Inside Yuki's Mind – Confronting Velar
As the group takes a brief rest after the first trial, Yuki steps away. He grips his scythe tightly and closes his eyes. Darkness swallows him—but not the empty kind.
A voice curls around him like cold fog.
Velar: "You're curious, aren't you? About what I truly am. About what your brother gave up to keep me caged."
Yuki opens his eyes inside the mental space. It's a bleak field of ash, and in the center sits Velar, still in the form of a 12-year-old boy—his eyes void black with faint golden runes in the iris.
Yuki (steady): "Why do you look like a kid?"
Velar (smiling faintly): "Because I'm the memory of something lost. A concept given shape. And because… this form unsettles you."
Yuki approaches slowly, eyes narrowed.
Yuki: "You tried to break free through Nogitsune."
Velar: "And he stopped me. For now. But he didn't destroy me—because deep down, he knew you'd need me."
Velar rises.
Velar: "You and I are bonded now. The void and the dream. You can't reject me. You can only learn to control me—or be consumed."
Yuki (quietly): "…We'll see."
The void pulses—and Yuki opens his eyes again.
After the Trial...
The group gathers around a crackling campfire near the old forge ruins. Haru's cloak is tossed beside him, steam rising from his body. Ren leans against a rock, arms crossed, deep in thought. Aiko stares into the fire, lips tight.
Kai slurps from a bowl of ramen he conjured with spirit energy.
Kai (murmuring): "So… that was just the first one?"
Himari (softly): "Yes. The next trial awaits in the eastern sanctum. But none of us will be the same after this."
Yuki rejoins the group, quiet.
Aiko (eyes meeting his): "You heard him… didn't you?"
Yuki gives a small nod.
Yuki: "Velar's sealed inside me. But he's… not just sleeping."
Haru (stern): "And Nogitsune?"
Yuki (lowering his gaze): "…He's gone. For now."
The fire crackles.
Ren (finally speaking): "Then we carry his will forward."
Where's Kairo?
As the fire dims and silence drapes over the group, Yuki looks around—someone's missing.
Yuki (glancing side to side): "Where's Kairo?"
A moment of stillness. Then...
Kai (shrugging): "He said he needed to 'wander'—something about the stars feeling off tonight."
Aiko (quietly): "He's been more distant ever since you sealed Velar."
Himari: "Maybe... he felt something awaken in Velar too."
Just then, the wind shifts. A ripple in space—and Kairo steps out from a rift between shadows, hands tucked into his long sleeves, expression unreadable.
Kairo: "I was scouting."
Yuki walks up to him, expression questioning but calm.
Yuki: "Did you find something?"
Kairo nods once.
Kairo: "Something... old. Something watching. The second trial's gate has been moved. And it's not just us being tested anymore."
He looks at Yuki—eyes not accusing, but cautious.
Kairo: "Velar... he's warping more than your aura. The land is starting to remember him."
The group stiffens.
Ren (mutters): "Then we move. Sooner than planned."
Haru (tightening his gauntlet): "Let the trials come."
Aiko (to Yuki, softer): "Just… don't lose yourself in him, okay?"
The wind that once carried whispers through the Kingdom now carries echoes—faint, unfamiliar chants in a language no one remembers.
In the heart of the town square, a statue that wasn't there yesterday now stands tall: a boy with blank eyes, a twisted smile, and smoke curling from his fingertips.
No one carved it. No one saw it appear. And yet… the villagers kneel before it, heads bowed in silence. Some weep. Others smile like they've been blessed.
Aiko clutches her head as she stares at it, a haunting aura pressing down on her senses.
"It's… him," she whispers, her voice cracking. "That's… Velar."
Yuki's breath halts. The boy he sealed away—now worshipped like a god.
Meanwhile…
Ren and Haru stand near a hidden gate beneath the ancient forge, its surface marked with symbols only visible to those who passed Ashir's judgment.
Kairo walks beside them, ramen cup in hand. "You two ready?" he asks, slurping loudly. "This gate doesn't open for the strong… it opens for the worthy."
Ren looks up. "Then what's waiting inside?"
Kairo smirks, his tone suddenly serious. "Your worst instincts."
At the same moment...
Himari sits on a rooftop, staring at the statue in the town center. Her blade glows faintly, resonating with something hidden.
She feels it.
Something dark is blooming within Yuki—not from him, but through him. And Velar… is watching.