Mya's wails slowly subsided.
But they didn't cease completely; her body continued to shake, and her sobs, instead of being smooth and continuous, became staccato hiccups that sliced through the air. She buried her face in Taura's chest, her fingers digging into the fabric of Taura's clothes as if she might come apart at the seams if she relaxed her grip.
Taura held her tightly in her embrace.
She didn't say anything for a moment, simply holding her and letting her breathe, letting her be in that place between screaming and silence.
"It's… it's okay," she whispered.
Mya's breathing caught again.
After a moment, she spoke in a small, fractured voice, as if she were afraid of the answer.
"…What do you think is going on right now?"
Assad's gaze drifted back to the mansion, the discomfort in his chest knotting tighter. The house loomed there, immobile, but it seemed to weigh more heavily than before, as if something inside had fallen into place.
"I don't know," he said softly.
He rubbed a hand over his face, his eyes never leaving the mansion. "I really don't. But whatever is going on in there…it's lethal."
Within the mansion, Zheng Yan was still laughing.His shoulders were shaking, his head thrown back, his eyes unfocused, as if he had lost all sense of his surroundings.Shuren and Kinzau observed him in silence.
The space between them was thick, oppressive, and full of something unseen.Shuren's threads were gathered around her, taut but unmoving, as if waiting for a signal she chose not to give.Zheng Yan's laughter slowly began to dwindle, interrupted by irregular gasps.
"I don't understand you," he whispered.
Shuren didn't turn to him.
Kinzau gritted his teeth, his frustration seeping into his tone. "You're standing there as if this is out of your control. As if you're powerless."
Still, Shuren remained silent.
"You can prevent this, you have the power to hold him back to cancel the ritual before it's completed."
"So tell me," he said. "Why are you quiet?"
Shuren exhaled slowly. It wasn't a breath of relief, more like resignation. The weight in her chest settled, heavy and final, as she raised her weapon. The barrel was aligned with Zheng Yan, steady despite the chaos twisting through the mansion.
Zheng Yan was still smiling, still murmuring to something that no longer answered. Shuren didn't hesitate and the shot rang out.The sound cracked through the hall like thunder, sharp and absolute. The moment it echoed, the pressure that had been suffocating the space collapsed as if something unseen had been severed mid-breath.
Zheng Yan's laughter stopped instantly. He stumbled backward on the steps, balance lost, and tumbled down the stairs, coming to rest at the bottom in an unmoving heap.
Kinzau stared at Zheng Yan's body for a long moment before letting out a slow breath.
"…What did I say," he muttered.
He turned slightly toward Shuren.
"You had the power, adding your Kensei to the bullet and ended it in one shot."
"Stopping him does not erase what has already been offered."she said this quietly with her eyes on the body.
Shuren did not lower the gun. Instead she turned it. The barrel of the gun came to rest against Kinzau's head. The sound of the gun moving was quiet. It had a big effect. The air between them became very tense all of a sudden.
Shuren said, "You already know what I am going to ask." Her voice was cold and empty without any emotion.
She told Kinzau "So I think you should start talking if I were you."
Kinzau did not move. He just stood there for a time staring at Zheng Yan's lifeless body. Then his lips slowly curved up into an unsettling smile.
"Grief is itself a medicine."Kinzau said softly,
Shuren's brow furrowed.
"What?"She asked,
Kinzau finally turned his eyes toward Shuren.
He said, "There are bodies in another room."
Shuren's grip tightened.
"If you have a loved one," Kinzau said, his tone almost gentle, "then it's in your best interest to go see them."
Something dark flickered across Shuren's expression. Her voice dropped even lower.
"…Tell me about Zheng Yan. His role in the Clan of Sin," she said.
Kinzau's smile didn't fade.
Shuren's eyes sharpened.
"What sin?"
Kinzau met her gaze.
"The Sin of Lunacy."
Shuren blinked once.
"…Sin of Lunacy?" she repeated.
Kinzau nodded.
That was all.
The gun fired.
The sound echoed once through the hall, short, sharp, final.
Kinzau's body collapsed where he stood, the smile gone, his words cut off mid-breath. He fell beside the stairs, joining the silence he had helped create.
Shuren lowered the gun.