Good thoughts, chief. The night settled slowly over the forest.
No wind.
No more chief.
Only a quiet stillness that felt… intentional.
Leaf sat beneath a tree, his back resting against the rough bark.
Beside him, Python slept—peaceful, unaware, his breathing slow and steady.
Leaf didn't sleep.
His eyes remained open, fixed somewhere beyond the darkness.
Inside his mind —
"Are you ready for this?"
Darkness.
Leaf didn't hesitate.
"…Yes."
A pause.
"Then tomorrow."
"…Tomorrow," Leaf repeated quietly.
The word didn't feel like a plan.
It felt like a promise.
And silence returned.
Far away, in the territory of C-Beta —
The residence of Chief Adolf D. Beta stood illuminated under artificial lights. Guards moved in silent rotations. The air there was different.
Controlled.
Pressure.
Heavy in a way that had nothing to do with the weather.
Inside one of the guest rooms —
White stood near the window, adjusting his coat.
His reflection stared back at him from the glass.
Calm.
Too calm.
Moon watched him carefully from across the room.
"…White."
He didn't turn.
"What happened… after Neon forced you to run?"
White's hands paused for just a moment.
Then continued.
"…I ran back to my country."
His voice carried no emotion.
That was the problem.
"But when I reached …"
A small pause.
The kind that holds something inside it.
"…I saw them."
Moon's expression softened.
"My parents."
His hands lowered slowly.
"…They were already dead."
Silence filled the room.
"…I'm sorry," Moon said quietly.
White shook his head.
"It's fine."
The words came too quickly.
Too rehearsed.
"I accepted it."
A lie.
One he had repeated so many times it had almost worn down into something resembling truth.
"After that, the C-Delta army found me."
He looked away from the window.
"They didn't rescue me."
"They imprisoned me."
Moon's eyes widened slightly.
"…What?"
"Later… my country negotiated."
He exhaled, barelyy audible.
"Between Neon the First... and our chief, Kirai Flow."
A pause.
"They released me."
Moon exhaled slowly.
"And then?"
"…I lived with my grandparents."
The simplicity of that sentence carried more weight than anything else he had said.Moon looked at him again—really looked.
"…Do you know where the meeting will be held?"
White nodded.
"Yes."
"A place where four great lakes meet."
"Red. Blue. True. And Dream."
Moon's eyes widened.
"…The Island of Seven Wings?"
"Yes."
She stepped forward slightly.
"But that place is restricted. Even global chiefs don't go there willingly. There are ancient creatures—mythical ones that don't answer to any authority."
White turned toward her fully for the first time.
"For this meeting …"
His eyes were steady.
"…restrictions don't matter."
A silence followed.
Not comfortable.
Not hostile.
Just heavy.
"Good night," he said simply.
And walked past her.
"Wait — White —"
But he was already gone.
The door closed softly behind him.
Moon stepped outside.
The night air was colder than she expected.
She walked slowly through the quiet corridors, then out into the open grounds, her footsteps barely making a sound against the stone.
Her thoughts weren't calm.
They moved in circles.
Returning to the same place no matter which direction she pushed them.
"…Leaf."
She stopped.
The name sat differently in her chest than other names.
It always had.
She just hadn't let herself notice until now.
"…Why didn't you look happy when you saw me?"
A pause.
Her fingers tightened slightly at her sides.
"I wanted to tell you something. …"
She hesitated.
The words rose slowly.
Against her own resistance.
"…I lo—"
She stopped herself.
Silence.
A faint warmth spread across her face.
"…What am I even saying?"
She turned —
And froze.
Someone stood there.
A girl.
Silver hair catching faint moonlight as it belonged to it.
Calm eyes that didn't seem surprised by anything.
"…Are you Moon?" the girl asked.
"…Yes."
Moon straightened slightly.
"And you?"
"Tsuki D. Beta."
A small pause.
"Chief Adolf D. Beta's daughter."
Moon blinked once.
"…Nice to meet you."
Tsuki smiled softly, unhurried.
"Sorry." A brief silence passed between them.
Comfortable on one sideUncertainty,ainty, on the other hand.
Then Moon—sked—
"…Why are you out this late?"
Tsuki hesitated.
Something shifted in her expression.
Then —
A faint colorolor to her cheeks.
"…Since yeyesterday rday can't stop thinking about him."
Moon's expression sharpened slightly.
"…Who?"
Tsuki looked forward.
Steady.
Certain.
"…Ampersand."
MooThe moonoThe moon
The name landed somewhere it wasn't supposed to.
*Ampersand…*
*But I —*
A flicker of something unfinished passed through her mind.
*Why does this botherme? e…?*
Hme? thoughts twisted inward before she could stop them.
*Why am Jealous?us?Jealous?aw tightened.
*No.*
*Leaf…*
*If you actually accept her —*
Her thoughts cut off before they could finish themselves.
Tsuki continued, completely unaware of the storm beside her.
"It feelike ike…"
like paused, searching for the right words.
"…I was made for him."
Moon's voreturned,rnedreturned, than she intended.
"…That's not a good choice."
Tsuki blinked.
"What?"
"He's arrogant."
A step forward.
"Selfish."
Her voice rose slightly.
"Dangerous —"
"Enough."
Tsuki's voice didn't rise.
It didn't need to.
Her eyes changed — not angry, but certain in a way that closed the argument before it could continue.
"You're describing someone you're afraid to lose."
Moon went silent.
Tsuki's expression softened —not— not u—not
"He's my heart."
She said it simply.
Like stating something that had always been true.
Then she turned and walked away without another word.
Leaving Moon standing alone in the cold.
Moon didn't move for a long moment.
Her breathing became uneven.
"…No."
A step back.
"…No… no…"
Her voice cracked slightly.
Something inside —somethingthing kept carefully unnamed for a long time —
—rok—open.
She turned and walked back.
Faster than she meant to.
---
From the shadows nearby —
White stood still.
He had heard everything.
Beside him — b—barelyly, barely present —
Li——ess.
White spoke quietly without turning.
"…What was that?"
Lightness was silent for a moment.
Then —
"…I don't know."
A pause.
"…Even as a god…"
god d still don't understand women."
White turned slowly.
"…What?"
Lightness offered nothing further.
White stared at the space where Lightness existed.
Then looked back toward where Moon had been standing.
"…Useful," he said flatly.
And walked away.
Morning arrived without warmth.
The sky was clear, but the air carried tension — the—theat precedes something already decided.
Inside the residence of Chief Adolf D. Beta, preparations were already complete.
White stood ready.
Moon stood beside him.
Neither spoke.
Both were thinking about different things.
The door opened.
Adolf entered — calm,—calmwith presence.
"It's time."
A pause.
"We leave now."
No hesitation followed.
The aircraft stood waiting on the private runway.
Sleek. Silent. Controlled.
A machine built for people who didn't ask permission from the world.
White, Moon, and Adolf stepped inside.
The door sealed behind them.
Silence settled immediately — the k—th—theists thirty thousand feet above everything familiar.
White moved toward a window seat and sat down.
And the moment he did —
Something changed.
His expression.
Subtle.
But clear.
Fear.
His fingers tightened slightly on the armrest.
His eyes shifted — just once — toward the open sky outside.
Then away.
Inside his mind —
"…White."
Lightness.
"What happened?"
White exhaled slowly.
"…I don't like heights."
A pause.
"…I'm afraid of them."
Silence.
Then —
"…Understood."
Lightness's tone carried something unexpected.
Gentleness.
"Rest. Let me handle it."
White closed his eyes.
"…Okay."
No argument.
No pride.
Just trust.
And slowly —
He let go.
---
White's breathing steadied.
His body relaxed.
But when his eyes opened again —
They weren't the same.
Calm.
Clear.
Controlled.
Light.
---
Moon sat beside him.
But her thoughts weren't in the aircraft.
They were still in last night.
Tsuki.
Ampersand.
Leaf.
Her fingers tightened against her sleeve.
*Why did it bother me…?*
*me? yme? id I feel that way…?*
wayway? glanced sideways —
His —— were open now.
But different.
Calm in a way that didn't belong to exhaustion.
Clear in a way that didn't belong to White.
"…White "…"…
"I ——"t White."
His voice was calm.
Not cold. Just — certaicecertain.t."
Moon blinked.
"…Oh."
A pause.
"…Sorry."
"Don't apologisapolapologize."lence passed between them.
Outside, clouds moved past the window like slow thoughts.
Then —
"…You're troubled," Light said.
Moon didn't answer immediately.
"…It's nothing."
"Lie."
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"…You can tell?"
"I don't need words."
A pause.
"Everyone carries their pain differently."
His gaze remained forward.
"Yours sits in your jaw."
Moon said nothing.
"…Just rest."
His tone softened into something almost human.
"For now."
Moon hesitated.
Then leaned back.
Closed her eyes.
Not because she was calm —
But because she was tired of carrying it alone.
---
As the aircraft cut through the sky —
Light drifted into memory.
Not here.
Not now.
A different place entirely.
A realm where silence had texture.
The sky there wasn't blue — it wa—ite—it between gold and white, like the moment just before sunrise held permanently still. Trees grew in impossible shapes, their leaves translucent, light passing through them and scattering into colours colorscolorsmes. Flowers bloomed in rhythms — opening, closing, opening — like breathing.
Everything lived.
Nothing fought.
Light stood alone within it.
Watching.
Listening.
Then —
A message reached him.
Clear. Direct. Unavoidable.
Darkness had chosen a successor.
Light's gaze sharpened.
"…So it begins."
Without delay, he moved.
From his dimension —
to Earth.
the The ney tooree days.
Three silent days across the space between existence and arrival.
When he landed —
He was late.
Darkness had already found its host.
Leaf.
Light stood still for a moment.
"…So that's him."
He moved through the world — searc—searching.—searching.Disturbances in the air. Anything that carried the weight of ancient power recently awakened.
But he found —
Nothing.
Only silence.
And absence.
So he changed direction.
If the answer wasn't here —
He would go higher.
To Nevaeh.
The realm of gods.
But before he could leave —
Somet—ng caught hi—attention.
Movement.
Fast.
Desperate.
A girl.
Running.
Behind her —
Neon's soldiers. Six of them. Closing the distance without urgency — the way people move when they know their target can't escape.
Light descended instantly.
Landing between them.
The air shifted — not violently, but completely, the way a room changes when someone walks inn who was not expected.
The soldiers froze.
Not from fear.
From confusion.
What stood before them carried no weapon. No armor. No threat they recognised.
Just presence.
Absolute. Unreadable. Wrong in a way they couldn't name.
Light raised one hand.
A soft glow formed at the centre of his palm.
Not blinding.
Not aggressive.
Just —
final.
The soldiers collapsed.
Unconscious before they reached the ground.
Silence returned.
The girl staggered — breathing unevenly, one hand pressed against her side.
Her eyes found his —
And fear appeared.
Real fear.
Not of death.
Of the unknown.
Light stepped closer.
One step.
Slow. Deliberate. Without threat.
"…You're safe."
She didn't believe it.
Her body stayed tensed.
Ready to run.
But she didn't.
Something kept her there.
After a long moment —
She spoke.
"…Who are you?"
Light didn't answer that.
Some questions weren't ready for their answers yet.
Instead —
"…Do you know someone named Leaf?"
Her expression broke.
Not slowly.
All at once.
Tears came before words.
"…Leaf…"
And then —
She told him everything.
What happened to her.
What happened to him.
What Neon did.
What was taken.
What was left.
Light listened.
Every word.
Without interruption.
Without reaction that would stop her.
When she finished —
The silence that followed was different from before.
Heavier.
More deliberate.
Then Light made a decision.
"…Come with me."
Moon entered a world she didn't understand.
Too still to feel real.
Too peaceful to trust.
But she was too tired to resist it.
There, Light let her rest.
Heal.
Recover.
Time passed differently in that place — a month on Earth moved like a week in the dimension of Light. She slept without nightmares for the first time. She ate without thinking about what came next. She breathed without bracing for something to go wrong.
Slowly —
She became herself again.
During that time, she spoke about many things.
And one name returned often.
White.
A boy she barely knew.
But one she couldn't forget.
Light listened each time.
Quietly cataloguing.
Then one day —
He stood before Moon with an answer.
"…I found him."
Her eyes lifted instantly.
"Where?"
A pause.
"…On a path that will collide with Leaf."
A beat.
"…And with Darkness."
Moon said nothing.
But something in her expression shifted —
Relief.
And something else.
Something she wasn't ready to name yet.
Light returned to the present.
The clouds outside the window had changed.
Thinner now.
Higher.
The Island of Seven Wings was close.
He could feel it —
Not physically.
But the way ancient things recognise each other across distance.
Something old was waiting there.
Something that remembered the world before it became what it was now.
Light's eyes remained steady.
Beside him, Moon still had her eyes closed.
Not sleeping.
But resting.
He didn't disturb her.
Instead —
He looked forward.
Toward what was coming.
The meeting.
The leaders.
The decision already made about a boy who didn't know his name was in the room.
Light's expression didn't change.
But inside —
Something tightened.
*Leaf.*
*Whatever they decide…*
A pause.
*…I will not let them erase what has already begun.*
The aircraft descended slowly.
Below —
Where four great lakes met —
The Island of Seven Wings appeared.
Ancient.
Impossible.
Waiting.
And somewhere far away —
In a forest neither of them could see —
Leaf opened his eyes.
Morning had arrived.
And something inside him already knew —
Today was different.