"I think we're all clear now." Alice hopped off the crates, dusting off his clothes.
Lizzy, however, was far from okay. She gasped dramatically as she noticed the rip in her dress, her expression shifting from shock to rage. "Look at this! My expensive dress is ruined because of you two!"
Kun, standing beside her, stared blankly. "…And?"
"And?!" Lizzy screeched, pointing at the mud stains. "Do you have any idea how much this dress costs? It was custom-made!"
Alice chuckled, kneeling to examine the fabric. "Hmm, I know this design. Let me guess—Serenity made it?"
Lizzy sniffled, her fury wavering. "Yes," she muttered.
"Then I'll just ask her to make you another one," Alice said with a reassuring grin, reaching up to pat her head. "Besides, you look kinda cute when you're pouting like that."
Lizzy's cheeks puffed in annoyance, but she didn't pull away.
Meanwhile, Kun stood off to the side, looking utterly uninterested in their moment. He sighed and turned away, but something caught his eye—a small figure disappearing into a dark alleyway nearby.
A boy. Carrying a loaf of bread.
Kun's curiosity flared. Without a word, he started walking toward the alley.
Alice noticed immediately. "Where are you going now?" he called, exasperated. "Kun, you really don't know how to behave. You're tiny, but you're an absolute menace."
"Said the biggest troublemaker of all," Lizzy quipped.
Kun ignored them. His voice, usually playful and mischievous, turned quiet. "I need to check something."
Alice raised an eyebrow at the shift in tone. Kun rarely sounded serious.
Without another word, Kun disappeared into the alley. Alice hesitated, then followed.
The alley was dim, damp, and hidden from the bustling marketplace. Kun stopped in his tracks at the sight before him.
A little girl sat on the cold ground, shivering—despite it being summer. Her skin was pale, and her veins…
They glowed black.
"Brother, I'm cold…" the girl mumbled, her voice weak.
The boy knelt beside her, holding out the loaf of bread. "It's okay, Mika. Look, I brought food! See? It's a big one!" His voice was bright, forced—desperate to cheer her up.
Mika smiled faintly, but the light in her eyes was dim.
Behind Kun, Alice finally caught up, his eyes widening at the sight. "That glow on her skin…"
Kun's gaze didn't waver. "You know what it is?"
Alice's expression darkened. "It's a curse. The Curse of the Demon." His voice dropped lower. "She must have made a contract or forced one..."
Kun's jaw tightened as he watched the boy break the bread into small pieces, trying to feed his sister.
Alice exhaled sharply, shaking his head. "I always thought this kind of thing was just something in books. My father's advisors always say they're 'handling the problem.'" His voice dripped with sarcasm. "And yet… a little girl…"
Kun didn't respond. His gaze remained locked on Mika's trembling form.
Because deep down, something about this scene felt too familiar.
Kun watched in silence. The boy—thin, with torn clothes and desperate eyes—kept breaking the bread into smaller pieces, feeding Mika like she was made of glass.
But the girl barely ate. Her small hands trembled as she gripped the dirty cloth wrapped around her shoulders.
Kun clenched his fists. "How long has she been like this?" he asked, his voice low.
The boy flinched, startled by their presence. He moved protectively in front of his sister, his sharp gaze flickering between Kun and Alice. "Who are you?" he demanded. "What do you want?"
Alice stepped forward, his usual carefree air gone. "We're not here to hurt you," he said, raising his hands in mock surrender. "But your sister—"
"She's fine," the boy snapped. "She just needs rest."
Kun narrowed his eyes. "That's not just sickness. It's spreading."
The boy hesitated, looking at Mika's darkened veins. "It's… not what you think," he muttered. "She'll get better."
Kun wasn't convinced. He had seen enough in the palace to recognize when someone was lying.
Alice crossed his arms. "That's a demon's curse, right?"
Kun nodded, eyes never leaving Mika. "And curses don't just go away."
Alice sighed, rubbing his temples. "Which means we have a problem."
"A very big one," Kun muttered.
Before either of them could say more, Lizzy stormed into the alleyway, heels clicking against the cobblestone. "For heaven's sake, what are you two doing?" she huffed. "We were supposed to lay low, and now you're—"
She stopped mid-sentence, her eyes landing on the girl.
The color drained from Lizzy's face.
"...No." Her voice was barely a whisper. "Not again."
Alice turned to her, frowning. "Lizzy?"
But Lizzy didn't answer. Her hands trembled as she stepped back, horror flickering in her eyes.
Mika suddenly let out a choked gasp. Her small body trembled violently, her breathing ragged.
"Mika?" The boy's voice cracked. "Hey—Mika?!"
The black veins on her arms pulsed. Dark mist curled from her fingertips, creeping along the ground.
Kun tensed. "Alice, something's wrong."
"Yeah, no kidding," Alice muttered, already stepping in front of Lizzy.
The boy panicked. "Stay back!" he yelled. "You'll scare her!"
But Mika's body lurched. She let out a strangled cry—
And the entire alleyway was swallowed in darkness.
A chilling wave of black mist erupted from Mika's small body, swallowing the alley in an unnatural, suffocating gloom. The air turned thick, heavy—like the very shadows were pressing against their skin.
Kun's instincts screamed at him to move.
He grabbed Alice's arm and yanked him back. "Watch out—!"
A sudden force blasted outward, slamming into them. Kun barely managed to keep his footing, while Alice stumbled, catching Lizzy before she could fall.
"This is bad," Alice muttered, his usual playfulness gone. His sharp gaze darted around the darkness, searching for an escape.
Lizzy, trembling, pressed a hand against her chest. "Why…" Her voice was unsteady, barely above a whisper. "Why does it have to be this?"
Kun had no time to ask what she meant.
Mika's body twisted unnaturally. Her eyes, once tired and weak, were now glowing—empty, inhuman. Her frail hands clawed at the air as the black mist slithered around her like living tendrils.
Then—
She spoke.
Or rather, something inside her did.
"…you're...here…"
The voice was layered—deep, echoing, and far too ancient for a child.
The boy clutched Mika tighter. "No, no, no…" He looked up at them with desperation. "I told you to stay back! Now you've woken it up!"
"Woken what up?!" Alice demanded.
The boy's lips parted—
But Mika moved.
Faster than any sickly child should be able to, she lunged toward Kun.
Kun reacted on instinct. He dodged to the side, barely avoiding the shadowy claws that slashed where he once stood. The cobblestone cracked beneath her touch, tendrils of black mist sinking into the ground like poison.
"She's losing control," Kun hissed.
"We need to get out of here," Alice said, his hand already pulling Lizzy back.
Lizzy, still shaken, didn't move. "This can't be happening…"
"Lizzy!" Alice snapped. "Focus—!"
"You don't understand!" she finally shouted, eyes wild. "This isn't just a curse!"
Kun turned sharply. "What do you mean?"
Lizzy gritted her teeth. "It's possession! The demon isn't just cursing her—it's inside her!*"
Alice's breath hitched. "That's possible?"
"Of course it's possible!" Lizzy's fists trembled. "And if it fully takes over—"
The shadows pulsed.
A guttural growl rumbled from Mika's throat.
Then—she vanished.
Kun's eyes widened. His body tensed, instincts screaming at him to move. But before he could react—
A voice echoed in his mind.
"Did I not tell you? Don't let the darkness touch you?"
His breath hitched.
It wasn't Alice. It wasn't Lizzy. It wasn't the boy standing in front of his possessed sister.
It was someone else.
The voice was familiar—low, smooth, and tinged with something almost... amused. But it wasn't comforting. No, it slithered through his mind like an unwanted whisper in a nightmare.
Kun's vision flickered.
For the briefest moment, the world twisted—warped. The shadows stretched unnaturally, writhing like living things.
And at the center of it—
A figure stood, draped in flowing black. A presence so wrong it made Kun's skin crawl. Their face was obscured, but the smirk beneath their hood was clear.
"You're getting involved in something beyond you, little stray," the voice mused. "Will you run? Or will you fall?"
Kun felt a cold hand brush against his shoulder—
"Kun!"
Alice's shout shattered the vision.
Kun snapped back to reality—
Just in time to dodge.
A clawed hand tore through the space where he'd been standing, the force of it sending a sharp gust of air past his face. He barely managed to twist out of the way, rolling across the damp cobblestone.
"She's fast—!" Lizzy gasped.
Mika—no, the thing inside Mika—landed gracefully, her feet barely making a sound. Her small frame trembled, but the movements were unnatural. Her limbs twitched like a puppet on invisible strings. The veins across her pale skin pulsed black, glowing like ink spreading through glass.
Her head tilted at an unnatural angle.
And then—
She laughed.
A horrible, choked sound, layered with something inhuman.
"Run... hide... fight... scream..." the voice rasped through Mika's lips. "What will you choose?"
The boy—her brother—stumbled forward, desperation on his face. "Mika! Please!"
The possessed girl turned to him sharply—
And suddenly, she was in front of him.
"Mika!"
Her fingers curled around his throat.
"No—!" Lizzy shouted, moving to stop her.
Kun didn't think.
He moved.
Faster than he should've. Faster than he even knew he could.
One second, he was standing behind Alice and Lizzy.
The next—
He was right in front of Mika, his body positioned between her and her brother.
How—?
There was no time to question it.
Mika's fingers grazed Kun's neck—
And suddenly, his mind split open.
A flood of images—
A ruined city. A sky, torn apart. A throne of black thorns. Eyes. Watching. Waiting.
Pain.
Kun gasped, stumbling back, his vision swaying.
Alice caught him before he fell. "Kun?!"
Lizzy grabbed Mika's wrist, forcing her away from the boy. "Snap out of it!"
Mika let out a strangled hiss, her body shuddering violently.
The black veins pulsed faster. The dark mist thickened.
Kun clenched his teeth, gripping Alice's arm for support. His heart was pounding, breath uneven. "That thing inside her..." His voice came out strained. "It's not just a demon."
Alice's eyes flickered with something sharp. "What do you mean?"
Kun's hand pressed against his temple. The images were fading, slipping from his grasp, but one thing remained clear.
That presence.
That power.
It was the same as the figure in his vision.
And it was looking right at him.
"It knows me," Kun muttered under his breath.
Alice barely had time to process that before Mika's body arched back—
And she screamed.
Not the scream of a child.
But the roar of something ancient, something powerful—something hungry.
The alley trembled.
Before they could react, the demon let out a bone-rattling shriek.
Then—an explosion of pure darkness.
A shockwave blasted through the alley, hurling Kun, Alice, Lizzy, and Mika's brother backward. Kun slammed into a stone wall, the impact knocking the air from his lungs before everything faded into darkness.
Lizzy crashed into a pile of crates, splinters cutting into her arms as she lost consciousness. Alice hit the ground hard, groaning before his vision blurred. The boy landed beside his sister, unmoving.
The world fell into eerie silence.
The demon, now freed from Mika's small body, loomed over Kun's limp form. Its shape was fluid, shifting—no longer human, but not quite formless either. Its voice was a whisper, a hiss, a slither of something ancient.
"How curious…"
Dark tendrils reached toward Kun's exposed neck, where a thin graze had opened. The demon muttered in a language lost to time, its words twisting through the air like smoke.
Black mist seeped into the wound.
A cold, suffocating presence burrowed deep inside him.
Kun's unconscious body twitched slightly.
The demon chuckled, low and guttural. "I'll see you soon, little Kun…"
Then—it vanished.
Mika's body slumped to the ground, freed at last, her breathing shallow but steady. The unnatural darkness that had clung to the alley began to fade. But the echoes of something far more dangerous remained.
Moments later, the heavy sound of boots on cobblestone rang out.
A squad of armored figures stormed into the alleyway, their weapons drawn, their eyes sharp with trained focus. At their lead was a woman in dark silver armor, the crest of House Blackridge emblazoned on her shoulder.
The Crimson Order had arrived.
Evergloam's elite demon-hunting force—tasked with purging the cursed, slaying the forsaken, and ensuring the kingdom's shadows never grew too deep.
Lady Selene Blackridge surveyed the scene with piercing, steely eyes. The children, the traces of lingering corruption, the unmistakable scent of a demon's presence.
Her grip on her blade tightened. "We were too late."
She turned to her second-in-command. "Secure the area. Detain the children. And bring that one to me." She pointed at Kun. "I need to know what he saw."*
The knight hesitated. "My lady… what if he's been tainted?"
Selene's gaze flickered, resting on the dark mist still faintly curling at Kun's wound.
"Then we'll have no choice but to purge him."*
Kun, still unconscious, remained unaware of what awaited him.
But deep inside, in the depths of his mind—
Something stirred.
Something dark.
Something waiting.