Exhausted both mentally and physically, I lay there on the ground, struggling to calm my breathing as my lungs burned with each inhale. My muscles trembled, my mind wavered, but I had to regain my composure, if only for a moment.
The life stone… It was there, softly glimmering. All that was left was to retrieve it… to fulfill my mission.
A few moments later, the great doors of the chapel opened slowly, letting in a dazzling light. I advanced cautiously, drained from everything I had just endured, my feet dragging almost lifelessly across the ground. The life stone in my hand, my fingers still raw from the pinecone’s thorns, I felt disconnected, as though my mind were floating elsewhere.
Upon exiting, I was met with a deafening cheer. A crowd of cats had gathered outside the chapel, their faces radiant with joy and hope. They cheered my name, their cries echoing through the air. Their happiness should have invigorated me, but all I felt was an immense void.
“Yui? Are you okay?” Kumo asked, his eyes scanning my face.
“It’s just…” I began to reply, but my words were drowned out by the feline crowd.
Without warning, the cats surrounded me, jubilant, pulling me away from Kumo. They hoisted me into the air, carrying me toward the Millennium Tree amidst triumphant chants.
“Yui!” Kumo cried, trying to reach me through the euphoric crowd, but he was quickly overwhelmed.
Carried by the cats, I was placed before the Millennium Tree, that colossal, majestic entity that towered over everything. My heart raced as I stepped closer, the life stone clutched tightly against me. I didn’t know why I was trembling so much—perhaps it was from exhaustion or the weight of this strange pressure bearing down on my shoulders.
The place to insert the stone was hidden among the tree’s roots. A small cavity, almost invisible, slowly revealed itself before me, like a silent invitation. Inside, it glowed with a soft, mysterious light, as though the tree itself were calling to me.
I took a deep breath and placed the life stone into the cavity. Everyone held their breath.
Nothing.
I froze, stunned. Murmurs rippled through the crowd, worried glances darting back and forth.
“Why… isn’t it working?” I whispered, bewildered.
Thinking I might have positioned it incorrectly, I carefully removed the stone and replaced it, hoping for a sign, any reaction. But again, nothing.
“What’s going on?” someone asked behind me.
“Was she really the chosen one?” another questioned.
The murmurs grew more oppressive. The cats’ anxiety turned into palpable disappointment. They were waiting for a miracle. They were waiting for me to save them.
My hands trembled as I removed the stone once more, inserting it again and again. Desperate, I could only hear the voices in my head—the reproaches, the expectations.
“Please…” I begged softly, tears welling up, praying for it to work.
But still, nothing. My mind began to cloud again, bitter memories resurfacing. The voices of my parents, their past reproaches, echoed in my skull like an unrelenting tide.
“You’re good for nothing.”
“You’ve failed again.”
These words crushed me. I heard them, louder and louder, more and more destructive.
“Why are you so incapable?”
Panic welled up inside me, my fingers slipping on the stone, unable to do anything right.
“No… No…” I repeated, my thoughts becoming muddled, my breathing erratic.
“Yui! Yui!” a familiar voice called—Kumo’s—but I couldn’t hear him. All I could hear were my parents’ voices, dragging me deeper into this spiral of despair.
“You’ll fail again, as always.”
My heart pounded faster and faster, and it felt like my body was giving up on me. Suddenly, the cats, realizing that nothing was happening, began to panic. Shouts erupted. A roar thundered across the plain, so close that the ground trembled beneath my feet.
The monster was approaching. It was there, right behind them, a massive shadow destroying everything in its path. But I couldn’t see it. I was absorbed by my own failure.
My hands began to turn transparent, my body slowly disintegrating. I was about to disappear, to become a wandering spirit.
Then, a soft, soothing voice spoke to me. It was so calm, so reassuring, that it abruptly cut through my chaotic thoughts.
“I feel your fears and anger, but your heart remains silent, Yui.”
Where was that voice coming from? It wasn’t human… no, it seemed to emanate from the tree itself, deep and enveloping, like a whisper of nature.
Before I could react, strong arms wrapped around me, lifting me abruptly from the ground. I was carried into the sky.
“What? But what’s… Seiryu?” I exclaimed, turning to see the Guardian.
Behind him, a gigantic black mass loomed. The monster. It moved slowly, destroying everything in its path, its glowing eyes fixed on me. The cats scattered in all directions, trying to escape the destruction.
“Kumo! We have to help him!” I shouted in panic.
“I’ll handle him later!” Seiryu replied, his wings carrying us higher and higher. “You need to leave before it’s too late… your hands…”
I looked at my hands and understood what he meant. They were almost completely transparent, as though my fragile soul were beginning to permanently detach from my body. It was only a matter of time before I became a wanderer.
Seiryu flew higher and higher, breaking through the clouds, aiming for the sky. That’s where I had fallen from, so it had to be the portal back to the other world—the tenuous thread between life and death.
“Please, let it not work…” I wished with all my heart, utterly drained.
Suddenly, an invisible barrier stopped our ascent. We couldn’t break through the sky. My wish had been heard. Without realizing it, a smile formed on my lips. Seiryu tried several times to force his way through, but nothing worked.
“Damn it!” Seiryu swore, frustrated.
Meanwhile, below us, the monster had grown even larger, its dark mass spreading rapidly. Strangely, it seemed to focus entirely on Seiryu and me. Black shards, resembling jagged pieces of glass, condensed on the surface of the monster and were hurled in our direction with terrifying speed.
The Guardian dodged the projectiles with impressive grace and agility, twisting and turning mid-air to shield me as best as he could. Despite his skill, one of the black shards struck his shoulder, and he let out a low growl of pain.
“Damn it... this is really bad!” he muttered, visibly frustrated by the situation and concerned about the little time I had left.
He made the urgent decision to descend, landing near Kumo, who was waiting anxiously below. Setting me down gently next to him, Seiryu instructed me to stay hidden while he prepared to face the monster.
I looked around at the chaos unfolding—the panicked cats, the destruction spreading.
No matter what attacks Seiryu launched at the creature, the monster seemed to absorb them, devouring the energy to grow even stronger. At one point, an explosion erupted inside the monster after it absorbed one of Seiryu’s explosive attacks. Through the thick darkness, I could distinguish a more compact shape, a humanoid silhouette hidden at the center of the mass… It was as if someone—or something—was controlling this abomination.
Soon, however, the monster shifted its attention away from Seiryu, and I felt its oppressive gaze land on me.
“Yui, watch out!” Seiryu shouted, sensing the danger approaching.
We dodged the attacks at the last second, taking shelter behind the remains of a destroyed house. But it didn’t take long for our refuge to become unsafe, as the monster crept closer and closer.
As we fled, dark tentacles emerged from the creature’s body, whipping through the air and smashing into the ground with brutal force. One of them struck me directly, sending me flying forward.
“Yui!” Kumo and Seiryu shouted in unison.
Before I hit the ground, Seiryu rushed to catch me, shielding me from the impact with his own body. His back slammed into the trunk of the Millennium Tree, and I saw blood trickle from the corner of his mouth.
“Urgh… Seiryu! Are you okay?” I asked, panicked.
Kumo quickly joined us, his face filled with concern.
“Yui! Are you both alright?” he asked desperately.
“Kumo, the Guardian is injured!” I said, alarmed.
“What are we going to do?” Kumo replied, frantically searching for a solution.
“You need to get him to safety, Kumo.”
“Me, nya? I’m not leaving without you!” he protested, his eyes wide with fear.
“Kumo, I don’t have time to explain, but trust me. This monster seems to be after me, and I need to test something.”
“I can’t let you do that! It’s way too dangerous!” he exclaimed, refusing to leave me behind.
“I don’t have much time left…” I said, showing him my translucent hands. “Please, find a safe place and trust me.”
Kumo growled in frustration, hesitating, but ultimately relented with great reluctance.
“Nya, you better come back safe and sound, or I’ll turn you into dried sardines!” he shouted, trying to mask his fear with humor.
I gave him a faint smile as he moved Seiryu behind the Millennium Tree, followed by the crystal butterfly, which created a protective barrier around them.
Taking a deep breath, I activated the Neko Vent, which unfolded and lifted me into the air. It was time to take a risk. If I wanted to end this monster, I had to attack directly at its core.
I rose high above the creature, scanning the dark, writhing mass below me. As expected, a tentacle lashed out, aiming to strike me down. But I was ready. At the last moment, I jumped off the Neko Vent, letting it take the blow in my place, and dove straight into the monster, plunging into the heart of the abomination.
As I penetrated the creature’s dark mass, I felt myself being absorbed. It was like passing through a dense, gelatinous substance, cold and suffocating, each movement becoming slower and more arduous. Around me, waves of dark energy rippled, reacting to my presence.
I could no longer see Kumo or Seiryu; their voices were drowned in the oppressive silence. My heart pounded in my chest, but a strange sense of determination guided me. If I wanted to stop this monster, I had to reach its core and understand what it truly was.
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