I didn't know what to think anymore.Did Raiden really see him?I screamed, "YOU'RE LYING!"
But the boy made of glass only stared at me with those sharp, frozen eyes. His voice was like shattered mirrors."WHY WOULD I LIE?" he said."I FOUND HIM. HE WAS ALREADY DEAD."
"No!" I shouted, my hands trembling. I grabbed him by the collar. The sound in the air grew louder—an eerie hum like something about to collapse. The glass walls closed in. My voice cracked.
"YOU'RE LYING! HE NEVER PULLED THE ROPE THROUGH—WHERE IS HE? WHERE IS HE?!"
The glass boy tilted his head, a cold smile creeping across his face."I don't know," he said—and laughed.
We fought.The clash of my blade against his glass arms echoed, again and again and again.I was getting tired. My arms were heavy. My breaths shallow.But he… didn't slow down.Not even for a second.
And then—The words slipped out of me like lightning.
"RAIDEN—DO YOU REALLY WANT TO COME WITH ME?! I DON'T WANT YOU TO DIE!"e[1]
Something broke inside me.I screamed so loud the walls trembled. The air cut sharp in my throat.I slammed him against a glass wall so hard that cracks burst around us like spiderwebs.
I pressed my hand to his neck, my voice trembling like the sword in my grip."WHERE IS HE?! YOU DAMN—""IF YOU DON'T TELL ME, I'LL BREAK YOU INTO MORE THAN JUST GLASS!"
But my legs buckled.My arms dropped.I couldn't move anymore.My body—done.I collapsed, chest heaving, heart screaming.
The glass boy stood above me.His laugh was soft now."ARE YOU TIRED YET?"
He knelt beside me."You're strong," he whispered. "You want to help others. But when will you help yourself?"His fingers traced a line in the air, forming a sheet of glass like a blade."You carry too much pain. I'll kill you… painlessly."
I panicked.My mind screamed:STAND UP.STAND UP!
But my body wouldn't listen.I was seconds from death.
Then—A footstep.
Another one.Slower.Heavy.Steady.
The glass boy froze.
For the first time—He looked scared.
I forced my eyes open, breath shaky.I saw him.
Raiden.
He walked through the breaking light, step by step.His hair fell forward, his eyes unreadable.He wore black—a cloak flowing like smoke—with a faint red glow across his chest.His sword was new. Sharper. Ancient. Deadlier.
He walked past me.
His eyes locked onto mine—cold, angry, protective.
He pulled his sword.
"HOW ABOUT FIGHTING SOMEONE IN YOUR GRADE?"
The glass boy smiled."So... You're Raiden. She's been looking for you."
Then he knocked me unconscious with a flick.
When I woke up, the fight had only just begun.
Swords clashed.
Sparks flew like falling stars.Raiden moved like wind and thunder.Every strike was sharp, clean—designed to kill.
The glass boy laughed."You're strong—but you're not better!"
He threw shards like knives.They circled Raiden like a storm.But Raiden spun, his cloak slicing through the air.
He dodged.Parried.Countered.
But the glass boy was fast—inhuman.He split into mirrors.Ten, twenty reflections attacking Raiden at once.
I screamed, but Raiden didn't falter.
He stabbed one—glass.Kicked another—glass.He wasn't aiming to destroy—he was finding the real one.
Then—
CLANG!He locked swords with the Glass boy.
Raiden smirked."You're good at hiding," he said."BUT I'M YOUR GLASS NIGHTMARE!"
He pushed forward, blade blazing.
"WHO ARE YOU?!" the boy screamed, cracks in his arms now visible.
Raiden's voice dropped.
"I AM THE SWORD THAT YOU SHOULD HAVE NEVER TOUCHED."
He stabbed the boy.Straight through.
Blood—And shards of glass—burst out like a waterfall.
"NO!" I screamed and ran toward him.
The glass boy fell.But he wasn't human.There was no real body.No weight.
Just—Pain in his eyes.
He touched my hair."You carry too much pain," he whispered."Be careful who you give your heart to."
And then—he vanished.The glass walls dissolved.
I collapsed on a field of grass.Where the boy had stood—now stood a white rosePure. Still.
I whispered,"I hope you'll never feel pain again… wherever you go."
But inside—I was angry.I thought he was evil. I thought he hurt Raiden.But no.He was just a child.Seventeen.Still… a boy.
Raiden appeared behind me.He looked different.Stronger.Older.But his kindness was still there, in the way he spoke.
"Why are you still lying there?" he asked."Are you sad?"
I stood up, my voice low."No.But I'm sorry… even if he tried to kill me."
Raiden looked away."I had to kill him."
"Where were you?" I asked."Why the different clothes? Why did you disappear?"
"I had to," he said."I'll explain later."
We walked toward the village.Where the Map to the Rain of Memory was waiting.But something inside me felt off.He was different.He noticed.
"Let's take a break," he said.
We sat down.He asked, "Are you okay?"I said, "Lots of bruises, nothing else."
He nodded."We'll be back in your village soon.""Finally," I said. "It's been a long way."He smiled—and that made it a little better.
Then he stood and gently stroked my hair.
"You fought really well," he said.
But I couldn't hold it anymore."You saw it the whole time," I whispered."Why didn't you help? Where were you?"
He looked away.Didn't answer.
"HELLO?" I said. "ANSWER ME."
Still nothing.
I grabbed his arm."WHY WON'T YOU ANSWER ME?!"
He snapped."FUCKING SHIT, LET ME GO!"
He shoved me so hard I hit the ground.My head struck a rock.I saw—
Blood.
[1] memory