Lane turned back one last time to look at the girl.
Whose mysterious smile still seemed to hang in the air.
Then, he turned his heavy steps back in the direction he had come from.
The thumping of his heart was clearly audible in the absolute silence.
As soon as he crossed the white railing again, he returned to the dusty world of those old ruins.
He kept walking straight, but his steps lacked their earlier energy.
There was no sign of a path; just that endless white railing on both sides.
Looking like the walls of a prison.
Lane suddenly froze.
He stared at the white color of the railing, and beads of sweat began to glisten on his forehead.
He remembered the promise he had made to Luka.
"I... I told Luka I wouldn't even go near this white layering," Lane whispered.
Looking at his trembling hands.
"But I crossed it. I broke my promise."
A heavy stone of guilt seemed to drop onto his chest.
He sat down right in the middle of that desolate path.
He tucked his knees in and pressed his head between them.
His mind was filled only with the image of Luka's stern face and his impending disappointment.
"What will happen if he finds out?" he whispered.
"Will he yell at me? Will he stop talking to me?"
Moisture began to pool in the corners of Lane's eyes.
His tears fell onto his knees and disappeared into the dust.
He couldn't even think about moving forward.
Fear had pinned his feet to the ground like nails.
He could no longer see the white railing or the ruins.
All he could see was Luka's furrowed brow and silent anger.
He sat there in the gloom, trying in vain to choke back his sobs.
Lane remained curled up on that dusty path.
His sobs echoing through the desolate corridor.
The fear of Luka's disappointment was etched clearly on his innocent face.
Tears slipped from his lashes, staining the dry earth below.
Then, a strange heaviness filled the air.
Suddenly, Lane's body turned stone-cold.
His trembling sobs ceased in an instant.
He slowly lifted his neck from between his knees.
The eyes that were just filled with fear and water had now turned completely black.
Like an old, dark video reel—as if some ancient shadow had begun to play behind them.
There was no innocence, no fear, and no tears left in those eyes.
Those black eyes stared into the void without blinking.
Lane stood up silently, like a machine.
His movements were no longer those of a child; they were precise, like a predator's.
He scanned the surrounding silence without a trace of emotion.
He moved with stealthy steps toward a high mound of rubble and stones by the side of the path.
Lane sat down right beside the heap in such a way that its long, thick shadow covered him completely.
Tucked behind that mound, Lane's form merged so perfectly.
That he now seemed to be a part of the darkness itself.
Entirely hidden there, he was now merely waiting.
The black silence of his eyes was ready to swallow any approaching sound.
Lane remained as still as a lifeless stone in the deep shadow of the rubble mound.
Time seemed to have frozen in that dark corner.
There was no fear on his face now, no tears; only a profound 'void' existed.
His eyes, fixed like a dark film reel, swallowed the silence without blinking.
Then, from afar, a faint echo was heard— "Lane..."
The voice grew louder, his name being called repeatedly through the air.
Despite the increasing volume, there was no movement in Lane's body.
He remained part of the shadow, as if the voice calling him belonged to another world.
But then, a change came into that call.
Another, heavier and more familiar voice bounced off the ruin walls— "Lane!"
As that specific voice hit his ears, something inside Lane's black, stony eyes shattered.
The layer of darkness began to thin out.
His pupils returned to their natural color, and the same sparkle of innocence and fear reappeared.
Tucked away in the shadow, Lane was once again that small, terrified child.
Two figures emerged from the haze.
As they drew closer, Lane saw that one of them was Yuki.
Yuki's eyes scanned the deep shadow where Lane was hiding.
As Yuki stepped right beside the mound, Lane's gaze locked onto the second figure standing behind him.
It was Luka.
The moment he saw Luka, Lane's composure completely collapsed.
The child who, just moments ago, sat like a haunting shadow, now bolted out of the darkness with electric speed.
He ran straight toward Luka and threw his arms around him, clinging with all his might.
The sobs he had been suppressing burst out uncontrollably.
And he began to cry inconsolably.
Lane clung to Luka so tightly that his fingers dug into Luka's clothes.
The sound of his weeping tore through the silence.
And his entire body trembled like a shivering bird.
Luka stood there, rooted to the spot.
His face remained stern, but there was a strange pull in his eyes.
He didn't know how to react.
He was just a child himself—he had never learned how to comfort someone who was falling apart.
His hand hesitated in mid-air.
Caught between the urge to reach out and the instinct to stay distant.
He didn't know whether to scold Lane or embrace him.
After a few moments of heavy silence, the strict guard within Luka softened.
He took a long breath and slowly raised his hand.
He placed it on Lane's head, moving it in that same familiar way he always did.
There was an old, recognizable comfort in the movement of his hand.
He stroked Lane's messy hair with his fingers.
And, rubbing the back of his neck, pulled him a little closer.
"Calm down," Luka said in a very low, steady voice.
His words were as calm as water droplets falling on stone.
"I am right here. Don't be afraid."
There was a sense of security in Luka's touch that began to slowly quiet the storm inside Lane.
Lane's sobs started to subside.
But he still held onto Luka as if letting go would mean vanishing back into that dark void.