— Rei POV —
The passage opened into a wider chamber, and the first thing I noticed was how far the ceiling stretched above me. The crystals along the walls didn't reach that high, leaving most of it in shadow.
That was where the sound came from.
A faint flutter, uneven but steady enough to stand out once I paid attention.
I slowed down without really thinking about it, tilting my head slightly as I tried to track it.
Not water.
Not wind.
Something alive.
I stepped forward anyway.
There wasn't much point in turning back now.
The movement came without warning.
Something dropped from above, cutting through the air fast enough that I barely reacted in time. I stepped back instinctively, just avoiding it as it passed in front of me before pulling up again.
A bat.
Too big to be normal.
It didn't stop.
It circled once, then came straight back at me.
This time I noticed the second one.
Then another.
"…Of course there's more."
I shifted to the side as the first one dove again, but the timing felt off. My body moved, just not as quickly as I expected, like everything was slightly out of sync.
The wings behind me didn't help. They reacted late, throwing off my balance instead of stabilizing it.
I clicked my tongue under my breath.
That wasn't good.
The second bat came in from the side before I could recover, forcing me to change direction mid-step. My footing slipped just enough to open a gap.
One of them took it immediately.
A sharp sting ran across my arm as claws grazed it on the way past.
Not deep.
Still enough.
"…So they're not hesitating."
I steadied myself, forcing my breathing to slow down even as they circled again. Moving faster wasn't helping. If anything, it made things worse.
They had the advantage here. Speed, movement, familiarity with the space.
I didn't.
Another dive came from above. I ducked this time, lower than before, feeling the rush of air as it passed just overhead.
That one was close.
Too close.
Before I could fully straighten, something hit my shoulder from the side and pushed me off balance. The wings spread slightly behind me in response, but the movement felt clumsy, more instinct than control.
I caught myself just before falling.
Barely.
"…Yeah, this isn't going to work."
If I kept reacting like this, I'd lose eventually. It wasn't even a question of if—just when.
Something shifted.
Not around me.
Inside.
It was subtle at first, like a feeling I couldn't quite place. Not pain, not pressure—just something moving where nothing should have been moving.
I didn't have time to think about it.
One of them dove again.
My arm moved.
I hadn't decided to move it.
For a brief second, something gathered—faint, unstable, like a spark that couldn't hold its shape.
Light.
It flickered into existence, then broke apart almost immediately.
The bat reacted anyway.
It pulled back mid-dive, just enough to miss.
I blinked, more surprised by that than the attack itself.
"…What was that?"
I didn't get an answer.
I tried to follow the same movement, focusing on that feeling, trying to reach it again—
Nothing.
Like it had never been there in the first place.
"…So it's not something I can use yet."
Another dive cut the thought short, and I moved again, stepping back instead of trying to force anything. The bats followed, but something about their movement shifted as I created distance.
They didn't spread out as much.
Didn't chase as aggressively.
"…Territory?"
That was enough.
I didn't hesitate this time. I turned and moved toward the narrower passage I had come from, keeping my pace steady instead of rushing. The tighter space made it harder for them to move freely, and after a few more passes, the attacks started to slow.
A few followed.
Not all.
Eventually, even those stopped.
I kept moving a little longer, just in case, before finally slowing down.
"…That could've gone worse."
I glanced at my arm. The scratch was shallow, then I looked at my hand, turning it slightly as I replayed what had just happened.
The movement.
The light.
"…So there's something in this body after all."
Not control.
Not anything I could rely on.
But it reacted.
That was enough to confirm it existed.
I exhaled quietly.
"Alright… then I'll figure it out."
Standing still wasn't going to help with that.
So I kept moving.