The rain had stopped.
But everything still felt heavy.
Clouds were thick in the sky, hiding the sun. Puddles on the road didn't move. The air was cold and wet, as if it hadn't breathed in a long time.
Yor hadn't slept properly.
He closed his eyes a few times, but every time he opened them, it felt like something was missing. Like a voice had tried to call him… but it was too far.
Now he sat outside the house, on the old wooden steps. A thin blanket hung around his shoulders. His feet were bare, resting on wet wood. He held a small metal cup filled with water, but he wasn't drinking it. He just stared at it.
> "Why does it feel like the whole world is waiting?" he thought.
---
Inside the house, everything was quiet.
Yuna was still breathing, but barely. Her skin was cold. Her body didn't move much. She hadn't spoken since the last time it rained.
Akari stayed beside her all night. Her eyes looked tired and empty. She didn't cry. She didn't speak. She just wiped Yuna's face with a cloth and whispered the same prayer again and again.
In the next room, Hiro stood alone.
He was staring at the sword on the wall.
His hand was near it… but he didn't touch it.
He just stood there, lost in memory.
> "Is it really time again?" he whispered.
No one answered.
---
Yor stood up slowly.
His body felt sore. Not from work—but from sadness. From weight. Like something heavy was sitting inside his chest.
He walked forward without thinking.
The streets of Sector 13 were empty. No people. No voices. No sound.
Just water dripping from rooftops.
The storm was over… but the silence had stayed.
---
Yor reached the edge of the sector.
The fence was still there. Rusty and bent.
Beyond it was the Hollow Spine.
A dark, quiet land filled with broken trees, strange stones, and stories people didn't tell anymore. They said no one came back from there.
But today… the gate was open.
Just a little.
Like it had been waiting for him.
---
He stepped through.
The air changed at once.
It was colder on the other side. Each breath felt thick, like he was breathing dust and time.
The ground was dry and cracked. The trees were dead and crooked. The world here felt forgotten.
Yor walked slowly.
His eyes looked around, but his mind felt far away. He didn't know why he was walking. He just felt pulled forward.
---
Then he saw something strange.
Behind a wall of vines, half-buried in dirt, was a stone door.
Big and round.
It was covered in old symbols. Most were broken and faded, but in the center, one shape was clear.
A spiral.
And inside the spiral was a small mark, shaped like fire.
Yor didn't know what it meant.
But his heart started to beat harder.
Not fast—just louder. Like it was remembering something his mind had forgotten.
He raised his hand.
Very slowly.
His fingers touched the stone—
And the spiral glowed.
Just for a moment.
A soft golden light moved through the lines, then disappeared.
---
Yor gasped.
He stepped back quickly, heart pounding.
He looked around.
No wind.
No sound.
But he felt it.
> Something knew he was here.
He touched his chest. His heart was still beating hard.
He didn't know what this place was.
He didn't know what that door meant.
But deep inside, something had changed.
And even if he didn't understand it yet…
The Hollow Spine had started to wake.
---