Crimson Alleys and Flickering Hope.

One Hour Earlier

The bunker's air was a suffocating blend of damp earth and the faint tang of rust, the single bulb overhead casting a sickly yellow glow that barely reached the corners of the concrete chamber.

Borun knelt beside Vol's cot, his small hands trembling as he dabbed a damp cloth across his little brother's sweat-slicked forehead. Vol's fever had turned his face a ghostly pale, his breaths coming in shallow, uneven gasps that pierced Borun's heart like shards of glass.

"It's okay, Vol," Borun whispered, his voice a fragile thread of reassurance. He squeezed his five-year-old brother's hand, forcing a smile. "Sister Aeri's gone to get medicine. Soon you'll be better, and we'll play hide-and-seek with her, just like old times."

Borun's mind drifted to brighter days, when he and Vol chased Aeri through the sprawling garden yard, the cool wind weaving around them like a joyful chorus, their laughter echoing with every step...moments now so distant they felt like dreams stolen by a cruel, unyielding reality.

Vol stirred, his eyelids fluttering open, revealing eyes clouded with fever but sparking with a faint glimmer of hope. Borun's face, etched with worry, lit up like a lantern in the gloom. "Vol! You're awake!" he exclaimed, his voice breaking with relief. "How are you feeling?"

Vol tried to push himself up, his small arms trembling under the effort. "Rest, Vol, don't get up," Borun urged, pressing gently on his shoulder. But Vol, stubborn even in sickness, sat up anyway, the blanket slipping to reveal his thin frame. "Brother, where's Sister Aeri?" he asked, his voice hoarse but eager.

Borun's smile widened, though his eyes darted nervously to the bunker's sealed hatch. "She went to get you medicine. You'll be better in no time, Aeri said so herself."

"Really?" Vol's eyes sparkled, a flicker of excitement cutting through his fevered haze.

"Really," Borun nodded, their gazes locking in a moment of shared hope. Their grins mirrored each other, a brief flare of warmth in the cold bunker. But the moment shattered like glass under a hammer.

A hiss erupted from above, sharp and sudden. Water sprayed from the sprinklers embedded in the bunker's ceiling, a cold cascade that drenched the cot and puddled on the floor.

Vol's head snapped up, his excitement undimmed. "Brother, the water's leaking from the sprinklers!" he said, his voice bright despite his weakness. "We can't waste the water, let's fix it!"

Borun didn't answer. His body froze, the cloth slipping from his fingers as his eyes locked onto the central sprinkler. His heart thudded, a frantic rhythm that drowned out Vol's words. Cold sweat beaded on his brow, his breath catching as dread coiled in his gut like a serpent.

Vol's smile faltered. "Brother? What is it? What's wrong?"

Borun snapped back to himself, his voice low and urgent. "Vol, can you walk?" He grabbed his brother's shoulders, his eyes wide with terror. "We need to use the back exit. Now."

Vol's confusion deepened, but the fear in Borun's face, pale, taut, unyielding, silenced any questions.

He nodded, trusting his brother implicitly. Borun snatched a butter knife from the bunker's meager kitchen supplies, its dull edge gleaming faintly as he tucked it into his belt. He helped Vol to his feet, supporting half his weight as the younger boy swayed, his fever-weakened legs barely holding.

Together, they stumbled to the back exit, a hidden panel concealed behind a stack of crates. Borun's fingers fumbled with the lock, his heart pounding as he secured it from the outside, sealing the bunker behind them.

The underground tunnel was a claustrophobic vein of stone, its walls slick with moisture and faintly glowing moss. Borun gripped Vol's hand, guiding him through the darkness, their footsteps muffled but echoing in the oppressive silence. Vol's breaths were labored, each step a struggle, but Borun's arm around him was a lifeline, steady and sure.

They emerged into a back alley, a narrow crevice between towering buildings in the capital's underbelly. The air was thick with the stench of garbage and mana residue, the shadows deep and unyielding. Borun pulled Vol behind a rusted dumpster, crouching low, his eyes scanning the alley for threats.

"Listen, Vol," Borun whispered, his voice barely audible over the distant hum of the city. "Out of the five sprinklers, only four are for cooling. The one in the center...it's not heat-triggered. It's connected to a pressure plate near the bunker's entrance. If it goes off…" His voice trembled, and he swallowed hard. "It means someone stepped on it. Someone who isn't Aeri, because she set it herself. Someone's trying to get into the bunker."

Vol's eyes widened, his small body trembling not just from fever but from fear. "What should we—" His words cut off as Borun pressed a hand over his mouth, a sharp shh silencing him.

Thud. Thud. Footsteps, faint at first, grew louder, each one a hammer against Borun's nerves. The shadows in the alley shifted, and a figure emerged, a man, cloaked in darkness, his silhouette sharp against the dim streetlight.

Something glinted in his hand, swinging lazily through the air. A detection artifact? Borun's mind raced, his grip tightening on the butter knife. The man was close now, too close. If he spotted them, there'd be no escape.

Borun's heart thundered, his legs shaking but his resolve hardening. He couldn't wait to be found. With a surge of courage, he stepped from the shadows, the butter knife raised, its dalda-smeared blade catching the faint light.

"Hey! Hey... That's dangerous..can you please drop that down..!"

Aeri staggered through the capital's back alleys, her punctured leg trailing blood with every agonizing step. Broken ribs ground against her lungs, each breath a jagged knife in her chest, but she pressed on, her body screaming in protest.

The pain was nothing compared to the single thought looping in her mind, a desperate prayer that drowned out the chaos of her wounds: Please, gods, keep Vol and Borun safe. She didn't care about the blood seeping from her leg, the organs bruised by shattered bones, or the exhaustion threatening to drag her into darkness. Her brothers were all that mattered.

Forty minutes of sheer will brought her to the alley where the bunker's back exit spilled out, a shadowed crevice between crumbling buildings. The air shifted, heavy with a metallic tang that made her stomach lurch. Blood. Too much of it. Her heart raced, and she forced her broken body to move faster, dragging her useless leg as she rounded a corner.

A small figure stumbled into view, panting frantically, tripping over his own feet. He collapsed before her, and Aeri's breath caught. "Vol!" She dropped to her knees, ignoring the stab of pain, and pulled him into a fierce hug. "Are you okay? Why are you here? Where's Borun?"

Vol clung to her, his small arms wrapping around her neck as if letting go would unravel him. "Brother… Brother Borun…" he stuttered, his voice trembling as he pointed a shaky finger down the alley.

Aeri's gaze followed, and her war-hardened resolve faltered. The scene before her was a slaughterhouse.

Bodies littered the ground, torn apart as if by a feral beast. Blood painted the walls, pooling in the cracks of the cobblestones, the air thick with the stench of iron and death. Organs spilled from ripped torsos, limbs severed with surgical precision, heads rolling free from necks. Even the battlefields she'd witnessed paled against this carnage...not a fight, but a massacre, driven by a thirst for blood that left the alley a crimson nightmare.

And there, amidst the wreckage, stood Borun. Motionless. His ten-year-old frame was rigid, his eyes empty, staring at the ground as if the world had drained from him. A butter knife hung loosely in his hand, smeared with dalda and now streaked with blood.

"Borun!" Aeri's voice cracked as she scooped Vol into her arms, stumbling over corpses, tripping, crawling, until she reached him. She pulled him into a desperate embrace, heedless of the blood soaking her knees. "Are you alright? Can you hear me?"

Borun blinked, light flickering back into his vacant eyes. He looked into Aeri's glacial blue gaze, and the dam broke. Tears streamed down his face, and he sobbed like the child he was. "Sister Aeri," he choked, repeating her name like a lifeline, his small body shaking against hers.

"What happened here?" Aeri asked, her voice soft but urgent, her hands cupping his face.

Borun's eyes darted around, wild with fear. "Sister Aeri, we need to leave. He will come back." His voice dropped to a whisper. "We need to get to the bunker."

Aeri tried to stand, but her legs buckled, the adrenaline that had carried her fading now that she knew her brothers were alive. Her vision swam, pain roaring through her shattered body. She pressed Vol's hand into Borun's, her voice firm despite the tremble. "Borun, take Vol and run to the bunker."

Borun's face twisted in panic. "No, Sister Aeri, you have to come with us! He… he's… Candymus..will.." Borun shuttered, clearly fumbling for the words.

"...Candymus..?" Aeri echoed, confusion cutting through her haze.

A voice, sharp and irritated, sliced through the alley. "Tch. It's Caelumis, damn it. Caelumis!"

Aeri's head snapped toward the sound. From the shadows emerged a towering figure, drenched in blood, his white hair slick with crimson.

Caelumis. His eyes gleamed, a fading crimson glow shifting to molten gold, like embers cooling in the night. He moved with a predator's grace, his hands, still wet with blood, raking through his hair as he stopped before Aeri, who crouched, barely holding herself upright.

Vol and Borun shrank behind her, their breaths hitching as Aeri tried to shield them, her body screaming in protest.

"Did you do this?" she asked, her voice steady, gaze fierce, despite the exhaustion pulling at her.

Caelumis glanced at the carnage, then back at her, a wry smile tugging at his lips. "Yeah, that's me. But, hey, they attacked first." The crimson in his eyes faded completely, leaving only gold, warm but unreadable.

Aeri's mind raced. Was he savior or threat? She held his gaze, her strength faltering. "Thank you… for saving them," she managed, her voice cracking. She set Vol gently on the ground, his fevered eyes darting to Caelumis's blood-soaked form before dropping in fear. "He's been sick with a fever for two days," she said. "He needs medicine. Can you… do me this favor?"

Caelumis's golden eyes flicked to Vol, then back to Aeri. He hesitated, his voice halting. "Well… my house is nearby. I can treat him there." He rubbed the back of his neck, clearly unsure if he'd said the right thing.

Aeri nodded, a weak smile touching her lips as she rested a hand on Borun's head. "Thank you," she whispered. Then, with a soft thud, her body gave out, collapsing onto the blood-slicked cobblestones.

Borun and Vol froze, their eyes wide with panic. "Umm… is she dead?" Caelumis asked, scratching his head, his tone so awkward it bordered on absurd.

The boys whirled on him, their faces crumpling as the words sank in. "Aeri!" Borun cried, shaking her limp form, tears streaming anew. Vol's wails joined his, a heart-wrenching chorus.

Caelumis flinched, waving his hands frantically. "Hey, hey! She's not dead, just hurt! Don't shake her like that!" He knelt beside Aeri, his blood-stained hands hovering uncertainly. "I'll carry her. You two follow me."

He tried lifting her, but his arms strained, and he nearly toppled. He glanced at the boys, who stared at him with anxious eyes, then grinned sheepishly. "She's… heavy!" he declared, as if it were a grand revelation.

Borun and Vol exchanged a glance, their gazes flicking to the pile of bodies behind Caelumis, men he'd torn through like a storm, then back to his flustered expression.

Undeterred, Caelumis said. "Piggyback it is. Help me out, yeah?" He shot them a lopsided grin, utterly at odds with the gore-soaked alley.

The boys hesitated, their fear warring with necessity. Finally, they stepped forward, their small hands helping Caelumis hoist Aeri onto his back. Her weight sagged against him, and he grunted, adjusting her carefully. "Yup, definitely heavy," he muttered, staggering forward with a theatrical huff.

Borun and Vol trailed behind, their footsteps quiet, their eyes darting between Aeri's limp form and the bloodied man carrying her.