Nyx crossed her arms and let out a tired breath as she stood in the strange, hollow realm, the air around her faintly glowing and constantly shifting. "Seriously, Asuna. A job in the dead of night," she said, her voice sharp with annoyance. "Do you enjoy making my life difficult, or is this just how you operate?"
Asuna stood a short distance away, calm and unmoving, his hands folded behind his back. He didn't answer right away. He never did. Instead, he watched her in silence, as if waiting for her irritation to burn itself out.
Nyx clicked her tongue and shifted her weight. "Don't just stare at me like that. I showed up. That should count for something."
"Nyx," asuna said at last, his voice low and steady. "This is not a request. It is a task. One that requires your unique abilities."
She sighed and ran a hand through her hair, pacing slowly as if trying to shake off her irritation. "Of course it does. It always does. Let me guess—something ancient, dangerous, and badly timed."
Asuna inclined his head slightly. "The stones have awakened."
That made her stop.
Nyx turned back toward him, her annoyance fading into focus. "Awakened?" she asked. "As in more than one?"
"Yes," asuna replied. "Someone in the mortal world has found two of them."
For a moment, neither of them spoke. The weight of those words hung heavily in the air.
"Two," Nyx said quietly. "Already."
"As of tonight."
She studied his face, searching for doubt or exaggeration, but found none. Asuna never exaggerated. If anything, he understated danger.
"And you want me to deal with it," she said flatly.
"I need you to find the new holder," asuna said. "And bring him to me."
Nyx let out a short, humorless laugh. "You woke me up for that. Why me?"
Asuna didn't hesitate. "You know why."
That answer settled heavily on her shoulders. Nyx exhaled slowly, the kind of sigh that came from deep exhaustion rather than anger. "Yeah," she muttered. "I do."
She stood still for a moment, thinking, then nodded once. "Fine. I'll do it."
She didn't change her clothes or prepare anything. Instead, she closed her eyes and took a slow, steady breath, grounding herself.
When she opened them again, her pupils split and multiplied, shifting and rotating in ways that shouldn't have been possible. Time itself seemed to hesitate.
In asuna's mind, the reason for his choice was clear. The All-Seeing Eye of the Nyx Clan allowed its bearer to look into the past and future at the same time, for as long as they could endure it. Time was not meant to be observed, and even brief exposure could destroy the mind. Most seers collapsed in less than a second. Two seconds was considered incredible. Nyx had endured five on her first attempt.
The strain showed in her posture now. Her breathing stayed steady, but tension crept into her shoulders, her fingers twitching slightly as unseen pressure bore down on her.
Then it stopped.
Nyx opened her eyes and let out a slow breath. "I'm done," she said. "I know where they are."
Asuna straightened slightly. "Good. Wait here. I'll deploy the task force."
"There's no need," Nyx replied immediately. "Let them catch up."
"Nyx—" he began.
Before he could finish, the space around her folded inward. Reality bent sharply, and she vanished.
Asuna stared at the empty space she left behind and exhaled. "This girl," he muttered. "She's a problem."
Damien woke up burning.
Heat rolled through his body, his skin soaked with sweat, his head pounding so hard it felt like it might split open. He groaned and rolled onto his side, pulling the blanket away from his chest, trying to cool down.
The room was dark and quiet, the faint glow of the city filtering through the curtains. He reached for his phone with shaky fingers and opened a light novel, scrolling without really reading. He just needed something familiar, something normal.
But the feeling wouldn't go away.
Something was wrong.
The air felt heavy, like it was pressing down on him. Damien lowered the phone and stared toward the window. The street outside looked the same as always, empty and silent, but his instincts told him to keep watching.
Slowly, he reached for the purple stone on his nightstand. The moment his fingers wrapped around it, warmth spread through his palm and into his chest. His thoughts slowed, and the pain in his head dulled slightly.
He exhaled. "I wonder what this—"
The doorbell rang.
Once. Twice. Three times.
At three in the morning.
Damien froze. "Who's there?" he called out.
A girl's voice answered, urgent and breathless. "Help! A man is chasing me! Please open the door, I don't have time!"
Something felt off. There was fear in her voice, but underneath it, Damien sensed something else. Amusement.
His grip tightened around the stone. Why would someone in danger sound amused?
"I'm calling the police," he said, though he wasn't sure why.
A soft laugh came from the other side of the door. "How heartless."
The door exploded inward. The wall cracked as debris flew across the room. Damien barely caught a glimpse of a girl in shorts and a tank top before everything went black.
Nyx caught him easily as he collapsed. She picked up the stone, frowning as it pulsed violently in her hand, clearly resisting her.
"Yeah, yeah," she muttered. "I don't like you either."
She lifted Damien over her shoulder and vanished.
The other stone was with the task force. "Welp," she said lightly. "That was easy."
Then she felt it.
Something distant. Heavy. Wrong.
Something demonic was moving.
Nyx slowed, eyes narrowing. "...Oh," she murmured.
And the night held its breath.