"Gramps, are you the one inside the Cosmic Hollow?" Kaia muttered under her breath as she walked, her voice low enough to avoid drawing attention.
[Mysterious Guy: Damn, how'd you figure that out?]
[Blonde Lady: You could've lied, you know.]
[Mysterious Guy: Oh, sorry, dear. I forgot I'm not the master manipulator you are.]
The blonde lady just grunted in response.
"The person enslaved… it's Yona, right?" Kaia's face darkened. "She's important to both of you. And this scheme — the one no one knows—" She stopped mid-sentence, her breath quickening. A cold shiver ran down her spine. This feeling right now… it is familiar. Too familiar.
[Mysterious Guy: You can tell just from the vibe? Seriously?]
Before she could answer, someone brushed past her, their shoulder bumping hers. Instinct took over. Kaia's hand shot out, gripping the person's wrist like a vice. "Sis…?" she whispered, heart pounding.
The figure wore a hood and ragged clothes, a little shorter than her. Slowly, they turned their head, revealing a soft smile and a burn mark on their right forehead.
"Can I help you?" the stranger asked, watching her over his shoulder, voice calm and polite.
Kaia's breath hitched. Her grip tightened involuntarily. "I—no. Sorry. I… thought you were someone else."
"It's fine," the stranger said, still smiling. "But, uh… could you maybe let go now?"
"Oh! Yeah—sorry!" Kaia released his wrist, eyes widening when she saw the deep red marks left by her grip. "I—I didn't mean—"
"It's fine, really." He waved off her apology, his voice light and reassuring. "I've had a delicate body since I was a child. It wasn't your fault."
"…I see."
"Well then, bye!" He turned to leave, tossing a casual wave over his shoulder. "Hope we meet again sometime, Kaia."
Kaia froze. "What?" She spun around, but he was already gone.
"How… does he know my name?"
[West City; Mishi's Inn]
Above Mishi's Inn, half the roof was already blown off — a casualty from the puppet incident way back.
Kaia slowly pushed open the door, the creak it made so loud it could've woken the dead. Torn and disheveled police tape still clung to the frame like the last remains of a bad memory.
"Looks like a murder scene straight out of a horror movie," Kaia muttered, stepping inside. Dust clouded the air, and broken furniture lay like forgotten corpses. "So… what's next? We didn't find squat last time we were here."
[Mysterious Guy: What about that door sealed with all those talismans?]
Kaia squinted at the double doors at the far end of the room, paper talismans plastered over them like a desperate attempt to keep something very, very bad inside. "Dunno," she said, walking toward it. She reached out a hand—
[Blonde Lady: Not so fast.]
Kaia froze, hand still hovering in the air.
[Blonde Lady: There are wild beasts inside — and they haven't eaten in days. Also, there's a concealed lock portal. Opening the door won't be enough.]
"Do I need to take these talismans off first?" Kaia asked.
[Blonde Lady: Good observation. These aren't ordinary talismans — they're saturated with black mana, specialized for concealment. I can unlock the spell, but you'll need those feathers—]
Before she could finish, Kaia swung the doors open.
[Blonde Lady: Huh?!]
Two lions emerged from the shadows — massive, their eyes glowing an eerie white. They roared as they pounced.
Kaia reacted instantly. She kicked one mid-leap, sending it crashing into the far wall with a bone-shaking thud. The second lunged — Kaia rolled aside, landing smoothly inside the room. The lions circled her, slow and predatory.
Kaia's brow twitched. When one finally attacked, she met it with a punch. The feather on her locket flared with light — and the lion dissolved into black dust. The second one met the same fate, her second feather glowing bright before the room fell silent.
[Mysterious Guy: (Whistling) So…just barged in without any plan?]
"Sorry to disappoint you, gramps, but I had a plan," Kaia said, adjusting her gloves like a pro after a warm-up fight. "I thought they were real animals. Turns out they were just black mana constructs."
[Blonde Lady: You can't keep relying on your immortality. Don't tell me you were trying to trigger your powers by flirting with death.]
"I did," Kaia said casually, eyeing the gaping hole in the wall. "Figured if they were starving, they might go for me. Guess not."
[Mysterious Guy: So you wanted to be lion chow? Ha!]
[Blonde Lady: I cannot stand your laugh.]
[Mysterious Guy: Neither can I!]
Kaia ignored them, moving toward the hole. But inside… there was only a blank wall.
[Blonde Lady: Let's remove the concealment magic. Hold the feather and repeat after me.]
The lady murmured something in an ancient tongue. Kaia followed along.
The air rippled.
The wall behind the hole disappeared.
And in its place… a new room waited, dark and silent — the kind of place where bad things happened.
Kaia grinned. "Now we're getting somewhere."