The Guildmaster's decision hit like a hammer.
"None of you leave this headquarters."
Lucien flinched. Mika's jaw tightened.Kuro felt the air shrink around him.
The Guildmaster waved a hand, and a ripple of magic sealed the meeting room door with a low thrum.
Mika stepped forward immediately.
"Hold on. Why lock us in? Kuro didn't do anything wrong—"
"I am not blaming him," the Guildmaster interrupted calmly."But whatever spoke to him will search. And it will not search gently."
He turned to Kuro, voice grave.
"Tell me everything you remember."
Kuro stiffened.
Lucien nudged him gently. "It's okay. Just… try."
Kuro swallowed hard."…It was dark. Completely dark. Not like closing your eyes—more like I didn't exist."
All three listened intently.
"And then… something was there. With me."He didn't know how to explain it properly."It felt old. And… familiar. Like I should've known it."
Mika's hand moved unconsciously toward his sword.
"What did it call you, exactly?" Mika asked.
Kuro hesitated.
"…It called me a fragment."
Lucien let out a quiet swear under his breath.
Mika stepped closer—too close—kneeling so he was eye level with Kuro.
"Kuro. Did it touch you?"
Kuro blinked. "…Touch?"
Mika's voice dropped lower."Your mind. Your mana. Anything."
Kuro searched his fading memory.
"…It pressed on me. Not like a hand. More like… a weight."
The Guildmaster nodded grimly.
"That is enough of an answer."
Lucien frowned. "Meaning?"
The Guildmaster folded his arms.
"It has marked him."
Mika shot up. "Marked—?! As in cursed?"
"Not cursed," the Guildmaster corrected."Claimed."
Lucien choked. "Claimed!? Like some ancient entity playing 'dibs'—?!"
Kuro froze entirely.
Claimed.
The word left a cold ache in his chest he didn't understand.
Mika reacted first—furious, protective fire flaring in his eyes.
"No," he said, voice low and sharp."No one gets to claim Kuro."
He wasn't yelling.He didn't need to.
The room pulsed with heat.
Lucien stared. "Uh… Mika? Your aura is showing."
Mika ignored him entirely, focusing only on Kuro.
"You hear me? You're not anyone's fragment. Or piece. Or whatever that thing wants."
Kuro opened his mouth—something tight and painful pressed against his heart.
"…I don't know," he murmured.
Mika froze.
Lucien froze.
The Guildmaster looked like he'd expected that answer… and hated it.
Kuro continued, voice small.
"I don't know what I was before. I don't know who I used to be. Or what I'm supposed to be now. And if that voice knew me… maybe it's right. Maybe I am some piece of something I don't even understand."
Mika's expression changed instantly.
The anger vanished.
What replaced it was much, much worse.
A kind of silent fear.
"Kuro…" Mika whispered.
Lucien stepped forward, hesitating, but firm."You're you. Not whatever that thing thinks you are."
[Well said… for someone who usually trips over his own emotions.]
Kuro stiffened at the familiar voice."Elvastia…"
[Yes, hello, crisis time. Listen, kid—if some ancient spooky whisper thinks you're part of it, that's its problem. Not yours.]
Mika flinched at the voice only he could hear.He shot an immediate glare into empty air.
"Now is not the time to commentate."
[Shut up, I'm busy emotionally supporting him.]
Lucien blinked. "Are… are you two arguing with air again?"
"Yes," Mika snapped.
"No," Kuro said at the exact same time.
Lucien rubbed his temples. "I'm losing my mind."
The Guildmaster cleared his throat loudly, restoring silence.
"This entity is powerful. Older than the gods.But it does not have Kuro."
He turned a firm gaze on the boy.
"As long as you choose who you are, it cannot force you to become anything else."
Kuro's chest tightened.
"…Choose," he echoed softly.
Mika knelt beside him again.
"Kuro. Look at me."
Kuro looked.
Mika's voice was steady.Not fiery. Not teasing.
Gentle.
"You're not alone. Not anymore. Not ever again."
Kuro felt something crack open inside him—quietly, painfully.
Lucien added, softer, "Yeah… we're kinda stuck with you now. Sorry."
[See? Emotional support squad assembled.]
Mika glared at the empty air again."Elvastia, shut up."
[No.]
But Kuro…Kuro felt something warm pushing back against the cold inside him.
Not fully thawing it.But cracking it.
The Guildmaster exhaled.
"We begin containment measures at once."
Lucien's eyes widened. "Containment for what, exactly?"
The Guildmaster looked at the ceiling—as if he could sense something far above the headquarters.
"For the fragment's owner."
Kuro's blood ran cold.
Mika shot up, sword half-drawn."He's not going anywhere with them."
"He won't."The Guildmaster assured him.
"But the being that wants him…"He paused.
"…is already moving."
Kuro felt the presence's last whisper echo again.
We will be whole again.
Kuro closed his eyes, trembling just slightly.
And Mika, without a word, rested a steady hand on his shoulder.