The training room didn't feel the same anymore.
It wasn't just a place to practice.
Now it felt like a boundary.
A thin line between here… and somewhere else.
Kuro sat on the floor, back against the wall, trying to steady his breathing.
Mika stood a few steps away, watching him closely.
Still.
Alert.
Like he didn't trust the silence.
Lucien paced again.
Because of course he did.
"I'm just saying," he muttered, "if the giant sky entity is now hesitating because of Mika, then clearly the solution is simple."
Kuro didn't even look up.
"…I'm scared to ask."
"We send Mika up there and let him glare at it until it apologizes."
Silence.
Then—
[Honestly… I'd pay to see that.]
Mika exhaled quietly.
"Not helpful."
Lucien pointed at him.
"You literally scared an ancient being into shutting up."
"I interrupted it."
"YOU CHALLENGED IT."
Kuro let out a weak laugh.
"…It did feel like that."
Mika's gaze shifted slightly.
"…It wasn't intentional."
[Sure.]
Mika ignored that.
Instead, he stepped closer to Kuro again.
"You said it hesitated."
Kuro nodded slowly.
"…Yeah."
"Not when you spoke," Mika said.
"…When I did."
Kuro looked up at him.
"…Why?"
Mika didn't answer right away.
Because he didn't know.
Lucien stopped pacing.
"…Wait."
Both of them glanced at him.
Lucien frowned.
"…What if it's not scared of you?"
Mika's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Then what?"
Lucien pointed at Kuro.
"What if it doesn't understand you?"
Silence.
Kuro blinked.
"…Doesn't understand me?"
"Think about it," Lucien said, stepping closer now.
"It keeps saying you belong to it, right?"
Kuro's chest tightened.
"…Yeah."
"But you're… you."
Lucien gestured vaguely.
"You're not acting like something that wants to go back to it. You're not agreeing. You're not listening."
[He's got a point. For once.]
Lucien paused.
"…Did the voice just insult me again?"
"Yes," Mika said flatly.
"Great."
Kuro frowned slightly.
"…So it hesitated because… I'm not what it expected?"
Mika considered that.
"…Or because you're not alone."
That made Kuro freeze.
Lucien blinked.
"…Oh."
A quiet realization settled in.
Kuro looked down at his hands again.
"…It kept saying I wasn't supposed to be alone."
Mika's expression hardened slightly.
"…You're not."
The certainty in his voice hit harder this time.
Stronger.
Kuro's chest tightened again.
But not from fear.
Lucien crossed his arms.
"…So what, we're confusing the ancient sky thing with the power of friendship?"
[Don't underestimate it.]
"WHY DO YOU SOUND SERIOUS."
Mika exhaled slowly.
"It means something else."
Kuro looked at him.
Mika met his gaze.
"If it expects you to return to it… then it assumes you don't have anything here."
Silence.
Heavy.
Kuro's fingers curled slightly.
"…But I do."
"Yes."
Simple.
Immediate.
Lucien nodded quickly.
"Yeah, obviously. You've got us. Unfortunately for you."
Kuro laughed quietly.
Mika didn't.
His eyes stayed on Kuro.
Focused.
Steady.
"…And that matters."
Kuro held his gaze for a moment—
then looked away first.
"…Yeah."
[Wow.]
Mika's eyebrow twitched.
"Elvastia."
"What? That was a moment."
Lucien pointed between them.
"WHY DO YOU KEEP REACTING LIKE SOMEONE SAID SOMETHING EMOTIONAL."
Kuro covered his face slightly.
"This is a disaster…"
—
A knock came from the training room door.
All three of them turned.
The door opened slowly.
A guild member stepped inside, looking uneasy.
"The Guildmaster is calling for you."
The air shifted instantly.
Mika straightened.
"…Now?"
"Yes."
The guild member hesitated, then added—
"…it's about the barrier."
Silence dropped.
Heavy.
Lucien groaned.
"Of course it is."
Kuro stood up slowly.
"…Something changed, didn't it?"
The guild member nodded.
"…It's weakening."
That was enough.
Mika moved immediately.
"Let's go."
—
The Guildmaster's chamber felt colder than before.
Not physically.
But the tension in the air made it hard to breathe.
The Guildmaster stood near a large window, staring out at the sky.
This time—
the illusion was gone.
The clouds above weren't normal.
They twisted.
Dark.
Heavy.
And far beyond them—
something massive shifted.
Clearer than before.
Closer.
Lucien stopped in the doorway.
"…Okay, yeah, I hate that."
Kuro stepped forward slowly.
His chest tightened instantly.
The fragment reacted.
Hard.
Mika noticed immediately.
"Kuro."
"I'm okay," Kuro said quickly.
A lie.
But he stayed standing.
The Guildmaster didn't turn around.
"It's begun accelerating."
Mika frowned.
"…What has?"
"The collapse."
Silence.
Lucien blinked.
"…That sounds bad."
"It is."
The Guildmaster finally turned.
His expression was calm—
but his eyes weren't.
"The barrier was designed to keep external forces out."
Kuro swallowed.
"…And now?"
"…Now it's being pulled apart from both sides."
The words hit hard.
Mika's gaze sharpened.
"…Inside and outside."
"Yes."
Kuro's breath caught.
"…Because of me?"
The Guildmaster didn't hesitate.
"Yes."
The word landed heavily.
But before it could sink too deep—
Mika stepped forward.
"No."
The Guildmaster raised an eyebrow.
Mika didn't waver.
"It's reacting to him," Mika corrected.
"…Not because of him."
A pause.
Then—
"…That's a fair distinction."
Kuro let out a small breath.
Lucien nodded.
"Yeah. Blame the giant sky thing, not our friend. Much better system."
[Surprisingly mature.]
"DON'T SOUND SHOCKED."
The Guildmaster stepped closer.
"Kuro," he said, "we don't have much time."
Kuro tensed.
"…What do you mean?"
"If the connection continues to strengthen…"
He glanced toward the sky.
"…it will find a way through."
Silence.
Mika's hand shifted slightly—
closer to Kuro again.
Not touching.
But ready.
Kuro felt it anyway.
"…Then we stop it," he said quietly.
Lucien blinked.
"…We what?"
Kuro looked up.
For the first time—
his expression wasn't just scared.
It was determined.
"…We stop it before that happens."
[Bold.]
Mika's lips pressed into a thin line.
"…How?"
Kuro hesitated.
Then slowly—
"…We go to it."
Silence exploded.
Lucien's jaw dropped.
"ABSOLUTELY NOT."
Mika's eyes darkened.
"…Kuro."
Kuro didn't back down.
"It wants me, right?"
"Yes," the Guildmaster said carefully.
"Then I'll face it."
Lucien grabbed his head.
"Nope. No. I reject this plan entirely. I veto. I object. I—"
Mika cut him off.
"No."
The word was sharper this time.
Stronger.
Kuro looked at him.
Mika stepped closer.
"You don't go to it alone."
Kuro's chest tightened.
"…Mika—"
"I'm not asking."
Silence.
Lucien blinked.
"…Okay so we're all just going to the giant sky monster now? That's the plan? That's really the plan?"
[We're going to die.]
"STOP SAYING THAT."
Kuro let out a shaky breath.
But despite everything—
he didn't feel as scared as he should have.
Because Mika was standing right there.
Because Lucien was still complaining.
Because somehow—
this didn't feel like the end.
It felt like a line.
A point of no return.
And they had just stepped right up to it.
Far above—
the storm churned.
The entity shifted.
Watching.
Waiting.
And this time—
it didn't feel patient anymore.