"What are you talking about, Goshi? Where is my father?" Mai asked flatly.
I met her worried eyes and did the unthinkable. I told her he was missing. I lied—said that when I found Eqihr, he told me he'd lost sight of her father and the others.
It felt like betrayal. Mai trusted me, and she had only known me for weeks. It was like gaining a loyal companion, only to stab them in the back. I couldn't let her know the truth, not yet. I shut the portal behind me, turned away from her stare, and fled into a bedroom.
Slamming the door, I dropped to the floor with my back against it, burying my head between my knees. Why did I do that? If Mai ever learned her father was dead, it would crush her—and I had just chosen to lie, making myself responsible for her grief when the truth finally surfaced.
I tried to let it pass, to push it down, but the thought of her hating me gnawed at my chest.
My mind drifted back to when I was asleep—when Nagi appeared. He told me someone was behind the war, that their name started with M and O. I racked my brain, but I couldn't think of anyone. Maybe they were tied to Nazo and the scaled swords. Maybe someone in Haru knew.
I raised my hand, staring at my bare palm. "I wonder if I could raise the dead."
The idea seized me. My powers were guided toward life, toward healing. Maybe, if I pushed hard enough, I could bring them back.
The door creaked, snapping me out of my thoughts. Xain slipped in, his young eyes sharp.
"Why were you acting suspicious earlier?" he asked.
I feigned ignorance. "You're imagining things."
"You're lying." His voice trembled, but it carried weight. "My ability can detect changes in people's actions. And my oldest brother—he can sense it with sonokenesis."
I tried to hold his stare. "Xain, listen. I don't know what you're talking about. All I know is what Eqihr told me, alright?"
He didn't look convinced, but he didn't press. I brushed past him. "If I learn anything… I'll tell you."
Hours later, night fell. The fighting outside dulled, replaced by the heavy quiet of soldiers and civilians catching what rest they could. To my knowledge, Haru's leaders were still defending the borders. The pink-aura woman had returned to the front gate, healed and ready. Others spread themselves thin across the town's defenses.
Inside our shelter, the air was thick with grief. Mai and her brothers clung to the hope of their father's return. I stood among them, choking on the truth I carried. Upstairs, Eqihr kept to himself.
"Goshi, do you think he's alright?" Mai asked, holding Xain close.
My leg began to shake. The idea of reviving the dead pressed into me like a curse. I punched myself in the gut, forcing words out: "I'll find them."
I opened a portal and stepped through, arriving back at Eqihr's last location. The guillotines still stood, guarded by enemy troops who tried to drag them away.
"I don't think you want to do that!" I shouted.
They snapped their heads toward me, mocking. "Why not?"
They charged. My white aura flared, natural force thrumming in my veins. One hurled a meteor of debris; my shield shattered it to dust. Others rushed me head-on. Martial arts carried me through—deflecting strikes, countering with precise blows. Still more pressed in, armed with telekinesis, enhanced strength, unnatural endurance.
One by one, they fell.
Then—
"Fighting like that, you'll get nowhere."
The voice froze me. The tentacle man. The one made of darkness.
Shadows spread, and three figures appeared around me—scaled sword users, standing in the four directions.
Their voices overlapped: "We'll take you down and claim your power."
I clenched my fist. "You'll die before that happens."
They lunged. Attacks crashed from every side. I crossed my arms, palms open, then broke them apart—unleashing a wave of supersonic wind. Their strikes shattered midair. They blocked the gale, skidding back to the ground.
One of them spoke. "Listen. If you comply, we won't kill Manny."
My heart jolted. "What do you mean by that?" I growled.
"He's been captured," the scaled warrior sneered. "He's at Nazo's mercy now."
A glare burned across my face. "You wouldn't dare."
I slammed my fists together, a violent surge of wind spiraling outward. I leapt, kicking one into a wall. Another tried sneaking behind me; my barrier stopped her blade, and I spun low, sweeping my legs and kicking her into the ground.
Only the Kurayami man and another scaled sword remained standing.
The third dropped from above, feinting a punch, and reappeared behind me. His blade cut across my back, sending me crashing into the dark man's blast of shadow. Pain exploded. By then, the other two had risen, circling back into the fight.
They attacked in rhythm, striking me in turns. Every blow rattled me, every hit driving me down. The last sent me to my knees, gasping.
The pangolin-wielding one pressed his blade to my head. "Enough. You aren't skilled enough to resist."
The scaled edge uncoiled like a whip, wrapping around me, draining my strength.
"Our swords don't only boost us," he said coldly. "They drain others as well."
My body grew heavy. The energy bled out of me, leaving nothing but weakness.
"Extract the spirit," ordered the skink wielder.
"No," argued the lizard wielder. "We should return to base—more protection there."
The Kurayami man hissed, "Nazo will want to do it himself. We take him alive."
They all turned their blades inward, tips meeting. Together, they tore open a gateway to their base.
Darkness wrapped around me, binding me tight.
"We're done here," the Kurayami man growled.
He lifted me into the air like prey and carried me through the portal.