The path to Kanah was silent. Not peaceful—silent. As if the world itself held its breath.
Sunny stepped beyond the crumbling arch that marked the village's threshold. The sky above dimmed unnaturally, and the ground felt... different. Like walking across forgotten bones.
The first house he passed was covered in ash, its windows shattered from the inside.
No corpses. No blood.
Just emptiness.
> "Where is everyone?" Sunny whispered.
But before his foot reached the next step… the world shifted.
The sky blinked out. The air turned thick.
His breath hitched.
And then he saw her.
---
He stood in a narrow alleyway. Cold. Raining.
A girl's hand in his—small, fragile. Her face blurred by memory, yet her voice rang clear.
> "I'm scared, Sunny…"
Sunny froze.
This wasn't a dream.
This was his memory.
> "I'll protect you," his younger self said. "I promise."
Then the screams started. Steel clashed. Fire rose.
The hand slipped from his.
He turned—
Too late.
He couldn't move. Couldn't scream.
Only watch.
---
And then it was gone.
He blinked—and he was back. Standing in Kanah.
Sweat dripped from his brow. His hands trembled.
> "What the hell was that…?"
A voice echoed from the wind.
> "Your truth is the key. Face it, or be consumed."
Sunny clenched his fists.
He didn't know who or what was behind it.
But something was watching. Testing. Waiting.
And this… was just the beginning.