The word lingered.
Closer.
It echoed in Kuro's mind long after the training room went quiet again.
Mika hadn't let go of him.
Not immediately.
Not even after Kuro's breathing steadied.
"You're shaking," Mika said quietly.
Kuro forced a small breath.
"I'm fine."
"You're not."
Simple. Direct.
Kuro didn't argue.
Lucien, standing a safer distance away now, crossed his arms.
"…So just to confirm, the mysterious unknown being is now giving you one-word instructions like some kind of cryptic tutorial guide?"
No one answered.
Lucien sighed.
"Great. Love that for us."
[It could be worse.]
Lucien pointed upward.
"HOW."
[…it could be giving full sentences.]
"THAT DOES NOT HELP."
Mika exhaled slowly.
"Elvastia… stop talking."
Lucien froze.
"…You said the name again."
Mika stiffened slightly.
Kuro looked away.
Lucien narrowed his eyes.
"…I'm starting to think I'm being left out of something very important."
"You are," Elvastia said.
Lucien jumped.
"WAIT—"
Then paused.
"…Okay no, I didn't hear that one. I'm losing it."
[Yes, you are.]
"STOP IT—WHERE ARE YOU—"
Kuro laughed weakly.
Mika pinched the bridge of his nose.
"…Focus."
The word cut clean through the chaos.
Lucien quieted.
Kuro straightened slightly.
Mika stepped back—but only just enough to give Kuro space.
"Again," he said.
Lucien blinked.
"AGAIN?? He just almost passed out!"
"Yes."
Mika's gaze didn't waver.
Kuro hesitated.
"…Mika…"
"If it's getting stronger," Mika said, "then we don't have time to be careful."
Kuro's chest tightened.
Not from fear.
From understanding.
"…Okay."
Lucien threw his hands up.
"I hate both of you."
[You love us.]
"I TOLERATE YOU."
Kuro took a breath.
Then stepped forward again.
The air felt different now.
Heavier.
Like something was watching—
closer than before.
Mika picked up his sword again.
But this time—
he didn't strike.
"Feel it," he said.
Kuro closed his eyes.
The fragment pulsed.
Once.
Twice.
Stronger.
Louder.
Like it was responding to something unseen.
"…It's there," Kuro whispered.
"Where?" Mika asked.
Kuro's voice dropped.
"…Everywhere."
A pause.
Then—
The world shifted.
Not fully.
Not like before.
But enough.
The training room blurred.
Edges softened.
Sound dulled.
And in that fading space—
Kuro heard it.
"…why do you resist…"
The voice wasn't distant anymore.
It was closer.
Clearer.
Kuro's breath hitched.
"I'm not—"
"…you are incomplete…"
The words pressed against him.
Not threatening.
Not angry.
Just… certain.
Kuro's hands clenched.
"I'm not incomplete!"
The room trembled.
Cracks spread slightly beneath his feet.
Lucien stumbled back.
"OKAY—THAT'S DEFINITELY NOT NORMAL—"
[He's syncing.]
Mika's eyes sharpened.
"Kuro—stay with me."
Kuro barely heard him.
"…you were meant to return…"
The voice wrapped around him.
Cold.
Familiar.
Wrong.
Kuro shook his head harder.
"No—"
"…you were never meant to be alone…"
Something inside him pulled.
Hard.
His body leaned forward—
just slightly—
as if something invisible was trying to drag him somewhere else.
Mika moved instantly.
His hand grabbed Kuro's wrist.
Firm.
Unyielding.
"Kuro."
The single word cut through everything.
Kuro's vision flickered.
The voice wavered.
"…leave them…"
Mika's grip tightened.
"No."
The answer was immediate.
Sharp.
Unshakable.
Kuro's breath stuttered.
"Mika—"
"…they are not yours…"
Something in the air shifted.
For the first time—
the voice changed.
Not calm.
Not certain.
Something closer to—
confusion.
Mika stepped forward.
Putting himself directly between Kuro and… nothing.
But it didn't feel like nothing.
"You don't get to decide that," Mika said coldly.
Lucien blinked.
"…Okay I don't know who you're talking to but that was cool."
[He's talking to something that doesn't like being told no.]
Mika didn't move.
Didn't blink.
"You want him?" he said.
"Then come here yourself."
Silence.
Heavy.
Pressing.
Kuro's heart pounded.
The fragment pulsed violently—
Then—
Everything stopped.
The pressure vanished.
The voice disappeared.
The room snapped back to normal.
Kuro staggered forward slightly—
but Mika caught him immediately.
Lucien rushed over.
"HEY—are you good?! Are you alive?! Still human?!"
Kuro let out a shaky breath.
"…I think so."
[Debatable.]
"NOT HELPFUL."
Mika didn't let go.
His grip was still tight.
"…It backed off," he said quietly.
Kuro nodded weakly.
"…Yeah."
Lucien blinked.
"…Wait. It backed off??"
Mika's eyes darkened slightly.
"…For now."
Silence settled again.
But it felt different this time.
Less like something was waiting.
More like something was… thinking.
Kuro looked down at his hand.
The one Mika was still holding.
"…Mika."
"Yeah."
"…It hesitated."
Mika's gaze sharpened.
"…Why?"
Kuro swallowed.
"…When you spoke."
A pause.
Lucien slowly pointed at Mika.
"…Okay, so now the giant sky entity is scared of you?"
[That's new.]
Mika didn't react to the joke.
His focus stayed on Kuro.
"…Then we use that."
Kuro blinked.
"Use it…?"
Mika nodded.
"If it's uncertain," he said, "then it's not invincible."
Lucien crossed his arms.
"…Or it's just confused why we're all this chaotic."
[Fair.]
Kuro let out a small breath.
But deep down—
something had changed.
Because for the first time—
the thing in the sky hadn't felt distant.
It hadn't felt unreachable.
It had felt—
close.
And worse—
it had felt familiar.
Not like an enemy.
Not like a stranger.
But like something that had always been there.
Waiting.
And now—
starting to wake up.