Kaizer's POV
The whispers grew louder.
Not louder in volume...
Louder in presence.
They no longer sounded like distant thoughts drifting into my mind.
They surrounded me.
Soft.
Patient.
Almost...
Compassionate.
*> ...Come...
> ...You're tired...
> ...It's alright...*
My footsteps slowed on their own.
The entrance to the alley stood only a few metres away now.
A single streetlamp struggled against the darkness, its yellow light flickering weakly above cracked concrete. Beyond that...
Nothing.
Only shadows swallowing one another.
I should leave.
The thought appeared clearly in my head.
Call the police.
Walk away.
Pretend I had never heard those voices.
Instead...
I took another step forward.
The temperature seemed to drop the moment I crossed into the alley.
The noises of the city faded behind me.
Cars.
People.
The distant barking of dogs.
Everything...
Became strangely muted.
Only the whispers remained.
*> ...Come...*
A faint movement appeared deeper inside the alley.
I instinctively narrowed my eyes.
A man.
He couldn't have been much older than twenty-five or twenty-six.
His back faced me.
He stood perfectly still beneath the dim light spilling from a broken security lamp fixed to the side of an abandoned building.
For one brief moment...
Nothing looked unusual.
Then...
Something shimmered.
Golden.
At first I thought the light was reflecting strangely.
But...
The shimmer moved.
Thin strands slowly emerged from the darkness itself.
One.
Then another.
Then dozens.
They floated through the air almost beautifully.
Graceful.
Weightless.
Like silk threads drifting beneath water.
Except...
There was nothing beautiful about what they were doing.
They wrapped themselves around the man's wrists.
His shoulders.
His chest.
His legs.
One after another.
Without making a sound.
Without haste.
As though they had all the time in the world.
My breathing caught.
"..."
No...
No...
This wasn't...
Real.
The man trembled.
Ever so slightly.
Another thread coiled around his neck.
Not tightly enough to choke him.
Only...
To hold him.
To keep him from moving.
His shoulders slowly sagged.
Almost as if every ounce of strength inside him was quietly slipping away.
The whispers became clearer.
*> ...You're exhausted...
> ...No one understands...
> ...Just come...*
The man's lips moved.
Barely.
"I..."
His voice cracked.
"...can't..."
Another golden strand tightened around his arm.
His entire body shuddered.
"..."
I couldn't move.
Every instinct inside me screamed at me to do something.
Yet...
My legs refused to obey.
This wasn't possible.
People...
Didn't get wrapped in—
A movement across the road caught my attention.
I immediately turned my head.
...
My heart skipped.
"Iris..."
She stood on the opposite pavement.
Still.
Completely still.
Her eyes remained fixed on the exact same scene.
The colour had drained from her face.
She had seen it.
Not imagined.
Not suspected.
Seen it.
Our eyes met across the empty road.
For a single second...
Neither of us moved.
Then I quickly raised one hand.
Slowly.
Carefully.
I shook my head.
No.
Go back.
Leave.
I pointed behind her.
She followed the gesture.
Understanding immediately.
Very carefully...
She took one step backwards.
Then another.
Good.
Just...
Go.
I'll—
The whispers suddenly changed.
The man slowly lifted his head.
His eyes remained unfocused.
Almost...
Empty.
Then...
His thoughts reached me.
Not whispers.
Not fragments.
Clear.
Painfully clear.
*> I...*
A pause.
*> I'll go with you...*
Every muscle inside my body froze.
The golden threads reacted instantly.
As though they had been waiting.
Every strand tightened.
The man's face twisted violently.
His knees buckled beneath him.
A muffled cry escaped his throat.
"No..."
The word wasn't mine.
It came from across the road.
I looked up.
Iris had stopped retreating.
She stared at the man.
Her hands slowly curled into fists.
Her breathing quickened.
"No..."
she whispered again.
Before I could even react...
She ran.
"Iris!"
The shout left me before I realised it.
She ignored it completely.
Her footsteps echoed across the empty road.
Straight toward the alley.
Straight toward the man.
"...Damn it."
I broke into a run after her.
The distance between us vanished quickly.
"Iris!"
She still didn't stop.
She reached the man first.
Without hesitation she grabbed his arm.
"Sir!"
"Can you hear me?"
At that exact moment—
I reached them.
The golden threads surged violently.
Instinct took over.
I lunged forward.
My fingers closed around one of the shimmering strands.
Warm.
That was the first thing I felt.
Not cold.
Not rough.
Warm.
Like touching sunlight.
For the smallest fraction of a second...
I thought I had actually caught it.
Then...
It slipped straight through my fingers.
Not like rope.
Not like silk.
Like trying to hold light itself.
Every golden strand dissolved into tiny shimmering particles.
One after another.
Until...
Nothing remained.
The alley fell silent.
So silent...
That the sound of our own breathing suddenly felt unbearably loud.
I slowly looked down at my empty hand.
There was...
Nothing.
No warmth.
No thread.
No proof...
That any of it had ever existed.
Except...
The terrified expression mirrored in Iris's eyes.
---
The silence felt wrong.
Almost...
Too complete.
Only a moment ago, the alley had been filled with whispers that refused to leave my mind.
Now...
There was nothing.
Not even the faintest trace of those golden threads remained.
I stared at my own hand.
The same hand that had tried to grab them.
It slowly curled into a fist.
"..."
I had felt them.
For a brief second...
I knew I had.
Warm.
Almost alive.
Yet now...
There wasn't a single mark left on my skin.
No evidence.
Nothing.
"...Kaizer."
I blinked.
Iris's voice pulled me back.
She had crouched beside the man, one hand lightly resting against his shoulder.
"Sir?"
Her voice was calm.
Gentle.
"Can you hear me?"
The man remained motionless for another second before his fingers twitched.
Then...
A long, exhausted breath escaped him.
"..."
His eyelids fluttered.
Slowly.
As though simply opening them required every ounce of strength he had left.
He looked around with unfocused eyes.
His gaze drifted past Iris.
Past me.
Toward the empty alley.
"..."
"I..."
His voice came out rough.
Almost broken.
"...want..."
He swallowed.
"...to sleep..."
His head drooped forward again.
I frowned.
There wasn't the slightest sign that he remembered what had just happened.
Only complete exhaustion.
The kind that settled deep inside someone's bones.
I exchanged a quick glance with Iris.
She looked equally confused.
Then—
Footsteps.
Fast.
Uneven.
Someone was running toward us.
A woman hurried into the alley, breathing heavily.
Her hair had partly come loose from its clip, and she looked around frantically until her eyes landed on the man.
"There you are!"
Relief instantly flooded her face.
She rushed forward.
"My God..."
She immediately crouched beside him.
"What were you thinking?"
Her voice shook between anger and worry.
"You frightened me to death."
She helped him sit up.
The man barely responded.
His head continued drooping against her shoulder.
The woman looked toward us.
"I'm so sorry."
She gave a nervous smile.
"My son..."
She sighed.
"He argued with his father again."
Her hand gently brushed through the young man's hair.
"He always runs away when they're angry with each other."
She laughed softly.
Though it sounded more tired than amused.
"I've been searching everywhere."
I opened my mouth.
"Ma'am..."
"There was—"
"Oh..."
She interrupted immediately.
"I think he probably drank again."
She looked down at him with obvious concern.
"He keeps saying he's fine, but..."
She shook her head.
"...he's still just a child to me."
The man murmured something incoherent.
The woman smiled apologetically.
"I'm really sorry you both had to deal with this."
She bowed her head slightly.
"Thank you."
"If you hadn't stayed with him..."
"I don't know what would've happened."
Before either of us could explain...
She slowly helped him to his feet.
He leaned almost his entire weight against her.
"...Come on."
"We're going home."
The man didn't resist.
Didn't ask where he was.
Didn't even look around.
He simply allowed himself to be guided away.
Step by slow step.
Until both of them disappeared beyond the mouth of the alley.
...
Neither Iris nor I moved.
The alley became quiet once again.
The broken security light buzzed faintly overhead.
Everything else...
Was still.
As though nothing extraordinary had happened.
I slowly turned toward Iris.
She remained standing exactly where she was.
Her eyes stayed fixed on the empty space where the golden threads had vanished.
She hadn't blinked in what felt like minutes.
"Iris."
No response.
"Iris."
Still nothing.
I took two careful steps toward her.
"...Senior Iris."
Nothing.
A strange uneasiness settled inside my chest.
I reached out.
My hand rested lightly on her shoulder.
She didn't react.
Only when I gave her shoulder the gentlest shake...
"Iris."
She suddenly inhaled sharply.
Her eyes focused again.
Almost as though she'd returned from somewhere impossibly far away.
She slowly looked up at me.
There was no panic in her expression.
No tears.
Only...
Disbelief.
Her lips parted.
She swallowed once before speaking.
"So..."
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
"...I wasn't imagining it."
A long pause.
Then...
She searched my face.
Almost desperately.
"...Did you..."
Another pause.
"...did you see it too?"
I looked at her.
There wasn't any point pretending anymore.
Slowly...
I nodded.
Just once.
Nothing else.
For several seconds...
She simply stared at me.
The answer settled between us without another word.
Neither of us had imagined it.
Neither of us had hallucinated.
Whatever those golden threads were...
They existed.
Her gaze slowly lowered toward the ground.
She opened her mouth.
Closed it again.
Several thoughts clearly fought inside her mind.
None of them reached her lips.
Instead...
She quietly stepped closer.
Without warning...
Her fingers wrapped around my hand.
Not tightly.
Almost...
Instinctively.
Her hand felt colder than usual.
"...Let's go home."
She didn't wait for my answer.
She simply turned...
Still holding my hand...
And began walking out of the alley.
I glanced once over my shoulder.
The darkness remained exactly as before.
Empty.
Silent.
As if it had swallowed every trace of what we'd just witnessed.
Then I looked back at Iris.
She hadn't let go.
Not even once.
And somehow...
I couldn't bring myself to loosen my grip either.
Together...
Without another word...
We walked home beneath the quiet glow of the streetlights.
---
Neither of us spoke.
The city around us continued exactly as it always did.
Vehicles passed.
A dog barked somewhere in the distance.
Someone laughed outside a nearby convenience store.
The world...
Hadn't changed.
Yet every step felt different.
I could still feel the warmth of her hand against mine.
Usually...
If either of us accidentally brushed hands while passing something, one of us would quietly pull away.
Today...
Neither of us even acknowledged it.
She simply walked.
Head lowered.
Her grip never loosened.
I looked at our joined hands for a brief moment before lifting my gaze back to the road.
"..."
She was frightened.
Not visibly.
Not loudly.
But enough...
To hold onto me without even realising it.
I tightened my fingers ever so slightly around hers.
Not enough for her to notice.
Just enough...
To silently tell her she wasn't walking alone.
---
By the time we reached home, the night had settled completely.
I unlocked the front door.
She stepped inside first.
Didn't switch on the television.
Didn't remove her shoes immediately.
Didn't say anything.
She simply stood in the middle of the living room.
Still holding my hand.
The silence inside the house somehow felt louder than the silence in the alley.
I quietly closed the door behind us.
"..."
She still hadn't moved.
Her eyes remained lowered.
Almost as though her mind had been left somewhere inside that alley.
I waited.
One minute.
Then another.
Normally...
She would've been the first to speak.
Ask questions.
Complain.
Say something completely unrelated.
Tonight...
Nothing.
I looked at her.
"Iris."
No response.
"...Senior Iris."
Still nothing.
I took one careful step closer.
"I think we should—"
Before I could finish...
Her fingers suddenly tightened around mine.
Hard.
Painfully hard.
I frowned.
"Iris?"
Her breathing became uneven.
She took one abrupt step backwards.
Almost stumbling.
"Iris."
She didn't answer.
Her free hand flew to her forehead.
Then...
To the side of her head.
She squeezed her eyes shut.
"..."
"Iris?"
She slowly shook her head.
"No..."
The word came out strained.
Almost breathless.
She released my hand only to press both palms firmly against her temples.
As though trying to stop something inside her head.
Her knees slowly gave way.
She slid down the wall until she was sitting on the floor.
Her forehead rested against her knees.
"Iris!"
I immediately crouched in front of her.
"What happened?"
No answer.
"Iris, look at me."
She only shook her head again.
A quiet, pained sound escaped her.
Almost like she was trying very hard not to let it become a cry.
"...Your head?"
Another small nod.
Only then did I understand.
A headache.
Not fear.
Not panic.
Pain.
Real pain.
I immediately stood.
"We're going to the hospital."
The moment I turned—
Something caught my sleeve.
I looked down.
She was still sitting against the wall.
Her fingers barely managed to hold onto my arm.
"...No..."
Her breathing trembled.
"...tablets..."
"What?"
"...My..."
She swallowed with difficulty.
"...tablets..."
I understood instantly.
"Where?"
She pointed weakly toward her room.
"...Drawer..."
That was all she managed before lowering her head again.
I didn't waste another second.
---
I pushed open the bedroom door.
The room was dark except for the pale moonlight spilling through the curtains.
"Drawer..."
Which drawer?
I opened the bedside table.
Books.
Pens.
Nothing.
The second drawer.
A notebook.
Hair clips.
Still nothing.
"...Come on..."
I muttered under my breath.
Wardrobe.
Nothing.
Study table.
Stationery.
Several mathematics books.
My heartbeat became louder.
"Iris..."
I whispered unconsciously.
Where—
Then I noticed a small white medicine box tucked beside the lamp.
I grabbed it immediately.
Painkillers.
Headache medication.
Without checking anything else...
I ran back.
---
She had somehow managed to stand.
One hand pressed against the wall for support.
The other still held her forehead.
"Iris."
I reached her in two quick steps.
She looked exhausted.
Her face had turned noticeably pale.
Without saying anything...
She instinctively held onto my arm.
Almost all her weight rested against it.
"It's okay."
I spoke more softly this time.
"I've got it."
Slowly...
I guided her toward the sofa.
She lowered herself carefully.
Almost collapsing rather than sitting.
I quickly poured water into a glass.
Placed one tablet into her hand.
She swallowed it without complaint.
The glass trembled slightly between her fingers.
I took it back before it slipped.
Then sat beside her.
Close enough to catch her if she lost balance.
"Does it still hurt?"
She nodded faintly.
"Should we still go to the hospital?"
A weak shake of her head.
"Iris..."
"You shouldn't—"
I stopped.
Something red caught my attention.
Just beneath her nose.
A tiny line.
Blood.
My chest tightened.
"Iris."
She looked at me weakly.
"...You're bleeding."
Without thinking...
I gently cupped her face.
Tilting it upward.
The blood slowly traced its way toward her upper lip.
"I..."
"I really think we should—"
Before I could finish...
Her body leaned sideways.
Softly.
Slowly.
Until...
Her head came to rest against my shoulder.
Everything inside me froze.
For one terrifying second...
I thought she had fainted.
"...Iris?"
No response.
"...Senior Iris?"
A tiny murmur reached me.
Almost lost beneath her breathing.
"...Sleep..."
My shoulders finally relaxed.
"...I am... just sleeping..."
A long breath escaped me.
"...Okay."
I whispered.
"Just..."
"Don't scare me like that."
She didn't answer.
Her breathing gradually became slower.
More even.
Carefully...
Without disturbing her...
I reached toward the medicine strip lying on the table.
Headache tablets.
My eyes lingered on it.
Half...
The strip was already half empty.
I stared at it.
"..."
Half empty.
This wasn't something new.
This wasn't today's headache.
She had been taking these...
For quite some time.
My gaze slowly shifted back toward the girl sleeping against my shoulder.
"...How long..."
I murmured almost inaudibly.
"...have you been dealing with this?"
For a long moment...
Neither of us moved.
Then suddenly—
The alley flashed through my mind.
The golden threads.
The whispers.
The man.
I had completely forgotten about them.
Because...
The moment she'd clutched her head...
Nothing else had mattered.