Chapter 17: Beneath the Quiet Sky
Late afternoon painted the sky in soft shades of orange and pink.
Haruto and Airi walked slowly along the quiet path near the riverbank.
Cherry blossoms fluttered gently in the breeze, drifting like delicate snow.
"It's so quiet today..." Airi said, glancing up at the sky.
"Almost too quiet."
Haruto smirked.
"Not complaining," he said.
"We deserve one day where the world doesn't try to kill us."
Airi chuckled softly, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear.
"True," she said.
"But... it feels strange, doesn't it?
Like the calm before something... big."
Haruto glanced at her, noticing the way her fingers unconsciously brushed the ring on her hand.
"You always sense things before I do," he said quietly.
They slowed their steps.
The river whispered beside them.
The world felt... fragile.
"Haruto..." Airi whispered, almost as if speaking to herself.
"Do you ever think about what we were?
Before all this?"
Haruto's gaze dropped to the ground.
"All the time," he said quietly.
"I just don't know if I'm ready to remember it...
Because whatever we were...
I think I loved you even then."
Airi stopped walking.
Her eyes widened, shimmering beneath the glowing sunset.
"W-What are you saying... all of a sudden?" she stammered.
Haruto turned to face her fully, his voice steady and sincere.
"I mean it," he said.
"Even if fate's messing with us... even if we're just pieces on some divine board...
The way I feel when I'm with you...
It's real."
Airi lowered her gaze.
Her hand brushed the silver ring — glowing faintly, as if answering his words.
"I'm scared sometimes," she admitted, voice trembling slightly.
"Of what we'll become...
Of what we'll have to face."
She looked up at him.
"But when I'm with you... that fear fades a little."
Haruto stepped closer.
The distance between them vanished.
"Then stay close," he said softly.
"No matter what comes.
I'll protect you — not because I have to... but because I want to."
Their faces were inches apart.
The breeze paused, holding its breath.
Their eyes locked — a connection deeper than memory.
"...Then I'll stay," Airi whispered.
"Always."
Their hands met.
Fingers intertwined.
A moment of pure, fragile warmth—
CRACK!
Suddenly — a massive shockwave EXPLODED across the ground behind them.
The earth split open.
The pavement ripped like paper, carving a deep wound into the landscape.
Trees snapped like twigs.
The sky itself seemed to tremble.
Dust filled the air.
Crows screamed and scattered into the sky.
Haruto instinctively pulled Airi behind him, shielding her with his body.
"What the hell—?!" he shouted.
They turned toward the impact point — but saw nothing.
Only a smoking crater.
Ruined earth stretching endlessly ahead.
The sound hadn't just been loud — it had torn through the air.
Haruto's ears rang from the force — but beneath the noise, he swore he heard it:
Breathing.
Deep. Heavy. Ancient.
Airi clutched his arm tightly.
"Haruto..." she whispered, fear lacing her voice.
"Something's coming."
A vibration pulsed through the ground — rhythmic and monstrous.
Haruto's watch buzzed violently against his wrist.
Not in warning.
In fear.
Haruto tightened his grip around Airi's hand.
"Whatever did that..." he said grimly.
"It's already watching us.
And it's not done."
The screen lingered on the smoldering crater.
A single, faint footprint burned into the earth.
Enormous.
Unnatural.
The harbinger of something far worse.
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TO BE CONTINUED...