The rain had slowed to a drizzle, but everything was still soaked, the ground, the trees, their clothes, their hearts.
Kentaro stood still, back turned to the forest, facing Kira and Tengen.
The wind blew gently, making the wet fabric cling to their skin. Tengen's eyes were puffy, red, and glassy. Kira's lips were pressed tight, her face pale, jaw trembling like she was one breath away from breaking.
Kentaro looked at them both. Not with anger anymore… but quiet, tired resolve.
"I need to ask you guys to go back without me," he said. His voice was low and clear. "I'm saving Serica."
Kira's face twitched, a flash of pain cutting through her expression. She stepped forward without realizing it.
"Y-you can't, Kentaro… You'll get hurt or worse," she said, her voice cracking halfway through.
Kentaro didn't respond right away. His eyes met hers, and though tired, there was something unwavering behind them.
"I'm sorry for shouting at you. And Tengen. But what you both did… it was messed up."
His tone didn't accuse. It just hurt.
"But I appreciate your concern. Really. Still… this has nothing to do with you anymore."
Silence fell like a curtain between them.
Tengen opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Guilt sat too heavy on his chest. He could barely lift his eyes to meet Kentaro's.
Kira's lips parted, but she bit down the words that almost escaped.
What could she even say?
Kentaro gave a small smile. One of those hollow smiles people give when they still want to believe in something.
In someone.
Despite everything… they had been his friends. That didn't vanish overnight.
"Please go back," he said gently. "Stay safe. I'll be joining you again."
A pause.
He turned his back on them, the wind carrying his final words.
"With Serica."
Then he stepped forward. Into the shadows of the trees. Into the unknown.
Then.
A sound.
Not a sound, a scream. A roar. A thunderous, soul-shaking wail that shattered through the clouds above.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
It pierced the world. The sky, the trees, the ocean, everything went still.
Birds launched out of trees. The rain stopped falling. Even the wind seemed afraid to move.
All three of them froze, the scream tearing through their skulls. It wasn't just noise; it hurt. It vibrated in their bones. It sounded like grief. Like rage. Like something once human being broken open from the inside.
Kentaro's eyes widened in horror.
That voice…
That was Serica.
That was her screaming.
And something inside him cracked.
He ran.
Branches tore at his arms as he sprinted through the forest, vision blurring from the sting of rain and sweat. Kentaro didn't stop. He couldn't. His lungs burned, his legs screamed, and the ground beneath him was a slippery mess of mud and roots. But he didn't slow.
"Serica…"
Her scream still echoed in his ears. Raw. Terrifying. Human and not human.
The forest was dark under the thick storm clouds. Every few steps, he tripped or slammed into something: a low branch, a twisted root, a wet stone. He could barely see a few feet ahead, but it didn't matter. His body moved on instinct, drawn toward the sound. Toward her.
Behind him, voices chased after him.
"KENTARO!"
"KENTARO WAIT!"
Kira. Tengen. But he didn't turn back.
Then.
BOOM.
The earth quaked beneath his feet. A new sound, not a scream this time. It was heavier. Deeper. Like the earth itself cracking open.
It came from the opposite side of the island, from the hill where he'd faced her.
The other one.
The Alberline.
Dominance.
He skidded to a stop, boots sinking slightly in the soaked dirt. He turned, eyes wide, staring through the canopy toward the smoldering hilltop in the distance. Smoke poured out like ink, churning into the sky in thick black coils. The air itself seemed to grow heavier, darker, wrong.
Tenka's voice buzzed through the comms.
"This is bad Kentaro. Looks like Dominance wasn't a fan of that scream."
Kentaro stood frozen. Heart pounding.
He looked one way toward Serica's scream.
Then the other toward the nightmare uncoiling from the mountain.
"What do I do? What do I do, what do I do, what do I do?"
The question spiraled through him like panic. If he ran to Serica, Dominance could level the hill and come down on the rest of the island. If he went for Dominance, Serica, god, what had they done to her?
He couldn't breathe.
"Tenka…" he whispered, his voice cracking. "What do I do?"
There was a pause on the comm.
Then another voice.
"Kentaro."
He turned.
Kira and Tengen stood in the clearing behind him, soaked and panting. Their expressions were raw, eyes red, chests heaving. But they were standing.
Kira raised her chin. "Leave the other one to us."
"Yeah," Tengen added. "We've got this."
Kentaro blinked. "You do realize… she's not some high school delinquent. She is someone who has extreme power. That scream alone could shatter concrete."
Kira's eyes didn't flinch.
"We know."
Tengen stepped forward. "But after what we did… We can't just stand here and let you carry this alone."
Kira nodded, brushing wet strands from her face. "I still don't trust Alberlines. I probably never will." She paused. "But if protecting Serica means keeping you safe… then that's what I'll do. Not for her. For you, Kentaro."
Kentaro didn't speak. He stared at her, rain dripping from his lashes.
Tengen lowered his head slightly. His voice was softer now, but shaking.
"I was selfish. I made a choice I thought I had to. But my sister… she's everything to me, Ken. And my parents," he swallowed hard. " They've been breaking themselves trying to keep her alive."
He looked up again, voice rising with shame and resolve.
"But even if she gets better… I can't face her knowing I sacrificed a friend to make it happen. I can't. She wouldn't accept it. And I can't either."
Kentaro's fists slowly relaxed.
Tenka's voice returned in his ear.
"It's a bad plan, Ken. But I say we trust them. Kira may not have her gear, but she's still one of the strongest cradle members. She can hold her own or at least buy time. Tengen… well, let's just hope he's got more than guilt in his skillset."
Kentaro gave a faint, broken smile.
"Fine."
He looked at both of them, really looked.
"But prioritize your safety. I swear, if I make it back and either of you is dead… I'll never forgive you.
Tengen let out a weak laugh. "Don't worry, bro. We'll come back alive… and finish the damn trip like normal."
Kira gave a soft nod. "Yeah. That's the plan."
BOOM.
The ground split again, this time closer. A second wave of smoke poured into the sky, laced with unnatural red light.
And then… a voice.
Deep. Alien. Commanding.
"YOU. HUMANS. DARE DISTURB MY DOMAIN!"
It was Dominance.
And she was no longer content to sit around.
"Let's move it, Kentaro! The longer we take to reach Serica, the angrier and more dangerous Dominance will get!"
Tenka's voice cut through the storm like lightning.
Kentaro gave one last look over his shoulder.
Kira and Tengen were already sprinting in the opposite direction, their silhouettes disappearing into the shadows of the trees, chasing a threat far beyond anything they'd faced before.
"Good luck, you two," Kentaro muttered, voice barely audible over the pounding rain.
Then louder, they both shouted in unison, not looking back:
"Good luck, Kentaro!"
And then they were gone.
Kentaro turned back toward the woods ahead, the path to Serica cloaked in darkness and fog. His chest tightened as he ran, heart thudding in rhythm with the storm above.
How do I save her?
How many people are standing in my way?
Will I have to fight them? Can I even win?
What… did they do to her?
Why did she scream like that?
The questions tore through his mind like static, faster than his feet could carry him. For every step he pushed deeper into the forest, another doubt clawed at him.
The trees blurred. The darkness deepened. And then.
His body stopped feeling real.
His feet still moved, but the sensation was gone.
His lungs still pulled in air, but it didn't feel like oxygen.
He blinked, and the world lit up.
A searing light engulfed everything.
It wasn't fire, and it wasn't the sun. It was something else. Blinding and white, so bright it felt like his mind itself was being pulled through a tunnel of burning glass.
"Wh… what the hell is!?"
Before he could finish the thought, his legs gave out.
But he didn't fall.
Because there was nothing to fall onto.
No ground. No trees. No sound.
Just light, and then,
Nothing.
A silence deeper than the ocean swallowed him whole.
And then.
Darkness.
Kentaro's consciousness faded, and the chapter closed not with a sound, but with the still echo of a name trapped inside his mind:
"Serica…"