The group sprinted through the shadows, their breaths ragged, their hearts pounding. Lady Naga led the charge, glancing back over her shoulder at the towering form of the Nexomorph. Its monstrous frame loomed against the evening dew, its abyssal head fixed on the dorm guards who stood paralyzed in terror.
"We have to move" Lady Naga hissed, her voice sharp. "There's no saving him. He's not Ashiro anymore!"
Hanabi and Suguru followed her without a word, their faces pale and expressions grim. Kyoto hesitated but soon complied, his steps shaky. Shikaku, however, stopped dead in his tracks, his head snapping toward the Nexomorph as it let out a guttural, pained growl.
The sound froze everyone in place, even Lady Naga. It wasn't the roar of a predator–it was something else. Something filled with agony and despair.
"Wait," Shikaku said suddenly, his voice firm and resolute.
