---
The wind had settled. The battlefield lay in silence, save for the faint hum of dissipating energy. The stones were still scorched from Haru's overwhelming force, but the storm had passed.
Yuki lay flat on his back, his chest rising and falling as he struggled to breathe. The pain in his body was loud—but not louder than the confusion in his heart.
He felt it before he saw it.
A calm, yet heavy presence lowering beside him.
Nogitsune crouched by his side, eyes sharp but not unkind. "You're awake."
Yuki groaned, pushing himself up slowly. "What… was that? Why did he try to kill me?"
Nogitsune looked up at the sky, his voice flat. "He wasn't trying to kill you. He was trying to prepare you."
"For what?" Yuki snapped, a fire in his voice. "Why are you all acting like something's coming but no one's telling me what it is?!"
Nogitsune's expression shifted ever so slightly.
Not annoyance. Not pity.
Something older. Deeper.
Regret?
"You felt it too, didn't you?" Nogitsune said quietly. "The rift in the void. The pull inside your chest. That wasn't just a reaction to Haru."
Yuki stiffened. The memory clawed back: the blackness, the whispering hum beyond the veil.
"That… thing watching me."
Nogitsune nodded slowly. "It woke up for a moment. Something ancient. Something even I don't understand fully. But it's tied to you. And if you can't control yourself, that thing will."
Yuki lowered his eyes. "Then why didn't you tell me before? Why send people like Haru to beat the hell out of me?"
"Because you need to learn to survive when no one comes to save you."
Nogitsune stood, his shadow stretching long across the cracked earth. "I'm not your enemy, Yuki. I may push you. I may hurt you. But I won't abandon you."
Yuki's breath caught in his throat.
"Why do you care?" he asked quietly.
Nogitsune didn't answer right away. Then, his voice—softer this time.
"Because we're not so different, you and I."
Yuki looked up at him.
Nogitsune turned slightly, walking away toward the edge of the field.
"Rest. You're not done yet. And soon… neither am I."
With that, he vanished into the mist, leaving only the sound of wind and the strange warmth in Yuki's chest that he couldn't quite explain.
---
"If you're enjoying the ride, don't forget to leave a power stone or a comment—it really helps this grow!"