Maya and Tami eventually stirred, both groaning as they pushed themselves upright.

"What happened...?" Tami muttered, rubbing the side of his head as if trying to piece together where the pain began.

Yuto glanced toward the cave entrance behind them, then shifted his gaze deeper into the tunnel where the air still felt heavy, like the fight had not fully left the space yet.

"I killed the cryptid," he said simply.

Both of them froze.

"You what?" Tami blinked, his voice rising slightly in disbelief.

Yuto shrugged once, as if it was less important than it sounded. "Got lucky. That’s all."

Maya studied him for a moment in silence. Her eyes moved over him, taking in the damage, the exhaustion, the way he stood like his body was still catching up to what had happened.

Then she gave a small nod.

"Still. That’s impressive."

They didn’t linger on it after that.

There wasn’t time to.

The three of them moved deeper into the cave together, their footsteps echoing softly against stone walls that gradually widened and then narrowed again in uneven stretches. The air shifted as they advanced, becoming denser, cooler in places, carrying a faint pressure that sat against the skin.

At first it felt like normal cave terrain.

Then it stopped feeling natural at all.

Eventually, the passage opened into a much larger chamber.

The space beyond was wider, almost circular, with a ceiling lost in shadow and faint mineral light reflecting off uneven rock surfaces. The ground sloped slightly downward toward the center, where something unnatural disrupted the emptiness.

And Shinto was there.

Standing beside the gemstone.

For a moment, everything else seemed to lose importance.

Shinto turned slowly as they entered, as if he had been expecting them long before they arrived.

"Congratulations on making it to the chamber, kids," he said lightly, almost conversationally. Then his smile sharpened. "But you’re too late."

Maya’s eyes widened.

"No—!"

Shinto ignored her completely.

His hand completed the final motion of a ritual, precise and practiced, like he had done it in his mind many times before. The gemstone responded immediately.

Light erupted from it.

A deep green glow filled the chamber, reflecting off stone walls and illuminating every crack and edge in sharp contrast.

The air itself shifted.

It felt like pressure was changing, like the room had begun to recognize something entering it that did not belong.

Tami let out a small, uncertain sound.

"Uh oh."

Yuto felt something sink in his chest.

Not surprise.

Not confusion.

Recognition.

They had failed.

The gem pulsed again, stronger this time.

At its center, the light condensed.

Form took shape inside it.

Not immediately.

Slowly.

Like something remembering how to exist.

From within the glow, Oinaru Mono began to manifest.

At first, only his outline appeared, then color, then detail, until he stood fully formed within the chamber as if he had simply stepped out of a place that had always been there but unseen.

He was tall, young, and carried himself with an easy posture that didn’t match the scale of what was happening. His dark hair was slicked back neatly, and he stretched his arms once, casually, like someone waking up after a long sleep rather than being brought back from something far more significant.

"Finally," he said, almost lazily. "That’s much better."

His gaze moved around the chamber, taking in the ruined stone, the scattered group, the faint glow still lingering from the gem. Nothing about his expression suggested urgency.

Only mild satisfaction.

"I’m not fully at my strength yet," he continued, rolling his shoulder slightly, "but this will do."

His eyes landed on Shinto.

Shinto straightened immediately.

The shift in him was immediate. The confidence from moments ago sharpened into something almost eager.

"Yes, master," he said quickly. "I have done as you commanded."

Oinaru gave a small nod.

"Good job Shinto," he replied. "Then it’s time we take control of this horrible place."

"Yes, master," Shinto repeated without hesitation. "It’s time."

Oinaru tilted his head slightly, as if remembering something he had almost ignored.

"And these ones?"

His gaze shifted toward Yuto, Maya, and Tami.

Shinto followed it.

"Well, master," he said, tone turning colder, "they are here to stop your manifestation. And to take the gem."

Oinaru exhaled lightly through his nose, like the information was mildly inconvenient rather than threatening.

"I see."

He paused for a moment, then rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"In that case," he said, "it would be proper to remove them."

Then his eyes lingered on Yuto a second longer than the others.

"A shame," he added casually. "This one is quite handsome."

Yuto didn’t react.

He just shifted slightly, stepping back into position beside Maya and Tami.

Tami leaned closer, voice low enough that it barely carried.

"How are we supposed to survive this?"

Yuto didn’t answer immediately.

Because he didn’t have one.

Maya, however, did not hesitate.

"I have a plan," she said.

Both boys turned toward her.

She pointed forward without hesitation.

"Yuto, you handle Shinto. Tami, fight Oinaru with me."

"That doesn’t make sense," Tami whispered immediately.

Yuto frowned. "Why split it like that?"

Maya didn’t explain.

"Just trust me."

There was no room left for debate.

The chamber was already shifting.

The atmosphere had changed the moment Oinaru fully manifested, like the world itself had acknowledged a new imbalance.

They moved.

Fast.

Then Maya did something neither of them expected.

She pulled a pendant from her chain.

It looked ordinary at first glance, small and worn, but the moment her fingers closed around it, the air around her reacted.

She pressed it into the hilt of her sword.

A quiet pulse followed.

Then her expression shifted.

Subtle at first.

Then unmistakable.

Her eyes changed.

A deep, unnatural yellow replaced their normal tone, sharp and steady like something ancient had awakened behind them.

Stone responded immediately.

Not around her.

To her.

The ground beneath her feet trembled, then rose in controlled segments.

Rocks lifted from the floor in fractured pieces, hovering briefly before locking into place around her form.

Layer by layer, they assembled.

Not chaotic.

Not random.

Structured.

A full suit of stone armor formed around her body in seconds, reinforcing her frame, thickening her stance, and reshaping her silhouette into something heavier and more stable without slowing her movement entirely.

Tami stared for half a second longer than he should have.

"Okay..." he muttered. "That’s new."