Act 25 - Dying Star

[SKYRAIL TERMINAL – LOWER DECK – 1:22 A.M.]

For a moment, nothing moved.

Rain hissed down the open skylights of the shattered roof, the drops sizzling into steam where they struck Lin's corrupted arm. The scythe in his hand pulsed with entropy — its form ragged, twitching, barely holding coherence.

Yuki's Asetter blade crackled in response. White runes lit along its hilt, flaring with the promise of annihilation. This wasn't just any weapon — it had been forged to sever cursed Contracts, to end what should have never begun.

"Lin," she said again. Her voice cracked — not from fear, but memory. "You said you'd never let the Gates use you again."

"They didn't," Lin murmured. "I'm using them."

And then, like a thunderclap—

He moved.

The scythe slashed down.

Yuki barely dodged, sparks flying as the curved blade missed her neck by inches and exploded against the concrete. Cracks spiderwebbed beneath her boots.

Shota flinched, eyes flaring pale blue as he summoned a shield of spiritual light. But the air shattered around him — too late. Lin was already in front of him.

A fist caught Shota in the gut.

Crunch.

He flew backward, slamming into the stairwell wall. The fox spirit around him hissed and dissolved into smoke.

"SHOTA!" Yuki screamed.

Lin didn't press the attack. He turned to Yuki instead — movements loose, weightless. The corruption in his arm had spread. Now it writhed up the side of his neck, flickering like dying static.

"You can't kill me," he said simply. "You never could."

"No," she whispered. "But I can try."

She lunged.

The Asetter blade met the entropy scythe in a clash of burning light and shadow. Every blow shook the floor. Steel met entropy — power against cursed power. Sparks painted the air like dying stars. Their footwork was flawless. Brutal. A dance forged in old training sessions now turned into war.

Yuki swept low — Lin vaulted over her.

She spun. Kicked.

He caught her foot mid-air. Threw her.

She flipped twice mid-fall and landed hard, skidding.

His eyes were glowing again. Crimson. Burning with something deeper than rage.

"Don't you dare pity me," he snarled.

"I don't," she spat, blood in her mouth. "I still believe in the boy who gave me his last rations when I was starving. The boy who called me 'sister' when I had no one else. That Lin isn't dead."

He charged again — but his scythe wavered.

Nel's voice cut through the storm.

> "Lin… Lin, can you hear me?"

It wasn't real — except it was. Telepathy. A distant voice echoing in his broken mind.

He staggered. Just slightly.

Yuki saw the opening.

And she took it.

Her blade slashed across his chest. Not deep. But enough to draw blood — and light.

Red and white. Bleeding from him like essence.

"Nel," he whispered. "You're still in my head…"

> "We never left you, Lin. I never did. Don't shut the door. Please. I know it hurts. I know Rune—"

"DON'T SAY HER NAME!" he roared.

The shadows around him pulsed — exploded. The mural behind him cracked and burned. Shota crawled up, coughing, his hands glowing with spirit runes as he tried to stabilize the room.

But Lin wasn't looking at them anymore.

He was staring into himself.

Into a reflection that wasn't his.

Rune.

She stood in the broken mirror again, barefoot, her mouth open in silent scream. The girl he'd failed to protect. The girl the Gate project turned into raw light and then discarded.

"Your death is all I remember," he whispered.

Yuki stepped forward, slowly. Her blade dimmed.

"You don't have to carry this alone. Let us take it, Lin. Let us help you bury her properly."

Lin's fists clenched.

"My fists are the burial."

Then, before he could move—

> "You're lying."

Nel's telepathic voice struck again, clearer now. "You want to be saved. That's why you didn't kill Yuki the second she showed up. That's why you let Shota speak. That's why Rune still stands there, looking at you. She's waiting."

His hands trembled.

"Shut up," he whispered.

> "She's waiting for her brother to come back."

Lin screamed and hurled his scythe into the ground — the entire terminal floor cracked, shaking violently. Machinery collapsed. The ceiling creaked.

"Yuki!" Shota called out. "He's destabilizing! If he goes full entropy—!"

"I know!" she cried. "Lin! If you do this, you'll become a Gate yourself! Is that what you want? A rift?! A god of oblivion?!"

But Lin dropped to his knees.

The power flared — and then began to collapse inward. Like a star dying. His corrupted arm broke apart — piece by piece, flaking off into red ash and crawling darkness. And in its place…

Nothing.

Just the limb of a boy. Pale. Weak. Human.

"I wanted… to stop it," he said.

Yuki knelt in front of him.

"You still can."

---

[SIX HOURS LATER – YUMI'S SAFEHOUSE, SUBSECTOR 12]

The walls were lined with old blueprints, spirit-seal scrolls, and holographic monitors. Rain pattered lightly on the rooftop skylight.

Yuki stood beside Lin, who now lay unconscious on a metal cot, breath slow, expression still haunted.

Yumi — the historian, rebel tactician, and once-classmate of Lin and Yuki — poured over the data on the screen. Her fingers trembled.

"This confirms it," she said. "The Gate signature on Lin's arm… it matches the one on the girl. Eri."

Yuki's eyes narrowed. "What does that mean?"

"It means she's part of the cycle. They're doing it again. Using children. Using Gatelight. Trying to birth gods."

Shota stepped beside them. "And Lin's living proof that it never ends well."

Yumi turned. "If Eri's alive, she's the key. Lin escaped tonight because of Nel's telepathy, but next time… we might not reach him in time."

Yuki nodded, then looked at Lin, sleeping fitfully, one hand clenched.

He muttered in his sleep.

"Rune… wait for me…"

---

[BLACK SITE — UNKNOWN COORDINATES]

Somewhere, deep in the ruins of a forgotten city, Eri stood inside a sealed white room. IVs trailed from her arms. Her eyes were vacant, glowing with faint Gatelight.

A scientist scribbled on a pad.

"She's stable. But the Reaper knows."

A voice from the shadows — cold, metallic:

"Then we must prepare the next phase."

On the far wall, a mirror flickered. It showed not Eri — but Lin.

Screaming into the void.

---

TO BE CONTINUED…