The silence that had followed their desperate battle shattered like glass.
A sound slithered through the air—low, mocking, like laughter trapped inside chains. The fractured constellations above pulsed with a sickly light, not of memory, but of something corrupted, rotting.
The child's expression hardened instantly.
"It's here…"
Furi gritted his teeth, dragging himself to his feet. "Great. And here I thought we'd get a break."
But even his sarcasm could not mask the dread. The air itself thickened, clinging to their lungs, suffocating.
From the horizon of shattered stars, a shape emerged—neither shadow nor flesh, but something far worse.
It wore the form of a man, but stretched grotesquely, his smile carved too wide, his eyes hollow pits dripping with black fire. Chains wrapped around his arms, glowing crimson as though forged from screams.
And when he spoke, the sky itself seemed to flinch.
"I swore," the thing hissed, "that I would protect her… forever."
His voice cracked, twisting into shrieks. "But I never meant it. She was mine to keep. Mine to break. Mine alone!"
Kento felt his stomach twist. This was not despair born from a broken vow—it was poison, spoken from the beginning.
The child whispered, trembling, "This… is a Twisted Oath. A vow spoken with malice. They are rare… but stronger than any shadow."
The monster's laugh cracked like thunder. He spread his arms wide, the chains lashing outward into the sky. "I promised her eternal love… and so the heavens bound me. Now my promise is eternal! Eternal torment, eternal hunger!"
The constellations flickered violently, as if recoiling.
Furi's eyes narrowed. "So this is what a lie looks like when the cosmos remembers it." His chains rattled, eager for battle. "Ugly."
The creature's hollow eyes locked onto Kento. "And you—little boy with your precious vow. You think promises save? They only bind. They rot. They destroy."
Kento felt his body tremble, but he forced his fists to clench. "No. Promises don't destroy. People do. And I'll prove it—right here, right now!"
He surged forward, but before he could strike, the chains of the Twisted Oath lashed at him, slicing through the air with screams that weren't just sound—they were voices.
Whispers clawed at his mind. "He lied to you. She lied. They all lied."
Kento staggered, clutching his head, memories of his own broken moments flashing like knives.
The child cried out, weaving light to shield him. "Kento! Don't let it in—it feeds on doubt!"
Furi leapt, his own chains colliding with the crimson ones. Sparks of pain and rage exploded, shaking the ruined sky. "Tch! Strong bastard, I'll give him that!"
The monster laughed again, louder, until the stars themselves cracked.
"Your promises will break… just like hers. Just like everyone's."
But Kento raised his head, eyes burning. "No. My promise is different. I'll carry it… until the very sky accepts it."
The vow within his chest blazed like fire. The constellations shivered—whether in fear or recognition, he could not tell.
The battle against the Twisted Oath had begun.
(To be continued…)