---
The darkness around Yuki wasn't like before.
This wasn't the same void he trained in with Ren. It wasn't the endless emptiness that responded to his will or lashed out with emotion. No… this was alive.
He floated in weightless silence, surrounded by shifting fragments of broken mirrors—each one showing distorted images of people he barely remembered: his mother's smile, a father's blurred face, a younger version of himself—crying, running, laughing—then gone.
A cold breeze wrapped around him.
"You're starting to see," a voice echoed, low and intimate.
Yuki's head snapped toward it—but there was no one there. Just fog… until it parted.
A silhouette emerged, half-shrouded in shadows, fox ears faintly visible atop his head, but something darker coiled around his body like smoke. His eyes glowed faint silver, like cold moons.
Yuki's heart pounded. "Who are you?"
The figure didn't answer at first. Instead, he walked slowly, the dream shifting with each step.
"Who I am doesn't matter," the voice replied, calm but edged. "What matters is what you're becoming."
Yuki clenched his fists. "Why do you keep showing up in my dreams?"
A pause.
"Because you're starting to remember," the figure said softly, almost fondly. "The pieces are coming together."
The dream fractured suddenly. The ground beneath Yuki cracked open into a thousand swirling stars. He stumbled back, falling—falling endlessly—until he landed, softly, in a field of glowing blue flowers.
He looked up.
The figure knelt beside him now, just inches away. His face… almost familiar.
"Don't trust everything they tell you," the figure whispered. "Not even her."
Yuki's eyes widened. "Her…?"
The flowers around them started to wilt. The dream darkened.
"You'll understand soon."
A silver glint flashed across the figure's eyes as he stepped away into the fading light.
"I'll be waiting, little brother."
Yuki's breath caught in his throat.
The dream shattered.
---
He jolted awake, sweat pouring down his face.
Himari and Aiko were beside him in a flash.
"You're okay," Aiko said softly, placing a hand on his arm.
"You were talking in your sleep," Himari added, watching him closely. "Someone… you called out to someone."
Yuki stared at the ceiling, heart racing.
He didn't say anything.
Because deep down, he knew that wasn't just a dream.
It was a message.
A warning.
And a promise.
---
"If you're enjoying the ride, don't forget to leave a power stone or a comment—it really helps this grow!"