Chapter 37 – The Name That Should Not Be Spoken

  The pages flipped on their own, unseen hands caressing the ancient paper.

  Akari’s breath slowed. The air was thick with something wrong, something that didn’t belong in this world.

  Tsubaki’s fur bristled. “Akari, step back.”

  But she didn’t move.

  > "Ah… a vessel of power, but so… incomplete."

  The voice was a rasping whisper, curling around her mind like fingers pressing against her skull.

  Akari swallowed hard. “Who are you?”

  Silence.

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  Then, the shadows shuddered.

  And a name formed in her mind.

  > Ekyzrael.

  She flinched.

  The very sound of it left an imprint in her thoughts, a weight that made her soul tremble.

  Ekyzrael.

  Not a beast.

  Not a human.

  Something else.

  Something that should not be remembered.

  Tsubaki’s claws scraped against the floor. “That name… you should forget it.”

  Akari forced herself to speak. “What do you want?”

  > "What do you want, child?"

  The words slithered through her chest, sinking into her bones.

  And suddenly—

  She was no longer in the archive.

  ---

  A World of Darkness

  Akari stood in a void, a place without time, without form. The sky was black, but not empty—it watched her.

  A great silhouette loomed ahead. Unseen yet undeniable.

  Ekyzrael.

  It had no shape, no face. Only a vast presence that made her soul feel small.

  > "You devoured power that was never yours. And now… something is waking inside you."

  Akari’s fists clenched. “What is it?”

  Laughter.

  Deep, low, hungry.

  > "Not yet. But soon, you will understand."

  The void shifted.

  And suddenly—

  She was falling.

  ---

  The Warning

  Akari gasped, slamming back into her body.

  She was in the archive again, book still open before her. But something had changed.

  The air was colder.

  And on the page before her—

  A single line of text had appeared.

  "Beware the Seventh Gate."

  Tsubaki’s voice was urgent. “We need to leave. Now.”

  Akari’s fingers trembled as she shut the book.

  She didn’t know what the Seventh Gate was.

  But she had a feeling—

  That when she found it, there would be no turning back.