BAM! – BAM! – BAM!Each thump landed heavy… deep… like someone trying to punch the breath out of the world.
Inside the empty white room—no windows, no décor, just reinforced walls that had survived gods-knows-how many tantrums—she stood steady and firm. Raya's fists were a mess of bruised knuckles and split skin. Sweat slicked down her jaw, dripped to the floor, smeared the once-clean tiles beneath her stance. Strands of purple hair clung stubbornly to her forehead until she finally shoved them back and tightened her slicked bun.
Her fitted tank top and training tights were soaked through. The iron machine in front of her—massive, cold, armed with rotating strike-pads—whirred down to silence after her last brutal combo.
"Tch—!"Raya hissed, rolling her shoulders, snatching her water bottle from the ground. She took a long, ungraceful gulp, letting the burn of exhaustion settle into her bones.
Then—SHHHHKKK—!
The mechanical door slid open.
Raya's jaw clenched instantly. "WHO THE HELL IS—"She stopped. Dead.
Because he walked in.
Long, unruly curls draped across his face, half-shadowing eyes that always looked like they were remembering something painful. Baggy white hoodie, hood up. His scythe strapped to his back in that lazy, deadly way only he could pull off.
Yuta.
Raya stared like she'd just seen either an angel or the devil—the kind that doesn't bother to explain which one it is.
"Working yourself to burnout as usual, huh… Raya," he said, tone flat, gaze drifting to anything but her.
"Well-well-well… do my eyes deceive me?" A grin cut across her face. "If it isn't the great one himself."
He lowered his gaze at her. A small, annoyingly perfect smirk."You never change, do you?"
She took another gulp of water, smirking right back. "I'd argue I've changed quite a bit—" a short laugh. "Don't be shocked. I might just be able to finally kick your punk ass once and for all."
"In your dreams," Yuta shot back immediately.
Then—Silence.
A heavy, sinking pressure washed into the room. Not awkward… something else. Something old. Something neither of them wanted to bring up, but both felt in their bones. A pulse in the air. A memory breathing between them.Raya felt it before she understood it—that haunting stillness he always carried.
The machines clicked. The ventilation hummed. Yet somehow, the silence was louder than anything.
She exhaled sharply. "You just gonna stand there all day? Why are you here, Yuta?" Her voice dropped. Sharper. "I know damn well you didn't come for a friendly visit."
Yuta's smirk faded into something flatter, colder. He leaned against the wall next to her, crossing his arms.
"I heard," he said quietly, "we finally got him. The kid—"
Raya cut him off. Too fast. Too sharp."I think you mean the weapon. And yes… we do."
Yuta's eyes flicked to her. Not fast. Not surprised. Just… dark.Unreadable.Like someone staring into a past only he could see.
"I see."
Raya frowned. "Hold on—how come you're just finding out about this now? We've had the weapon for over a year and a half."
Silence.
A muted, suffocating, earth-quaking quiet.
Raya felt her heart beat harder—not from training, but from something instinctive. A warning. A threat. Something was wrong.Very wrong.
She'd known Yuta for years. She had seen him angry before… but this?She looked at him carefully. Really looked.
His jaw was tight. His breath shallow. His fingers curled just slightly at his sides—barely noticeable unless you knew him the way she did.
He wasn't just angry.He was on the verge.
"Okay." Raya lowered her water bottle, voice dropping into something colder. "Spill it. What the hell is your 'connection' with this weapon?"
Yuta turned his head toward her—slowly.His eyes…
Hollow.Empty.Corpse-like.
"None of you," he said quietly, "have any idea… how big of a mistake you've all made."
Before Raya could open her mouth—WHOOSH—
He vanished. Like his entire presence folded into the air and slipped away.
Gone.
Raya stood frozen. Breath caught halfway in her chest, her pulse thundering.
"…What the hell…?" she whispered.
For the first time in years—Raya was speechless.
And terrified.