Fern’s life had always been in that cold, silent castle. To Fern that castle had always been like that even on the hottest and loudest of days. He quickly learned that the only way to survive was to prove your worth, even though being in that castle felt like slowly drowning.

But one day Sky, who had been Fern’s best friend since birth and Fern’s light through all the hard times. Decided that Fern needed a break, so he thought, “Fern’s always busy, I should convince him to come to the human world with me!”. So he clumsily ran to Fern to ask him to go with him to the human world. Fern could hear Sky stomping like a toddler running up stairs, full of excitement to Fern. Fern turned around to look at Sky with a smile as warm as the sun and full of care.

Sky asked Fern with a smile full of childlike joy, “You should come to the human world with me!”.

Fern looks at him, but his smile no longer meets his eyes. Then he replied in an ambivalent voice, “My schedule does not allow for it, unfortunately… Please accept my sincerest apologies, I have documentation and documents to do.”.

Sky scowled playfully and then loudly muttered, “ Why do you always have to use such erudite words all the time?”.

Fern looked at him and tried to hide his soft teasing laugh. Then Fern gently pat Sky’s soft white hair and bantered as he quietly and quickly glided away “At least I’m not an obsequious person.”.

As Fern slowly vanished to his room, Asmo silently promenaded behind him and quickly grabbed his arm softly. Fern whipped around like a tornado, then breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it was just Asmo. Then Asmo falsely claimed “Fern, I heard that Sky asked you to go to the human world, and you refused. Fern didn’t you know that all good kings have gone to the human world, plus you’ve been lugubrious lately. It will be a good break for you.”.

Fern was shocked into silence before he quietly queried “Are you sure all good kings… go to the human world?”.

Asmo put on a convincing smile and encouraged Fern by saying “Yes, you better go catch up with Sky before he leaves!”.

Fern quickly turned on his heel and sashayed away. Fern found Sky slowly getting ready to leave and yelled out “WAIT,” Sky quickly turned his head as Fern continued “I want to go to the human world with you!”

Sky shockingly smiled before quickly choked out “You can come with me just get ready.”. Fern ambulated away and got quickly and efficiently packed up, before meeting Sky behind the castle and opening a glassly purple looking portal into the human world. The portal seemed to want Fern to go through it, it called to him.

Fern then inquired Sky “Is the human world safe?”.

Sky responded “Of course it is,” and as Fern walked through the portal he hesitated, “I think.”.

Fern looks around in amazement at the exquisiteness of everything. From the healthy mint to dark green grass, to the blossoming flowers of all colors, to the trees that seemed to reach out to him, to the garrulous animals, to the wind that felt comforting on his skin, and finally to the sky that seemed to carry the world’s problems. Then Sky appeared next to him before clumsily falling on his face.

“I’ve been here before, this is the way to the Ice Kingdom.", Sky said as he pointed to a small dirt path. Fern turns to Sky with a childlike joy in his eyes and a smile that could light up the world. He then silently followed Sky down the path, his eyes scanning everything they passed by.

When they got to the Ice Kingdom children pointed at Fern and parents held their children away as people screamed in fear, ran clumsily in terror, and petrified in fear.

As Fern looked around to see what they were scared of, he realized it was him as scientists pulled up. They pulled Sky away from him since he was hiding his horns and tail while Fern wasn’t, they started to shoot sleeping darts at Fern.

Fern screams out as he gets shot with a sleeping dart “SKY, WHERE ARE YOU???”. Sky watches as Fern is loaded into a white jeep without windows and the car zooms away, to Sky it felt like time had slowed as they took Fern away from him and his heart felt like it was getting faster. He knew he had to get Fern out of the scientist’s grasp.

Sky muttered to himself “I have to follow that car.”. He then started to track the car and before anyone knew he had vanished into the crowd to save Fern.

Fern woke up in a dark room with tight chains holding him captive against the wall. He saw Sky outside of a small window in his small, dark holding cell.

Sky started to break open a hole in the wall with a tall, thick metal bar he found leaning against a tall, giant tree covered in pointy vines. Soon before Sky or Fern knows it, Fern is out of the holding cell as they were darting through the dark, but calming forest.

As they start getting closer to the city they see Luci, Fern’s father, burning down the Kingdom. Luci sees them from far away and flies over as fast as an arrow.

Luci smirked while whispering loudly to Fern “If you had never left, none of this would have ever happened. This destruction is all your fault.” Luci then went to continue the chaos.

Fern looked at Sky and faltered, “Why do I always destroy everything?”. Then Ferns eyes started to water before he started to sob, body moving sobs that could break hearts.

Sky then acknowledged “It was never your fault, it was always Luci’s fault.”. That’s when Fern realized he was only a child, he shouldn’t be blamed for the things adults did. He is only a sixteen year old in such a big world, he was always just an innocent child.

Even though Fern was a child, he knew people would suffer if he didn’t stop his father. So Fern fought his father trying to keep them safe, Fern fought for seven whole nights and days. Fern realized while fighting that he might be able to seal his father in a mountain, but it would take a big sacrifice.

With no other way, Fern knew he had to seal his dad, but he had no sacrifice. Soon Fern realized he could be the sacrifice, but he was terrified of it. But he knew it was the only way, so Fern tricked his father into walking on the mountain where he used all the rest of his lifeforce to seal Luci into the mountain.

As Fern quickly fell on the mountain side. Then, he whispered to Sky, and Asmo who had just arrived “Thank you for everything, and I’m sorry for being a bother.” Sky held Fern’s hand as Asmo held Fern in a death grip and sobbed body shaking tears.

As soon as Fern left, Sky hoped and prayed that it wouldn’t lose Fern. That Fern would survive, but Sky knew Fern would always be gone. No matter how much Sky or Asmo prayed.

Asmo and Sky carried Fern home in a casket, they never had planned to lose him forever. Asmo planted Fern’s favorite flowers everywhere on the mountain where they buried him, and then Sky planted a cherry blossom tree right next to Fern and his grave. As Asmo and Sky wished him “Good night, we love you, Fern.”, They knew they and no one would ever forget him or his sacrifice.

Fern had saved everyone and sealed his father in that mountain. People praised him and saw his kind as beautiful, peaceful, and free creatures. Although Fern wasn’t there any more, he had done what he had wanted. Fern made his kind no longer feared and saved people. He and his body were home, where no one would ever hurt or overwork him again. Fern was truly a dreamer, and he had left the world in hopes that no one would suffer like he did again. People started to call Fern The Dove With Wings That Never Failed, The Shield With Thorns, and The Kid With No Childhood And No Bounds. Fern was called The Dove With Wings That Never Failed for the freedom he never got, The Shield With Thorns because he protected the world, and The Kid With No Childhood And No Bounds for the childhood he never got.

The mountain did not stay silent.

For years, it stood as it always had—unyielding, snow-kissed at its peak, with flowers blooming stubbornly along its sides where Asmo had planted them. The cherry blossom tree Sky placed beside Fern’s grave grew taller with each passing season, its petals drifting like soft pink snow.

But sometimes, when the wind stilled and the world held its breath, the mountain whispered.

At first, no one noticed. A tremor beneath the roots. A flicker in the air, like heat rising off stone. The animals avoided the place, their garrulous chatter replaced with uneasy silence. Even the wind that once comforted Fern now circled cautiously, as if waiting.

Sky noticed.

He visited every day without fail, sitting beneath the cherry blossom tree, speaking as though Fern could still hear him.

“I tried the human food again today,” Sky muttered one afternoon, picking at the grass. “Still don’t understand why they like it so much.”

The petals drifted down around him.“…You would’ve liked it,” he added quietly.

That was when he felt it.

A pulse.

Soft—faint—but unmistakable. It traveled through the ground and up into his fingertips where they rested against the earth near Fern’s grave.
Sky froze.

“…Fern?”

The air shifted.

The cherry blossom tree shuddered, though there was no wind. Its roots seemed to tighten, digging deeper, as if holding something in place—or holding something back.

Far beneath the mountain, where light had never touched, something stirred.
Not Luci.

Something gentler.A flicker of warmth in the cold stone.

Fern’s consciousness drifted like a fading echo, scattered across the mountain that had become his prison and his shield. He was not whole—not alive, not gone—but present.

He could feel everything.

The weight of the mountain pressing endlessly. The slow crawl of time. The faint, distant ache of Sky’s voice reaching him like a memory half-forgotten.

And deeper still—

Luci.

Sealed, but not silent.

A low, seething presence coiled in the darkness, pressing against its prison. Waiting. Watching.

“You chose this,” Luci’s voice echoed, distorted and distant, yet sharp as ever. “You buried yourself to bury me.”

Fern did not answer.

Not because he couldn’t—but because he was afraid that if he did, his voice would give Luci something to follow.

Something to break.

Above ground, Asmo arrived in a hurry, his usual composure fractured.

“I felt it too,” Asmo said, breathing unevenly as he approached Sky. “The mountain—it’s reacting.”

Sky stood quickly. “Fern’s still here. I know it.”

Asmo’s expression faltered, caught between hope and fear. “Or… the seal is weakening.”

The words hung heavy between them.

Sky shook his head. “No. That wasn’t Luci. It didn’t feel like him.”

“…It felt like Fern.”

That night, the mountain glowed.

Not brightly—not enough for the world to notice—but enough for the stars to seem dimmer in comparison. Thin veins of soft light traced through the cracks in the rock, like something beneath was breathing for the first time in years.

Sky didn’t leave.

He pressed his hand against the ground again, ignoring the cold.

“Fern,” he said, voice steady despite the storm in his chest, “if you can hear me… you don’t have to carry this alone anymore.”

For a long moment, nothing happened.

Then—

Warmth.

Not from the air.

Not from the earth.

From within.

A voice—fragile, distant, but unmistakable—brushed against Sky’s mind like a feather.

“…Sky…?”

Sky’s breath hitched.

Tears came before he could stop them.

“Fern—?!”

The light flickered.

Stronger this time.

But beneath it, something else stirred.

Something darker.

Something cracking.

Deep within the mountain, Luci’s presence shifted—slow, deliberate, and awakening.

“Well,” Luci murmured, his voice curling through the stone like smoke, “isn’t this interesting?”The mountain was no longer just a grave.

It was a battleground.

And Fern… was still inside.

The mountain began to breathe louder.

What had once been a faint pulse beneath the earth was now impossible to ignore. The ground trembled in uneven rhythms, like a heartbeat struggling to find its pace. Cracks spread slowly along the mountainside, glowing faintly with that same soft, living light.

And beneath it—

Something darker pressed back.

Sky refused to leave.

Days blurred together as he stayed beneath the cherry blossom tree, his hand almost always against the ground, as if letting go would mean losing Fern again.

“Stay with me,” Sky whispered one night, voice raw. “You came back once—you can do it again.”

The warmth answered him.

Stronger now.

Not just a flicker—but a presence.

Inside the mountain, Fern was beginning to gather himself.

It wasn’t like waking up. It was like trying to remember how to exist.

His thoughts came in fragments. His body—if he even still had one—felt scattered, stretched thin across stone and roots and time itself. But Sky’s voice… it anchored him.

It gave him direction.

“I’m… trying…” Fern’s voice echoed faintly, barely more than a breath in the dark.

Each time he reached upward—toward the surface, toward Sky—the mountain trembled.

And each time—

Luci felt it.

“You’re pulling against the seal,” Luci said, his voice low, amused, and growing stronger. “How predictable.”

The darkness shifted.

Chains of light—Fern’s power—tightened instinctively, reinforcing the prison. But they flickered now, unstable.

Fern hesitated.

If he pushed too hard… he might break the very thing keeping Luci contained.

“If I stay… I hold him here…” Fern murmured, his thoughts wavering.

“And if you leave,” Luci interrupted smoothly, “I walk free.”

Silence followed.

Heavy. Crushing.

“…You don’t have the strength to do both,” Luci added, almost gently.

Above ground, Asmo was pacing.

“This is getting worse,” he said, watching another crack split through the stone. “If the seal breaks—”

“It won’t,” Sky snapped, sharper than intended.

Asmo stopped.

Sky’s hands were shaking now, still pressed against the earth.

“…He’s still fighting,” Sky said more quietly. “I can feel it.”

Asmo’s expression softened—but only slightly. “Sky… what if he’s fighting to stay there?”

That landed.

Hard.

Sky’s chest tightened. “No.”

But the doubt had already taken root.

That night, everything changed.

The mountain split.

Not completely—but enough.

A jagged fracture tore across its side, light pouring out in a sudden, blinding surge. The cherry blossom tree shuddered violently, petals scattering into the air like a storm of pink and white.

Sky was thrown back.

“SKY!” Asmo shouted, rushing toward him.

But Sky barely heard.

Because from the crack—

A hand reached out.

Weak. Trembling. Glowing faintly.

“Fern…?” Sky whispered, scrambling forward.

The hand grasped at the edge of the stone, fingers digging in like it was the only thing tethering it to the world.

And slowly—

Fern pulled himself into the light.

He collapsed onto the mountainside.

Breathing—ragged, uneven, but real.

His body looked… different.

Faint cracks of light traced across his skin, like the mountain had etched itself into him. His horns were dimmer, his strength clearly worn thin—but his eyes—

They were still the same.

Sky didn’t hesitate.

He ran to him, dropping to his knees. “Fern—!”

Fern blinked slowly, as if the world itself was too much to take in at once.

“…You’re loud,” Fern murmured weakly, the ghost of his old tone slipping through.

Sky laughed—a broken, relieved sound. “Yeah? You’re worse.”

Asmo arrived seconds later, stopping short as he saw Fern.

For once, he had nothing clever to say.

“…You came back,” Asmo breathed.

Fern’s faint smile faltered.

“…Not completely.”

The ground shook again.

Harder this time.

All three of them froze.

From the open fracture in the mountain, the light flickered—and then dimmed.

Replaced by something darker.

Something angrier.

A deep, echoing crack sounded from within.

Fern’s expression changed instantly.

Fear.

Real fear.

“He’s breaking it,” Fern said, struggling to push himself up. “The seal—it’s failing.”

Sky shook his head. “Then we fix it. Together this time.”

Fern looked at him.

For a moment, he looked like that same overwhelmed sixteen-year-old again.

“…I don’t know how,” he admitted.

Another crack.

Louder.

Closer.

A shadow moved within the mountain—massive and shifting.

Luci’s voice followed, no longer distant.

“Oh, Fern…” it echoed, rich with dark amusement, “you finally stepped outside.”

The mountain split wider.

“You shouldn’t have.”

The ground erupted.

A surge of dark energy burst from the fracture, forcing Sky and Asmo back. Fern barely stayed standing, his glowing cracks flaring instinctively in response.

For the first time—

His power and Luci’s power clashed directly.

Light against shadow.

Silence against chaos.

Child against king.

Sky staggered to his feet, looking between Fern and the mountain.

“…Tell me what to do,” he said.

Fern hesitated.

Then, slowly—

He reached out his hand.

Not to the mountain.

To Sky.

“…Don’t let me do this alone again.”

Behind them, the mountain roared.

And this time—

It was answering back.

The mountain didn’t just crack anymore—

It collapsed.

Stone split apart in jagged lines, الضوء and darkness tearing through it like two forces ripping the world in half. The air grew heavy, suffocating, as if even the sky knew something irreversible was about to happen.

Fern staggered, the glowing fractures across his skin burning brighter.

“I can’t hold it—!” he gasped.

Another violent surge erupted from the mountain, sending debris crashing down around them. From within the rupture, Luci began to emerge—not fully, not yet—but enough for his presence to suffocate everything around him.

Sky grabbed Fern’s arm. “Then we seal him again. Tell me how!”

Fern shook his head, panic rising in his voice. “It’s not that simple! The first time—it took everything I had.”

Asmo stepped forward, sharper, more desperate than ever. “Then we give it everything again.”

Fern froze.

“…It doesn’t work like that.”

The light around him flickered, unstable now—conflicted.

“I can feel it,” Fern said, his voice trembling. “The magic… it won’t accept the same sacrifice twice.”

Sky’s grip tightened. “What does that mean?”

Fern didn’t answer right away.

Because he already knew.

And he didn’t want to say it out loud.

The mountain roared.

Luci stepped further into the fracture, his form still partially bound by glowing chains—but they were breaking, one by one.

“How touching,” Luci said, his voice echoing like thunder wrapped in silk. “You’re trying to fix what you were never meant to control.”

Fern turned toward him, forcing himself to stand straighter despite the fear clawing up his spine.

“I won’t let you hurt anyone again.”

Luci smiled.

“You won’t get the choice.”

The ground beneath them lit up.

A massive sigil—ancient, radiant—spread across the mountainside, reacting to the imbalance. It pulsed once… then again… scanning, searching.

For a sacrifice.

Sky felt it immediately—the pull, cold and invasive, brushing against his very being.

Asmo staggered slightly. “It’s choosing—”

Fern stepped forward instinctively.

“No,” he said quickly. “Take me.”

The light surged toward him—

Then stopped.

It recoiled.

Like it had been burned.

Fern’s breath caught.

“…What?”

The magic pulsed again, stronger this time—but instead of wrapping around Fern, it pushed him away.

Refusal.

Clear. Absolute.

“It won’t take you,” Asmo whispered, stunned.

Fern stared at his own hands, the glowing cracks dimming in confusion. “Why…?”

And then it hit him.

“…Because I already gave it everything.”

Sky stepped forward immediately. “Then take me.”

The magic shifted.

It considered him.

The light began to curl around Sky’s arm—

“NO!”

Fern lunged, grabbing him and pulling him back so hard they both nearly fell.

“You don’t even know what it’ll do to you!” Fern snapped, fear breaking through his voice. “I’m not letting you die for me!”

“I’m not letting you get taken again!” Sky shot back.

Another chain snapped.

The mountain shook violently.

They were out of time.

Luci laughed.

Low. Knowing.

“You’re all missing the obvious solution.”

Darkness surged forward, colliding with the glowing sigil. The magic flickered wildly, destabilizing under the pressure of two opposing forces.

Fern turned sharply.

“What are you—”

Before he could finish—

Luci moved.

Faster than before.

Stronger than before.

A massive wave of dark energy slammed into Fern, knocking him off his feet and dragging him toward the open fracture in the mountain.

“FERN!” Sky shouted, sprinting forward.

Fern clawed at the ground, trying to stop himself—but the pull was overwhelming.

“Sky—!” Fern reached out.

Their hands almost touched—

Almost—

But the darkness wrapped around Fern completely and ripped him away.

The sigil shattered.

Not sealed.

Not completed.

Just… broken.

The light scattered into nothing.

The mountain fell silent.

For a moment—

There was nothing.

No Luci.

No Fern.

Just wind… and ash.

Sky stood frozen.

“No…” he whispered.

Asmo’s voice came out unsteady. “…They’re gone.”

Sky shook his head slowly, backing toward the edge of the fracture. “No. No, no, no—he wouldn’t—he can’t—”

“They went back,” Asmo said quietly, though his hands were shaking. “To our world.”

That landed.

And it made everything worse.

Because Sky understood exactly what that meant.

His chest tightened, panic rising fast and sharp.

“No… Luci won’t just kill him.”

Asmo closed his eyes briefly.

“…No,” he agreed.

Sky’s voice broke.

“He’ll use him.”

Silence.

Heavy. Crushing.

“He’ll drain Fern’s magic,” Sky continued, words tumbling out faster now. “Force him to keep the seal stable—or break others—make him do everything he couldn’t before—”

His breathing turned uneven.

“I left him there. I let him go back there.”

Asmo grabbed his shoulders firmly. “You didn’t let anything happen. We didn’t have a choice.”

But Sky barely heard him.

His mind was already spiraling—

Back to that castle.

Cold. Silent.

Drowning.

Fern… back there… alone.

Far away—

In a world untouched by the human sky—

Fern hit the cold stone floor hard.

The familiar emptiness of the castle wrapped around him instantly.

Silent.

Heavy.

Unforgiving.

He tried to push himself up—but a sharp pain shot through him, his glowing cracks flickering violently.

“Well,” Luci’s voice echoed from the shadows, calm and satisfied, “it seems the world wasn’t ready to lose you after all.”

Fern’s breath trembled.

He didn’t respond.

Couldn’t.

Chains of dark energy slithered around his wrists, pinning him down effortlessly.

“You don’t get to die yet,” Luci continued, stepping into view. “Not when you’re still useful.”

Fern clenched his eyes shut.

The castle felt colder than ever.

Back in the human world, Sky pulled away from Asmo.

His fear had hardened into something else now.

Something sharper.

“I’m going after him.”

Asmo stared at him. “Sky—”

“I’m not leaving him there,” Sky said, voice steady despite the storm behind it. “Not again.”

The cherry blossom tree rustled softly behind them—

One single petal drifting down into the fractured mountain.

Fern had been taken.

Not lost.

Not gone.

Taken.

And this time—

Sky wasn’t going to wait.

The castle did not welcome Fern back.

It claimed him.

Cold stone pressed into his bones as he lay where Luci had dropped him, the faint glow in his cracks flickering like a dying flame. Every breath felt heavier than the last, like the air itself resisted him.

He tried to move.

His arm trembled—

Then collapsed beneath him.

“…Pathetic,” Luci murmured, watching from above.

Fern didn’t answer.

Not because he refused.

Because he didn’t have the strength.

The first time Luci drained him, it felt like drowning.

The second time—

It felt like disappearing.

Dark tendrils wrapped around Fern’s body, sinking into the glowing fractures in his skin. The faint light inside him surged weakly in protest before being pulled out—ripped away in thin, shimmering strands.

Fern gasped, body arching slightly before falling still again.

“Still holding on?” Luci said, almost amused. “You always were stubborn.”

More light tore free.

Less of Fern remained.

By the time Luci was finished—

Fern couldn’t stand.

Couldn’t fight.

Could barely lift his head.

And that was exactly how Luci wanted him.

The garden was quiet.

Too quiet.

Rows upon rows of flowers stretched endlessly across black soil, their petals deep crimson, their stems thin and reaching—like fingers waiting to grasp something.

Or someone.

Fern was placed among them without care.

The moment his skin touched the soil, the flowers reacted.

They shifted.

Slowly.

Hungrily.

One brushed against his arm.

A thin thorn pricked his skin.

A drop of blood surfaced—

And vanished.

Consumed instantly.

Fern flinched weakly, breath hitching.

“…Ah,” Luci said from behind him, satisfied. “Now this suits you.”

The flowers leaned closer.

Waiting.

Far beyond the garden—

Sky screamed.

“LET ME IN!”

His voice shattered against the invisible barrier surrounding the castle, the impact sending ripples across its surface like glass under pressure.

He slammed his fists against it again.

And again.

And again.

Nothing.

The barrier didn’t even crack.

Inside, he could see everything.

Fern—barely moving, barely breathing—lying helpless among the shifting, blood-hungry flowers.

Sky’s chest tightened violently.

“Fern—!” his voice broke, desperate. “Get up… please—just get up—”

Fern didn’t respond.

Didn’t move.

Another flower pierced his skin.

Another drop of blood disappeared.

Luci appeared behind Fern, hands clasped behind his back like he was admiring a piece of art.

Then he looked up—

Directly at Sky.

And smiled.

Sky’s entire body went rigid.

“…You did this on purpose,” Sky said, his voice shaking with something deeper than fear.

Luci tilted his head slightly.

“Of course,” he replied.

Time stretched.

Every second felt like punishment.

Sky watched as Fern grew weaker—each small movement slower than the last, each breath more fragile.

“Stop it…” Sky whispered, his hands pressed flat against the barrier now. “Stop hurting him…”

The flowers shifted again.

Another thorn.

Another drop.

Fern let out the faintest sound—

Not even a full cry.

Just… pain.

Something in Sky snapped.

“STOP!” he roared, slamming into the barrier with everything he had.

The air around him shook.

The barrier flickered—

Just barely.

Luci noticed.

And his smile widened.

“Well now,” he murmured, amused. “That’s interesting.”

He looked back at Fern.

Then at Sky.

An idea forming.

Suddenly—

The barrier vanished.

Sky stumbled forward, caught off guard as nothing stopped him this time.

“What—?”

“Go on,” Luci said lightly. “Take him.”

Sky didn’t hesitate.

He ran.

Through the garden, ignoring the way the flowers snapped at his legs, ignoring everything except—

Fern.

“Fern!” Sky dropped beside him, hands shaking as he carefully lifted him. “Hey—hey, I’ve got you—”

Fern’s eyes fluttered open slightly.

Dull.

Unfocused.

“…Sky…?” his voice was barely audible.

Relief hit like a wave.

“Yeah, yeah, it’s me,” Sky said quickly, pulling him closer. “I’m getting you out of here, okay? You’re okay—”

Fern weakly tried to move his hand.

It barely twitched.

“…hurts…”

Sky’s breath caught.

“I know,” he said, voice breaking. “I know—just hold on—”

For a moment—

It felt real.

Like they were actually going to leave.

Then—

Darkness snapped around them.

Fern was ripped from Sky’s arms so suddenly it felt unreal.

“No—!”

Sky lunged forward—

Too late.

Fern was already back in Luci’s grasp, held effortlessly despite how little strength remained in him.

Luci laughed.

Soft. Cruel.

“Oh, I do enjoy this,” he said.

Sky’s hands clenched into fists so tight they trembled.

“Give him back.”

Luci ignored him.

Instead, he studied Fern—his dim light, his weakened state.

“…You’re nearly empty,” Luci murmured.

Fern didn’t respond.

Didn’t even look at him.

Luci raised his hand.

The stolen magic—the light ripped from Fern—gathered there, twisting unnaturally with his own darkness.

“Let’s see how far you’ll go for him,” Luci said, glancing at Sky.

Before Sky could react—

The magic surged.

Not at Fern.

At Sky.

The world shifted violently.

Light and shadow collided—

And in an instant—

Sky was gone.

Silence fell over the garden again.

Fern’s body was dropped carelessly back among the flowers.

They immediately leaned in closer.

Hungry.

Fern didn’t fight them this time.

Didn’t move.

Didn’t speak.

His eyes slowly closed.

The faint glow in his cracks dimmed further—

Barely there now.

Back in the human world—

Sky hit the ground hard, the air knocked from his lungs.

For a moment, he didn’t understand what had happened.

Then it did.

And the realization tore through him.

“No—no no no—!”

He scrambled up, turning back toward where the portal had been—

Gone.

Completely gone.

“No!” he shouted into nothing. “BRING ME BACK—!”

But there was no answer.

No portal.

No way through.

Only silence.

And the memory of Fern barely able to say his name.

Sky stood there, shaking, breath uneven—

Then slowly—

Something in his expression changed.

The desperation didn’t fade.

It sharpened.

Hardened.

Turned into something dangerous.

“I’m coming back,” he said quietly.

Not hopeful.

Not unsure.

Certain.

“I don’t care what it takes.”

Far away—

In the garden that feeds—

Fern lay still among the flowers.

And for the first time—

He stopped trying to hold on.