The quiet didn't last.
It never did.
By midnight, the Guild Headquarters had fallen into uneasy silence.
Most of the halls were dark.
Lanterns burned low.
Bootsteps were rare.
Even Lucien had finally stopped talking long enough to sleep.
Which, according to Elvastia, was proof the world was ending.
Kuro sat awake on the edge of his bed.
He had tried sleeping.
Twice.
Both times he'd closed his eyes—
he heard it again.
…come back…
Fainter now.
Farther away.
But still there.
Still waiting.
Kuro rubbed at his chest.
The pulse beneath the bandages was quiet.
But not gone.
[You keep doing that like it'll magically fix everything.]
{I know.}
[Then stop being weird.]
Kuro sighed.
{You're awake too.}
[I'm in your head. I don't exactly have bedtime.]
A soft knock came at the door.
Kuro froze.
At this hour?
Another knock.
Three taps.
Steady.
Careful.
Kuro stood and crossed the room slowly.
When he opened the door—
Mika stood outside.
Barefoot.
Hair slightly messy.
Looking far less composed than usual.
Kuro blinked.
"…Hi."
Mika stared at him for a moment.
Then looked away.
"…You weren't asleep."
"No."
"…Good."
That was somehow the strangest answer possible.
They stood there in silence.
Then Kuro stepped aside.
"Do you want to come in?"
Mika hesitated.
Then nodded once and entered.
[Oh this is interesting.]
{Be quiet.}
[I'm seated.]
Mika moved to the window and folded his arms.
The moonlight painted silver lines across the room.
Neither of them spoke at first.
Then Mika said quietly—
"It's louder at night."
Kuro looked up sharply.
"The voice?"
Mika nodded.
"I can't hear the words unless it speaks through you."
A pause.
"But I can feel it."
Kuro's chest tightened.
"You too?"
Mika gave a short, humorless laugh.
"You thought I came here for decoration?"
[Honestly, maybe.]
Mika ignored him.
Kuro sat back on the bed.
"…I thought it was just me."
Mika turned.
"It isn't."
Simple.
Certain.
He walked closer.
Then stopped in front of Kuro.
"You don't have to carry it alone."
The room felt smaller suddenly.
Warmer.
Kuro looked down at his hands.
"…I'm trying not to."
Mika's voice softened.
"I know."
Another silence.
But gentler now.
Kuro glanced up.
"…Then why are you really here?"
Mika didn't answer immediately.
His jaw tightened once.
Then relaxed.
"…Because I couldn't sleep."
Kuro blinked.
"That's all?"
"No."
Mika's gaze held his.
"I wanted to make sure you were still here."
Kuro forgot how to breathe again.
[He says insane things so casually.]
No one argued.
Kuro's voice came out quieter than intended.
"…I'm here."
Mika nodded.
But he didn't step back.
Didn't look away.
The moonlight caught in his dark eyes, making them softer than daylight ever allowed.
Then—
The building trembled.
Both of them snapped alert.
A low vibration rolled through the floorboards.
Not violent.
But deep.
Ancient.
Kuro stood instantly.
"It moved."
Mika's hand caught his wrist before he could rush past.
"Wait."
The pulse under Kuro's bandages flared once.
A whisper brushed through the room.
…below…
Kuro went still.
Mika's expression sharpened.
"What did it say?"
Kuro swallowed.
"…Below."
The floor trembled again.
From somewhere beneath the Guild Headquarters—
something answered.
A heavy thud.
Then another.
Like a heartbeat under stone.
Lucien's voice echoed from the corridor outside.
"WHY IS THE FLOOR BREATHING?!"
[Ah. He's awake.]
Mika released Kuro's wrist and reached for his sword.
"Stay behind me."
Kuro frowned immediately.
"No."
Mika looked at him.
The old argument.
The familiar one.
Then—
A third thud shook the room harder than the others.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Lucien burst through the open doorway, half-dressed and carrying one boot.
"I don't want to alarm anyone," he said breathlessly, "but the basement walls are glowing again."
Silence.
Then all three moved at once.
Kuro toward the door.
Mika beside him.
Lucien hopping after them while trying to put on his missing boot.
The whisper came one more time—
closer now.
…wake it…
And deep below the Guild Headquarters—
something locked away for a very long time—
opened its eyes.