A massive crowd had gathered near the main plaza, voices overlapping in panic and confusion. The festival's music and laughter were drowned out by shouts echoing from every corner.
"What happened to this girl?!" a panicked voice cried.
"She just collapsed! Someone bring water!" another yelled.
"She's not waking up… what do we do?!"
Shion's eyes narrowed as he pushed through the crowd, heart pounding. He spotted a small cluster of people gathered tightly around something—or someone. His gaze hardened.
"Ryoma! Seirou! This way, hurry!" he barked, weaving through the throng with urgent steps.
Seirou and Ryoma caught up immediately, following Shion as the crowd parted slightly, their eyes fixing on the center where a pale figure lay sprawled, limp, yet unmistakable.
The three of them dropped to their knees without hesitation, eyes wide with alarm.
"Astra! What the hell happened?" Ryoma shouted, cradling her in his arms. His gaze darted over her pale face, then froze as he noticed the streak of blood marring her temple. Her shallow, ragged breathing sent a chill down his spine.
Shion leaned closer, checking her temperature with quick, practiced movements. "Her body… it's cold. Too cold."
Astra whimpered softly, muttering incoherently, her eyelids fluttering.
"Astra! Wake up! What are you saying?" Ryoma urged, shaking her firmly. His eyes scanned the crowd frantically. "Where's Seiya?"
The gathered crowd grew denser, murmuring anxiously at the unfolding scene. The panic in their voices only heightened Ryoma's urgency.
Seirou's expression hardened. "Ryoma, we need to get her out of here. It's not safe to stay in the middle of this crowd any longer."
Ryoma's jaw tightened. Without a second thought, he lifted Astra into his arms, her weight pressing lightly against him, and stood. "Seirou, go find Seiya before anything happens to him. Shion, come with me. Let's move before this turns worse."
Shion nodded, gripping Ryoma's arm as they began navigating the mass of panicked festival-goers, the world around them blurring into urgency and motion.
Shion nodded, gripping Ryoma's arm as they plunged into the tide of panicked festival-goers. Lantern light fractured into streaks, screams and pounding footsteps blurring into a single rush of urgency as they forced their way through the chaos.
Meanwhile—
Astra ran until her lungs burned. The sounds behind her melted into a ringing haze, legs giving out at last. She stumbled, then collapsed to her knees, dragging in air in ragged gasps.
"Monster… monster…" she choked between breaths, panic sharpening her voice. "That demon is a monster—!"
A shadow fell over her.
"So," a voice said calmly from directly ahead, "you still have the strength to breathe."
Astra scrambled backward, palms scraping against stone as terror surged fresh and raw.
"Stay away from me!" she screamed. "Don't come any closer, you monster!"
Huozhen tilted his head slowly, studying her like an insect pinned beneath glass. His eyes narrowed, and when he spoke again, his voice had sunk into a low, venom-sweet drawl.
"Monster?" he echoed softly. "You call me a monster?" He took a single step forward. "Then tell me, little bird…what exactly is a monster, according to you?"
Astra's chest rose and fell, each breath unsteady, but her glare cut like a blade.
"A monster… is a coward dressed in power. One who kills for sport and calls it strength. One who feeds on fear, who toys with innocent lives as if they're nothing but playthings. And above all—one who is ruled by greed, devouring more and more, yet never satisfied." Her voice wavered, but the venom in it was sharp. "That's what you are. Nothing but a coward in a demon's skin."
For a heartbeat, Huozhen only stared—then a low laugh broke from him, cruel and amused. "So that's your definition. How small. How human." His smile twisted, sharp as broken glass. "If that's all, then you've seen nothing yet. You think I am cruel?" He leaned closer, shadows licking at his shoulders. "You haven't met the real monster."
"There won't be another as cruel as you demons," Astra shot back, her voice cracking with both fury and fear.
Huozhen's smirk deepened, but his eyes turned darker, gleaming with something that made her blood run cold. He crouched before her, his words sinking like venom. "You're wrong, little wren. There is another."
Astra's throat tightened, her breath hitching despite herself. Her lips parted, the question slipping out in a whisper. "Who…?"
The shadows thickened, the illusion trembling faintly as his expression grew unreadable.
"A monster with no name," he said at last, each word heavy, dragging across her mind like chains. His emerald eyes burned, and his voice lowered into a chilling murmur.
"A monster… is not the one who kills, nor the one who craves power. No. The truest monster is the one who abandons all reason—who sheds name, kin, and fate alike until nothing binds them. A being untouchable by love, unbroken by hate, unshaken by fear. Neither gods nor demons can chain them, and no blade can cut them down. That… is a monster. A force that walks this world undefeated, because nothing can touch what no longer belongs to life. People call them monsters because they're afraid—a monster cannot be defeated."
Astra's fingers dug into the pillar, nails scraping painfully against the stone as she forced herself to stay upright. Her breath hitched, but her glare never wavered.
"If that's what you call a monster, then do such things truly exist?" Her eyes burned with defiance as she met his gaze head-on. "I don't believe in that," Her grip tightened, knuckles whitening as she continued,"There is nothing in this world that remains undefeated forever. Everything that walks, breathes, or exists is bound to fall—whether to time, to will, to fate itself… or to someone who refuses to yield."
Huozhen tilted his head, the cruel curve of his lips deepening. His voice dropped. "A monster is not born—they are made when everything binding them shatters. No ties. No chains. No weakness. Not love. Not mercy. Not even death can claim them. That is why a monster cannot be defeated—because there is nothing left in them to break."
Astra's throat burned, but she forced the words out. "Then what are you, Huozhen? Are you one of those monsters?"
His eyes glinted, sharp as a predator's. "No, little wren. I am less, and I am more. I kill because I can. I tear down because it amuses me. But a true monster—" he leaned closer, his breath brushing her ear, "—even I would kneel before one. But i aspire to become one."
Astra's heart hammered. Her body trembled, yet she bared her teeth. "If such a monster exists, then it's not strength—it's emptiness. Nothing to protect, nothing to care for. That's not power. That's emptiness wearing a crown."
Huozhen stilled, his smile thinning into something sharper. "Careful…" he hissed. "You speak of things you do not understand."
"Maybe I don't," Astra shot back, her voice cracking but resolute. "But I know this—if being unbreakable means becoming hollow, then I'd rather shatter a thousand times and still be human."
For a heartbeat, silence hung between them, broken only by the echo of the cold wind. Huozhen's smirk returned, colder than ever, though a shadow flickered in his gaze.
"Foolish little bird," he murmured, voice low, almost savoring the words. "You think you cling to humanity… but what's good in humans? They are no less cruel than demons, and yet… they die far too easily."
Astra's gaze didn't waver. Her voice was steady, biting: "That is something you'll never understand, A demon." Her chest rose and fell in ragged breaths as she pressed her palm to the cold pillar, the weight of the illusion bearing down on her like a storm. And then, beneath Huozhen's taunting, a thought flickered.
This isn't real. None of this is real. It's all an illusion.
Her gaze darted over the shifting shadows, the bending light, the echo of her own footsteps ringing too perfectly against the stone. Everything moved to a rhythm too precise, too controlled to be reality.
She drew in a slow, trembling breath, whispering to herself, "If this is all in my head… then how do I escape it?" Her fingers tightened on the stone, nails scraping. "Am I… really going to die here?"
——————
The room was dim, light flickering against the walls as Ryoma leaned over Astra, his hands hovering uncertainly before shaking her shoulder again. "Astra… wake up," his voice was low, almost breaking.
Beside him, Kaen pressed his palm against her wrist, then her cheek, his brows furrowing deeper. "She's cold… freezing. Not a trace of warmth left in her. Ryoma, what happened to her? And where's Seiya?"
Ryoma clenched his jaw, unable to answer, his gaze fixed on Astra's still form.
The door slid open with a rough scrape. Seirou entered, half-carrying Seiya, whose body sagged limply, his eyes glassy and unfocused.
Shion's brows knit together sharply. "What happened to him? Is that idiot drunk?"
Seirou gave a short, bitter shake of his head. "Not drunk. Far worse. He ate something hallucinative… his mind's been pulled under. He won't wake until morning."
"Tch—damn fool," Shion spat, catching Seiya's other arm to steady him, glaring up at Seirou. "And where the hell was he when you found him?"
Seirou hesitated, then sighed. "…On top of a vegetable cart."
Shion froze. "…A what?"
"A vegetable cart. Face-first in cabbages. The vendor was yelling about him crushing the radishes," Seirou explained with a straight face, though the corner of his mouth twitched.
Shion's eye twitched dangerously. "Unbelievable…"
Before Shion could snap again, Kaen glanced at Ryoma, who sat far too still, his hand resting against Astra's forehead, his expression pale. "Ryoma… what is it?"
Without answering, Ryoma leaned closer, carefully prying one of Astra's eyelids open. For a moment he froze, then a chill rippled through him.
"…As I thought," he muttered, his voice low, heavy with dread.