I woke up screaming.
Not because of a nightmare—but because waking up at all felt wrong.
Like my lungs weren't convinced they should work.Like my heart was still trying to remember the rhythm of being alive.Like my body wasn't mine anymore.
Ami grabbed my shoulders before I could throw myself off the futon.
"Aki! Aki—look at me, look at me—!!"
Her voice was shaking so hard it almost cracked into sobs.
Yergba rushed to my other side, eyes wide with panic."She's right, bro—breathe, breathe—hey, keep your eyes open!"
Sam sat at the edge of the room, arms wrapped around her knees, face buried. She hadn't slept. At all. Her eyes were red, swollen, exhausted beyond belief.
I tried to inhale.
And that's when I felt it—
A phantom claw tearing through my chest again.
My entire body seized.
I curled forward, trembling so violently Ami had to hold my head steady.
"L-Luci—s-s-she—she was—"My voice cracked."She was right there. She—she—"
"It's not real, Aki," Ami whispered."She's not here. She's not here, I promise—"
But she didn't sound confident.
Yergba's fists closed so tightly the knuckles went white."We should've protected you," she murmured.Her voice was too soft, too raw."We were a joke out there."
Sam lifted her head.
"No…" she said quietly."You weren't a joke."
Her voice was hoarse—like she'd been screaming all night after I fainted again.
"You were powerless."
None of them argued.
A cold wind slipped into the room through the broken wall Yergba made earlier.It slithered over my skin like Luci's claws.
I shuddered.
Ami hugged me tightly, as if she could warm the blood that wasn't warm yet.
"Aki," she whispered against my shoulder, "you're safe now. I won't let anyone hurt you ever again."
But safety felt fake.A lie.A fragile little word that meant nothing now.
The last thing I remembered before everything went black yesterday was Luci's voice in my ear:
"See? You're so easy to break."
My breath hitched again.
Yergba noticed immediately.
"Oh god. He's panicking again—Sam, do something—!"
Sam stood, walked to me, and knelt.
But she didn't touch me.
Instead, she placed her hand above my chest—over the exact spot Luci had pierced.
I flinched.
Sam's face crumpled.
"I know it hurts," she whispered. "I know the body remembers. I know the soul remembers. Hunter healing doesn't erase the trauma."
Her voice dropped to a trembling, pained whisper.
"But I'm still so grateful you're breathing."
Ami froze.
Yergba looked away, jaw clenched.
Because they both knew—if Sam hadn't revived me, I would've been cold by now.
I tried to speak.
"Y-yesterday… I… I felt…"
I swallowed, tasting blood even though there wasn't any.
"I felt myself… leave."
Ami's hand tightened around mine.
Yergba's eyes filled with something I'd never seen on her—pure grief.
Sam shut her eyes.
I looked at her.At all of them.
"You three… were crying."
Ami exhaled shakily."I thought I lost you. Forever."
Yergba rubbed her face, trying not to cry again."Dude, you scared the life out of us. I've never seen Ami break like that. Or myself either. It was—"Her voice cracked."I don't ever wanna see you like that again."
Sam looked up slowly.
"I died once too."
The room went silent.
Ami blinked.
Yergba stared.
I froze.
Sam's eyes were empty and ancient.
"It's what makes a Hunter," she whispered. "You have to die first. Someone kills your Keeper… and what's left of your power becomes one with a human."
My breath caught.
"You… lost someone."
Sam nodded once.A broken, tiny motion.
"I know exactly what you're feeling right now."
My throat tightened.
Ami looked down, tears splashing onto the blanket covering my legs.
"But Aki…" Sam said, leaning closer, voice soft but deadly serious."You have something I never did."
I blinked slowly, still shaking.
"What?"
Sam touched my shoulder gently.
"You have us."
Ami pressed her forehead against my arm.
"Always."
Yergba punched my foot lightly with a shaky laugh."Yeah. Even if you're a pain in the ass sometimes."
I tried to laugh.
It came out as a choked sob.
Ami hugged me tighter.
Sam wiped my cheek without a word.
Yergba looked away so I didn't see her cry again.
But the truth—
the truth was that comfort didn't reach the deepest part of me.
Because no matter how close they were—
no matter how warm their hands were—
I still felt Luci's claws inside me.
✦ That Afternoon:
Silence Was the Enemy
I thought the morning was hard.
The afternoon was worse.
Every little sound made me jump.A bird outside? Luci.A car door slamming? Luci.The refrigerator? Luci.
Ami tried to cook for me, but every time the pan sizzled, I flinched.
Yergba tried to joke around, but I couldn't laugh.
Sam sat near the window and watched the street like a soldier awaiting death.
"Aki," Ami said gently, "you should lie down. You're trembling."
I didn't even realize I was.
Yergba came behind me and put a hand on my back.
"Bro… you're ice cold."
Sam walked over.
"No. That's fear."
She crouched so our eyes met.
"Aki, listen to me. You aren't weak. Luci isn't proof of your weakness. She is a Devourer-class. If she wanted you dead instantly, she would've killed you before walking in."
Ami swallowed."H-How can you say that so calmly…?"
"Because," Sam said, "she chose to torture us."
Yergba's fists tightened.
"She showed up to humiliate us. To say: you can't win."
Sam nodded.
"And we played right into her hands."
I inhaled raggedly.
"S-Sam… why did she come? If she could kill me easily, why didn't she just finish me—?"
Sam looked at me with eyes that had seen too many horrors.
"Because Luci wants you to be afraid of her before you die."
A cold wave rushed through my spine.
Ami grabbed my hand again.
"Stop—stop talking—Aki is already terrified—!"
But Sam didn't look away.
"She wants your fear. She feeds on it. Devourers consume power, magic, even souls—but fear makes them stronger."
I felt sick.
Yergba punched the wall hard enough to crack it.
"So she's waiting for Aki to break?!"
Sam nodded grimly.
"Yes. She wants him hopeless. That's how Devourers feast."
Ami pulled me into her arms protectively.
"No. No, Aki won't break. I won't let him."
Yergba sat beside me, placing a hand on my knee.
"You're tough, dude. You survived death. You're tougher than she thinks."
Sam looked between them silently.
Then she placed her hand on my shoulder again.
"Aki. Look at me."
I did.
Barely.
"You are alive. That means she failed."
My breath shook.
"You think I'm strong?" I whispered.
Sam nodded once.
Ami nodded harder.
Yergba grinned softly.
And for a moment—a single second—I felt like I could breathe again.
✦ Nightfall:
And Then Everything Fell Apart Again
The sun set.
The shadows grew longer.
My heart beat faster.
Ami prepared a futon beside mine.Yergba sat guard by the broken wall.Sam stood by the doorway, arms crossed, ready to fight whatever came.
But…
Something felt wrong.
The shadows seemed… thicker.The silence seemed heavy.The air tasted like metal.
And then—
A soft knock.
Three taps.
Just like yesterday.
My breath left my lungs.
Ami froze.Yergba jolted up.Sam summoned her blade instantly.
"Aki," Sam whispered, "get behind me—NOW."
But I couldn't move.
My legs wouldn't obey.
Fear clamped down on my chest like a physical weight.
Ami grabbed my hand.
"Aki—Aki breathe—look at me—LOOK at me—!!"
But the door creaked open.
And a familiar voice drifted inside.
Soft.
Sweet.
Playful.
"Good evening."
My soul dropped into the floor.
Luci stood there.
Smiling.
Only half her monstrous form visible in the moonlight.
"I missed you."Her voice lilted."I hope you didn't think yesterday was the end."
Ami screamed.Yergba cursed.Sam raised her blade.
And me—
I felt my heart stop again.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
Because I knew—
I knew from her eyes—
Luci wasn't here to kill me tonight.
She was here to destroy whatever was left of my soul.