The gates of Turf groaned shut behind them, sealing with a low clang that echoed through the icy air.
The first breath EJ took inside the cursed city was sharp and biting, as though tiny blades of frost scraped his lungs. Even with their Celestial coats, a chill seeped through to his very bones, a warning of just how unnatural this place had become.
Snowflakes drifted lazily from the darkened sky, but they did not melt when they touched the ground, they clung stubbornly, piling into jagged formations that glimmered faintly under the faint, eerie light.
Maki took the lead, his boots crunching over a street entirely entombed in frost. The houses on either side were unrecognizable beneath layers of ice; thick sheets had crawled up their walls, encasing doors, windows, even chimneys in glistening prisons. Some roofs had collapsed under the weight of snow, leaving the structures hollow and broken.
"It feels… dead," Taki murmured, his voice muffled by his scarf. He reached out to brush a frostbitten windowsill, only to flinch when the ice burned his fingertips through his glove.
"No fires," EJ observed grimly, his eyes scanning the silent rows of homes. "No light. No warmth. It's like the city has been swallowed whole."
Maki glanced over his shoulder at them, his expression unreadable. "Stay close. The deeper we go, the colder it will get. And the longer we linger… the weaker our light becomes."
As they moved forward, EJ noticed faint marks in the snow, footprints. Small ones, as if children had run here recently, but they ended abruptly against a frozen wall.
He tightened his grip on his sword hilt, unease curling in his chest.
They found an abandoned house at the corner of a frozen street, its door barely hanging from its hinges, groaning as they pushed it open. Inside, it was no warmer, but at least it shielded them from the wind howling outside.
The three of them stepped in cautiously, their boots crunching on a layer of brittle ice that coated the wooden floor. The air was still, heavy, and bitingly cold. Even for Celestials, the chill had begun to burrow into their bones.
"Empty," Maki murmured after a quick glance around. His breath hung in the air like a ghost.
"Seems stable enough. We can at least take cover here," EJ said, his voice steadier than he felt.
They each squatted on the cracked floor, forming a loose triangle. Closing their eyes, they pressed their palms together, channeling what Celestial energy they could muster. Slowly, faint wisps of light pooled around them, pushing back just enough of the cold to keep their blood flowing.
But even so, their breaths still came out as mist, and their fingers trembled faintly as they focused.
After a few quiet minutes, Taki exhaled and broke the silence. "So," he said lightly, though his voice betrayed a faint unease, "while we're at it… what do you two think? Why's the city like this? I mean, cold enough to choke even Celestials? That's not natural."
EJ opened his eyes and looked toward Maki, who was sitting still and calm, his own aura faintly flickering around him.
"Captain Will said you're an expert in situations like this," EJ asked, his gaze steady.
Maki's cool gray eyes met his without flinching. "The Endless is worse," he answered simply.
"Oh, right," Taki interjected, leaning back slightly. "You came from the Endless. You replaced Yuma when he came out."
Maki nodded, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. "General Yuma lasted longer than me," he admitted without shame. "That monster's on another level."
EJ and Taki exchanged a look at that. They didn't need to say anything, both of them knew just how true those words were.
"In the Endless," Maki began, his voice calm but carrying an edge of something darker, "every power is weakened. Not just the prisoners'. Even the guards suffer the same suppression."
He drew a faint line on the frosted floor with his finger, as though tracing the invisible rules of that place. "That's how it's designed. To ensure no one rises too far above another. To make sure no one escapes."
"You could just… cage each prisoner," EJ said after a moment, narrowing his eyes slightly. "Why bother making the whole place one giant cage?"
It was a fair question. A logical one. Why subject everyone, even the guards, to such cruel conditions?
Maki looked up at him with that cool, unreadable expression. "No," he said simply. "That would make it… safe. And sane."
He leaned back slightly, resting an elbow on his knee. "The Endless isn't meant to simply detain. It's meant to break. The prisoners don't just sit in cages waiting to rot. They're set loose in an arena of their own kind, prey and predators forced to devour each other to survive. It feeds on their desperation, their pain."
"The place itself absorbs their energy," Maki continued, his tone even, but his eyes shadowed by memories. "Endless suffering, endless conflict. That's the cost. That's why it's called the Endless. No reprieve. For anyone."
EJ fell quiet, digesting his words. Even Taki, who had been leaning lazily against the wall, straightened a little, his face unusually serious now.
Outside, the wind howled louder, rattling the walls of the abandoned house.
Here, too, the suffering of Turf seemed to echo what Maki had described—though cloaked in ice rather than blood.
—--
Back in the Celestial Realm, the grand halls of the palace were quiet save for the steady voice of Captain Will, who stood at the center of the chamber, delivering his report.
"Legacy Taki, Legacy EJ, and General Maki have been dispatched to investigate the Turf situation," Will announced, his tone formal and composed.
Seated on his high throne, Emperor Fuma hardly seemed to care at first. Another mission, another day. He listened with his cheek resting lazily against his fist, his sharp eyes half-lidded.
But when the name EJ fell from Captain Will's lips, the atmosphere of the room shifted instantly.
The entire palace groaned under a sudden, suffocating weight. Marble cracked, the air thickened, and everyone present felt the chill of fear crawl down their spines as Emperor Fuma rose to his feet, his immense energy pouring forth like a storm.
"…What did you just say?" The Emperor's voice was calm, but it carried such weight that Captain Will instinctively fell to one knee, his breath catching in his throat.
"Y-Your Majesty… Legacy EJ… was dispatched to the cursed city of Turf," Will managed to stammer, though his own strength was being crushed under the Emperor's rage.
The tremors grew, chandeliers rattling above them as Emperor Fuma raised his right hand, a dark celestial force emanating from his palm and pressing Will even further into the ground.
"You sent him there?" Fuma's eyes gleamed dangerously, his voice low and venomous. "When you knew… two Legacies already perished in that place?"
"Y-Your Majesty—have mercy—" Farrah, the Emperor's loyal attendant, stepped forward, bowing deeply, her delicate voice trying to cut through the storm.
But Fuma's energy only grew heavier, his fury palpable.
"I-I apologize, Your Majesty," Will gasped, forcing the words out. "Legacy EJ… he volunteered for the mission. He insisted!"
The Emperor clicked his tongue sharply, a sound like steel striking stone. The crushing force lifted abruptly, and the palace fell into silence once again.
"…That boy," Fuma muttered at last, sinking back onto his throne, his expression dark and unreadable. "He's always been this stubborn."
Everyone in the room remained perfectly still, knowing better than to speak. They all knew what EJ meant to the Emperor.
It was Emperor Fuma who had found him. Who had brought him to the Celestial Realm. Who trained him with his own hands and watched him grow into the remarkable Legacy he had become. To Fuma, EJ was more than a soldier—he was like the little brother he never had.
"General Maki accompanies them, Your Majesty," Will added quickly, hoping it would ease the Emperor's fury.
Fuma's eyes narrowed, though his jaw relaxed slightly. "…Maki," he said, the name alone enough to lower the room's tension a fraction. "At least one capable man is with him."
He leaned forward suddenly, his voice once again a command that brooked no argument.
"Call Yuma."
Farrah hesitated before answering softly, "General Yuma is still in the Endless, Your Majesty. It… may take several days to reach him."
Fuma's hands clenched into fists against the arms of his throne. His teeth gritted audibly.
"Then do whatever it takes to contact him," he ordered, his voice echoing through the chamber like thunder.
At once, everyone in the room lowered their heads and spoke as one:
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
And with that, the Emperor sat back, fingers drumming lightly against the armrest, his gaze fixed on nothing in particular, though everyone knew his thoughts were already far away, in the frozen city of Turf, where a certain Legacy walked into the unknown.
—
After steadying their breaths and reinforcing their celestial energy, EJ, Taki, and Maki pressed onward, aiming for the heart of Turf. The cold bit at their coats, sharper than before, and their boots crunched against layers of frozen snow and shattered ice.
The silence of the city was suffocating—only the occasional groan of ice shifting on roofs or a brittle gust of wind reminded them that time still moved here.
They kept walking, focusing on keeping their energy steady and their senses sharp, when faint cries pierced the stillness. A boy's cry, thin and desperate.
EJ's steps faltered. He scowled faintly, memories of the last time he'd chased after a crying child—only to discover it had been a trap—flashed through his mind. But this cry sounded… real. Weak and raw.
Maki caught the hesitation in his eyes and moved ahead silently, signaling for them to follow. They approached a small house nearly swallowed by a shell of ice, its roof sagging under the weight of frost.
Maki was the first to push the door open, and the three stepped inside.
What they found made even EJ's guarded expression soften.
A young girl, barely in her early teens, sat on the frozen floor cradling a boy no older than six, who was sobbing quietly against her chest. Both of them were pale, shivering, their breath coming out in faint white puffs.
"W-who are you?" the girl demanded, her voice trembling, though her arms tightened protectively around her brother.
EJ crouched to meet her gaze, his voice calm and even. "We're here to help you. Are you two alone?"
The girl's lips quivered as she nodded.
Taki muttered under his breath, incredulous. "Alone? How could two children survive in this hell without anyone?"
The girl hesitated, eyeing them with wide, cautious eyes. "Are you really… here to help?"
The three exchanged a glance and nodded in unison.
Relief flickered on her face, but her grip on her brother didn't loosen. "Then… please…" she begged, her voice breaking. "Please help us. Not far from here, there's a house… where Grandma Gretha lives. We need to get to her. She—she keeps the flames lit. Without her, the cold… it's too much. My brother… he…"
Her words faltered as another shiver wracked her thin frame, and she buried her face against her brother's hair to hide her tears.
"Gretha?" Maki spoke for the first time since they entered, his sharp eyes narrowing slightly. "There's someone here who can still light a flame?"
The girl's head shot up, and she nodded earnestly. "Yes! She's kind… she helps everyone. Every three days, she lights the flame to keep the cold from swallowing us whole. But if we don't make it there before the flame dies…"
Her voice trailed off as her brother whimpered softly in her arms.
The three Celestials stood still for a moment, letting her words settle in the frozen air. Then EJ rose to his feet, his expression already firm with decision.
"All right," he said, his voice cutting through the quiet. "We'll take you to Grandma Gretha. Show us the way."
The girl blinked up at him, startled by the certainty in his tone, before nodding gratefully. "Thank you…" she whispered.
Behind him, Taki adjusted his coat and muttered with a faint grin, "Well, at least we've got a lead now. Let's hope this Grandma Gretha really is as kind as they say."
Maki didn't comment. His eyes lingered on the children, thoughtful and calculating, as though the name Gretha already stirred something in his mind.