Aaya, who had been crouching silently like a shadow in the dark corner, suddenly chirped up upon hearing Luka.
A new glint appeared in her eyes.
"Can we... can we really go outside?" she asked in her tiny voice, a mix of hope and fear.
Luka looked at her and gave a slow nod.
"Yes, we are going out."
Yuki took a cold breath and leaned toward Aaya, warning her, "Aaya, don't go too far, okay?"
Aaya looked at Yuki with profound innocence and nodded, "Okay, I won't go far at all."
As they stepped through the doorless threshold, the artificial white light enveloped them.
Lane held Luka's hand firmly, almost pulling him toward the open field.
Within moments, Lane and Aaya began chasing each other.
They were running in circles in that vast field, giggling as they tried to catch one another.
Their laughter pierced the surrounding silence.
Luka leaned his body against the outer wall of the cell. He sat there watching them.
He intended to keep watch, but the mental exhaustion of the past few hours and the mysterious chaos had drained his body completely.
His eyelids grew heavy.
The cold artificial light of the field stung his eyes, and gradually, he drifted off.
He fell into a deep, oblivious sleep.
He had no idea that he had fallen asleep.
Meanwhile, in the field, Aaya and Lane were still chasing each other.
Their running and catching continued, but they were slowly drifting away from the safety of the cell wall.
Heading toward that infinite glare where the way back might be even harder to find.
Inside the cell, the silence was a stark contrast to the laughter outside.
Yuki and Haru remained seated on the same old wooden plank.
Haru's eyes were tracing the lines on Yuki's face, as if he were trying to solve a puzzle.
"Won't you go outside?" Haru asked in a low voice.
Yuki slowly shook his head.
"No... I need to be alone for a while."
His gaze shifted toward the distant corner of the cell, where two children sat completely lifeless.
They were as still as statues, as if no flicker of life remained within them.
Haru looked at them too, then turned back to Yuki.
"Tell me the truth, Yuki... did you really want to be friends with Luka and Lane?"
"Was the way you reached out to them genuine?"
"No," Yuki admitted without hesitation.
"Friendship wasn't my goal."
"The change within Lane both terrifies and fascinates me."
"One moment his energy is so pure and innocent, and the next... so dark and violent."
"I only reached out so I could understand that 'shadow'."
Yuki took a cold breath and continued, "And Luka? I befriended him because I believe only Luka is the one who can contain that horrific power within Lane."
"He is like a shield that can protect the world from Lane, and Lane from himself."
A faint smile appeared on Haru's lips.
"Do you really think Luka will be able to handle him? Or will Lane eventually deliver the deepest wound to him?"
He gestured toward the silent children in the corner.
"By the way, you're staying here because of these kids, aren't you?"
"The ones who don't talk to anyone, just passing days like stone idols."
Yuki looked Haru in the eye and asked, "Weren't you just as quiet as them? You've only just befriended us yourself."
Haru shook his head, his voice turning even more somber.
"I have, but let me tell you a bitter truth, Yuki."
"These children's energy is completely depleted. No will to live remains within them."
"They have stopped feeling pain and suffering altogether. It's a dangerous state."
Haru whispered, looking at the children's vacant eyes, "If a vampire were to hunt them today, they wouldn't even try to save themselves."
"They are just waiting to die. I fear they will leave this world very soon."
Haru's words created a void of speech within Yuki.
He fell silent because a corner of his mind knew that the bitter truth Haru spoke was undeniable.
The silence echoing off the cell walls felt even heavier now.
On the other side, the bright white field outside was now being draped in exhaustion.
Lane and Aaya, who had been running until now, were breathing heavily.
Lane rested his hands on his knees and said between gasps, "Aaya... enough, no more. We... we'll play in a little while."
Aaya wiped the sweat from her cheeks and said with a slight pout, "But it was your turn! You were supposed to catch me."
"Fine, I'll catch you," Lane tried to smile through his panting, "but let me catch my breath first."
"I'm exhausted; you should come and sit here too."
Aaya gave a small nod and quietly headed back inside the cell toward the lifeless children.
Lane stayed where Luka was submerged in a deep sleep against the wall.
He gently tucked himself into the space between Luka and the wall, using Luka's shoulder as a pillow, and closed his eyes.
As silence fell outside, Luka's mind descended into a terrifying labyrinth.
In his dreams, there was initially only that artificial white light—so bright it was blinding.
But from the midst of that whiteness, a shadow suddenly emerged.
It was a boy around Luka's own age.
The unknown boy stepped forward and hugged Luka, like a long-lost companion.
But the embrace was not comforting.
The boy took Luka's palm in his cold hands.
He began to trace a strange, invisible map on Luka's palm with his fingers.
As his fingers moved in a specific direction, a bolt of electricity shot through Luka's body.
Suddenly, an unbearable pain flared in Luka's back.
It felt as if a branding iron were searing through his skin.
The boy continued to swirl his finger on his palm, and accordingly, the pain in Luka's back deepened.
Even in sleep, beads of sweat began to glisten on Luka's forehead.
Tears started to leak from the corners of his closed eyes.
He wanted to scream, but his throat was choked.
That invisible mark was emerging on his back like an ancient curse.
Suddenly, Lane's eyes snapped open.
His body shuddered with an unknown fear.
He clutched his head with both hands, as if a heavy hammer were pounding inside his skull.
A sharp, throbbing pain flared near his temples, making his eyes turn a shade of red.
He steadied himself and looked toward the sleeping Luka.
Luka was still trapped in the grip of that horrific dream.
Lane's heart sank when he saw tears welling from Luka's closed eyes and resting on his cheeks.
Very gently, Lane wiped those tears away with his tiny hands.
But the moment he touched Luka, he felt a strange sensation—
As if someone else was present in that artificially lit field.
Someone who was watching them very closely.
The 'other power' within Lane seemed to awaken.
He rose from Luka's side in a mechanical manner.
His face was now completely expressionless.
The golden glint in his eyes began to fade, turning dark once more.
Unknowingly, his steps began to move toward the same direction Luka had told him to stay away from.
The white railing.
Lane's small steps headed toward that cold, gleaming railing.
The field where he had been giggling earlier was now drawing him in like a labyrinth.
He didn't realize how far he had wandered from Luka, Yuki, and the safety of the cell.
His gaze was fixed only on that infinite light.
Which was perhaps leading him to a place from where there was no return.
Behind him, leaning against the wall, Luka was still sobbing in that painful dream.
While his most precious companion was slowly falling prey to that dark radiance.