Moonlight filtered through the dense forest canopy, painting silver patterns across the ground.
Twilight stood in the middle of a clearing.
Around him were the warriors who had surrounded him earlier.
Their swords remained raised.
Their eyes never left him.
But none of them moved.
Not anymore.
They were exhausted.
Every attack they had launched had failed.
Every attempt to corner him had been useless.
Twilight hadn't even fought seriously.
He had simply dodged.
Again.
And again.
And again.
His movements had been smooth, almost effortless, like water flowing around rocks.
One warrior breathed heavily while gripping his sword.
Another leaned slightly forward, trying to catch his breath.
Twilight slowly looked around at them.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
The forest was silent.
Then Twilight laughed.
Not loudly.
Just enough to make the warriors uncomfortable.
"What?" he asked.
No one answered.
Twilight shook his head.
"What do you think?" he continued. "That I'm as dumb as I actually play?"
The warriors remained silent.
His smile slowly disappeared.
"How funny."
His voice became quieter.
Darker.
"First, I used to think all of you would save me one day."
His eyes lowered toward the ground.
A bitter laugh escaped him.
"But you all came to kill me instead."
The words hit harder than any attack.
Some of the warriors avoided looking directly at him.
One of them clenched his jaw.
Twilight looked up again.
His orange-red eyes reflected the moonlight.
For the first time, the warriors noticed how tired he looked.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
Like someone who had spent years carrying a burden alone.
One warrior finally stepped forward.
"Twilight—"
"Don't."
His answer came instantly.
The warrior stopped.
Twilight sighed.
"You don't get to explain now."
Silence returned.
The warriors slowly lowered their weapons.
Not because they trusted him.
But because none of them wanted to continue.
Twilight looked at the moon.
His expression became unreadable.
After a few moments, he simply turned around and started walking away.
No one tried stopping him.
No one followed.
The warriors stood there watching him disappear between the trees.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the forest, Haru was guiding everyone back toward the city.
The danger had passed for now.
At least temporarily.
Lily stretched her arms while walking.
"I can't believe this actually happened."
Henry nodded.
"I still can't believe that talking fox."
Beau immediately looked offended.
"I have a name."
Lily laughed.
"Yeah, yeah. We know."
Chris walked beside them quietly.
Her thoughts were somewhere else.
Twilight.
She still couldn't stop worrying about him.
Even after Haru promised to find him.
The group eventually reached the edge of the forest.
City lights could finally be seen in the distance.
Haru stopped.
Without saying much, he began dropping everyone off.
First came Lily.
Her house appeared ahead.
Lily looked back.
"You're sure you'll find him?"
Haru nodded once.
"I gave my word."
Lily seemed satisfied.
She waved goodbye to everyone before heading inside.
The next stop was Henry's house.
Henry stepped out and adjusted his bag.
"Bring him back."
Haru looked at him.
"I intend to."
Henry smiled slightly.
"Good."
Then he disappeared inside.
Finally, only Chris and Haru remained.
The streets had become quiet.
Most people were already asleep.
The city looked peaceful.
A complete contrast to everything that had happened tonight.
Haru stopped in front of Chris's house.
"You should get some rest."
Chris looked at him.
"You'll really find him, right?"
Haru stayed silent for a moment.
Then he answered.
"Yes."
Chris nodded slowly.
For some reason, she trusted him.
Even though she still knew almost nothing about him.
"Thank you."
Haru simply looked away.
Chris smiled faintly before entering her house.
The door closed behind her.
Now Haru was alone.
Again.
The city lights faded behind him as he turned back toward the forest.
The night wind brushed against his coat.
His footsteps were calm.
Unhurried.
Almost carefree.
Like he was simply taking a walk.
Yet his eyes remained alert.
Searching.
Watching.
Listening.
Because somewhere in these woods, Twilight was still out there.
And Haru intended to find him.
No matter how long it took.
Deep within the jungle, an owl cried into the darkness.
The trees swayed gently.
And beneath the moonlight, two paths slowly moved toward each other.
One belonged to a boy running from his past.
The other belonged to a guardian carrying the weight of his own.
Sooner or later—
Those paths were destined to meet.