Darkness everywhere. A nightmarish world painted in black and white, void of color, void of life.

  An eye opened. Blinked frantically. Adjusted to the absence of light.

  Kuro woke in a seated position. He felt no pain. Strange. He should feel everything—broken bones, torn flesh, exhaustion.

  He stood and searched his surroundings.

  The Tall Forest. Exactly where he'd lost consciousness.

  "Bird, come out already." Kuro's voice was calm, flat. Like he was already tired of this game.

  Thud. Thud.

  Enormous footsteps approached from behind.

  Kuro turned, facing the source.

  "Hi, Dad," he said through gritted teeth, voice dripping sarcasm.

  It was Morvane—but different.

  The form was identical: the brutal beak, the four vast wings, the powerful torso and legs. But the eyes had changed. No longer ocean-blue gemstones. Now they were deep, pitch-black voids.

  Empty windows into nothing.

  Morvane circled Kuro slowly, deliberately.

  "What was that?" Kuro asked.

  "WHAT WAS WHAT? I DON'T UNDERSTAND."

  "Don't act coy, bird." Kuro's anger was visible now, simmering beneath the surface. "And can you stop impersonating and show your true form?"

  "HAHA. KARL. WHAT I SHOWED YOU IS THE PRICE FOR POWER."

  He totally dodged the second question, Kuro thought. "Meaning?"

  "IT MEANS YOU DON'T OWN THE POWER. YOU'RE JUST A BORROWER. I CAN TAKE IT BACK WHENEVER I PLEASE. UNDERSTAND?"

  Man, looking at this Morvane-bird speaking looks weird.

  "...KARL?"

  "Yeah, yeah, got it. Basically, you're saying without you I'm nothing. Right?"

  "PRECISELY. AND THE SHOW WAS GETTING INTERESTING—BUT THAT BITCH GOT IN THE WAY AGAIN."

  Bitch? The gun holder?

  "NO MATTER. AS LONG AS YOU KNOW THE PRICE, IT'S GOOD. DON'T GET AHEAD OF YOURSELF KARL."

  The Bird's voice carried something like satisfaction.

  "FAREWELL, MY SOON-TO-BE KIN."

  Kin? Kuro's jaw tightened. Does this bastard think just because I called him Dad, he thinks he IS my dad?

  The bird-entity impersonating Morvane began to dissolve. The surrounding trees, the ground, the darkness itself—all fading into misty dust.

  "Fuck. What am I doing? I have so many questions, but that gun is clogging my mind. Tch. Whatever."

  The world vanished.

  Kuro's eyes snapped open.

  He was still half-buried in debris, lying flat and wounded on the battlefield. Real pain flooded back—sharp, immediate, overwhelming.

  "Dammit. The curse still didn't come back."

  He tried to rise. Half-successful—managed to push himself into a sitting position. Every nerve screamed. Every movement sent fresh agony radiating through his body.

  "Thank heavens you woke up. I thought you died."

  A voice. Familiar.

  Kuro turned his head.

  Ella stood a few feet away, covered in dirt and ash. In one hand, she held a compact rifle—sleek, mechanical, wrong for this world. In the other, her trusted sword Moonreaper gleamed despite the grime.

  Her face carried concern. Sadness, even.

  But Kuro didn't look at her face. His eyes fixed on the gun.

  "Kuro, do you hear me? Are you alright?" She moved closer, voice rising with worry. "You look severely hurt. Is your leg okay? I removed the spike—does it hurt?"

  A bandage circled his wounded thigh, stained dark with blood but holding the bleeding at bay.

  "How long have you been fighting Morvane?" She crouched beside him, setting the gun on the ground. Her hand touched his shoulder gently, shaking him. "Come on, say something. Please don't die on me. Dammit, if only I'd arrived sooner—"

  She began blaming herself, shaking him harder. Her eyes glistened.

  Kuro didn't respond. His hand reached toward the gun, but his injured body wouldn't cooperate. Fingers stretched. Failed to close the distance.

  "Come on, speak something! Please—"

  She stood abruptly, snatching the gun just as Kuro's hand was about to reach it.

  CRACK. CRACK. CRACK.

  She fired three shots in rapid succession at something behind him.

  Kuro turned his head.

  Morvane was approaching—silent, predatory, closing the distance for the kill.

  The beast dodged each shot with contemptuous ease, weaving through the air. When it closed the gap, jaws opening wide—

  Ella swung her sword. Magic crystals embedded in the crossguard flared to life.

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  WHOOOOSH.

  Blades of wind erupted from the strike, tearing through the air.

  Morvane launched upward, dodging the attack effortlessly.

  And vanished.

  "Dammit!" Ella's frustration was palpable. "It's too good at dodging, and my aim isn't perfect. I should have trained more with this arcane gun." Her eyes scanned the clearing frantically. "And this high beast—Morvane—I know so much about it, but I didn't know it could move this fast. I can't even see it, even though darkness isn't a problem for me."

  "It doesn't... move faster."

  Ella spun, shocked to hear Kuro speaking. Relief flooded her features. "Wow, man—thank God you're alive!"

  She smiled wide, caught herself, then straightened and adopted a mocking tone. "That's what you get for betraying me. Look at you. Pitiful."

  "Ha... huh?" Kuro's face twisted in irritation.

  "And what was that about not moving faster?" she asked.

  "Camouflage."

  Ella's expression shifted—understanding dawning. "If it's not moving faster but blending with darkness..." She smirked. "Then all I have to do is—"

  She planted her sword in the ground and whispered something. Wind burst downward from the blade, launching her upward into the air.

  While airborne, she whispered again and swung her sword in a wide arc above her head.

  SLICE. SLICE. SLICE.

  A sudden torrent of wind blades shot upward, slicing through the upper canopy. Branches and treetops fell away, tumbling to the forest floor in pieces.

  She landed gracefully beside Kuro.

  For the first time, sunlight leaked through the severed canopy—golden rays painting the battlefield in light.

  Kuro looked up at the sunlight, his expression saying clearly: Why didn't I think of that?

  "Now the trick's exposed." Ella grinned. "Let's kill it—that's what I'd like to say, but you don't look like you can move."

  Her face softened with worry again. "Do you know how to use this thing?" She gestured to the arcane gun.

  Kuro lifted his hand weakly.

  "Don't worry—I don't expect you to shoot accurately. But at least you can distract the beast." She handed him the weapon. "Here."

  It uses magic crystals for power attacks. Use it like how you use the magic crystals.

  "Now then. Let's finish it."

  Ella walked toward the center of the clearing, sword raised, eyes scanning for movement. But she kept glancing back at Kuro.

  Kuro held the gun in his hands after receiving; he didn't hear a single thing coming from her.

  A functioning firearm. After so long.

  His face glowed with something like joy—childlike, genuine. Like receiving a first gift.

  Morvane stopped hiding.

  It emerged from the shadows, targeting its first prey: Kuro.

  A few meters away, Ella noticed the shift. She sent waves of wind magic toward the beast, but the crystal shattered mid-cast from overuse.

  Morvane took flight, dodging effortlessly. It opened all four wings—even the burned wing had regenerated completely, though the ruined eye remained dark and empty.

  The beast flapped in a zigzag pattern, sending cascading waves of bladed wind. The attack split projectiles, masked itself in smoke and debris.

  Ella pulled two magic crystals from her belt—one white, one red—and slotted them into the guard on either side of her sword. Her light blonde hair shone brilliantly in the leaked sunlight.

  She whispered a short incantation.

  WHOOOOSH.

  A windstorm mixed with bright orange flames erupted from her blade—a firestorm that collided head-on with Morvane's attack.

  BOOM.

  A miniature explosion sent waves of heat rippling across the battlefield.

  Ella stood with a satisfied smirk. She glanced at Kuro with a mocking look that said clearly: See how strong I am?

  Kuro watched her fight, jaw tight. She's showing off. His fingers tightened around the gun. And I'm useless.

  The arcane gun felt right in his hands—more right than Mosvmora ever had. He knew this weapon. Understood its weight, its kick, its limitations.

  If I had this on Earth...

  The thought died. He wasn't on Earth. And the gun in his hands wasn't his.

  Morvane moved again—"

  Then she noticed him aiming the arcane gun.

  At her.

  "What—?"

  Goosebumps erupted across her skin. Her eyes went wide. She spun—

  Morvane's jaws were closing around her, beak descending like a guillotine.

  BANG.

  A bullet streaked past Ella, striking deep inside Morvane's mouth. The impact jerked the beast's head back just enough—

  Ella dove clear.

  Morvane wasn't badly hurt. It took flight and landed at a distance, watching.

  Ella swallowed hard, sweating. Holy shit. That was close.

  She looked back at Kuro. Smoke rose from the barrel of the arcane gun.

  Kuro's face twisted in confusion. "What was that? Why didn't it damage like before?" His voice was still weak. "Tch. What's going on?"

  He shot like he'd done this before, but the shot is not powerful why? Ella thought, curious. She shook the thought away and faced Morvane. Don't get distracted.

  Morvane stood silent, its remaining eye calculating. Each step deliberate.

  Then it stopped.

  "Come on, Morvane!" Ella called, voice ringing with challenge. "Aren't you a king? Come get me!"

  She turned her head slightly. "Kuro—next time, shoot one of the front wings. Those won't regenerate. Only the secondary wings do."

  "Tch."

  Kuro's face twisted. The thought of being schooled—and saved—by someone else sickened him.

  "What's with the face, Kuro? You alright?" Ella asked, still watching Morvane.

  Kuro didn't respond.

  She shook it off and began whispering spells. The magic crystals activated. Her sword glowed—air bubbles carrying fire materialized along the blade.

  The beast stood silent.

  Then, one by one, the spikes along its lower wings began to grow. They elongated, merging with each other, creating sharp plate-like blades across the entire wing.

  The wings doubled in size.

  Morvane crouched into a flight position—forewing tucked, blade-wings spread wide.

  The monstrous aura it had carried faded. Now it looked tired. In pain.

  Ella held her sword ready, waiting patiently.

  Then—

  CRACK.

  The sound echoed through the clearing. Then another. And another.

  CRACK. CRACK. CRACK.

  A massive, explosive sound of wood breaking vibrated through the air.

  The tall giant trees surrounding the battlefield began to fall—simultaneously—toppling inward toward the battle. One after another, piling, crashing.

  "What the hell?!" Ella's eyes went wide. "What is this?!"

  Morvane lifted one mammoth leg high.

  BOOM.

  It struck the ground with devastating force.

  An earthquake rippled outward, cracking the earth open beneath Ella's feet. The ground erupted, launching her into the air.

  Cracked ground beneath. Falling trees above. Ella suspended in the middle, stunned, trying to escape—

  Morvane released its final attack.

  The blade-wings snapped closed in a sharp flap, sending rows of wind—sharper and deadlier than anything before. The blades struck the rising debris and falling trees, shredding them into pieces.

  A storm of natural projectiles flew toward Ella.

  Mid-air, Ella swung her sword with impossible speed and precision—burning, slicing, deflecting everything that came toward her.

  One long piece of broken wood flew straight at her. She struck it hard, sending it down vertically. It buried itself in the ground like a spear.

  She landed on its tip, balanced perfectly.

  From that precarious perch, she sped up her attacks—defending against the incoming barrage of nature-turned-weapons.

  Her swings were so fast the blade became invisible to the naked eye. Earth, stone, sliced trunks—all destroyed, burning to ash.

  Not a single scratch on her body.

  Kuro lay in the same place, held his gun high, aiming at Morvane, but the chaotic mess unfolding before him was not helping him.

  As she kept cutting, the magic crystals in her sword shattered from overuse.

  She began jumping from airborne log to airborne log, trying to reach the clearing.

  Then a massive shadow formed above her.

  Ella stopped. Jerked her head up.

  A silhouette of Morvane descended through the sunlight—diving straight for her.

  Ella's boots found purchase on a falling trunk. She evaded backward and sliced at the charging beast.

  SLICE.

  It got cut in half.

  Ella's smile began to form—celebration rising—

  The smile died.

  What she'd cut was a trunk. Not Morvane.

  BAM.

  The air itself cracked from the impact.

  Ella flew downward in a blur, hitting the hard earth head-on. The ground cratered beneath her. She buried into it, dust and debris exploding outward.

  Silence fell.

  The trees stopped their groaning. The smoke began to fade.

  Morvane landed atop one of the fallen trees, standing like a monument. It opened and closed its talons—the ones that had struck the blow.

  Ella woke, spitting blood. Dazed. One eye half-closed from a wound across her brow.

  She struggled to stand, looking down at her hand.

  Her sword was missing.

  Covered in blood, she crawled forward, thoughts fixed on one thing: Kuro.

  "Kuro? Are you... alright? Speak... please."

  Her voice barely escaped her throat.

  As she crawled, she noticed it—a huge trunk had fallen, crushing the ground where Kuro had been lying motionless.

  Her eyes went wide.

  "No. No, no, no... gulp... no, please."

  A massive shadow landed behind her.

  A single blue eye shone like the devil's gaze.

  Ella looked back, struggling inch by inch. She forced herself upright, standing on trembling legs.

  Facing her death.