Zeto

Cold Yuichi wakes beneath fluorescent lights in a small hospital room. His shoulder is wrapped, his hand bandaged, and the clean smell of antiseptic replaces the creek’s damp air.

Marie sits asleep in a plastic chair beside the bed, still wearing her school uniform. Her orange hair has fallen across one cheek, and one hand covers the marked forearm.

Marie jolts upright, relief crossing her face before worry returns. A paper cup trembles in her fingers as she leans toward the bed without touching his injuries.

Through the half-open door, a nurse speaks quietly with someone in the corridor. No sign of Janet appears, and Jaricho is absent, leaving Marie as the only familiar face nearby.

Cold Yuichi plants his good hand against the mattress and brings himself upright. Pain pulls across his wrapped shoulder, but he steadies himself beneath the harsh hospital lights.

Marie lowers her paper cup and uncovers her forearm. The branching mark is still there, though its small silver center has gone dull.

Marie studies him beneath the fluorescent lights, then carefully turns her forearm so the branching pattern is fully visible. The dull silver center gives one faint pulse.

She shifts her chair closer to the bed, keeping her marked arm between them rather than hiding it. The antiseptic room feels briefly less isolating.

The silver center of Marie’s mark snaps bright. Down the hospital hallway, a Giant Pinno, an enormous elder Pinno with a hulking black body, ember-red fissures, horn-like protrusions, and cold blue-white eyes forces its towering shadow through the doors, sending alarms shrilling.

Cold Yuichi swings his legs from the bed and plants himself between Marie and the advancing dead soul. His injured hand lifts despite the bandages.

Orange fire gathers in his palm, compressing into a bright shot. He releases it down the corridor, and the blast strikes the Giant Pinno in its center.

The creature collapses into harmless black vapor before it reaches them. The hospital lights flicker back to normal as the alarms fall silent.

The black vapor twists back together in the hallway, rebuilding the Giant Pinno’s hulking silhouette. Its cold eyes fix on Cold Yuichi, and one massive arm swings toward him.

Marie throws herself in front of Cold Yuichi, one arm spread protectively despite her fear. The silver mark on her forearm blazes, answering her desperate command.

Four tiny figures burst from the light: three female fairies, tiny young women with slender bodies, luminous faces, and pastel dresses beneath their shimmering wings with shimmering wings and one male fairy, a tiny young man with a slim body, bright eyes, and a gold vest beneath his sparkling wings with a bright crown of sparks. They circle Marie like living fragments of her soul.

The fairies join hands and form a radiant barrier across the corridor. The Giant Pinno’s blow strikes it and rebounds, hurling the shadow backward through the hospital doors.

The barrier holds between them and the reforming shadow, while the fairies hover in a protective ring. Marie remains in front of Cold Yuichi, her mark shining steadily.

The crowned male fairy rockets from the protective ring, wings flashing gold. A concentrated beam of light streaks down the corridor and cleaves the Giant Pinno in two.

The divided shadow collapses into harmless black vapor before either half can reach the barrier. Hospital alarms stutter, then fall silent as the fairies regroup around Marie.

Cold Yuichi stands behind Marie, his bandaged hand lowered. He looks at her while the silver mark dims, and warmth rises visibly across his face.

The fairies hover at eye level, their wings stirring the hospital air. Aurelio’s golden crown sparks while the other three arrange themselves around Marie’s glowing mark.

Marie lowers her arm as the silver mark settles to a dull glow. Beyond the ruined doors, nurses call for security, and Aurelio turns toward the approaching footsteps.

Cold Yuichi leans against Marie, keeping his injured shoulder protected as they move through the hospital corridor. The fairies circle silently around her, their glow dimmed beneath the fluorescent lights.

Marie guides him past the nurses and through a side exit before security can question them. The cool evening air meets their faces, carrying them away from the alarms and ruined doors.

They reach the quiet lane together. Cold Yuichi remains upright with Marie supporting him, while Rosella, Lumin, and Veya hover close, guarding their retreat.