Morning had barely begun, but the Guild Headquarters felt nothing like morning.
Not with the sky dimmed.
Not with the cold creeping through the corridors.
Not with every adventurer whispering about the thing moving above the clouds.
Kuro stepped into the central hall beside Mika and Lucien.Every conversation stopped. Someone dropped their mug. A senior-ranked mage flinched just seeing him walk past.
Kuro's shoulders shrank a little.
"…I'm scaring them," he whispered.
"You're not," Mika said immediately.
[Technically—]
"Elvastia," Mika growled under his breath, "Not. One. Word."
[Fine. But only because you look one insult away from committing a war crime.]
Lucien stepped between two terrified rookies, waving them away with a forced smile. "Relax, he's not cursed! It's just—uh—low blood sugar! Happens to everyone!"
Mika stared at him."…Low blood sugar?"
"What? It was the only thing I could think of!"
A guild receptionist peeked from behind the counter, trembling."Um… Kuro? The Guildmaster is waiting downstairs. He said to bring your… your—"
Her eyes bounced between Mika and Lucien.
"…escorts."
"Escorts???" Lucien sputtered. "We're not—"
"Let's just go," Mika muttered, grabbing Kuro gently by the wrist.
Kuro let himself be pulled along, heartbeat uneven.He kept feeling it.
Like fingers brushing the back of his mind.Like a breath against his ear.
Like something large, awake, searching.
They reached the basement door—reinforced steel covered with runes that glowed pale gold.
Lucien blinked. "Uh… that door wasn't glowing yesterday."
"That's the point," Mika muttered.
Kuro reached toward the handle—
It flared black.
All three froze.
A whisper slithered through the cracks of the world:
"Found you."
Kuro's breath hitched. His knees weakened.
Mika grabbed him instantly. "Kuro!"
Lucien drew his sword, panic rising. "The Guildmaster said the barrier wasn't ready yet—"
[Oh GREAT. PERFECT. WONDERFUL. WHO NEEDS PREPARATION ANYWAY, LET'S JUST DIE ON A THURSDAY.]
"Elvastia…" Kuro whispered shakily.
[NO. Absolutely not. Do not open the mental door. I swear if you let that thing inside—]
A sharp, thunderous clap filled the hallway.
The basement door ripped open—
—and the Guildmaster stood inside, surrounded by a half-formed sphere of gold magic, sweat running down his face.
"GET IN!" he barked.
They ran.
The moment Kuro stepped past the threshold, the sphere slammed shut like a jaw snapping, sealing them all inside with a blinding flash of gold.
The world went quiet.
Kuro blinked, shaking, trying to steady his breathing. "Guildmaster… was that…?"
The Guildmaster wiped his forehead."It tried to break through the outer wards. Already."
"…Already?" Lucien gasped. "It's not even been a day!"
"It doesn't need a day."The Guildmaster sank down into a chair, robes heavy."It followed the mark. It wants the fragment back."
Kuro hugged his arms to his chest, feeling the cold tremble return.
Mika stepped beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder—firm, grounding.
"Kuro. Look at me."
Kuro looked.
"You're here. With us. Not with it."
Kuro nodded weakly.
But then—
The whisper returned.
Not from the door.
Not from the walls.
From inside him.
"You are incomplete."
Kuro flinched.
Mika's hand tightened."What did it say?"
Kuro hesitated.He didn't want to say it.
"…It said I'm incomplete."
Lucien's jaw dropped. "Incomplete?! Incomplete what—a sandwich? A puzzle? A WHAT—"
[Oh gods shut up, Lucien, this isn't snack time.]
Mika stepped forward, fury returning. "If it speaks again, I'll—"
"—You'll do nothing."
Everyone turned sharply.
A figure stood at the far end of the room.Unsteady.Partially transparent.
His hair was platinum white.His eyes—bottomless black.
Not fully formed.Not fully here.
"Y–You…" Kuro whispered.
Lucien recoiled. "Who the hell is that?!"
The Guildmaster's eyes widened, horror flickering in them."Impossible."
Mika unsheathed his sword. "Stay back."
The figure didn't move closer—but its gaze locked onto Kuro.
"You weren't supposed to awaken it yet."
Kuro's throat closed.
"Awaken… what?"
The figure's shape flickered—and for one terrifying moment its eyes glowed like dying stars.
"…yourself."
The room fell silent.
Even Elvastia went dead quiet.
Kuro's heartbeat thundered in his ears.
"…Me?" he whispered.
[Okay. I officially hate this.]
Lucien stepped closer to Mika, whispering, "Do we stab it? We should stab it. Can we stab it?"
The Guildmaster stepped forward instead, voice trembling yet authoritative.
"What are you? Projection? Spirit? Echo of the entity outside?"
The figure didn't look away from Kuro.
He lifted a single hand—and pointed directly at the boy.
"I am the one who sent him here."
Kuro's eyes widened.
"Y… you—?"
The figure tilted its head slightly.
"Your story is not what you think it is, Kuro Kyoko."
Mika stepped protectively in front of Kuro.
"Stay away from him!"
The figure smiled faintly.
"Don't worry. I can't touch him yet."
Kuro's breath caught.
"…Yet?"
Before anyone could move—
The figure dissolved into dust.Gone.
Silence swallowed the chamber.
Kuro's legs gave out. He dropped to his knees, hands trembling.
Mika caught him instantly, pulling him close.
"Kuro—hey—hey, breathe."
Lucien stared at the empty space where the figure vanished."What does—what does ANY of that mean? 'Not what you think your story is'? 'Awaken yourself'? 'Yet'—WHY THE YET—"
[Lucien, if you don't stop talking, I'll haunt you.]
"You're a voice!! You're ALREADY haunting me!!"
Kuro didn't hear them.
All he felt was cold.
Deep, sinking cold.
And one thought that terrified him more than anything:
**What if the being outside…wants me because…I used to be it?