Inside a dimly lit hotel room, a girl with blonde hair sat quietly.
The room glowed with a faint crimson hue, the only light seeping in from the neon-drenched city outside. Inside, the darkness crept slowly, like it was swallowing everything whole.
"They're coming for us…" a voice came from darkness.
"hm" the girl nodded and asked, "what should we do now."
"What else can we do? Running is the only option now."
A figure stepped forward from the dark — a vague silhouette, barely shaped like a man.
"If it wasn't for that damn crimson demon… and you being so obsessed with saving those mortals, we could've already escaped. But no — you had to go back for them. Now this is the price we pay."
The girl stayed silent.
Seeing that, the shadow's tone softened just a little.
"Eira… forget the past. This isn't the time to hold on to it. We have to run — now. If we stay, we die. Simple as that."
Eira slowly lifted her head and whispered, "Do you even know what that thing inside the kid was?"
The shadow paused.
"That was no ordinary demon," he finally said. "It feeds on emotion — dreams, desire, thoughts. Crimson demons like that… they can't manifest in this world without a host. They're a walking nightmare for awakeners."
She clenched her fist, voice lowering.
"But that one… I couldn't sense anything from him. Nothing. That kid — he's not normal. The strength I felt… only emperor-grade demons possess that kind of pressure."
Eira's expression hardened.
The shadow continued, "Right now, there's only one emperor-grade demon on the planet — and he's the one behind the cold disaster."
She looked toward the window, the red light painting her face.
"That thing inside the boy might not be emperor level yet… but it's already quasi-emperor for sure. If it wasn't, I would've sensed it. I wouldn't have felt this… fear."
"Luckily, he didn't try to manifest his true self… or I wouldn't dare try to control that boy."
"We've already done what we can. Now it's up to those Stellar Institute people. We did our part — let them handle it."
"So, what should we do now? There's a storm outside. Temperature's only gonna drop more."
"We have to move, or we're dead either way. At least there's hope out there. If we stay here… we're as good as gone."
Eira's eyes sharpened. A cold resolve settled in them, glowing like a pair of blue gems in the dark.
The shadow looked at her one last time… then slowly dissolved into mist — merging with her body.
Without a word, Eira stood up. Her silhouette cast a long shadow across the room as she turned toward the door.
She stepped forward, slowly, then vanished into the cold night.