The water roared—
Then snapped.
A chain cut through the current like a whip of light.
Metal shimmered with runes that didn't belong to this timeline.
The links coiled tight.
Slicing through the flood like it wanted to find him.
And it did.
The end wrapped Raze's arm.
Shoulder to wrist, tight.
He barely had time to gasp before the pull came.
Not a rescue. A rip.
The water folded around his frame as the force yanked him upp. Too fast, too clean.
Like he'd been claimed.
Air hit his lungs. Then ground. Hard. Cold. Real.
He slammed into wet earth, coughing. Alive.
Beside him… boots. Red-skinned legs. And a voice that split the sky with far too much familiarity.
"Hey! Mister Raze!"
He blinked.
Syka stood over him—taller now, sharper.
The clumsy girl he remembered was gone.
In her place: a crimson Oni with chain-wrapped gauntlets, golden eyes, and a weapon that still hummed from whatever it had just torn through.
Her stance was deadly.
But her face? Glowing.
She crouched fast, hand already checking his pulse, pressing two fingers to his neck with shocking precision.
"Breathing… good. Still warm. That's a plus."
Her eyes flicked up. "You alright? Can you talk?"
He coughed once. "I think so."
Alteria was already moving toward them, stunned. Her veil was down. Expression unreadable.
Blood still on her palm. An Oni had gotten past royal perimeter. Past the ridge. Past her. "How did you—"
"Later, Princess," Syka snapped, not even looking at her. "Raze was drowning, I came here to save him." She glanced back down at Raze. "A few more seconds and I would've had to pull your soul out instead."
Raze just stared.
That voice… it couldn't have been.
"…Syka?"
Her smile broke through. Bright. Familiar.
"Told you I'd catch up, didn't I?"
Then she tapped his forehead lightly.
"You owe me a meal. And maybe your life, depending how dramatic we're feeling today."
Alteria stepped closer, voice tight.
"How did you get past the castle ward?"
Syka stood—slowly.
Her chain uncoiled, snapping back around her waist like a sash. She turned, grinned wide.
"Please. Security's good. But I'm better."
Then she winked.
"Oni don't need doors when we've got timing."
And then he passed out.
Syka didn't bother trying to catch him.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
[ soulbound link reinitiated: SYKA ]
[ synchronization restored | sequence unbroken ]
[ RAZE: stabilized ]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
…
"Raze.
…Sorry.
Kaviar.
Wake up."
A voice pierced the stillness. Not loud. Not urgent. Just done waiting.
He groaned. "No. Few more minutes."
But the light had already touched his face.
One eye cracked open.
Above him Alteria, arms crossed.
She weight was shifted to one side.
A barely-there smile curving at her mouth like it didn't quite want to be caught.
"You really are hard to kill," she said.
He didn't answer.
She stepped forward. Reached down. Gripped his shirt like it owed her something then yanked.
Raze sat up first.
Then stood. On his own. Shoulders slow.
Posture heavier. Taller now, and not just in inches.
He looked at her for a breath.
Just long enough to remember she tried.
That she'd still try again.
Then turned.
The folded clothes slipped from the edge of the bed, landing in a neat pile without sound.
The room was new. Not in stone, not in shadow.
Blue-threaded curtains caught real air. The kind that smelled like wind, not filtered corridors.
He'd been upgraded.
A sigh rolled out of him as he cracked his neck and walked toward the door.
"Where the hell is Syka?"
"In your old room," Alteria said, already walking behind him. "She says she's staying. Kicked every guard's ass that's tried to argue otherwise."
He blinked. "…Huh."
At the door, he paused. Hand on the frame.
Then looked back.
"Thanks," he said.
Alteria didn't ask for what.
Instead, she gave him something rarer than forgiveness… Permission.
"Don't die again." mm
He opened the door.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Tlhe door swung open.
There she was.
Laying sideways across his old bed.
One boot on, the other dangling off the edge like she hadn't decided if she was staying or just taking a break from wrecking the perimeter.
Red skin.
Gold eyes.
And a smile that showed up first, like it ran faster than the rest of her face.
"Hi, Raze," she said without looking, arms folded behind her head. "Your sheets suck, by the way."
He stepped into the room.
Brows lowered. Mind reeling.
She didn't flinch. Didn't sit up. Just kept talking to the ceiling like it was part of the conversation.
"You're probably wondering, 'Why are you red? Why do you look older? Who told you that you could be as tall as me now?'"
She stretched, spine popping.
"The answer is yes. To all of that."
He blinked.
"Syka…?"
She finally turned her head. Looked at him. Really looked.
"Mmhmm."
A beat.
"Shocked? Impressed? Confused? All three? Want me to slow it down or keep going?"
Raze opened his mouth—
Then shut it.
Syka smirked.
"Figured. I'll explain after food. Or a nap. Whichever I survive first."
She rolled onto her side, eyes half-lidded.
"You owe me both, by the way."
…
He didn't know what to say—until he did.
"You saved my life."
Syka didn't blink. "You helped me create mine."
His brow pulled. "That's… not how it works."
She rolled onto her back, eyes tracing the ceiling again.
"Yes, it is. In my book it is."
She looked at him—just a glance, just enough.
"That's all that matters right now. You're alive. I'm alive. We both survived, right?"
He didn't answer at first. Just sat with it.
"Yeah," he said finally. "But… why? I owe you. You didn't owe me a thing. Why did you save me? How did you even know I was in danger?"
Syka sat up just enough to meet his eyes. Her grin faded.
"There's a lot of things you don't know right now, Raze."
She patted the space beside her.
"Sit with me."
He did. Wordless. Quiet.
She didn't ask permission.
Just leaned into him, head settling against his shoulder, legs curling slightly toward his.
"You're my master," she said. Not teasing. Not shy.
Just fact.
"And even after this… I'm your student."