A week had passed since the harbor incident, and the island had returned to its gentle rhythm—on the surface. Beneath it, something unspoken stirred. A tension in the air, like the island itself was holding its breath.
The breeze felt colder at night. The shadows longer. Even the stars above seemed quieter.
Kai sat alone every evening, staring across the black ocean. The light hadn't returned, but the memory of it haunted him like an unfinished sentence.
He felt it watching him now—something beyond the waves, beyond reason.
Ren had retreated deeper into silence. He rarely spoke, rarely moved from beneath the old tree where he watched the world through half-lidded eyes, music in one ear and distant echoes in the other. Hachi was restless, pacing through days, eyes locked on the horizon as if the sea would part and answer him. Toma's mind had already crossed—he laughed too easily now, talked too fast, like the island no longer held meaning.
Two weeks remained before school ended. Their plan was set. They would apply for the Yochi Entry Pass—and possibly, the rarer Maze Pass, linked to the elusive and chillingly powerful LZT organization.
The registration day arrived.
The LZT-run office stood like a scar in the island's skin—silent and too perfect. No insects buzzed there. Even the wind avoided its walls. Inside, it smelled like cold steel and antiseptic. They submitted their forms with shaking hands.
Toma and Hachi quickly excused themselves, saying they had things to do at the Sailor's House. But their smiles didn't reach their eyes.
Kai and Ren walked down an empty street under the burning sky, the heat strangely silent. They stopped at a shaded shop for cold drinks. That's when they saw them.
Two strangers. One carried something long and wrapped in pitch-black cloth—stiff, like it remembered blood. The other was a girl with a tattoo shaped like a broken E etched into her forehead, as if carved rather than inked.
Their steps were too quiet, too precise. Trained. Lethal.
They stopped. The girl held out a photo.
"Have you seen this man?"
The face in the photo was wrong. Like something had worn a human skin and forgotten how to fit inside it. The eyes were too deep. The mouth too long. Not quite alive.
Kai stared at it. His breath caught.
"What is he?" he murmured.
The man ignored him and handed over a card. "If you see him—or anything like him—call this number. Do not speak to them. Do not run. Just call."
Then they were gone.
Kai and Ren walked home without speaking. A heaviness clung to them, like they were dragging something unseen behind them. Kai's house was silent. Too silent. Like the walls were listening.
"Go ahead," Kai said at the corner. "I'll stay here."
Ren glanced at him, then walked on. Kai sat alone on the worn bench outside his gate, mind unraveling.
That face...
Then he heard it.
"You have a delicious soul."
A voice. Smooth. Velvet and ash.
Kai turned.
It stood under the moonlight, its limbs too long, skin pale like something drained. The creature from the photo—but more. Wronger.
Kai didn't blink. "Delicious? You sound like a bad joke."
He stood.
It reached toward him—but froze. Its hand trembled in the air. Inches away, as if an invisible wall held it back. Its face twisted in confusion.
Then it melted into the darkness.
Kai bolted home.
The lights flickered. The windows buzzed faintly. He shut the door and looked out—and froze.
A row of them. Still. Silent. Watching. Their hollow eyes reflecting nothing.
He snatched the card and dialed.
A voice answered. Calm. "Yes?"
"They're here," Kai whispered. "The ones from the picture. Outside."
"Do not engage," the voice snapped. "Hide. We're on our way."
The line went dead.
Kai looked again.
They were gone.
Then the scream tore the air.
The neighbor's house—a widow. Kind. Quiet. Her window now framed a shadow. One of them. Pulling something bright and screaming from her chest.
The soul twisted like goast in smoke.
Then—
Tck. Tck.
A knock.
"Kai. It's me. Ren."
Kai opened the door a sliver.
Too late.
The creature lunged. Its claws grazed his shoulder—deep. Pain exploded. Blood spilled.
"Ooooh," it giggled, sing-song. "Almost got your head."
Then—
Shunk.
A blade. Fast as wind. Buried deep into the thing's skull.
It twitched, laughed again.
"Ohh... hunters... how fun."
A voice spoke, low and final.
"Burn."
Blue flames ignited. The creature's scream was unnatural, warped. It didn't die—it unraveled. Its soul shrieked as if being erased.
Kai collapsed.
The last thing he saw was a pale face above him, studying his bloodied one.
"I've seen this face before..." the man murmured.
The girl crouched beside him. "You sure?"
A team swarmed the house. LZT. Silent and faceless. They cleaned the blood. Removed the marks. Reality itself seemed altered—nothing remained.
Across the street, Lucas—the silver-haired agent—entered the neighbor's home. Inside, something stood where the woman once lived. Her skin hung like curtains. Her eyes were full of hunger.
Lucas didn't hesitate.
"I'm not sorry," he said.
One clean slash.
Silence.
Then, a scream—not of flesh, but of soul. The air cracked with unnatural static.
"You will all suffer," it hissed. "The gate is open. It's begun..."
Lucas stared into the night, face grim.
"They're back," he said.
He stepped outside. The island wind had stopped.
Something old was crawling through.
And it wasn't alone.
...…★★★★★...…