Kuro couldn't breathe.
The pain—
it wasn't physical.
Not completely.
It felt deeper.
Like someone had reached past his ribs—
past his heart—
and grabbed hold of something that should never be touched.
His scream echoed through the ruined Guild Hall.
Then cut off suddenly.
Not because the pain stopped—
Because the world itself went silent.
Everything froze.
Dust hung motionless in the air.
The falling debris stopped mid-drop.
Even Lucien's horrified expression stayed suspended.
Only three things still moved.
Kuro.
The chained creature.
And the thing touching him.
Mika noticed first.
His eyes widened sharply.
"…What is that."
The hand protruding from the fractured space around Kuro was pale—
too pale.
Not human.
Not monstrous.
Just… wrong.
Its fingers were impossibly long, pressing against Kuro's chest without piercing it—
as though touching something beneath reality itself.
[No no no no NO.]
Elvastia's voice shook for the first time.
Actually shook.
Kuro gasped weakly.
"…It hurts…"
The chained creature moved instantly.
Chains exploded outward—
slamming toward the arm.
But the moment they touched it—
they shattered.
Not broken.
Erased.
The creature froze.
Silver eyes widening slightly.
"…Impossible."
Then—
a voice spoke.
Soft.
Calm.
Ancient.
"You should not interfere."
The voice didn't come from the sky.
Didn't come from the hand.
It came from everywhere.
Mika stepped forward immediately.
Sword raised.
"Get away from him."
The hand paused.
Then slowly—
the fingers tightened.
Kuro choked on another scream.
Something inside him pulled violently.
[IT'S TAKING THE FRAGMENT.]
The words slammed into Mika instantly.
His expression changed.
Not fear.
Fury.
Pure fury.
The air around him distorted.
Mana burst outward violently—
dark and sharp enough to crack the floor beneath him.
Lucien would've screamed if time hadn't frozen around him.
Mika moved.
Fast.
Too fast.
His blade cut directly toward the arm—
—and stopped.
Midair.
Caught.
Not physically.
Just… halted.
The voice sighed softly.
"You are troublesome."
For the first time—
the hand reacted to someone besides Kuro.
It turned slightly toward Mika.
And the pressure in the room doubled.
Mika gritted his teeth.
Still pushing.
Still refusing to stop.
Kuro's vision blurred.
"…Mika…"
Mika looked at him instantly.
And something in his expression shifted.
Not anger anymore.
Desperation.
"Kuro."
His voice cracked slightly.
"Stay awake."
The hand pulled harder.
Kuro felt something tearing.
Not flesh.
Identity.
Memory.
Something deeper.
And suddenly—
Images flashed behind his eyes.
A throne.
Black skies.
Chains.
A crown made of fractured light.
Something kneeling before him.
Something screaming.
And him—
Not Kuro.
Not human.
Not kind.
Kuro gasped violently.
"No—"
The hand paused.
The voice spoke again.
Curious now.
"…You remember."
The sky outside trembled violently.
The giant eye narrowed.
Watching.
Waiting.
The chained creature stepped forward again despite its shattered chains.
"…Release him."
The voice ignored it completely.
Its attention stayed on Kuro.
"You were divided improperly."
Kuro's breathing shook.
"…What…"
"The separation damaged the cycle."
Mika forced himself forward another inch.
His sword trembling against invisible resistance.
"I said—"
His voice dropped.
Dangerous.
"Get away from him."
For the first time—
the voice laughed quietly.
Not mocking.
Interested.
"…So this is the one."
Mika's eyes narrowed.
"What does that mean."
No answer.
Instead—
the hand began pulling again.
Harder.
Kuro screamed.
This time the frozen world cracked with it.
Lucien collapsed forward as time resumed.
"WHAT IS HAPPENING—"
[WE ARE HAVING A TERRIBLE DAY.]
The Guildmaster slammed into the wall from the pressure returning.
"Kuro!"
Mika roared.
Actually roared.
Dark mana exploded around him—
wild and violent.
Different from before.
Less controlled.
More instinct.
And the invisible force stopping him—
cracked.
The voice stilled.
"…Interesting."
Mika broke through.
One step.
Then another.
Then—
his hand grabbed Kuro's wrist.
Instantly—
the pulling weakened.
Kuro gasped.
The hand faltered.
The voice went silent.
Mika pulled Kuro back hard against him.
Protective.
Possessive.
Furious.
"No one touches him."
The room shook.
The hand twitched once.
Then—
slowly—
it retreated.
Back into fractured space.
But before disappearing completely—
the voice spoke one last time.
"You have delayed it."
A pause.
Then—
"But he cannot remain divided forever."
The fracture sealed shut.
Silence crashed into the room.
Kuro collapsed against Mika immediately.
Shaking violently.
Breathing uneven.
Mika held him tightly.
Too tightly.
Like letting go would lose him.
Lucien stared blankly.
"…Okay."
A long pause.
"…I officially miss the slavery arc."
[That is the worst sentence you've ever said.]
The chained creature lowered itself slowly again.
Watching Kuro carefully.
Almost warily now.
Kuro's hands trembled against Mika's shirt.
The images—
the throne—
the crown—
they wouldn't leave his head.
And worse—
one thought remained clearer than all the others.
That voice—
didn't belong to the sky entity.
Meaning there were no longer two sides involved.
There were three.