Nobody spoke.
The battlefield had gone strangely quiet, even with the rain still falling around them.
Anna stood frozen beside Kitsune, her chest rising unevenly as she stared at the giant silver eye split across the sky.
It didn't feel real.
Nothing about it felt real.
The clouds around it moved unnaturally, twisting slowly like the sky itself was alive. Every time the eye blinked, the ground trembled beneath their feet.
Around the battlefield, celestial soldiers looked terrified.
Some had already dropped their weapons.
Others stared upward as if praying the thing would disappear if they looked long enough.
But it stayed.
Watching.
Anna wrapped her arms around herself without realizing it.
"What is that?" she asked quietly.
This time, nobody joked.
Nobody smirked.
Even Renji looked serious.
Shou Feng slowly lowered his sword, his eyes never leaving the crack in the sky.
"That shouldn't be here yet," he muttered.
"Yet?" Renji snapped. "You're saying this was supposed to happen eventually?"
Shou Feng didn't answer immediately.
The rain soaked through his black armor as he stood there, still and tense.
Finally Orochi spoke.
"There are things older than gods," he said calmly. "Things that existed before heaven was built."
Anna looked at him.
"What does that even mean?"
Orochi's golden eyes shifted toward her.
"It means gods are not the beginning of history."
The words settled heavily in her chest.
For some reason, that idea scared her more than the eye itself.
Another deep sound echoed from the sky.
Not thunder.
Something else.
Something alive.
The giant crack widened slightly.
Several soldiers backed away instantly.
Anna's stomach twisted.
"Can it come through?"
No one answered right away.
And honestly, that scared her more than hearing yes.
Kitsune coughed weakly beside her, breaking the silence.
Anna immediately knelt beside him again.
"You okay?"
"Fantastic," he said dryly, blood at the corner of his mouth. "Love the weather. Love the chains. Amazing night overall."
Despite everything, Anna almost smiled.
Almost.
She gently touched his shoulder.
"You scared me."
Kitsune looked at her for a second before looking away.
"I thought you were dead too."
The softness in his voice hurt more than anything else.
Before Anna could respond, footsteps approached behind her.
Shou Feng.
She stiffened instantly.
He stopped a few feet away, looking down at Kitsune quietly.
There was tension between them.
Old tension.
The kind built from years of knowing each other too well.
Kitsune laughed weakly.
"You look terrible."
Shou Feng replied without emotion. "You look worse."
"Fair."
Anna looked between them carefully.
There was no hatred in their voices.
Not really.
Just exhaustion.
The kind that comes after too much damage has already been done.
Anna slowly stood.
"You kept him alive."
Shou Feng's eyes lifted to hers.
Rain slid down his face silently.
"Yes."
"Why?"
For a moment, he didn't answer.
And somehow, that silence said more than words.
Then finally he spoke.
"Because you cared about him."
Anna's throat tightened unexpectedly.
She looked away first.
Renji made a dramatic disgusted sound from behind them.
"Oh, great. Everyone's emotional now."
Normally Anna would have rolled her eyes.
But nobody reacted.
Because the pressure in the sky was getting worse.
The silver eye narrowed slightly.
Then suddenly
the ground shook hard enough to throw several soldiers off balance.
A loud crack tore across the sky.
Anna looked up sharply.
Something moved behind the opening.
Huge.
Just the outline alone made her chest tighten with fear.
One of the celestial soldiers panicked.
"We need to leave!"
"It's breaking open!"
Another voice shouted prayers under their breath.
Renji looked toward Shou Feng.
"You have a plan?"
"Not a good one."
"Fantastic."
Orochi crossed his arms slowly, still staring upward.
"The barrier is weakening faster than expected."
Anna frowned.
"What barrier?"
"The thing separating this world from the others," Renji answered. "Apparently heaven has terrible security."
Orochi ignored him.
"The death of Kazan weakened the balance. Then the throne changed hands. Too much divine power shifted too quickly."
Shou Feng's jaw tightened slightly.
Anna noticed it.
He blamed himself.
Even if he wouldn't say it out loud.
The rain softened a little, but the air somehow felt heavier.
Anna glanced at the soldiers surrounding the battlefield.
Some were terrified.
Some injured.
Some barely looked older than her.
And suddenly all of this stopped feeling grand and mythical.
It just felt horrible.
A war between gods.
People dying because powerful beings couldn't stop fighting each other.
Anna looked back at Shou Feng.
"Did you really come here to destroy the kingdom?"
His expression didn't change.
"I came for you."
The honesty of it caught her off guard.
Renji groaned loudly again.
"You two are exhausting."
But Anna barely heard him.
Because Shou Feng looked serious.
Not manipulative.
Not cold.
Just honest.
And honestly, that made things harder.
"You threatened everyone," she said quietly.
"I knew you wouldn't ignore Kitsune."
"You used him."
Something flickered in Shou Feng's eyes then.
Guilt.
Real guilt.
"I know."
The simple answer hit harder than excuses would have.
For a second, nobody spoke.
The wind moved softly across the battlefield.
Then Kitsune muttered from the ground, "Can someone untie me before the apocalypse starts?"
Renji snorted.
"At least he's still annoying."
Anna crouched again beside Kitsune, trying to inspect the chains.
The metal glowed faintly blue.
The moment she touched them, pain shot through her fingers.
She hissed and pulled back immediately.
Shou Feng stepped closer instinctively.
"Don't touch them directly."
Anna frowned at him.
"Then remove them."
"It's not that simple."
"Why not?"
Shou Feng hesitated.
"The heavenly council locked them."
Renji blinked.
"Wait. You're the king of gods and they still overrule you?"
"The throne doesn't control everything," Shou Feng replied coldly.
Orochi gave a faint smile.
"Heaven loves rules more than common sense."
Another tremor shook the battlefield.
This time the crack in the sky spread wider.
Anna heard gasps all around her.
The eye above seemed brighter now.
Focused.
Watching.
Watching her.
A strange feeling crawled up her spine.
And then
a whisper.
Soft.
So soft she almost thought she imagined it.
Anna.
She froze.
Her breathing slowed.
The voice came again.
Anna.
Not loud.
Not threatening.
Almost familiar.
She slowly looked around.
Nobody else reacted.
Nobody else heard it.
"You okay?" Kitsune asked quietly.
Anna swallowed.
"Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
The whisper returned again, clearer this time.
Come back.
A sharp pain suddenly hit behind Anna's eyes.
She stumbled slightly.
Shou Feng caught her arm before she could fall.
"Anna."
The concern in his voice felt too real.
She grabbed her head tightly.
"There's… someone talking…"
Everyone's expressions changed instantly.
Orochi stepped forward.
"What are they saying?"
Anna shut her eyes tightly.
The whisper became louder.
Broken images flashed through her mind.
Dark water.
Silver flames.
A woman standing somewhere far away.
Long black robes moving in endless wind.
Silver eyes.
Beautiful and terrifying at the same time.
The woman smiled sadly.
Then whispered
"You were never supposed to leave."
Anna gasped sharply and opened her eyes.
The vision vanished instantly.
She realized Shou Feng was still holding her arm tightly.
"What happened?" Renji asked.
Anna's breathing shook.
"I saw someone."
Shou Feng's expression became unreadable.
"What did she look like?"
Anna looked at him slowly.
"Silver eyes."
The reaction was immediate.
Orochi straightened.
Renji frowned deeply.
And Shou Feng
all color drained from his face.
Like she had just said the name of someone dead.
To be continued...