The world blinked.

  One moment, Kaiser and Aria stood within the city walls; the next, their feet touched the smooth, polished surface of a massive white platform. The teleportation had been instantaneous, like stepping through an unseen veil. There was no transition, no warning, just a sudden shift, as if reality had skipped a frame. The air here was different. Crisp, fresh, untouched by the city’s warmth and thick with the scent of the wild. A gentle breeze rolled across the land, carrying the whisper of a world beyond civilization, its cool fingers brushing against their skin. Then, the sight hit them.

  Aria inhaled sharply, her entire body going still. Her fingers tightened around Kaiser’s, knuckles white as her wide, starry eyes drank in the impossible landscape before them, something she had only ever heard of in hushed village stories, something she had dreamed of seeing her entire life.

  A field of glass grass. It stretched endlessly, an ocean of shimmering blades that reflected every sliver of moonlight. Unlike ordinary grass, which bowed and swayed to the whims of the wind, this grass fractured light itself, refracting it into a thousand tiny, dancing colors. The land was alive with glimmers, each ripple of wind sending waves of prismatic hues cascading across the field. It was as if the stars had spilled from the heavens and taken root in the earth, caught in an eternal waltz between reality and dream.

  But even that breathtaking sight was not the most enchanting thing.

  People were running. Dozens of them, darting between the glowing plains, their laughter ringing through the night. They weren’t just running tho, they were chasing. Chasing tiny, flickering lights that hovered just above the ground, flitting unpredictably in every direction. The orbs, no bigger than a clenched fist, danced like embers in the air, trailing faint golden streaks as they weaved through the players.

  Then, just as one figure lunged for a glowing firelight, they threw it.

  The firelight streaked through the air like a comet, disoriented and aimless, before latching onto another player’s back with a soft, static zap. The crowd erupted in laughter as the unlucky target groaned, now faintly glowing where the firelight clung to them.

  Aria’s heart pounded as she had heard of this before. "Firefight," she whispered in amazement, her breath misting in the cool night air.

  Kaiser glanced at her, catching the wonder in her expression. "You’ve never seen them before?"

  Aria shook her head, her voice breathless. "Only in stories. I always thought they were exaggerating, but... it’s even more beautiful than I imagined." Her gaze flickered back to the game, following the orbs as they were tossed and caught, as they clung to players before floating away again after getting detached. "You catch them," she began, her voice rising with excitement, "then throw them at your partner. The first one to have five stuck to them loses. But the firelights get confused when they’re thrown, so they just latch onto whatever they touch first."

  Her fingers slipped from Kaiser’s hand as she took a step forward, then another. And then, she bolted.

  "Too slow!" she yelled over her shoulder, her voice bubbling with laughter.

  Kaiser blinked. It took him a moment to process what had just happened. One second, Aria had been standing beside him, eyes filled with childlike wonder. The next—she was already halfway across the field, weaving effortlessly between the players. Her pink hair glittered under the firelights, catching the glow and making her look like one of them. She truly looked weightless, radiant and untouchable at that moment.

  Kaiser exhaled sharply through his nose, shaking his head. "Oh, she thinks she’s clever, huh?" He stepped off the platform, and onto the living starlight.

  The glass grass chimed beneath his boots, a delicate, melodic sound, like stepping across thousands of wind chimes. He wasn’t running, not yet at least, but his long strides carried him forward, watching as Aria ducked and twisted through the chaos, her laughter carried away on the wind. She was quick, nimble, slipping between players with practiced ease, narrowly avoiding a firelight that whizzed past her shoulder.

  She was having fun… Real fun.

  And somehow, that made him want to play too.

  Kaiser glanced up. A single firelight hovered just above his head, flickering and pulsing, like a tiny wisp waiting to be caught. His fingers twitched. ‘Catch the firelight and throw it at her, simple enough’

  Aria was fast, but Kaiser was faster.

  He snatched the firelight out of the air before it could dart away, feeling a strange warmth in his palm, as if he had caught a tiny, flickering heart. The moment he gripped it, the light pulsed, disoriented, no longer floating on its own. He reared his arm back, and threw.

  Aria, who had been weaving through the other players with the grace of someone who had done this before, suddenly ducked. The firelight streaked past her silver hair, missing by mere inches, and latched onto a random man behind her. "Oi! Who the hell threw that?!" the poor victim barked, glowing faintly as he looked around in confusion.

  Aria’s laughter rang out like a bell.

  "You’ll have to do better than that, old man!" she called, her voice full of playful confidence as she leapt over a patch of taller grass, her feet barely touching the ground. Her eyes gleamed with the thrill of the game.

  She was skilled. That much was obvious. She wasn’t just running randomly—she knew how to play. She knew how to bait him, how to keep moving so firelights couldn’t lock onto her.

  Kaiser narrowed his eyes. "You’ve done this before."

  "Not exactly," Aria admitted as she twirled to dodge another firelight thrown by a passing player. "But back home, we had a game like this! We’d throw sticky berries at each other during summer festivals. Last one standing without a splatter on them was the winner!" She grinned, still dancing across the field. "I was the best!"

  Kaiser let out a slow exhale, flexing his fingers. He didn’t need experience, he just needed to catch her. Another firelight flickered close to him, and he caught it with a flick of his wrist.

  And then he moved, not running tho, but gliding.

  One moment, he was standing still, and the next he was gone, the glass grass barely making a sound beneath his steps. The world blurred, and Aria’s playful grin shattered the moment she realized he had disappeared.

  "—?!?" She barely had time to react before a firelight smacked into her back.

  Zap!

  A sudden, warm static clung to her, like a gentle electric shock, making her stumble forward as she blinked rapidly before twisting around to glare at him. Kaiser stood just a few feet away, arms crossed, smirking.

  "Didn’t see that one coming, did you?" he said smugly.

  Aria narrowed her eyes. "Oh, it’s on now." Without hesitation, she lunged for a firelight and hurled it toward him, but Kaiser was already moving, twisting out of the way with a sharp grin. Sparks scattered as the flame missed, and in an instant, the duel began—dodging, weaving, launching whatever they could find at each other in a fast-paced, reckless clash of reflexes and instinct.

  Aria fought with skill, weaving between players, predicting Kaiser’s throws, and even bouncing a firelight off another player’s firelight midair to hit Kaiser in the arm.

  Kaiser fought with speed, disappearing and reappearing with such impossible footwork that half the game was just Aria trying to guess where he even was.

  "Damn it! Stay still!" Aria laughed as she hurled another firelight, only for Kaiser to sidestep at the last second, causing the glowing ember to fly harmlessly into the grass. "Why would I do that?" he teased, smoothly catching another firelight and tossing it toward her without stopping.

  She barely dodged it, twisting mid-air, her pink hair catching the moonlight. A nearby group had stopped playing just to watch them. Their movements weren’t normal. The way they moved was effortless, precise and almost unnatural. It really made it obvious they weren’t just two regular players.

  It was no longer just a casual game. It was a duel.

  Four firelights clung to Aria. Four firelights clung to Kaiser. Their breath was visible in the cool night air, their bodies tense with anticipation. Aria’s heart pounded against her ribs as she eyed Kaiser, her muscles coiled like a spring. She could feel the weight of the match pressing down on her, but it only fueled the fire in her chest.

  “One more round,” Aria gasped, sweat dampening her temples as she squared her shoulders. “Winner takes all.”

  Kaiser rolled his neck, the firelights that were stuck to him pulsing in time with his lazy grin. "You sure you want to keep going? You’re losing your breath."

  Aria narrowed her eyes. "You’re losing your hairline."

  The smirk froze on Kaiser’s face. For a heartbeat, just a heartbeat, his step faltered, and it was enough.

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Aria lunged, snatching a firelight from the air. The world blurred as she whipped her arm forward, hurling the molten streak straight at his chest. Kaiser moved like lightning, his hand snapping up and catching the firelight mid-flight. The glowing sphere sputtered in his palm, confused, harmless.

  Silence swallowed the field. Aria’s pulse roared in her ears. Even the watching crowd seemed to stop breathing. Kaiser stared at the trapped flame, genuine surprise softening his features. “…Huh. Didn’t see that coming.”

  Aria’s eye twitched. Then… She launched herself at him.

  They hit the ground in a tangle, rolling through the glass-like grass that shimmered like crushed starlight. When they stopped, Aria straddled him, her knees pinning his arms, triumph blazing in her eyes. Kaiser blinked up, grass in his hair, the firelight still clutched in one hand.

  Their faces were inches apart. She could count the flecks of red in his widened eyes.

  “Five,” she hissed, slamming another hiden firelight against his ribs.

  The zap echoed loudly. Kaiser exhaled through his teeth, staring at the sky as if it personally betrayed him. “…I despise you.”

  “I. Win.” Aria vaulted to her feet, fists raised as the crowd erupted.

  Cheers and laughter rippled through the field, the remaining firelights bobbing lazily now that the duel had ended. Someone started clapping. Another whistled.

  Kaiser lay motionless, the grass glowing beneath him like liquid moonlight. His body wasn’t tired as he’d endured far worse… But his pride? That stung. How? He’d calculated every move, every feint. And yet—

  “Legendary!” shouted a voice from the crowd.

  “Did you see her tackle him?!”

  Aria’s grin could’ve outshone the firelights. She loomed over him, hand extended. “Need a hand, old man?” Kaiser batted her away, sitting up with a scoff. “I let you win.”

  “Five hits.” She held up her fingers, wiggling them tauntingly. “Four. Math’s hard, huh?” He opened his mouth to retort, but a black-gloved hand thrust suddenly into his line of sight.

  Kaiser’s gaze flicked up, locking onto the figure who had approached. The man standing over him wore a plain, dark outfit, nothing extravagant, but his mask was what stood out. It was made of polished silver, featureless aside from two thin slits for eyes and a faintly engraved pattern across the forehead.

  The masked man didn’t speak, simply offering his hand as if it were the most natural thing in the world. For a brief second, Kaiser hesitated. Something about the figure felt off. Not dangerous, but maybe calculated.

  Still, there was no reason to refuse. Kaiser reached out, clasping the man’s hand. The grip was firm but not forceful, pulling him up in one smooth motion.

  And then, a subtle, almost imperceptible movement inside his pocket happened, like something had been placed there, or taken. The masked man dipped his head politely and melted into the crowd, footsteps soundless.

  Kaiser tracked him until he vanished, jaw tight. Later. “You okay?” Aria nudged his arm, her grin still electric from the win.

  He rolled his shoulders, cracking his neck. “Peachy.” She squinted at him, then shrugged. “Round two?”

  He snorted, shoving his hands into his pockets. “One humiliation’s enough.”

  Aria fake-gasped, clutching her chest. “Humiliation? You’re just salty I schooled y—”

  A roar of laughter erupted nearby as another match ended, losers groaning theatrically. Aria’s head whipped toward the noise, eyes lighting up. “C’mon, let’s watch!”

  Kaiser sighed. “…Fine.”

  They wove through clusters of players, firelights bobbing overhead like drunken stars. Aria bounced as she walked, still riding the high. “Did you see their faces when I—”

  A pale hand thrust into her path.

  Aria blinked in surprise and followed the hand up to see a girl, around her height, with short silver hair that fell messily just above her shoulders. She had sharp blue eyes that gleamed with quiet amusement and wore a sleeveless tunic of dark gray, with fitted gloves that went up to her elbows. She looked young, maybe her own age, maybe younger, but something about her presence felt seasoned, like she had been playing this game her whole life.

  "You’re good," the girl said simply, her voice light and smooth. "Ever played before?"Aria’s eyes widened, her excitement reigniting in an instant. "Something similar back home! But this was my first time playing firefight!"

  The silver-haired girl gave a small nod of approval. "You’ve got good reflexes. I like that. Want to go again? This time, against me." Aria didn’t even hesitate. ‘A second game?! With someone new?!’

  She immediately took the girl’s hand, shaking it enthusiastically. "Yes!" The silver-haired girl’s lips quirked into a small, almost imperceptible smirk. "I’m Seris," she introduced herself. "Let’s make this fun."

  Aria beamed. ‘A friend! A girl her age! Someone to play with!’ It was like the night kept getting better and better.

  But before she could turn to drag Kaiser into this, he was already walking away. "Wait—where are you going?" Aria called after him.

  Kaiser raised a hand in a lazy half-wave, not even looking back. "I’ll leave you to it. I’m heading back."

  Aria blinked. "But—"

  "You’ll be fine," he said over his shoulder. "Just don’t embarrass yourself."

  Aria pouted, puffing up her cheeks. "I didn’t last game!"

  Kaiser gave a noncommittal shrug before slipping further into the crowd, disappearing like he had never been there to begin with.

  Aria huffed. ‘Typical Kaiser.’

  She turned back to Seris, who was watching the exchange with mild amusement. "Your friend doesn’t like to play?"

  Aria folded her arms. "More like he doesn’t like to lose."

  Seris raised an eyebrow. "That so?"

  Aria grinned. "Yup. But enough about him. Let's play!"

  Seris chuckled, stretching out her gloved hands. "Hope you’re ready, then. Because I don’t like to lose either."

  Aria felt the excitement burn in her chest.

  This night was already one of the best in her life. And it wasn’t even over yet, but before it could continue, she still needed to do something.

  Aria’s fingers curled tightly around the teleportation ticket in her pocket as she watched Kaiser’s retreating figure slip into the crowd. She had been so caught up in the excitement of making a friend that she completely forgot—he still needed his ticket!

  She turned on her heel, ready to sprint after him, her fingers tightening around the teleportation ticket as if holding onto it would somehow stop him from leaving. But the second her foot lifted off the ground, she froze.

  Kaiser was already holding a ticket.

  For a heartbeat, relief flickered through her. But then her eyes focused on it, truly focused, and every inch of her body locked up. It wasn’t the same.

  The one clutched in her own hands was a deep, velvety blue with a golden engraving pressed elegantly into the paper, its edges shimmering faintly under the moons light. But the one Kaiser now held was nothing like that.

  His was black. A heavy, unnatural shade of black that reminded her of scorched metal, dull and lifeless yet somehow wrong at the same time. The material looked thicker than paper, almost like a sliver of iron hammered flat and thin, absorbing the glow of the firelights instead of reflecting it. It didn’t belong. It shouldn’t be here. And Kaiser shouldn’t be holding it. A cold weight pressed against her chest as her breath caught.

  He didn’t have that before.

  "Kaiser!" she called, louder this time, urgency sharpening her voice. Her legs tensed, ready to close the distance between them, ready to grab his wrist and pull if she had to. He had to drop it. He had to get rid of it.

  But before he could turn, the ticket in his hand lit up. It wasn’t a warm glow like hers. It wasn’t the gentle pulse of teleportation magic she had seen before. It was something else entirely.

  The dark metal-like surface flared to life with jagged, flickering veins of deep crimson, pulsing like something alive, something breathing. The lines crawled over the surface of the ticket, spreading like cracks in glass, and then, before she could scream, before she could reach him, it pulled him in.

  One moment he was standing there, and the next he was gone.

  The space where he had been just a second ago was empty. No lingering glow, no remnants of magic, not even the whisper of displaced air. He had vanished without a trace, as if the world had swallowed him whole.

  The color drained from Aria’s face.

  "Kaiser?"

  Her voice came out small, barely more than a breath, but inside, her heart was slamming against her ribs, pounding so hard it hurt. She took a step forward, then another, stumbling as her knees threatened to give out beneath her.

  No. No, No, No.

  Her breath hitched, and she bolted toward the teleportation platform without thinking. The smooth white stone was glowing faintly, the same symbol from before now shimmering beneath her feet. Without hesitation, she slammed her thumb onto the ticket and clenched her jaw as the strange force wrapped around her body.

  A moment later, she was back in the city.

  The rush of night air hit her as the world solidified around her once again, but she barely noticed it. Her eyes darted around frantically, but there was no one there.

  No Kaiser.

  The streets were quieter now, the festive energy from before having settled into a calm lull. The buildings, still glowing with magical lanterns, now cast long, soft shadows across the cobblestone. A few pedestrians wandered past, laughing in hushed voices, oblivious to the ice-cold panic sinking into her stomach.

  ‘Where was he?’

  ‘Where did he go?!’

  Aria’s breath came in sharp, uneven gasps, her chest tightening with every frantic thought that raced through her mind. Her fingers trembled as she clenched them around the edges of her sleeves, her pulse a hammering rhythm against her ribs.

  "Kaiser…?" she whispered, her voice barely carrying over the festival’s distant hum. But there was no answer. No familiar voice calling back to her, no sarcastic remark, no reassuring presence at her side.

  Only silence.

  A gentle touch on her shoulder made her jerk violently, spinning around so fast she nearly lost her balance. Seris stood before her, silver hair catching the glow of the lanterns, her expression calm yet searching, her sharp eyes scanning Aria’s face with quiet intensity.

  "What's wrong?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.

  Aria opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

  How could she explain?

  How could she put into words the sheer wrongness of what had just happened? The sight of Kaiser holding that strange black ticket, the way the magic flared around him, the way he had simply vanished without a trace?

  Her throat felt like sandpaper. She swallowed hard, but it did nothing to loosen the tight knot of panic in her chest. Seris’s hand on her shoulder firmed slightly, grounding her. "Breathe," she said, her voice steady, controlled. "Tell me what happened.

  Aria sucked in a shaky breath, forcing air into her lungs, but it didn’t feel like enough. The pressure inside her chest wouldn’t ease.

  "Kaiser…" Her voice came out hoarse, raw. "He had a weird ticket." She inhaled sharply, fighting to string the words together before the panic swallowed her whole. "It wasn’t like ours, it was black. It looked wrong. And when I tried to stop him, he—he disappeared before I could say anything. He was just… gone."

  Seris’s expression didn’t change much, but something flickered behind her eyes, something sharp and calculating. "A black ticket?" she repeated, her tone unreadable.

  Aria nodded frantically, desperation lacing her every movement. "Yes! And now he’s just gone!" Her voice cracked at the end, and she hated it. She hated the way it made her sound small, helpless and afraid, all over again, just as she sounded while she was living a nightmare mere days ago.

  Seris’s grip on her shoulder tightened slightly, steadying but firm. "Alright. First, calm down."

  "I can’t!" Aria snapped, her panic finally spilling over like a dam breaking under pressure. "He’s missing! What if he’s hurt? What if he was taken somewhere dangerous?! What if—"

  "Then losing your head won’t help." Seris’s voice, sharp and controlled, sliced through Aria’s spiraling thoughts like a blade.

  Aria stiffened, her breath hitching. Seris exhaled slowly through her nose, her gaze flicking briefly over their surroundings before settling back on Aria. "Listen. He’s strong, right?"

  Aria’s jaw clenched. "Yeah, but—"

  "Then have some faith in him," Seris said simply, her tone unwavering. "If something really did happen, panicking won’t fix it. If we’re going to figure this out, we need to think. Not lose our heads." Aria’s fingers curled into fists, her nails biting into her palms.

  She hated how right Seris was.

  But it didn’t stop the knot of worry twisting deep in her stomach, didn’t stop the way her eyes kept darting back to the empty teleportation platform as if hoping, praying, that Kaiser would just appear again like nothing had happened.

  But the platform remained empty.

  And the cold weight in her chest only grew heavier.

  ‘Kaiser… where are you?’