We were stuck in the same spot looking around, silent with held breath, prepared for the vendor to attack from any direction, suspicious? Yep. Weird? Yep. And I didn't know how, but that vendor was a threat. If I were alone, I'd be dead already; my eyes flicked to Shizuka beside me, this girl who was a living beast, yet even she was struggling to detect him. That's what scared me most, knowing I couldn't always rely on her, not when something like this could slip past her senses.
The aura clinging to us as we fled was different - overwhelming in a way I hadn't experienced in years. Not like the harsh jolt of reality collision, but something deeper, more primal. We waited. And waited. Motionless in the shadows, muscles coiled, giving no sign of our determination to move. Every second stretched taut, the air thick with the unspoken question: Had we truly escaped, or were we just prolonging the inevitable?
We moved at last, but found no trace of the creepy vendor. Safe for now, maybe. The town streets stretched empty around us as we walked, our caution cranked higher than before. No more surprises. No more stalkers.
Then Shizuka froze. "Is it just me?" Her voice cut through the unnatural quiet. "Why is nobody here? This is the middle of town. There should be crowds."
The silence that followed was thicker than fog. She was right. The bakeries stood empty. The market stalls unmanned. Even the stray dogs had vanished.
I gulped. This silence wasn't coincidence. Too hollow for a bright day like this, no chatter, no footsteps. The entire town center had emptied without a trace.
Then I saw Shizuka's face.
Wrong. All wrong.
Her fist crashed into my jaw before I could blink. The impact launched me backward, shattering wood as I plowed through a market stall. Splinters rained down. My vision swam. Confusion. Fear. Rage. A toxic cocktail flooding my skull.
Shizuka's laugh was a serrated blade. "Did you really think I'd help you?" She hauled me up by my collar, her knuckles driving into my gut, once, twice, each blow weaker than the skull-rattling punch that started this. "Pathetic. No wonder your father begged me to babysit."
My vision tunneled. The world darkened at the edges except for one thing: her smirking face.
Then, heat.
Blood erupted from my eyes like tears set ablaze, my mother's cursed gift flaring to life. Suddenly, I could see, every twitch of Shizuka's muscles, every shift in her stance, but my body lagged behind. I lunged, fingers grazing her sleeve before she vanished again, her laughter echoing.
A shadow moved behind me.
Something tapped my neck.
Blackness.
The darkness clung to me like a second skin. All emotion had drained away - no anger, no fear. Just the hollow realization: Shizuka had betrayed me. Was my father involved too? The thought lingered until-
My eyes snapped open. I was in bed. Our rented room. Sitting up sharply, I examined my body - completely unharmed. How did I get here?
The door burst open.
Shizuka stood framed in the doorway, the vendor hovering behind her. Their expressions were... wrong. Softer than they should be. But I didn't care. White-hot anger flooded my veins even as my voice came out disturbingly calm.
"You!?-"
"Calm down, Jinwoo." Shizuka's voice cut through mine - not the cruel tone I expected, but something gentle. She moved to sit beside me before I could react. My body refused to move - they'd done something to me. Her hand covered my mouth before I could speak again, the other pressing down on my thighs.
"I said calm down." Her eyes held mine. "This isn't what you think." Behind her, the vendor's face had shed its earlier malice, replaced by an unsettling serenity.
"I don't believe it." My voice stayed calm despite the anger boiling under my skin. Weak men screamed. I wasn't weak.
"Jinwoo, be smart, lol." Shizuka's laugh was hers - the real one. That made it worse.
"Idiot." I glared. "You're lucky I can't move. I'd knock your teeth out otherwise." Empty threat. We both knew she could break me in half.
"Chill." Her eyes pinned me, that knowing smile still there. "Really think about today. All of it." She tilted her head. "And Mr. Vendor isn't our enemy."
"Lucky," Shizuka added.
I forced a laugh. "Hah! Like I'd believe that."
She moved fast - one hand gripping my hair, the other forcing bitter liquid down my throat. "There. You can move now."
The second my limbs responded, I went for her throat. The vendor caught me mid-lunge, arms like steel cables.
"Answer me!" I snarled. "Why?"
"To level up your eyes!" Her grin was all teeth.
"Bullshit."
"Then to earn your trust." Her voice dropped. "I'll let you do anything." A beat. "Vendor. Release him."
The vendor released me. I stayed rooted, fists clenched but unmoving. "What the hell was this stunt really about?"
Shizuka's grin turned razor-sharp. "Duh. Training." She flicked my forehead. "You think I'll always hold your hand? Your father's orders." A beat of silence. Then she added, "So get ready. I'll be drilling you like a show dog."
Her smirk softened. "Kidding. Maybe."