Daita, noticing Astra's hesitation, snapped, "Sing already." With that final order, he strode over and settled onto the rock, arms crossing as he waited.
Astra cleared her throat and drew in a deep breath.
At first… it wasn't bad.
Her voice emerged soft and gentle, even hesitant. A simple melody drifted through the clearing, light and wavering, but pleasant enough to pass as song.
Then she leaned into it.
And everything went catastrophically wrong.
The melody shattered into something closer to screaming. The pitch lurched wildly, notes crashing into one another like weapons. A bird shrieked and burst from a nearby tree, abandoning its nest mid-flap. Insects scattered in every direction. Worms that had surfaced along the damp earth immediately burrowed back down as if fleeing an impending calamity.
A frog croaked once—brief, strangled—and then went utterly silent, as though it had died of sudden heart failure.
Daita froze.
He sat rigid atop the rock, spine ramrod straight, eyes wide and unblinking. For one horrifying second, it looked as though he had turned to stone. Then something warm slid down his neck.
Daita stilled. Slowly almost fearfully he lifted a hand, brushed his fingers against his ear, and then stared.
Blood.
Thin crimson streaks smeared across his fingers. His lips parted. Trembled. His eyes glazed as he looked at Astra but no words came out. Whatever command that had been waiting on his tongue simply… died.
Above them, Akira let out a long, controlled breath. He shook his head and spoke aloud,
"You can stop now… I think," he said, carefully hiding the curl at the corner of his mouth. "His Highness is… impressed enough."
Astra stopped mid-note. "…Oh." She glanced at Daita, then nodded solemnly. "Yes. I suppose so."
She bowed slightly. "I'm sorry, Your Highness. It's what you asked for." Then, quieter, she added, "Dan… let's continue the play without me singing."
Akira nodded at once. "Agreed."
She glanced toward Daita and immediately stiffened when she caught the sharpness of his glare.
Swallowing, she turned her back to him and muttered under her breath, half-defiant, half-nervous, "I can't sing… but I can dance better."
Then she stepped closer to the cascading water.
The mist curled around her form, clinging to her silhouette as the waterfall thundered softly behind her. The mist kissed her skin, dampening her sleeves, tracing the lines of her figure. She lifted her arms hesitantly at first as if unsure what she was meant to do then let instinct guide her.
Her movements were unpracticed but natural. A slow turn. A sway of the hips. Fingers brushing the air, then the water, sending droplets scattering like sparks. She arched slightly as she raised her arms overhead, water sliding down her wrists, her hair following the motion like liquid silk. It felt strange…too exposed, too instinctive but her body moved anyway, drawn by some unseen rhythm.
Daita leaned forward without realizing it.
"…This is far better than I expected," he murmured under his breath.
Above them, Akira's grip tightened around the branch, knuckles whitening.
Astra continued, moving across the shallow pool, stepping through falling mist and into shadow, then back into the light. Each turn, each rise and fall of her body seemed to steal the space around her. She didn't know when dancing had become this only that stopping felt wrong.
Daita stared, momentarily speechless. Then, quietly, almost dazed, he muttered, "I suppose… after injustice, my ears suffered." His gaze tracked her movements. "But my eyes? They've received justice. She's got some moves."
"I'm impressed."
Later, just as Astra began to step out of the water. Exactly as the chapter described Akira moved.
He descended in a single, fluid motion, soundless, his presence felt only when he was already there. The branch above barely stirred. In the blink of an eye, One moment he was above, the next he was there. He stepped forward and reached out, fingers closing firmly around her wrist, halting her in place.
Astra gasped softly, the sudden contact sending a jolt through her but she didn't pull away. She stayed in character.
Daita let out a low whistle, a sharp glint flashing through his eyes. "…Wow. Now this is getting interesting."
Something shifted.
Astra felt it first an unfamiliar pressure blooming in her chest. Her heart began to pound, loud enough that it echoed in her ears, then down through her palms, her fingertips tingling. Each beat felt too strong, too present, as if her own body were no longer obeying her.
Then she heard it. Another heartbeat. The pulse of the one holding her, so close it aligned with hers, matching its rhythm beat for beat.
Goosebumps raced along her skin.
She swallowed hard, forcing herself to remain in character, tugging faintly at the hand gripping her wrist. "Who… who are you?" she demanded, voice unsteady despite her effort. "Let me go."
The grip tightened.
Her breath hitched. "Have you no shame?" she snapped, heat rising to her cheeks. "Release me—!"
Before she could say more, Akira moved.
Without thinking his other hand rose instinctively to his face and tore the blindfold away.
The world seemed to stop.
The moment his eyes met hers, the air trembled. Light spilled outward in a silent wave, and from the still surface of the water, white lotus buds began to glow. One by one, they bloomed, petals unfurling in slow, impossible beauty until the entire pool shimmered with radiant white.
In the middle of it they stood there, locked in each other's gaze, the space between them fragile and burning, as if the world had narrowed to just that single heartbeat shared now.
Neither moved. Neither spoke.
Behind them, Daita slowly rose to his feet.
A chill crept down his spine, raising the hairs along his arms as his eyes widened, fixed on the sight before him the blooming lotus and the connection that felt far too real to be mere acting.
"So…" he whispered, breath uneven, voice almost reverent. "…it's true."
The word hung in the air, heavy and trembling.
Astra finally blinked. The world rushed back into her—sound, sensation, the cold kiss of water on her skin. Realization struck, sharp and sudden. She pulled back instinctively, heart racing.
"L–let me go," she said, struggling against his grip. "Who are you? How dare you hold me—"
Her words shattered mid-breath.
Akira moved without thought, without hesitation—as if something far older than reason had seized control. He yanked her toward him in a single, decisive motion.
Astra crashed against his chest. The impact knocked the breath from her lungs, a sharp gasp caught between surprise and shock.
The suddenness of it left the others utterly speechless.
Before either of them could speak, before the world could catch up to what had just happened—Akira's arm locked around her, anchoring her in place. And then, driven by instinct alone, he bent down and kissed her.
The moment it happened, the heavens answered.
Lightning split the sky open, a blinding fracture of white tearing through the clouds. Thunder followed immediately, violent and deafening, shaking the earth beneath their feet.
The waterfall roared louder, the lotus light flared brighter, and the air itself seemed to tremble.
It was horrifying;raw and overwhelming yet breathtakingly beautiful.
Astra's breath caught in her throat, senses spiraling as the world dissolved into light, sound, and the warmth of the one holding her. Time ceased to exist, leaving only the clash of hearts and the storm above.
Daita stumbled back, shielding his eyes as another flash tore through the sky. Thunder cracked overhead, so close it felt as if the thunder had shattered against the ground. His heart slammed wildly against his ribs, a cold chill crawling down his spine. Slowly unsteadily he lowered his hand. His gaze locked onto the two of them.
"…What," he breathed, voice shaking with disbelief and awe, "in the hell just happened?!"
Another thunderclap split the sky, violent and deafening. Daita's eyes widened for a split second then his knees buckled. He collapsed to the ground without another word, consciousness slipping away as the echoes of thunder rolled endlessly overhead.
The blood-thread cut a thin, trembling line through the darkness, glowing faintly as it led them deeper between the trees. Leaves brushed their shoulders, branches clawed at their robes, and the forest grew unnaturally still—as though it were holding its breath.
Kaen staggered.
Without warning, his knees gave out and he collapsed to the ground, one hand digging into the soil as he struggled to breathe. His breaths came sharp and ragged, each one thinner than the last.
Ryoma caught him instantly, dropping beside him. "Kaen—stop," he muttered, gripping his arm. "We rest here. You've lost too much blood already. Keeping the thread alive is costing you everything. At this rate, before we reach them, there won't be a single drop left in your veins."
Kaen shook his head weakly, jaw clenched. "We're close… it's almost midnight," he rasped. "We can't stop now."
He tried to push himself up, but Ryoma yanked him back down, his voice snapping with rare sharpness. "Are you even listening to me?!"
Kaen froze. Slowly, his gaze lowered, shoulders tightening as though the weight of the forest had settled on them.
Ryoma exhaled, running a hand through his hair. "…Enough, Kaen. Stop." His eyes scanned the dark, his fist curling unconsciously. "We've come too far for this to feel right. I don't know what it is—but something is wrong."
Kaen opened his mouth to respond—
The sky tore open.
Lightning split the canopy in blinding white, thunder detonating so violently it shook the ground beneath them. Another flash followed. Then another. The air trembled, charged and furious, as if the heavens themselves were raging.
It went on crack after crack for long, unbearable moments… before, suddenly, it stopped.
Silence fell.
Ryoma and Kaen stared upward, eyes wide, faces drained of color.
"…Heavens," Kaen whispered.
In a burst of desperation, he forced himself upright, swaying but refusing to fall. "Ryoma," he said urgently, gripping his sleeve, "what we feared is happening."
Ryoma stiffened.
"This is no longer about right or wrong," Kaen continued, breath uneven but resolute. "During the Seventh Bloom from midnight until sunrise your powers won't work on her. For some reasons your demonic power becomes useless before hers." His voice trembled. "Her memories will return within no time. For six hours." He swallowed hard. "…And if she's with Akira, it's a disaster. Once that happens, anything…anything can unfold."
He shook Ryoma hard. "Ryoma! Snap out of it. We have to find them—now. Once it crosses midnight, we won't be able to stop her. We're already too close."
Ryoma stood there, frozen, his mind racing.
"…We're close," Kaen added hoarsely. "I can feel it. He's nearby. Midnight is almost here."
For a long second, Ryoma didn't move.
Then he straightened.
"…All right," he said quietly, nodding once. His gaze hardened as he followed the thin, glowing thread deeper into the forest. "Let's go."
And together, they vanished into the trees, racing against a clock that had already begun to toll.