Silence hung between them, thick as ash.
Prince pushed himself off the wall, those black, bottomless eyes fixed on Taigami's broken form.
"What are you going to do now?" Prince asked, his voice neither gentle nor harshâjust present, like gravity itself.
Taigami's shoulders shook. His fingers dug into his palms until crescents of blood formed under his nails. The question hungin the air like poison.
"I don'tâ" his voice cracked, splintered, "I don't know."
The words came out raw, torn from somewhere deep inside him. His body folded in on itself, collapsing under the weight of a universe suddenly without anchors.
"I don't know, I don't know, I don't know," he repeated, each word more desperate, a drowning man with no shore in sight.
Prince sighedânot from impatience, but from understanding. A sound ancient beyond his years.
"Come with us," he said simply.
Sky, who had been watching quietly a few steps away, moved forward, those sapphire eyes soft with compassion. Without speaking, he extended his hand to Taigami.
In that moment, Taigami made the smallest decision a human can makeâthe kind that changes everything.
He took Sky's hand.
And they began to walk together.
The alley stretched on, winding between crumbling brick walls and leaning buildings like a vein through the city's forgotten bones. Sky, Prince, and Taigami moved in silence, sticking to the shadows where the glow of Throst City's main streets couldn't reach them.
Above the alleys, lanterns bobbed in the thickening twilight, casting long, distorted shadows that skittered like ghosts. The muffled hum of the bustling marketplace drifted over the rooftopsâthe scent of grilled meat and the sharp tang of spices carried by the evening breeze.
Taigami walked with his head low, hands stuffed into the ragged pockets of his borrowed jacket. His mind was still trapped somewhere between the crater of his old life and the overwhelming surge of the city.
And thenâhe felt it.
A strange prickle at the base of his neck.
He lifted his head.
Through a narrow gap between two leaning buildings, the main street came into viewâa river of bodies moving under the flickering lights. And there, standing unnaturally still among the flow of people, was a figure.
Tall.
Wrapped in a dark cloak that billowed without wind.
A mask of bone-white obscured his face, the eye slits like hollow tunnels into nothing.
The Masked Man.
Taigamiâs breath caught in his throat.
Before he could think, his feet were moving.
He bolted from the alleyway, heart hammering against his ribs like a drum of war. His lungs burned as he sprinted toward the main street, every instinct screaming for him to reach that figureâto demand answers, to understand why everything had been ripped away from him.
"Taigami!" Princeâs voice barked behind him, sharp and commanding.
Footsteps followedâSky gasping, Prince swearing under his breath.
But Taigami didnât stop.
He burst into the crowd, shoving past a merchant carrying baskets of glowing fruit. Shouts of protest rose around him. His eyes locked onto the spot where the Masked Man had stoodâ
âbut it was empty.
Gone.
The figure had vanished into the sea of strangers like mist.
Taigami stumbled to a stop, chest heaving. His hands clenched into fists, nails biting into his palms so hard he drew blood.
Gone.
Again.
Behind him, Prince caught up, grabbing his shoulder firmly.
"Don't ever run off like that," Prince hissed, his black eyes scanning the crowd warily. "Not here. Not now."
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Taigami turned to argueâbut before he could speak, Princeâs expression shifted. His body tensed.
"We need to leave," Prince said lowly, voice tight with urgency. "Now. Before it gets messy."
At that exact moment, a shout rang out over the marketplace noise:
"There they are! Those little brats! THIEVES!"
Taigami flinched as several burly merchants pointed in their direction, faces twisted in rage.
Within seconds, others joined inâdozens of angry voices rising like a tide, their hands already reaching for sticks, tools, whatever was nearby.
"Stay close," Prince growled. His hand tightened on Taigamiâsshoulder.
But the mob was closing fast.
Taigamiâs heart raced.
Sky backed toward them, his wide sapphire eyes darting between escape routes.
And thenâ
The mist came.
At first, it was barely noticeableâa thin silver fog curling around their ankles.
But within seconds, it thickened into a dense cold mist that blanketed the entire street, swallowing lights and blurring outlines.
Shouts turned to confused cries.
Merchants stumbled blindly, reaching out into the thickening fog, unable to see even a few feet ahead.
Taigami blinked, struggling to keep sight of Skyâs outline just inches away.
A sharp crackle filled the air.
Princeâs hand left his shoulderâand when Taigami turned, he saw electricity sparking at Princeâs feet.
A blur of motion.
Princeâs form became indistinct, vibrating with crackling arcs of blue light.
And then they were movingâ
Noâ
Flying.
One moment, they stood in the mist; the next, they tore through it at impossible speed.
Taigami could barely comprehend itâthe world became streaks of gray and white, the howling of air past his ears. Sky gripped his arm desperately, stumbling to keep up.
Behind them, furious voices rose:
"Stop them!"
"Over there!"
"Catch those thieving littleâ!"
Several merchants, more stubborn or more reckless than the rest, charged blindly after them.
But Prince didnât slow.
If anything, he moved faster.
Dodging overturned carts, leaping over crates, weaving through the chaos like a thread through a loom.
Each time a merchant thought they had them cornered, Prince was already goneâappearing again twenty feet away, dragging Sky and Taigami with him.
A thrown spear sailed past Taigami's ear, close enough that he felt the wind of it.
His legs screamed with exertion. His heart thundered.
But somehow, impossibly, they pulled ahead.
The mist thinned behind them as they left the marketplace far behind. The shouting faded into a distant roar swallowed by the sprawling labyrinth of the old quarter.
Finally, they collapsed into a narrow alley, gasping for breath.
Prince leaned against a cracked wall, his chest heaving with effort. Sky doubled over, hands on his knees, wheezing.
Taigami fell to his knees, forehead pressed against the cold cobblestones.
For a moment, none of them spoke.
Only the distant sounds of the city buzzed in their ears.
Prince wiped sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. His black eyes flicked up the alley.
"Weâre clear," he said at last, voice hoarse.
Taigami lifted his head, swallowing down the wave of nausea that threatened to choke him.
"That... was..." he panted, unable to even finish the sentence.
Prince offered him a small, grim smile. "Welcome to ThrostCity."
They didnât waste any more time.
Moving quickly, they made their way through a labyrinth of overgrown alleys and broken streets, deeper into the old quarter where even the desperate dared not tread.
Finally, they reached their destination.
At the end of a crumbling stone path stood a building half-swallowed by ivy and time.
Its windows were boarded up; its roof sagged under the weight of countless seasons.
A crooked sign above the doorway read something in a language no one spoke anymore.
But it was warm.
It was home.
Sky helped push open the warped wooden door, and they slipped inside.
The interior was dim but alive with quiet energy.
The ground floor had been cleared of rubble.
Rough blankets covered the cold stone floor.
Shelves made from scavenged wood lined the walls, stacked with books, food jars, bundles of herbs, old tools.
A fire pit burned low in a stone hearth, casting flickering orange light across the room.
And there, sitting cross-legged on a threadbare rug, was another boy.
He looked up as they entered.
Dark red hair fell messily over sharp amber eyes. His face was lean, his posture relaxed but alert.
A simple tunic and patched pants hung loosely on his wiry frame.
A faint, almost mischievous smile tugged at his lips.
"Took you long enough," he said lazily, tossing a small stone in the air and catching it.
Prince grunted. "Shut up, Ivan."
Sky dropped heavily onto a cushion, dragging Taigami down beside him.
Ivan tilted his head, studying Taigami with curious amusement.
"So," Ivan said, eyes gleaming in the firelight. "This is the new stray?"
Taigami stared at him, too exhausted to speak.
Ivan's grin widened.
"Welcome to the family, kid," he said.
"Hope you like running for your life."