Tori launched herself out of the closet, her breath sharp and panicked. But before she could take more than a step, something yanked her back—hard. She hit the ground with a thud, heart pounding as she looked up. The figure's arm stretched unnaturally from the closet, its fingers tangled in her hair.
Lightning cracked outside, illuminating the room for a split second—but the figure remained untouched by the light, still a void of endless blackness.
A faint glow flickered in her pocket. Something. A small glimmer in the dark. Desperate, she dug it out, barely able to keep her hands steady.
A star-shaped emblem. From before.
The moment it left her pocket, the figure shuddered. Its body distorted, as if it were being torn apart from within.
Tori didn't waste time. She thrust the emblem toward it, and the figure glitched, its arm snapping back to its body.
The candles in the room reignited. The darkness lifted. And Argos—just Argos—was left standing there.
His legs buckled, and he collapsed onto the freezing floor.
Tori pushed herself up onto her elbows, chest rising and falling in deep, shaky breaths. Ice crept along the floor toward her, chilling her fingertips. She didn't move. Just stared.
Argos lifted his head weakly, and their eyes met.
She felt it then. A deep, suffocating wrongness. A feeling colder than the ice reaching for her hands.
His lips parted, his voice stolen by the silence.
"...Tori."
The door behind them creaked open.
A girl stood in the frame, backlit by the storm outside. Her red hair gleamed like fire.
Before Tori could summon her power, the girl moved. In a blink, she was beside her, fingers gripping Tori's wrist.
"Not this time," the girl whispered. And then—
Everything. Turned. Gray.
The color bled from the room.
Tori barely had time to react before she was yanked up by her hair, the girl's grip like iron. She winced, struggling, but the strength behind those fingers was inhuman.
Argos lifted his head weakly, barely able to move. His breath came in ragged gasps as he forced out, "I don't know what you are... but please, help us."
The girl laughed. "Me? Help you?" She smirked, tightening her grip on Tori. "No, you're gonna be useful to me."
Argos grinned. A slow, dangerous grin. "Not talking to you."
A blackened arm shot forward.
The girl barely had time to react before his fingers wrapped around her throat. The smirk vanished, replaced with wide, startled eyes. She was yanked off her feet.
Tori gasped as the girl's grip on her hair released. She stumbled back, rubbing her scalp, her pulse thundering in her ears.
Argos slammed his free hand onto the floor, and a gateway opened beneath Tori.
She hesitated—still shaken, still breathless.
"Go." Argos's voice was low, strained.
Tori swallowed hard. Her hands trembled. Her mind was scattered, unable to hold onto a single thought.
Thunder crashed outside, shaking the very foundation of the castle.
She didn't argue. She turned and ran.
The hallway stretched before her, endless and cold. She wrapped her arms around herself as she walked, trying to calm her shivering. Silence filled the castle, thick and heavy.
After a moment, she called out.
"...Argos?"
No answer.
She stopped walking.
Pulled her sleeves over her hands, curling into herself for warmth.
The sound of metal clashing rang out from outside.
Tori's head snapped toward the noise. She stood, bare fingers flexing at her sides. Slowly, she uncovered her right hand and conjured a small flame, passing it between her palms for warmth.
Another flash of light streaked across the hallway.
Thunder boomed.
She ran.
The hall stretched on forever. Tori's breathing was uneven, but she pushed forward, her feet pounding against the cold stone floor.
She turned a corner—another endless hallway.
Lightning flashed again. Through a nearby window, she saw the sky was blotted out by thick clouds. Snow fell in an unrelenting storm.
The clash of metal echoed again.
Her breath hitched.
At the end of the hall, she skidded to a stop.
Two paths. Left or right.
Tori clenched her jaw and ran right.
Her legs burned, her chest ached, but she didn't slow down.
Another flash. Another roar of thunder.
And then—
The wall in front of her collapsed.
She stumbled back, coughing as dust and debris filled the air. When she looked up, she saw him.
Argos.
But he wasn't the same.
The blackness had spread, consuming half of his body. His face was already morphing into the thing from before—those same white, soulless eyes. That same wrongness.
Tori took a step back. Her breath came in short, panicked gasps.
The girl from before stood outside the ruined castle, smirking.
Surrounded by people.
This was a trap.
Tori barely had time to process before the girl lifted a hand.
A bright light flickered in her palm—before shaping into a thin, elegant Tai Chi sword.
The girl grinned, her gaze locked onto Argos.
"This," she said, voice laced with amusement, "should be interesting."
As the blackness consumed Argos entirely, he muttered under his breath, "Sorry..." The word barely formed, but Tori saw it—read it on his lips. Her pulse quickened, and she instinctively took a step back, eyes darting between him and the massive group forming behind Hina.
"Lady Hina, on your command," a bushy-haired man with piercing red eyes called out. His gaze burned through the thickening fog.
Hina raised her hand but didn't move. She was waiting, expecting them to strike first.
Above them, the sky turned red.
Then, it swallowed him.
The darkness overtook Argos completely, stretching across his face like a living void, leaving behind only the jagged grin from before. He tilted his head at Hina, his expression unreadable—almost like he was recognizing her.
Then, his head snapped forward.
Distorted laughter erupted from nowhere and everywhere.
The sky burned blood-orange.
Before Hina could react, he was gone.
A sonic boom split the air, and in an instant, the group behind her was cleaved in half.
The sound of bodies hitting the snow was drowned by a new noise—rain. But it wasn't water. It was blood.
The remaining soldiers turned in every direction, panic setting in. The snow thickened, hail crashed down, and in the distance, Tori staggered back into the castle, pressing against the wall for support. Her breath came in short, uneven gasps. Too fast. Too strong.
Her chest tightened. Her vision blurred.
She grabbed onto the cold stone for balance, but her knees gave out, and she collapsed to the side.
Outside, Hina remained still, unfazed.
The bushy-haired man with red eyes stepped in front of her and shoved her aside just as a massive icicle erupted from the ground where they'd been standing. She didn't even flinch. Instead, she extended her hand and pointed forward.
The rest of her soldiers summoned their Telums at once—blades, axes, gauntlets, rapiers, clubs—all weapons forged from their very souls.
Hina spread her arms, letting the blood rain down over her like a blessing.
Her warriors charged.
Argos—or what had become of him—summoned his own weapon: a scythe. White, edged in shadow.
He took a step forward.
Two seconds later, the frontline collapsed in pieces.
Bodies hit the ground. The remaining soldiers froze, realizing what had happened too late.
Hina's eyes gleamed, drinking in the slaughter. The snow stopped entirely. The earth quaked. The temperature plummeted, and the sky darkened into an endless sheet of clouds.
Then—lightning struck.
The force of it shattered the ground. In the instant it touched Argos, he vanished.
An instant later, he landed in their midst, lightning following his descent like a judgment.
Pillars of ice erupted beneath them, impaling and tearing apart what remained of Hina's forces. Where they fell, glowing orbs of energy took their place.
Still, Hina remained where she stood. Watching. Studying. Waiting.
Tori, from the safety of the castle, barely breathed. Her heart pounded against her ribs, her hands clenched into shaking fists. Her gaze locked onto the scythe in Argos' hands.
She knew that weapon.
Or rather... she knew who it belonged to.
That's when she saw it—the faint, nearly invisible aura surrounding the battlefield. Not just the figure—the entire area.
Her breath caught. Spirit energy.
Without thinking, Tori shaped the energy in her hands, molding it into a dagger. She turned toward Argos, stepping forward.
Argos—or the thing he had become—drove the scythe into the ground and walked toward Hina.
Hina finally shifted. She flicked her gaze toward Tori and lifted a hand.
The red-eyed warrior beside her, Arius, obeyed the silent command, stepping forward with a slow drag of his greatsword through the bloodstained snow.
Argos lifted a single hand, fingers curling as if grasping something unseen.
Arius was blasted back before he even had the chance to attack.
Tori took her chance—hurling the energy dagger at Hina.
At the last second, Hina caught it by the blade.
Her grip tightened, and the dagger shattered like glass.
"So that's your plan?" Tori breathed, forcing herself to stand firm. "Let your own people die just so you can absorb their power?"
Argos clenched his fist.
The swirling spirit energy around them vanished.
Hina tilted her head, a smug grin creeping onto her face. "Either they get the job done, or I reap their power once they're gone. Pretty simple."
Something pulsed in Tori's pocket.
A glow.
She reached for it instinctively, fingers tightening around the object inside.
"It's been fun," Hina continued, pulling something from her jacket. "But I think it's time to wrap this up."
Light erupted from her hand, and in an instant, a Tai Chi sword formed in her grip.
At the same time, Tori conjured fire in both hands, hurling it toward Hina and Arius.
Arius stepped in front of Hina, raising his greatsword to block the flames. The fire clashed against the blade, dissipating into embers.
Hina didn't even flinch.
She stepped forward, brandishing her sword. "Arius, handle the girl."
Arius obeyed, dragging his greatsword through the snow once more as he advanced on Tori.
Hina turned her attention back to Argos, her grip tightening on her weapon.
Something in her other hand pulsed—glowed brighter.
As she neared, Argos flickered.
The distortion returned. The glitching—erratic, uncontrollable.
Tori inhaled sharply, summoning her own weapon. A greatsword—one that looked eerily familiar.
She lowered it, dragging the blade through the snow just as Arius did.
The two warriors locked eyes.
Lightning flashed above.
The storm was far from over.6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFoAGm83j3t
