Pov Author
Renji didn't ask.
He simply reached out, caught Anna's wrist, and pulled her along the dim corridor as if the decision had already been made long before she ever spoke.
"Hey—what are you doing?" Anna snapped, irritation sharp in her voice as she tried to tug her hand free.
Renji didn't slow down. His grip wasn't painful, but it was firm—unyielding. "Preparing you."
"For what?" she shot back, her brows knitting together, annoyance flickering into suspicion.
He stopped so abruptly that she nearly collided into him.
Then he turned.
There was something unreadable in his eyes—something cold, something amused.
"Don't you want your lover to remember you?"
The word lover dripped from his lips like a quiet mockery.
Anna stiffened, her jaw tightening. "Yeah. So?" she said defensively. "I don't just want him—I want everyone to remember me."
For a moment, Renji just looked at her.
Then, slowly, a smile spread across his face.
"I didn't want to say anything," he began, almost casually, "because I like watching people suffer." His tone was light, but his eyes weren't. "It's… very enjoyable. Especially when the people who hurt you are the ones getting hurt."
Anna's expression darkened. "You're sick."
"Maybe," he shrugged. "But that's not the point."
He stepped closer, his voice dropping just enough to make the air feel heavier.
"Here's the deal. I can help you get back what you want."
Anna's heart skipped.
"But—" he continued, dragging the word out, "there's something you'll have to give up."
Her fingers curled slightly. "What?"
Renji let out a low laugh, shaking his head as if she had just said something amusing.
"Why are you looking at me like I'm the one who's going to bring those memories back?"
Anna blinked. "Then what are you saying?"
He turned away from her, beginning to walk again—but slower this time, as if he wanted her to follow.
"There's a place," he said, his voice quieter now, almost thoughtful. "Far in the North. A land buried under ice. Silent. Forgotten."
Anna followed, her irritation now replaced with unease. "And?"
"And there's something there," Renji continued, "something that might help you."
"Might?" she echoed, frowning.
He glanced back at her over his shoulder. "Nothing powerful comes without uncertainty."
She hesitated for only a second. "Okay."
Renji stopped again.
"Let me finish," he said, his tone sharpening slightly.
Anna crossed her arms but stayed quiet.
"It won't just give you what you want," he said. "It will take something from you in return. Something very… very precious."
The corridor felt colder.
"And you won't get to choose what it takes," he added. "If you want your lover back—truly back—you'll have to give it. No matter what."
Anna swallowed.
For a brief moment, fear flickered in her chest—but she pushed it down.
"What if," she said slowly, her voice quieter now, "it asks for something like my soul? Or something that… ends me before I even get to finish this story?"
Renji stared at her.
Then he exhaled, a faint smirk tugging at his lips.
"Don't worry," he said. "It won't be that big."
He paused.
"But it will be big."
Anna let out a frustrated sigh, running a hand through her hair. "Oh, Lord…"
A thought suddenly struck her, and she looked up again. "Wait—can't I just take Shou out of this place? If he remembers me outside of all this, then—"
"Anna."
The way he said her name made her stop.
Renji inhaled slowly, as if preparing himself, then gestured toward a nearby room. "Sit."
She frowned but did as he said, lowering herself onto the edge of a wooden chair. "What now?"
Renji leaned against the wall, folding his arms.
"Listen to me very carefully," he said, his tone losing its earlier mockery.
Something about it made her chest tighten.
"Shou Feng can't leave."
Anna blinked. "What?"
"He can't get out," Renji repeated. "Not now. Not ever."
Her heart began to race. "That doesn't make sense—"
"He is the reason this story exists," Renji cut in. "The core of it. The center everything revolves around."
Anna shook her head. "No—he's Arin. Arin is real. This—this place isn't!"
Renji's gaze hardened.
"No villain, no story," he said quietly. "If he leaves… everything collapses."
The words hung in the air like a sentence.
"Everything dies," he added. "Everyone dies."
Anna froze.
It felt like the ground beneath her had disappeared.
"But… Shou is Arin," she whispered, her voice trembling now. "And Arin is Shou. And we—we don't belong in this world."
Renji didn't respond immediately.
For the first time, something almost human flickered across his face.
"Arin," he said slowly, "surely doesn't belong to this world."
Anna looked up at him, hope flickering weakly in her eyes.
But then he continued—
"But you…"
The pause stretched.
"Anna, if you want to be with your Shou… you have to stay here."
The words hit harder than anything else he had said.
Stay here.
Her breath caught in her throat.
Every instinct in her screamed against it—but another part of her, the part that remembered Shou's eyes, his voice, the way he had once looked at her like she was his entire world—
That part stayed silent.
Renji straightened, pushing himself off the wall. "Come on."
Anna didn't move for a second.
Then, slowly, she stood.
This time, when he led her, she didn't resist.
The corridor grew narrower, darker, the air heavier with each step. A faint whispering sound brushed against her ears—so soft she wasn't even sure it was real.
They stopped in front of a door.
Old.
Wooden.
Sealed with something she couldn't quite understand.
Renji placed his hand on it and pushed.
The door creaked open.
Anna stepped inside—
And froze.
At the center of the room, suspended in the air as if the world itself refused to touch it, was something that shimmered like living wind.
Soft currents twisted around it, whispering in a language she almost understood.
Her eyes widened.
"No way…" she breathed.
She took a step forward, her voice barely a whisper now. "What… how do you have this?"
Her gaze snapped toward Renji.
"That's the Wind Whisperer."
Renji leaned against the doorway, completely unfazed.
"I stole it," he said simply.
Anna stared at him like she didn't know whether to be shocked or terrified.
The Wind Whisperer pulsed faintly, as if reacting to her presence.
The whispers grew louder.
Calling.
Recognizing.
Renji's voice cut through the moment.
"So," he said, a slow, dangerous smile forming on his lips, "are you ready for this?"
Anna didn't answer immediately.
Her eyes remained fixed on the swirling wind, her heart pounding louder with each second.
She knew.
Whatever she chose now—
There would be no going back.
To be continued..