"Well, it's a shame to see you end like this, Sushie…" Arnoux said, his voice calm, yet laced with mockery. "I was still hoping we'd have a real fight."
With a flick of his wrist, Arnoux loosened the enchanted rope restraining her. The seal released with a dull crackle of magic, and the bindings slid away like slithering serpents.
"I'll give you a small chance to leave this place," he added, stepping back into the shadows.
Sushie's breath was ragged. Her body ached, her vision blurred, but her eyes locked onto Arnoux with fury. "Curse you, Arnoux…"
He only smirked in return. With a snap of his fingers, the room ignited. Flames erupted from the wooden beams, licking the walls with hungry orange tongues.
"If you survive," he said as the fire danced around him, "I'll see you again… in Eriland." Then he vanished in a shimmer of dark mist.
Smoke thickened. Sushie coughed violently, struggling to rise. Across from her, Xyon stirred, his voice hoarse. "What… was Ornaphendreul thinking this time?"
Sushie crawled closer, eyes stinging. "I don't want to die like this…" Xyon muttered.
"Such a coward," Sushie coughed, pushing herself upright. "Who wants to die like this?"
She forced herself to move, dragging her battered body toward him. Her right thigh burned with agony—a knife still lodged in the muscle.
"Help me…" she hissed. "Take the knife out… Right side—my thigh."
Xyon crawled toward her despite the flames and heat. "Okay, okay… hold still."
But as his hand fumbled in the smoke and shadows, Sushie suddenly headbutted him.
"Ahh—what the hell?!" he yelped, recoiling.
"What do you think you're touching?!" she barked, eyes flaring. "That's not my thigh!"
"I can't see in here!" he shot back. "You could've just guided my hand—"
"You measure first before groping around like an idiot!" she snapped.
"Fine! Whatever!" Xyon grunted, reaching again, more carefully this time. "Just bear it…"
His hand finally found the hilt. Sushie clenched her jaw as the blade slid out with a wet squelch. Blood gushed down her leg, but the adrenaline kept her going.
"Here—take it!" he handed it to her, then grabbed her shoulder. "We need to go. Now."
The two stumbled from the burning chamber, coughing and hacking smoke from their lungs. When they finally burst out into the cold night air, they collapsed against the stones, gasping for breath like drowning souls.
"Tell me—what the hell is going on?" Xyon demanded, struggling to catch his breath. "That prince who looks just like me…Prince Liu? Is he from Eriland too?"
Sushie froze. "How… do you know about Liu?"
"I met him once," Xyon replied, his tone clouded with something more than confusion. "In Shiya's dream."
"You know Shiya?"
"She's… she's my—" he hesitated.
"Forget it," Sushie cut him off. "We need to get to her place. Now. She's in danger."
Without wasting another word, they broke into a sprint, their feet pounding against unfamiliar streets. But something about the dark road ahead stirred something eerie in their chests.
"This place…" Sushie whispered.
Ahead, a small bridge spanned a black canal, eerily quiet. Before either could speak, Xyon's phone buzzed. He fumbled to answer.
"Xyon, finally!" Jericho's voice came through. "Tell me your location—where the hell are you?!"
"I—I don't know," Xyon admitted, glancing around. "It's dark… unfamiliar…"
Sushie snatched the phone from him. "Come pick us up! We need to reach someone now!"
"I'm tracking your location," Jericho replied. "Hang on… You're not far. I'm on my way."
Meanwhile, back at Shiya's apartment, Xiao stood by the bed, staring at the unconscious girl. The stone in her hand remained dim—unresponsive. She frowned.
"This has to be your doing…" she muttered. She opened a drawer, pulled out a jagged silver shard, and held it above Shiya's side. "Wake up… or bleed out."
She pressed it in.
Blood began to seep from Shiya's side.
Moments later, Jericho's car screeched to a halt. Sushie and Xyon climbed in.
"I saw everything," Jericho began. "The CCTV, the fire—Ms. Xiao vanishing with you and that man…"
"You saw too much," Sushie said coldly. "And the more you learn, the more danger you invite."
"What are you people?" he whispered.
"Turn left," Xyon interrupted. "We're almost there."
When they arrived, they raced into Shiya's room. Xiao turned her head lazily, the blood still wet on her fingers. Jericho immediately drew his gun.
"Don't move!"
Xiao laughed, unaffected. "That won't kill me, mortal."
"You're in a mortal's body," Sushie snapped back. "Want to test your theory?"
"Try it," Xiao said, her voice sharp with confidence.
But Xyon had no time for threats. He rushed to Shiya's side. Blood soaked the sheets beneath her.
"Shiya!" he gasped. "Wake up—please!"
"I can't feel her pulse…" he whispered, tears streaming.
Xiao laughed again, holding up the dull stone. "You gave this to her, didn't you?" she sneered at Sushie. "And now its power is gone."
"What do you mean?"
"You destroyed it! Or used it wrong! You—"
She froze.
A burning pain exploded in her side. She looked down—Shiya, somehow awake, had plunged a knife deep into her gut. Xyon pulled her close moments earlier, distracting her, and passed the blade into Shiya's weak hand.
Xiao screamed as the stone flared to life.
Behind her, a vortex tore into the room, swirling with blinding white light.
"It's opening…" Sushie whispered. "Back to Eriland."
Jericho stared in horror. "What… is that?!"
"Come with us," Sushie grabbed his hand. "You want answers? You'll get them in Eriland."
"Carry Shiya. The magic will heal her there."
Jericho hesitated. This was beyond anything his years of chasing criminals had prepared him for. Vortexes? Magic? Worlds? Still, he knelt and lifted Shiya gently.
"Wait—why do I have to come? I can just forget all this—"
Sushie gave him one hard look and shoved him toward the portal.
"No more time. Move!"
The world spun as they stepped into the light. The vortex consumed them—heat, color, and time bleeding into one another.
As they vanished, Shiya's soft tears touched Xyon's shoulder.
"I'm… sorry," she whispered faintly.
"Stay with me," he pleaded. "We're not done yet."
And then… silence.