Chapter 15: Someone Called Him Again

Chapter 15: Chapter 15: Someone Called Him Again The next morning, the camp was quiet. Too quiet. Even the birds didn’t sing. Kai sat near the cold ashes of last night’s fire, elbows on knees, head in hands. He hadn’t slept after the dream. After Hana. Seven days. That’s all the system had given him. A countdown. A girl. And a choice he didn’t know how to make. [System Update: Incoming Entity – Hana Kuriyama] Emotional Forecast: Volatile Power Rating: ??? Trust Level: Unknown Relationship Tag: "First Promise / Final Trigger" Kai read the words again. And again. Every time, his stomach twisted harder. "Final Trigger." That sounded way too close to endgame. He heard footsteps behind him. Elira sat down beside him, quiet. No sword. No royal posture. Just a girl with messy hair and questions she didn’t know how to ask. "You dreamt of her again," she said softly. Kai didn’t answer. "You said her name. ’Hana.’" Now he turned. "She’s coming," he said. "She’s not dead. She was summoned too. Somewhere else. But she’s... different." "Different how?" He hesitated. "She’s not the girl I left behind. She’s—" He stopped. "She’s something else now." Elira’s jaw tightened. "Do you still love her?" He looked away. "That’s not the question I’m afraid of." She didn’t press. But when she stood up, she didn’t say goodbye either. Elsewhere – Same Camp, Different Corner Yulia stared at the scroll Kai had burned days ago — the one he thought no one had scanned. But she had. In the moment before it was destroyed, she had copied a fragment of the frequency. A divine coding strand buried in the temporal signature. Now she had cracked it. And what she saw horrified her. Zephyr’s signature. The scroll had passed through his hands. Which meant he had delivered Eli’s message. Not to warn Kai... To push him. To steer him toward instability. Toward collapse. Yulia’s fingers trembled. She’d almost died because of Kai’s last surge. But she still believed in him. She just wasn’t sure she believed in the others anymore. That Afternoon – The Hidden Message Lira crouched in the forest, away from camp, near a small stone outcrop lined with old ritual symbols. A whispering mirror lay in the grass, activated by a blood seal only she could use. She shouldn’t have brought it. She shouldn’t have activated it again. But she had. Because the voice on the other end wasn’t a stranger. It was Zephyr. "You’ve seen it too, haven’t you?" he said smoothly. "He’s cracking." Lira said nothing. "Your instincts were always better than theirs. You know he won’t make it to the end without... breaking something important." Still, she said nothing. "I don’t need him dead," Zephyr continued. "Just... softened. Redirected. Delayed." "I’m not sabotaging him," Lira finally said. "Of course not," Zephyr replied. "Just... guiding. For everyone’s sake." The mirror went dark. Lira stared at it for a long time. Then crushed it in her hand. [System Alert: Unauthorized Divine Link Severed] Traceable: No Loyalty Status – Lira: CONFUSED / COMPROMISED Back at camp, Kai was watching the sky. He could feel it. Something distant, moving fast. Like a heat wave. A heartbeat. Hana was getting closer. And so was whatever she had become. Virela approached, brushing soot from her gloves. "You know," she said casually, "if I were planning a power play, this is exactly how I’d do it." Kai gave her a sideways glance. "Wait until the Hero’s unstable. Wait until all his women are emotionally entangled. Then drop a bomb from his past right into the middle of it." He frowned. "You think Hana’s a weapon?" "I think she’s the fuse. And you..." Virela grinned. "You’re the fire." That night, Kai didn’t sleep. Again. Not just because of dreams. Because the system kept pinging. [Incoming Divine Surge – 6 Days, 22 Hours Remaining] Source: Hana Kuriyama Emotional Resonance: Unstable Threat Rating: Unmeasured [One of your allies is still hiding something.] But you’re too tired to ask. Kai closed the window. And whispered into the darkness, "I don’t want to break first..." Somewhere in the trees... Lira watched him from the shadows. And hated that she wasn’t sure whose side she was on anymore.