The wind slowly faded.
That was the first thing Luna noticed.
She stopped walking.
"Wait…"
Kenta bumped into her.
"Why did you stop?"
Luna didn't answer.
She looked around.
The grass was still.
The sky looked the same.
Floating islands drifted above them.
But something was missing.
"The wind…" she said quietly.
Ron paused too.
He lifted his hand slightly.
Nothing.
No movement.
No breeze.
No sound.
Kai's expression changed.
"Stay close."
Kenta frowned.
"Why?"
Kai didn't look at him.
"Because the wind should never stop here."
That sentence didn't feel normal.
It felt like a rule.
Luna's chest tightened.
"What does that mean?"
Kai took a slow breath.
"It means we're somewhere we're not supposed to be."
Kenta immediately stepped closer to them.
"Okay I officially don't like this place."
They moved forward slowly.
Each step felt heavier.
The air was thick.
Silent.
Too silent.
Even their footsteps sounded wrong.
Like the sound was being swallowed.
Luna looked at the sky again.
The floating islands had stopped moving.
Completely.
Frozen.
"That's not normal…" she whispered.
Ron nodded.
"This place… is disconnected."
Kenta blinked.
"Disconnected from what?"
Ron looked around.
"Everything."
They reached a wide open space.
No grass.
No trees.
Just smooth ground.
Flat.
Endless.
At the center…
Something stood.
A structure.
Not a building.
Not ruins.
Something else.
A circle.
Made of stone.
Broken in parts.
Covered in faint glowing marks.
Luna stepped closer.
"What is this…?"
Kai didn't answer immediately.
He stared at it.
Like he recognized it.
But didn't want to.
Kenta looked between them.
"Why do I feel like this is bad?"
Ron walked forward slowly.
"This is not random," he said.
Luna looked at him.
"What do you mean?"
Ron pointed at the markings.
"They're similar to the gate."
Kai finally spoke.
"This is older."
His voice was quieter now.
"And more dangerous."
Luna stepped into the circle.
Nothing happened.
At first.
Then…
A single petal appeared.
Black.
It floated slowly in the air.
No wind.
Just… floating.
Kenta took a step back.
"Nope. Nope. I've seen this before. This is bad."
Ron didn't move.
He watched it carefully.
"It's not attacking."
Luna stared at it.
"It's not moving either."
Kai's voice came low.
"It's waiting."
The ground under them shifted slightly.
A soft vibration.
Barely noticeable.
But enough.
Luna stepped back.
"What was that?"
No one answered.
Because it came again.
Stronger.
The circle began to glow faintly.
White lines spreading across the stone.
Cracks lighting up.
Kenta panicked.
"Okay I think we broke something."
Ron shook his head.
"No."
Kai stepped forward.
"We activated it."
Luna's heart started beating faster.
"Activated what?"
Kai looked at the center of the circle.
"A convergence point."
Silence.
Kenta blinked.
"I have no idea what that means."
Ron spoke instead.
"It's where things connect."
Luna frowned.
"Connect… what?"
Ron looked at her.
"Paths."
Kai added,
"And endings."
That word stayed.
Endings.
The black petal suddenly split.
Into two.
Then four.
Then dozens.
All floating.
All still.
Luna felt something cold run through her.
"This feels wrong…"
Kai's voice was sharp now.
"Don't touch anything."
Kenta raised his hands.
"I was not planning to."
Then the air changed.
Not wind.
Not movement.
Just… pressure.
Like something invisible had entered the space.
Luna's ears rang slightly.
"Do you feel that…?"
Ron nodded.
"Yes."
Kenta whispered,
"I really don't like this."
Then it happened.
A voice.
Not loud.
Not clear.
But everywhere.
"…you reached…"
Luna froze.
"Did you hear that?"
Kenta grabbed Ron's sleeve.
"I heard that. I definitely heard that."
Ron's eyes narrowed.
"It's not coming from one direction."
Kai stepped forward slowly.
"Speak."
Silence.
Then the voice again.
"…you reached the point…"
Luna's heart raced.
"What point?"
The ground vibrated again.
The glowing lines spread further.
The circle lit up completely.
Ron looked at the patterns.
His eyes widened slightly.
"This isn't just a place," he said.
Kai nodded.
"It decides."
Kenta looked at both of them.
"Decides what?!"
The voice came again.
Clearer now.
"…return… or remain…"
Everything froze.
Luna's breath stopped.
"What…?"
Ron didn't move.
Kai's expression hardened.
Kenta shook his head.
"No no no no… I don't like this question."
Luna stepped forward.
"What do you mean return?"
The black petals shifted slightly.
Still not moving fast.
Just reacting.
The voice answered.
"…return to your world…"
Kenta immediately shouted,
"YES! THAT ONE!"
Luna didn't react.
Her chest tightened.
"And remain?" she asked.
Silence.
Then…
"…remain… and become part of the wind…"
The words felt wrong.
Heavy.
Like they carried something deeper.
Kenta blinked.
"What does that even mean?"
Ron spoke quietly.
"It means… you don't go back."
Luna looked at him.
"But we stay here?"
Ron shook his head slightly.
"No."
Kai finished the thought.
"You stop being yourself."
Silence.
Kenta stepped back.
"Okay that's not an option. That is definitely not an option."
The petals began to spin slowly.
Still no wind.
But they moved.
On their own.
Luna's voice was quieter now.
"So… we can go home?"
The voice didn't answer immediately.
Then…
"…yes…"
Kenta jumped.
"YES! LET'S GO! RIGHT NOW!"
But Ron didn't move.
Kai didn't either.
Luna noticed.
"Why aren't you saying anything?"
Ron looked at the circle.
"This feels too easy."
Kenta turned.
"Too easy? Bro we almost died like ten times!"
Kai nodded slightly.
"This place does not give things freely."
Luna swallowed.
"What's the condition?"
Silence.
The petals stopped.
Everything paused.
Then the voice spoke.
"…memory…"
That one word hit harder than anything.
Luna's heart dropped.
"Memory…?"
Ron's expression darkened.
Kai didn't react.
Like he already expected it.
Kenta's voice shook slightly.
"What about memory?"
The answer came slowly.
"…to return… you must leave something behind…"
Luna whispered,
"Like what…?"
The petals moved again.
Closer.
Closer to them.
Then the voice finished.
"…what you gained here…"
Silence.
No one spoke.
Because they understood.
Kenta shook his head.
"No… no no no…"
Luna's hands trembled slightly.
"You mean…"
Ron finished it quietly.
"We forget."
The word stayed in the air.
Heavy.
Real.
Kenta laughed nervously.
"Okay… okay that's fine… we forget this place… right?"
No one answered.
Because they all knew.
It wasn't just the place.
Luna looked at Ron.
Then at Kenta.
Then at Kai.
Her voice was barely a whisper.
"We forget each other…?"
Silence.
The voice didn't deny it.
Kenta stepped back again.
"That's… that's stupid…"
His voice cracked slightly.
"We just met… we just went through all this…"
Ron looked down.
Not speaking.
Kai looked at the circle.
Calm.
But his grip tightened.
Luna's eyes filled slightly.
"So… if we go back…"
She couldn't finish the sentence.
Ron did.
"We go back alone."
The wind still hadn't returned.
The world felt frozen around them.
Kenta sat down suddenly.
"That's not fair…"
No one argued.
Because it wasn't.
Kai finally spoke.
"You still have a choice."
Luna looked at him.
"This or staying?"
Kai nodded.
"Yes."
Kenta looked up.
"Staying means… becoming that wind thing?"
Ron nodded.
"Something like that."
Kenta shook his head quickly.
"No. No way."
Luna looked at the sky.
Still frozen.
Still silent.
Her voice was soft.
"If I forget… did any of this even matter?"
No one answered.
Because that question had no simple answer.
The circle glowed brighter.
The petals spun faster.
The voice returned.
"…decide…"
Time was running.
Ron stepped forward slightly.
"We don't decide now," he said.
Kai nodded.
"We move."
Kenta stood up quickly.
"Yes. Move. Think later. I like that plan."
Luna hesitated for a moment.
Then nodded.
"Okay."
They stepped out of the circle.
The moment they did…
The wind returned.
Strong.
Loud.
Like it had been waiting.
The petals scattered.
The glow faded.
The place behind them went silent again.
Like it never existed.
They walked forward.
No one spoke.
Not for a long time.
Finally…
Kenta said quietly,
"I don't want to forget."
Luna didn't answer.
Ron didn't either.
Kai walked ahead.
Silent.
Far ahead…
Beyond the floating islands…
The sky shifted.
For a moment…
A huge structure appeared.
Massive.
Bright.
Like a gate.
But bigger.
More final.
Then it disappeared.
Ron stopped.
"You saw that?"
Luna nodded slowly.
"Yeah…"
Kai turned.
His eyes serious.
"That is where it ends."
Kenta swallowed.
"Ends… what?"
Kai looked ahead.
"Everything."
The wind rose again.
This time…
It didn't feel gentle.
TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER 14.