The stone's warmth lingered in Kaen's palm as he walked. It pulsed softly, a heartbeat not his own, steady against the chaos that surrounded him.
He had no answers for what it was. But in that moment, it didn't matter.
It gave him the strength to keep moving.
And he needed that strength—because Riku was waiting.
The Streets
Orvale stretched out before him like the corpse of a city.
The streets that once bustled with life were drowned in silence. Houses lay broken, some burned to ash, others collapsed in jagged heaps of timber and stone. The scent of smoke still clung to the air, sharp and bitter.
Every step Kaen took crunched over shattered glass, splintered wood, and blood that had long dried into the cobblestones.
The world he knew was gone.
But Riku.
He had to reach her.
Shadows That Hunt
The ground trembled.
Kaen froze, pressing himself against the remnants of a broken wall. His breath hitched as the shadow fell across the street.
It was one of them.
A dinosaur—scaled in black, its jaws lined with teeth that could crush stone. It lumbered slowly, its heavy steps sending small quakes through the ruins. Its nostrils flared as it sniffed the air, searching for life.
Kaen dared not breathe. Sweat trickled down his neck, his body rigid as stone.
The creature stopped. Its head turned—closer, closer, until Kaen could see the glint of blood smeared along its snout.
Don't see me. Please don't see me.
The silence stretched. The air itself seemed to tighten around him.
Then—distantly, somewhere deeper in the ruins, rubble collapsed with a loud crash.
The beast's head snapped toward the noise. With a guttural growl, it turned, lumbering away, its tail smashing through the wreckage of a home as it vanished from sight.
Kaen slumped forward, his body trembling. His lungs burned as he finally drew in air.
That had been too close.
Obstacles
The path to Riku's home was no longer a path at all.
Trees lay torn from the earth, their roots twisted skyward. Walls and beams collapsed across roads, forcing Kaen to climb, crawl, and squeeze through jagged openings.
Every movement scraped his skin raw. Splinters dug into his palms. His clothes tore. But he pressed forward.
Because every time he faltered, every time despair threatened to weigh him down, her face rose in his memory.
Riku's laugh. The way she'd scold him for picking fights. The way she always believed in him, even when he doubted himself.
I can't lose her too.
The Children
At one turn, Kaen stopped.
Before him lay a sight that tore into his chest.
Two children—still, cold, their hands reaching toward each other even in death. Their eyes wide, frozen in terror.
Kaen's knees buckled. His throat tightened until he could barely breathe.
The whispers came again, crawling through his mind.
"You should have saved us."
"Too weak… always too weak…"
"Stop…" he whispered, clutching the glowing stone to his chest.
The warmth spread again. Gentle. Steady. The whispers dulled, fading into silence.
His breath steadied. His trembling slowed.
The stone was not just light—it was an anchor.
And he clung to it, forcing his legs to move once more.
The Hill
Finally, through the haze of smoke and ruin, Kaen saw it.
Riku's home.
It stood at the top of a small hill, battered but still upright. Smoke rose faintly from the roof, but the walls had not collapsed. It was still there.
Hope surged in his chest so sharply it hurt. His legs moved before his mind caught up, carrying him into a desperate run.
"Riku!" he shouted, his voice breaking. "Riku!"
His cries echoed through the ruins, swallowed by silence.
The closer he came, the tighter his chest grew. Each step was heavier than the last, a war between hope and fear.
Please… please be alive.
The Door
At last, he reached the house. The front door hung loose on its hinges, the wood splintered, blood smeared faintly across its surface.
Kaen stopped, his breath ragged. His hand trembled as he reached for the doorframe.
Inside, shadows waited. Silent. Still.
He swallowed, his throat dry.
"…Riku?"
Only silence answered.
And then—from within the darkness—something shifted.
A sound. Small. Subtle. Alive.
Kaen's heart lurched.
He pushed the door open.