The warm water trickled down Ashiro's body, forming small rivulets on the sleek, dark tiles of the shower floor. His silver hair clung to his face, framing his sharp, stoic features as he leaned one hand against the wall, his head slightly bowed.
'It's been six years huh?'
For a fleeting moment, his thoughts drifted. Kaguya. Her shield. Her smile. Her resolve. It all felt so recent, even though six years had passed since her life was snatched away by the Terradrakes. The memory still burned, raw and unrelenting, tightening his chest like a vice.
The image of her desperate look on her face, her last stand, replayed in his mind—a reminder of his failure to protect her. Ashiro clenched his fist, the droplets of water on his skin running faster as his body tensed.
"You're doing it again," the raspy voice of the Nexomorph suddenly broke through, like nails on a chalkboard.
