into alert stances instantly. Black smoke started gathering around Yoru's fist again, forming the beginning of his claw.
"Please tell me these aren't more experiments," he muttered.
The footsteps came closer.
Slow. Relaxed.
Like whoever it was didn't care at all about the destruction around them.
Then a voice echoed from the dark hallway.
"Damn..."
"Do you guys just destroy every building you step into?"
Yoru blinked. "That voice..."
A figure stepped out of the shadows.
He wore a black hoodie. Messy silver hair fell over his forehead, and his hands were buried in his pockets. A lazy, arrogant smile sat on his face like he had all the time in the world.
He glanced around the wrecked room and let out a low whistle.
"Nice damage."
Sairi tensed immediately, her eyes widening.
"You..."
The silver-haired boy lifted one hand lazily.
"Relax."
Then his gaze landed on Yoru.
His smile widened just a little.
"Hm..."
"So, you're the guy everyone's talking about."