The sky didn't crack.
It screamed.
A jagged roar tore through the clouds as a massive shadow burst from the heavens—serpent-shaped, wings like torn banners of war, glowing veins slithering across its scales. Not a beast of nature. Not even of magic.
This thing was ancient. Older than time. Forgotten by most. Worshiped by the desperate.
"The Hollow Wyrm," Kaien whispered. "It's real."
"No," Aira muttered, stepping forward, her blade gleaming faintly. "It's worse than real."
The ground trembled with every flap of its wings. Ice shattered. Trees split. Soldiers—both Imperial and rebel—scattered like ants in the valley below. No side was safe. Not anymore.
The war was no longer between humans.
Something else had entered the field.
—
Kaien raised his sword, wind tearing at his crimson cloak. "We can't fight that."
Aira's grip tightened. "We're not fighting it."
"Then what—?"
"We're waking the other half."
Kaien froze. "What other half?"
Aira stepped to the edge, holding her sword vertically in both hands, and whispered a name only legends dared repeat: "Kurenai no Yoru."
—The Scarlet Night.
The sword began to glow.
Faint at first. Then bright enough to blind. Snow melted around her feet. Magic—the old kind, the wild kind—surged like a wave beneath their skin. Kaien stumbled back as runes erupted from the ground in a perfect circle around Aira.
Something inside her opened.
And then she screamed.
Not from pain.
From memory.
—
Rain fell from the now-broken sky. Not water—blood.
Kaien shielded his eyes as the Hollow Wyrm let out another roar, its body spiraling above the valley like a god angry to be remembered. Aira collapsed to her knees, still clutching her sword, glowing with energy that didn't seem human.
"Don't let me lose myself," she whispered.
Kaien ran to her, dropping to his knees, grabbing her face. "I won't."
"Promise me, Kaien."
He looked into her eyes—no longer blue, but scarlet. Just like the blade. Just like the dusk.
"I promise."
—
The Hollow Wyrm descended.
And Aira stood again, sword drawn, cloak aflame, the ground cracking beneath her bare feet.
"No more hiding," she whispered.
Kaien joined her, lifting his blade beside hers.
"No more running."
They faced the beast together.
Two blades.
Two ghosts.
And one storm left to face.