TIKKA — LAKE VAIL
The rhythmic pounding in Thane's skull was the only thing keeping pace with the heavy thud of the wagon wheels.
His eyes fluttered open, but the light felt like a physical blow.
His head throbbed with a rhythmic, stabbing pain, as if it had been severed and stitched back together by an amateur.
The agonizing pain made every movement a struggle.
"My head..." he muttered, his voice a dry rasp. "Why are we moving? What happened?"
He tried to sit up, but his vision blurred.
As the world slowly came into focus, he realized he wasn't alone.
Opposite him sat a man in a long, flowing black robe with wide sleeves that pooled around him like shadows.
The stranger had dark auburn hair, perfectly styled, and a calm, gentle demeanor that felt entirely out of place.
But it was his eyes that caught Thane's attention.
Piercing, vibrant blue—like the deepest parts of the ocean.
"You're awake," the man said, his voice smooth and laced with amusement.
"I was starting to think you'd stay under until we reached our destination."
He smiled.
"I've heard quite a bit about the Phantom Thieves. You're becoming a legend, Thane. The thief who strikes and leaves no trace."
The man's smile was impeccable and warm, the kind of expression that should have been comforting.
Instead, it sent a chill down Thane's spine.
"I'm a big fan of your work."
He extended a hand slightly.
"I'm Kaito."
Thane ignored the flattery, his mind racing.
He scanned the cramped interior of the wagon.
It was empty.
"Where is Zinna? What have you done to him?"
Kaito tilted his head.
"You value your comrades over yourself. How refreshing."
He leaned back.
"It's been a long time since I encountered a decent human."
His expression remained pleasant.
"Though I must say, the smell of your blood is disgusting."
Kaito studied him for a moment.
"You're from Tikka, aren't you? At first, I assumed you were from Valorian, but that doesn't really matter."
His voice remained calm.
"It doesn't change the fact that you've been stealing from our kingdom. That alone is a crime punishable by death."
Thane's voice shook with a mixture of rage and exhaustion.
"I want answers. Where is Zinna?"
He clenched his fists.
"I know we've done a lot of damage to your kingdom, stealing valuable goods worth our lives. Still, I should be blamed for all of this."
He looked directly at Kaito.
"It was my plan, so punish me instead."
"You're cleverer than you look," Kaito replied, his smile never wavering.
"You haven't even tried to use your powers yet, despite being restrained with nothing but ropes."
He paused.
"Zinna—the one with the red hair and the missing arm?"
Kaito sighed.
"He's fine. He's with the others."
Thane stared at him.
Kaito continued.
"I'm aware of the position you were in. Tikka was greatly corrupted from within, and carrying all that responsibility must have been difficult."
He shrugged slightly.
"You probably made a wrong call just to feed your little group. You made a decision anyone in your position might have made."
His expression became slightly more serious.
"But nevertheless, stealing is still stealing. Actions like that come with consequences."
Thane slumped back against the wooden slats.
Looking at Kaito felt like staring at a corpse that had simply forgotten to stop moving.
"Yeah... I'm from Tikka," Thane muttered.
"You said Zinna is with the others."
He hesitated.
"Does that mean you caught all of us?"
Kaito's expression darkened, taking on a sharp, almost devilish edge.
"Not all."
He paused.
"Just the four of you."
Thane's eyes widened.
"The rest are dead by now. The kids and the other lady..."
Kaito frowned slightly.
"What was her name again?"
He tapped his chin.
"Ni... Nina."
The words hit Thane like a physical blow.
He stared at Kaito, unmoving.
For a second, it felt as though he hadn't heard correctly.
Kaito continued as if he were recalling something insignificant.
"Yes. Nina."
"You killed them," Thane said quietly.
Kaito didn't stop.
"You killed them," Thane repeated, his voice breaking this time.
His chest tightened, and his breathing became uneven.
He tried to steady himself, but it only made things worse.
His vision blurred.
He blinked hard, but the tears came anyway.
"You killed them," he said again, louder now.
The words forced their way out.
"You killed them."
He lunged forward, forcing his body to respond despite the pain.
The air around him shifted, tightening as he tried to pull it into shape, focusing it into a single point.
His control wasn't steady, but it was enough to form the beginning of his Wind-Splitting Technique.
Kaito didn't move.
He didn't raise a hand or change his posture.
He simply watched him.
Then he spoke.
"Sleep."
There was no force behind the word.
No change in tone.
It wasn't louder than before.
But Thane's body gave out immediately.
The air he had gathered scattered without direction.
The tension in his muscles vanished all at once, as if something had been cut loose inside him.
His knees buckled.
His vision dropped with him.
He tried to hold on, to push through it, but nothing responded.
His arms felt heavy.
His thoughts slowed.
Even the anger that had driven him forward began to dull, slipping out of reach.
He hit the wooden floor hard, but barely felt it.
His eyes remained open for a moment longer, unfocused and struggling to make sense of what was happening.
His consciousness drifted.
His mind screamed in the darkness.
Nina trusted me.
I failed them.
Emiko... Shira... Yumi... Taro... Gideon...
I'm so sorry.
Then his eyes closed.
---
FLASHBACK
TIKKA — LAKE VAIL HIDEOUT
"Hey! It's Big Brother Thane and Zinna... they're back!"
The children rushed toward them, crowding around and grabbing onto their clothes and arms.
"Where's Nina?" Thane asked, looking past them.
"She's cooking, Big Brother," Taro replied with a wide smile.
"I want to come along on your next heist!" Taro added, giving him a hopeful look.
Zinna let out a small laugh, brushing his red hair back.
"You're growing fast, Taro. I bet you're eating more than all of us combined."
Thane glanced down at him, his expression softening slightly.
"What we do... it isn't something to be proud of."
He paused.
"Stealing might be necessary right now, but it's not something you should admire."
Taro's smile faded slightly, but he nodded.
"Soon, we won't have to live like this," Thane continued.
"We'll find another way. I promise."
"Okay, Big Brother," Taro said.
He hugged Thane tightly.
---
Minutes later, they all sat together.
"Thanks for the food!" they said almost at once.
Thane took a bite and paused.
"Nina... this is really good."
He smiled.
"We could actually make money from this. Maybe even open a small stand."
He looked at Zinna.
"What do you think?"
Zinna opened his mouth to reply but suddenly started choking.
"Slow down, Big Brother," Yumi said quickly, handing him some water.
Zinna grabbed it and drank, coughing before finally catching his breath.
"Thanks, Yumi," he said, exhaling.
Nina watched them carefully.
"How was today? You didn't get hurt, did you?"
"We're fine," Thane replied.
"How's Astrid?"
"She's sleeping," Nina said.
Nina and Zinna were twins, both seventeen years old.
They had been orphaned at the age of seven.
Their parents had been framed and sentenced to death by the House of Lot, which managed the state at the time.
Their parents' wealth was taken by their uncle, and the twins were sold into slavery.
They escaped, barely alive.
Not long after, they met Thane.
Together, the three of them built something within the forest near Lake Vail in Tikka—a place where children like them could survive.
Yumi, Gideon, Taro, Shira, and the others had either been rescued from slave traders or picked up from the streets.
Now, they were family.
---
"We can't keep doing this," Zinna said later that night.
The three of them sat apart from the others.
"We don't have the space or the resources. Taking in more children... we can't handle it."
Nina remained quiet.
"This should be the last," Zinna added.
"I know it's hard, but this is our limit."
Thane didn't argue.
After a long pause, Nina nodded slowly.
"Alright."
---
THREE DAYS LATER
A heavy storm hit the forest.
Rain poured without stopping, and the river swelled beyond its banks.
Somewhere in the distance, a faint sound broke through the storm.
A cry.
Nina froze.
"...Do you hear that?" she whispered to herself.
She didn't wait for an answer.
She ran toward the river.
The current was strong, fast enough to carry debris along with it.
Then she saw it.
A small body.
A baby, barely above the water.
Nina rushed in without hesitation, the cold water hitting her instantly.
She reached out and grabbed the child, pulling her close as she stumbled back toward the shore.
The baby was crying weakly, struggling to breathe.
Nina held her tightly, her hands shaking.
"It's a girl..." she said under her breath.
She looked down at the child, her expression tightening.
"Why would anyone do this...?" she whispered.
"She didn't do anything wrong. She never asked to be brought into this world."
The rain soaked through both of them, but Nina didn't move.
Something in her expression changed.
"I won't let you die," she said quietly.
"You're safe now. I'll take care of you."
She turned and ran back toward the hideout, holding the baby close.
"Nina!" Thane called out. "Where were you?"
He stopped.
"You... brought a baby?"
Zinna stepped forward, his eyes widening.
"That's a baby! I thought we agreed not to take in another child!"
Thane frowned slightly.
"Nina... how are you even going to feed her? You know she requires milk, and you don't quite..."
His eyes lingered for a second too long.
Nina's expression changed immediately.
"Stop looking at me like that, idiot."
She grabbed him and slammed his head against a wooden chair.
Thane dropped instantly.
"She's not your problem," Nina said sharply.
"She's mine."
Zinna sighed, stepping in and lifting Thane onto his shoulder.
"Yeah... and we're backing up," he muttered, dragging him away.
"Careful with him," Nina said without looking.
"I am," Zinna replied.
"He's just unconscious, not dead."
Nina ignored them.
She looked down at the baby again, adjusting the cloth around her.
"From today... your name is Astrid."
She smiled faintly.
"It means divine strength."
She paused.
"I'm your big sister now. You're safe here."
The children slowly gathered around her, curious but careful.
"Let me see her," one of them said.
Nina hesitated, then allowed it.
For the first time that night, despite the storm raging outside, the hideout felt warm.
---
PRESENT TIME
THE KINGDOM OF FULTON — INFIRMARY
"Zinna! You're awake!"
Nina's voice cracked as tears streamed down her face.
"Don't ever scare me like that... I thought I lost you."
She wiped away her tears.
"Everyone said you were dead. I didn't know what else to do."
"My hand..."
Zinna groaned, clutching his arm.
"It hurts... so much."
His arm had been stitched back together and was still recovering, but the pain was unbearable.
"It's okay, Zinna. I'm here."
Nina tried to keep her voice steady.
"Nothing's going to happen to you, okay?"
From the corner came the wail of Astrid.
"It's okay, Astrid," Nina whispered softly, lifting the child closer.
"Big sis is here. You don't need to cry. Big brother is alright, I promise."
She rocked the infant gently.
"How... how did you get here?" Zinna asked.
His voice was rough, each word catching on the pain in his arm.
Sweat ran down his temple, and his breathing was uneven, but he forced himself upright.
"We were almost abducted, but we were saved by a man who goes by the name Kaito," Nina explained.
"He said he was a friend of yours and was taking us to you and Thane's location."
Zinna stared at her.
"Kaito...?"
---
TIKKA — LAKE VAIL HIDEOUT
The air inside the derelict hideout was thick with the smell of damp earth and rotting timber.
Nina's heart hammered against her ribs like a trapped bird as the heavy, rhythmic thud of wagon wheels came to a halt outside.
"We know you're in there!" a gravelly voice bellowed.
The metallic clatter of chains followed.
"Come out! We've already paid the coin for you lot. We're just here to collect our property!"
Nina pressed her back against the cold wall, ushering the children deeper into the narrow crawlspace.
"Quiet," she hissed, her pulse visible in her throat.
The heavy boots of the slave traders crunched over the debris.
They spread out, their shadows stretching like long, jagged fingers across the floor.
"Found a nest here!" one shouted, kicking over a wooden crate.
"Hiding won't do you any good."
His voice turned cruel.
"This is going to be fun."
Suddenly, the silence was shattered.
Astrid let out a jagged cry.
"WAAAAAHHH!"
A massive, scarred hand reached into the crawlspace and dragged the children out by their collars.
"Don't hurt them! They're just kids!" Nina screamed, lunging forward.
But she was intercepted by a man with yellowed teeth and a rusted blade.
"What do we have here?"
He grinned.
"This one would fetch a nice price on the black market."
"Big sis, help!"
The children wailed as they were held down against the ground.
Two men held Nina in place, their eyes roaming over her with predatory intent.
"Why don't we have some fun with her beforehand?"
One of them laughed low in his throat.
"She looks tasty."
"Let's take turns. She'll fetch a handsome price at the market either way."
"Look at those eyes. I bet she's untouched."
He grinned.
"It's rare to find a maiden this far out. She's a prize, boys."
"Thane! Zinna!"
Nina screamed, her voice breaking.
"Save your breath," the lead trader sneered.
"Thane and Zinna have their hands full. Even if they survive—which they won't—we'll be long gone."
He grabbed her roughly.
"You're goods now, girl."
A deafening THUD shook the hideout.
The traders' heavy transport wagon was crushed instantly.
Wood splintered into fragments beneath the weight of a figure that had dropped from the sky.
"What's that?"
The leader turned toward the wreckage.
"Our wagon!"
Standing atop the mangled heap of iron and wood was Kaito.
He calmly adjusted his sleeve, a faint, chilling smile playing across his lips.
"Oh my. I didn't see that."
He glanced at the wreckage.
"What a rusty old wagon."
"Do you know how much that wagon cost?!"
The leader roared.
"You're dead now!"
Three men lunged at Kaito, their swords whistling through the air.
Kaito didn't move.
He simply uttered a single, cold command.
"Melt."
The three men didn't just fall.
They dissolved.
Their flesh turned into a gray, viscous liquid in midair, sliding away from their bones before their skeletons even hit the ground.
The remaining traders froze.
Their laughter was replaced by the sound of their own frantic breathing.
"What the heck is going on?" one of them stammered, his knees trembling.
They turned to bolt.
But Kaito was already a blur of black silk and lethal intent.
He moved faster than their eyes could track.
A fountain of crimson sprayed through the air.
Two heads were severed with a single movement.
They rolled across the floor like discarded fruit, their expressions still frozen in shock.
"A Dio user..."
The man with the yellowed teeth—the last remaining trader—stared at Kaito in horror.
"This is not good."
His voice trembled.
"He isn't human."
He grabbed Nina and pressed a jagged knife against her throat.
"He's a monster!"
His hands shook so violently that the blade nicked Nina's skin.
"S-stop!"
The man shouted.
"Don't come any closer, or I'll kill her! I swear!"
Kaito continued walking forward.
His footsteps were silent.
"Are you faster than the speed of my voice?"
He tilted his head.
"And how much distance can you cover in order to avoid your destiny?"
"I'm gonna do it! I'll..."
The trader's voice broke into a pathetic whimper.
"Twist."
Kaito whispered the word.
A sickening [BONE-CREAKING] sound filled the air.
The trader's body began to twist in opposite directions.
His torso spun clockwise while his legs remained planted.
Blood sprayed from his pores as his skin reached its breaking point.
Then his body collapsed into a heap of pulverized bone and flesh.
Nina fell to her knees, unable to process what she had just witnessed.
Outside, the final survivor fumbled with a glowing Shadow Stone.
"I'm alive..."
He clutched the stone.
"Thank the gods for this gem. If I hadn't gotten this from the black market, I wouldn't have made it out alive."
"Where do you think you're going?"
The man froze.
Kaito was standing directly in his path, looking straight through his invisibility.
"And where did you get that gemstone?"
Kaito's expression darkened.
"You little mice... your kind irritates me."
The trader dropped to his knees.
The stone clattered onto the dirt.
Once again, he became visible.
"Hey, man, wait!"
He raised his hands.
"I have gold! A hidden stash! We can share—fifty-fifty! Or take it all! Just let me go!"
Kaito let out a sharp, melodic laugh that held no warmth.
"How interesting."
He glanced at the Shadow Stone.
"It seems this counterfeit Shadow Stone erases its user's presence, not just their visibility."
He looked back at the trembling trader.
"Thanks for your information and cooperation."
He smiled.
"The black market."
"Huh?"
The trader stared at him, completely unaware of what Kaito was talking about.
Kaito raised one hand.
"Burst."
The air around the man pressurized instantly.
He didn't have time to scream before his entire body detonated from the inside out, leaving nothing but a red mist that slowly settled onto the scorched earth.
Kaito turned back toward the hideout.
The silence returned.
Heavy.
Absolute.
"The black market."