The gods had gathered once again for a new meeting. They took their seats around the table, leaving one chair empty — but this time, it wasn't Vex's seat. He was there, sitting calmly, staring straight at Nytherra.

The empty chair belonged to the Goddess of Nekos — Feloria.

The hall doors burst open with a loud THUD! Feloria stormed in, her steps echoing as she sat down sharply. "Those damned siblings!" she shouted furiously. "They poisoned my people!"

Every god turned their eyes toward her.

"You finally decided to show up," Vex said lazily, ignoring her rage completely.

Feloria shot up, pointing a finger at him. "Why are you just sitting there doing nothing?! Your people are poisoned too!"

Vex kept his eyes on her body. "So...? As if I care about my people," he said, putting his feet up on the table.

Feloria glared at him in disgust. "How can you say something like that?! They're your people!"

"So...?" Vex replied blankly.

Feloria exhaled sharply, trying to calm herself, then smirked slightly — an idea forming in her mind. "If you help me..." she began, leaning forward. "I'll give you my body..."

"I appreciate your seductive gesture, as always... but I'll pass this time," Vex replied, voice smooth as ice.

"I hate you!" she screamed and stormed out of the room.

The other gods simply watched as Feloria stomped away, then continued their usual discussions as if nothing happened.

"Aren't you going to stop her?" Rhazir asked, glancing at Nytherra.

Nytherra turned her head toward him, her eyes calm and distant. "There's no need..." she said softly, gazing into the distance.

⬜ ⬜ ⬜

"Get up!" said Kai, rising from the floor and brushing dust off his pants. "It's time to move."

Lily trailed after him, her mind still adrift in its own haze. Beside her, Aki walked silently — and Kitty padded along on all fours.

"W-where are we going...?" Lily asked timidly, her voice still trembling from fear of her master.

"To save my sister, of course," Kai said without turning around. "We're heading to the Organization."

Kitty quickened her pace to walk beside Kai, while Aki fell back to speak with Lily.

"So... sorry for asking, but why is Mei so important to the master?" Aki asked, slowing down to meet Lily's eyes.

Lily snapped out of her haze and looked at him. "Um... because she's his sister...?" she said, thinking it was enough of an answer. But when she saw Aki's confusion, she continued:

"T-they're inseparable... they do everything together. But when they're apart... they start losing their minds a little..."

"Losing their minds?" Aki repeated, puzzled by her wording.

"Um... to put it bluntly — they start going insane," Lily said quietly, glancing at Kai. His face was expressionless, dark, like he was crumbling from the inside.

"Ah... I see..." Aki whispered.

Lily's gaze dropped to the sword strapped to his waist. "I-it's beautiful..." she murmured.

Aki noticed her stare. "Ah... this?" he said, resting a hand on it. "My father gave it to me before he died. He taught me everything I know."

"I'm sorry..." Lily said softly.

"It's fine," he replied, waving it off. "He was old anyway. These things happen... nothing lasts forever. And now's not the time to mourn the dead — we've got to save the master's sister!"

Lily clenched her fist. "You're right..." she whispered.

⬜ ⬜ ⬜

After hours of walking, they finally arrived before the treehouses of the Organization.

"S-so... what now?" Lily asked, clutching the hem of her skirt.

"Aki, come here," said Kai.

Aki instantly approached and knelt before him. "Yes, master?"

Kai leaned in and whispered something into Aki's ear.

"Understood, master!" Aki exclaimed, then vanished in an instant — heading toward the treehouses.

Lily wanted to ask what the command was, but she didn't dare — she was still under suspicion of being tied to the Organization.

Kai pointed toward the largest tree in the distance. "That's the Organization's main base. That's where they're keeping Mei," he said, walking toward it.

Kitty and Lily followed silently.

"A-are we just gonna... walk in through the front door?" Lily asked nervously.

Kai didn't look at her, but answered anyway. "Of course we are. What can they do?" he said with a faint smirk.

It took only a few minutes before they reached the giant tree. Kai placed his hand on the door embedded in the trunk and pushed slowly.

Through the creaking wood, Lily found courage to ask, "Um... how did you know where the Organization was? Even if you remembered from last time, there's no way—"

"Can you sybau for a second?" Kai cut her off and stepped inside.

Lily lowered her head and followed, with Kitty right behind her.

They climbed the stairs leading to a large chamber. On the other side stood Yuki, and behind her, Mei — chained by her wrists and ankles.

Kai stopped and stared at Yuki. "We meet again?"

"Seems like it," she said, taking a fighting stance.

Kai looked around. "Something's off. If they really wanted to capture both of us... why is she the only one here?"

"Come on, attack me!" Yuki shouted, tightening her fists.

"You really wanna fight?" Kai asked, smirking. "We've got Mary as a hostage..."

Yuki blinked in disbelief, then laughed. "Ha! As if! That's impossible!"

"Don't believe me? Why not ask her? You probably have some way to communicate, right?" Kai teased, his grin widening.

Yuki's smile faltered when she saw how confident he was. She gently pressed her hand to her right ear. "M-Mary?" she asked with a trembling voice.

"Yuki, don't worry about me. Fulfill your duty," Mary's voice came through the receiver — and Kai's confidence exploded.

"Hahahaha! What now?" Kai laughed.

Yuki's eyes filled with fear — but only for a moment. Then she realized something: Kai couldn't possibly be communicating with the guard watching Mary — Aki.

"You're bluffing!" she yelled, regaining her courage.

"Am I? Maybe. But would you really risk Mary's life? Maybe my subordinate is torturing her right now..." Kai said, voice low and cruel.

"T-torturing..." Yuki whispered, her mind flooding with the image of Mary screaming in pain. "No..."

"Just give me back my sister, and I'll let Mary go," said Kai, stepping forward.

"All I have to do... is release her?" Yuki asked, glancing back at Mei, who stood silently in chains. "But... the Organization—"

Kai straightened up, hand on his chest. "Yuki... I PROMISE YOU — my sister and I will protect Mary and you from anything, no matter what it takes. Because after all... we're friends, aren't we?"

"Friends?" she repeated softly. Then, after a pause, "Do you promise?"

"I PROMISE!!!" Kai shouted.

Yuki dropped to her knees. "F-forgive me, everyone... for betraying you!" she cried, then turned and tore the chains off Mei with her bare hands.

"Thank you..." Kai said, running to his sister. He pulled her into a tight hug, removing the blindfold from her eyes. "Are you okay?" he asked, eyes glistening.

Mei nodded, hugging him back. "You came...?"

"Of course I did."

Kai handed her a piece of paper and a pencil, whispering something into her ear.

"Um... can you release Mary now?" Yuki asked.

"If you tell me where the others are," Kai said. Though vague, Yuki understood immediately.

"They're waiting for you at the exit," she said quietly.

Mei drew a knife and handed it to her brother.

"Thank you for keeping your part of the deal," Kai said with a smile.

"Now it's your turn," Yuki reminded him.

Kai glanced at her — and his smile turned monstrous. The corners of his lips stretched unnaturally high, pulling his face into something that could no longer be called human. It wasn't a smile of joy, or even of mockery — it was a wound carved across his face, bleeding madness.

His eyes shifted, the light inside them dying out. Pitch-black. Hollow. Soulless. They no longer reflected the world around him, only the abyss that had taken root inside.

Anyone who dared meet his gaze would feel it — that suffocating pull, that silent invitation to fall. It wasn't just darkness. It was despair given form.

And then, as his grin stretched wider, the temperature dropped. You could see your breath in the air. The light dimmed. The world seemed to shrink around him, like reality itself was backing away in fear.

"She's dead," Kai said flatly.

Yuki froze, her breathing shallow, throat tightening with grief. "H-huh?" she whimpered, tears welling in her eyes.

With a single breath, her sorrow became fury. Her SHINKA Core roared to life — a violent surge of energy that cracked the ground beneath her feet.

"KAI!" she screamed, launching forward in a blinding streak of light, her aura tearing through the air as she charged straight for him.

But his grin never faded. If anything — it grew darker.

Before her fist reached him, Kai plunged the knife into her stomach. "Ahhh..." Yuki whimpered softly.

"Now we're even," Kai whispered, just loud enough for her to hear.

She looked down, watching her blood spill over the wooden floor. Her breath hitched, trembling in her throat, as the warmth drained from her body.

Her legs wavered beneath her and every beat of her heart sent another wave of pain through her chest.

Her vision began to blur; colors melted together until everything was a dizzy haze of red and white. The world felt distant — muffled — like she was underwater.

Her eyes pulsed, each blink slower than the last, and her skin burned with cold sweat while her fingertips turned numb.

She tried to take a step back, but her knees gave out. The second time, she barely managed to breathe before the strength left her entirely.

She fell — hard — the sound of her body hitting the ground echoing.

Her eyes froze open, staring blankly at nothing. The world dimmed. The sound of her heartbeat — faint, fragile — faded away.

"I was supposed to marry you tomorrow, Mary…" she said softly. Then her eyes stopped blinking, and everything went completely dark.

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