The shrine was quiet, save for the occasional creak of old wood and the distant sigh of wind through broken tiles. Moonlight poured in through a gap in the roof, illuminating the scattered group in soft silver.
Astra stirred first, groaning faintly as she sat up, her throat parched.
"Ugh… where's that pouch Kaen gave me…" she muttered, patting around blindly. Her hand landed on the flask, but of course it was stuck in the strap. She yanked at it. It didn't budge. She growled under her breath and let it fall beside her with a dull thud.
That's when she heard it.
A voice.
No… not a voice exactly. A song.
A haunting tune drifting through the shrine like fog—soft, lilting, and eerily out of place.
Astra froze, her breath caught in her throat. Slowly, she looked around.
"…Hello?" she whispered. No reply. Just the same low, distant hum. She gulped and immediately turned to the nearest lump of fabric—Seiya.
She crawled over, shaking him. "Hey. Hey! Did you hear that?"
He groaned and rolled over, a pink sleeve flopping across his face. "Wha—what now?"
"Someone's singing," she hissed. "You didn't hear it?"
Eyes half-shut, he groaned again. "Oh great. Must be some clingy singing spirit now. You've been haunted again."
"I'm serious!" she whispered.
"You screamed half the night from your nightmares and kept everyone up—just let me sleep! Please!" He yanked the pink sleeve back over his face like a blanket.
Astra rolled her eyes so hard it nearly made a sound. "Ugh. Useless."
She crawled back to her spot, leaning against the old wooden pillar, clutching her pouch and trying to ignore the increasingly clear melody weaving through the air.
But she couldn't.
The tune wrapped around her ears, gentle yet pulling—like an invisible thread slowly winding around her thoughts. Every note tugged harder. It wasn't just haunting—it was beckoning.
Astra sat upright. Her pulse quickened. She didn't want to move… but something in her legs moved anyway.
She got up, quietly, barefoot, and stepped toward the door.
Behind her, the shrine looked like a scene of disaster:
Seirou was snoring gently, collapsed against an old wooden idol with one leg propped up and the other dangling like he'd been dropped from the sky. Shion lay nearby, upside-down, with his feet higher than his head and his mouth slightly open like a fish in meditation. Ryoma had somehow curled himself into a tight spiral near the corner.
Seiya was half-buried in the pink robe, muttering curses in his sleep.
Kaen was the only one who looked composed, resting on his side, Xue clung to him like a tiger cub, small arms wrapped around his waist, cheek pressed to his robes, completely still except for the occasional twitch of one ear.
None of them stirred.
Only Astra moved, footsteps featherlight, heart pounding, as she stepped into the night beyond the shrine—drawn toward the song that refused to let her go.
The night had thickened, ink-dark and silent, except for that strange, haunting tune that lured Astra. She stepped out from the shrine's worn threshold, arms wrapped around herself as the cold bit at her skin.
The moon was veiled behind shifting clouds, casting the ruined temple grounds in fragmented shadows. Everything beyond a few feet blurred into a murky black—but the sound… it was crystal clear now.
A voice. Soft. Male.
It came from the right.
Astra stiffened and slowly turned her head in that direction. Her throat tightened. Gulping down the lump rising in it, she began to walk.
The gravel crunched softly beneath her bare feet as she made her way through the overgrown stone path, past forgotten altars and toppled statues cloaked in moss and ivy. With every step, the melody sharpened—no longer just a tune, but something more… mournful. Mesmerizing. As if each note carried sorrow soaked in centuries.
Her steps grew quicker.
I know this sound, she thought suddenly. But how?
It was familiar—not in memory, but in her bones. It stirred something hidden, something buried. She couldn't say where or when she had heard it, but her soul reacted like an old wound flinching under fresh salt.
Then—
Silence.
The song ended.
Astra halted mid-step, breath caught in her chest. She stood there, eyes scanning the dark—waiting. Hoping it would resume.
Nothing.
Only the wind, brushing the old eaves of forgotten roofs, whistling faintly between cracks. Her heart pounded. She turned in a slow circle, ears straining.
"Where did it go…?" she whispered, voice barely a breath.
There was no answer.
She let out a sigh, dragging a hand down her face. "Ugh… what am I even doing out here? Maybe Seiya was right. Just another spirit." Her voice didn't feel like her own. It felt far away, distant—as if part of her had already left this place, chasing that sound. Shaking her head, she turned around and froze.
Her voice didn't feel like her own. It slipped from her lips like a whisper lost in the wind—distant, detached, as though part of her had already followed that haunting melody into the unknown.
She shook her head, trying to clear the fog in her mind, and turned only to come face-to-face with him.
Astra froze.
Two eyes stared back at her from the darkness, unblinking. sharp, cold, and alive. Twin slivers of light caught in them, reflecting the moonlight above.
She gasped, a quiet sound that barely escaped her throat.
Those eyes.
She'd seen them before.Once—at the gate. His face Hidden behind the dark cloth.
But even then, they had seared into her memory like the quiet burn of a winter frost.
Now, they were inches away. And they hadn't changed.
Her heart thudded violently as she stared, the night falling silent around her. Something about him pulled at her chest, maddeningly familiar. Her hand moved before she could stop herself—slowly, hesitantly, reaching up toward the cloth covering his face.
But before her fingertips could graze the fabric—
Snap.
He moved.
Lightning-quick, his hand lashed out and gripped her wrist. In the same motion, he flung her hand away with terrifying force.
Astra stumbled backward, her boots scraping across the stone. One step. Two. Three. She nearly fell, catching herself just in time. Her wrist throbbed, the ghost of his grip still wrapped around her skin.
Eyes wide, she stared at him, anger and confusion flashing across her face. "What the hell was that for?!" she snapped. "I was just trying to see your face!"
He said nothing.
Just stood there.
Still. Silent. Unmoving.
The wind tugged at the edges of his cloak, making the fabric flutter like smoke, but he remained rooted in place—his eyes never leaving hers.
Astra's glare deepened, though unease curled around her like cold mist. Her breath hitched slightly, and her voice came out as a whisper.
"Wait… Who are you? What are you doing here? Were you the one… singing?"
The man took a step forward, unhurried. "Yes," he said quietly, "I was the one."
"Oh," Astra muttered, blinking, caught off guard by his bluntness—just as he kept walking straight toward her.
"Wait—wait, what?!" she yelped, stepping back quickly until her spine pressed against a cold stone wall.
He didn't stop. His head tilted, curious. "What's your name?" he asked.
"Huh?" she frowned, eyes narrowing at the sudden question.
"I asked," he repeated, voice smooth and oddly calm, "what's your name?"
Astra held her sore wrist, still aching faintly from before. She raised a brow and huffed, "Why should I tell you just because you asked? You're the stranger here. I don't even know you."
The man's expression didn't shift much. "Saying a name doesn't burn your tongue."
"Maybe not," Astra said, tapping her chin in mock thought, "but still… no. I'm not telling you."
There was the faintest scoff from him a quiet exhale, almost amused. But then his eyes locked onto hers, sharper now… glowing faintly, unnaturally. The intensity in them was sudden, like a storm cloud shifting above her.
Astra blinked, startled. "What- ?"
"What's your name?" he asked again—firmer this time. There was something behind his words now, some invisible pressure creeping into the air, curling around her like invisible vines.
Astra squinted at him. "Are you deaf?" she snapped, crossing her arms. "Didn't I say I'm not telling you?"
His brow furrowed.That wasn't how this usually went.
Why isn't it working?
He leaned in slightly, his gaze sharpening, voice dropping lower. "Just look in my eyes… and tell me your—"
"Move!"
Astra shoved him back with both hands. He blinked, actually blinking for the first time since she'd met him taking half a step back, not from force, but from sheer surprise.
Astra huffed, dusting off her shoulders. "Ugh. That was creepy. Do you always ask people for their names with glowing eyes? Is this your idea of flirting? Because it's terrible. No girl's gonna fall for you acting this weird."
The man said nothing, watching her quietly. Astra didn't notice it. She turned away, muttering, "I'm going back to sleep. Weirdos everywhere these days…"
But before she could take a step, his hand shot out and gripped her wrist again, halting her mid-stride.
"What are you doing—"
"Your name." His voice was low, but this time there was a sharpness beneath it. Not command but urgency.
Astra blinked, caught off guard by the shift. "Tch. Looks like you won't shut up until you hear it." She groaned, flipping her hair over one shoulder.
"Fine. Hear it."
A smirk tugged at her lips as she straightened, chin tilting defiantly.
"Xǐ Yīngluò Xiǎohuā Lánxiá Yǔxiāo Bǐngzhàn Qiáohuì Jīnglàn Méiguī Yèlíng Kěluó Zhèngshū Gǔyún Shēnghuá."