"The clock strikes twelve… Tsukiyomi."
A cold voice whispered through the air.
12:00.00
11:59.89
11:59.78
11:59.29
11:58.00
Da. Da. Dum.
Remy's heartbeat slowed.
The blade he had driven toward his heart—
vanished.
"What—?!"
His breath hitched. Confusion twisted across his face.
It was as if the dagger had never existed.
CLAP!
A hand cracked hard against his cheek.
"What the f*ck are you doing?!"
Chad stood before him—
alive.
Eyes blazing.
"Are you really just gonna give up like that?" he yelled.
"How can you trust the words of a witch? Pull yourself the f*ck together!"
"What…"
Remy staggered, hand pressed to his stinging cheek.
He stared—wide-eyed, disbelieving.
He had watched Chad die.
"Ha…!"
A broken sound escaped Remy's throat as he stumbled forward.
"Damn it, leave me alone. Why play with the memories of my friends?" Remy went to attack, but Chad blocked him.
"It's… really me." He spoke, his voice low and sombre this time.
"What… really, really?" Remy's eyes were glossy; he murmured –
throwing his arms around him.
"I… thought you were gone…"
His voice cracked. Trembling.
"Yeah, so did I."
Chad let out a shaky laugh, patting Remy's back.
"But listen—there's no time."
His grip tightened once before letting go.
"I only managed to drag us this far. They'll catch up any second."
He glanced toward Charles, lying motionless nearby.
"I tried saving him first… But he's too far gone. I'm sorry."
Remy stood frozen, his mind racing to process everything.
This was the first time he'd ever seen Chad like this.
He was usually calm and collected.
Now he was fire.
"Something… changed in you," Remy murmured.
"What are you waiting for?" Chad demanded. "Let's run. If we use the technique Tear taught us, we could be out of here within the hour."
He grabbed Remy's hand —
"No!"
Remy slapped his hand away.
"No?" Chad's voice sharpened. "What do you mean, no?"
He grabbed Remy by his shirt, eyes blazing.
"Don't tell me you still want to ki—"
"No, it's not that…"
Remy dragged his fingers through his hair, pacing.
"Damn it… damn it—Ahhh—f*ck!"
His breath trembled as he tried to form words.
"What is it?!" Chad roared.
"When I was about to… y'know…"
Remy winced, embarrassed to even mention it.
"I heard her—the voice of a little girl. If we destroy the root of Hathor… we can free them. Most of the people here." Remy, stop ruffing up his hair more.
"The food here is corrupted. That's why they're so easily controlled. Once someone eats it… Hathor slowly takes their mind."
Chad's eyes widened—anger turning into urgency.
"Because for everything that grows here, the source is from the sacrifices; their blood and life forces sustain the land. By cutting down the tree, we can save those trapped souls."
"What? … Alright." He nodded sharply.
"I believe you. Then we move. Now. We don't have time."
His gaze scanned the shadows — danger closing in.
"Woof… woof…"
The barking of hounds tore through the night as the knights began their search.
"Over there! They've caught the scent!" someone shouted.
Remy and Chad moved like shadows—gliding through the streets, figures blurred into wind. No ordinary eye could track them.
"Did you see that?" Chad whispered as they slipped into a narrow alley at the far edge of the city.
"See what?" Remy asked, scanning their surroundings.
"There." Chad pointed toward a mural painted across a crumbling wall.
"That scaled serpent… I swear it moved."
Remy squinted. Nothing.
"Maybe I'm seeing things. Come on."
They hurried onwards—until the towering buildings faded behind them.
The grand avenues of the capital fell away to a place forgotten by time.
Drueww Street.
Here, beauty and splendour had long since died.
The immaculate white-brick homes and jewelled rooftops were replaced by rotting wood, collapsed stone, and blackened soil.
A foul stench—like rotten meat and stagnant water—hung suffocating in the air.
"Agh—" Remy gagged, quickly covering his mouth.
"Wooo… rooorp."
An owl hooted from a twisted tree nearby.
Its feathers were muddy brown, eyes glowing yellow. When it turned its head, its face appeared upside down.
The branches around it creaked like skeletal fingers, with thin leaves arranged like staring eyes, giving the tree a disturbingly lifelike presence.
Stone piles littered the pathway—each arranged with eerie precision.
Small stones at the bottom… larger ones stacked atop… repeating endlessly in perfect formation.
"What are these for?" Remy muttered, inspecting one. Every few metres, another appeared.
Ruins surrounded them.
Burnt-out houses.
Collapsed roofs.
Foundations of forgotten lives.
And the deeper they went…
The heavier the air became.
The darkness wasn't just the absence of light—it clung to them.
Even when they poured mystic energy into their eyesight…
The shadows refused to lift.
"We should slow down," Remy said quietly. "At this speed, we might run straight into a trap."
Chad nodded, lowering his stance.
"Wo… woohoohoho…"
The hounds' howls echoed again—far, but closing.
The farther they walked… the more the world warped around them.
What had once been a forest of twisted trees and sickly bushes became a barren wasteland.
The soil remained pitch black, but now pale patches appeared—white and chalky.
"Look…" Chad whispered, gesturing Remy closer.
Remy's stomach dropped.
Bones.
Human bones—crushed so finely they blended into the earth.
"What could grind them down like this…?" Chad muttered.
"They're no different from sand."
"Damn it… What is this place?" Remy hissed.
They had walked for what felt like hours—yet nothing changed.
The same suffocating smell of rot.
The same dead soil.
The same oppressive darkness.
Their eyes stung from the strain of trying to see through the darkness.
"Nah… nana… na—nahhhh…"
Both boys froze.
A melody drifted through the air—sweet and innocent.
Notes like tinkling bells.
A music box lullaby.
They glanced at each other.
Then, slowly… continued toward the sound.
"There." Chad pointed ahead.
A massive wall loomed before them—sudden and absolute.
It stretched endlessly left and right… and upward beyond sight.
"Ahhh—damn it! Damn it!"
Chad slammed his fist against the ground.
"It's just one thing after another with this cursed place! How the hell are we supposed to get through that?"
The wall did not move.
Did not crack.
Did not acknowledge them.
It simply was.
An immovable boundary stretching indefinitely in every direction.
They stood before the endless wall for what felt like forever.
So close—yet impossibly far.
But then... the melody returned.
Soft. Sweet. A music box tune, drifting from somewhere along the massive structure.
Remy's head snapped toward the sound.
There—a narrow crack in the wall.
They had searched endlessly and never noticed it...
Yet suddenly, it was simply there.
"Chad—this way," Remy whispered urgently.
They hurried toward the opening. Remy peered through—
Something moved inside.
"A little girl…" he breathed.
Without hesitation, he slipped through.
"Remy—NO!" Chad reached out—
—but Remy was already gone.
Chad cursed and followed.
"Aaaah—!"
Both boys screamed as they plunged downward.
Thud.
They hit solid ground hard enough to knock the breath from their lungs.
"Ow…" Chad groaned, pushing himself up and brushing off dust.
The music was louder now.
And when they lifted their heads—
Everything froze.
A colossal tree towered before them, its trunk wider than any fortress wall.
Branches stretched into the heavens, blotting out the sky.
Thousands of glowing violet blossoms shimmered across its ancient limbs.
Around the roots stood people—or what remained of them.
Bodies twisted into half-plant abominations.
Arms raised like worshippers.
Delicate flowers sprouting from their skin…
some blooming from empty eye sockets and their mouths.
A soft giggle broke the silence.
A little girl—orange hair, bare feet—waved playfully from a distance.
"There—!" Remy gasped, sprinting toward her.
Chad followed, heart pounding.
They moved nervously past the unmoving flower-creatures, racing straight to the base of the massive trunk.
The girl's motion slowed.
She turned to them, lifting her palms toward the sky—an invitation.
"Come," she said sweetly.
"Let me show you, Flos, before it was August."
Remy hesitated. Her voice was different from what he knew, but he could still sense there was no hostility in her, so he calmed down. Chad pulled up beside him.
But then she leapt… and took their hands.
Before they could do anything.
Light blurred around them,
the purple petals swirling,
And the world went dark.
Then—
Voices.
Footsteps.
Warm daylight.
They opened their eyes to find themselves standing in a bustling village.
People laughed, traded, lived…
A world untouched by decay.