The first thing Kyuu saw was the sun. A piercing light filled her vision, forcing her to react before she could even understand what she was seeing. Her arm moved instinctively, blocking out the brightness. Shadows danced across her vision, and for the first time, something like thought began to form in her mind.
She lowered her hand slowly, blinking at the vast sky stretched above her. The world around her was quiet, save for the distant rustling of leaves and the occasional chirp of unseen creatures. There was no fear, no confusion—only the sensation of existing.
A soft wobble. Something floated beside her.
She turned her head, expression blank, and met the sight of a small, round entity hovering just above the ground. It shimmered faintly, pulsating as if it were breathing. It did not speak. It did not blink. But as she moved, it adjusted, drifting closer with an almost imperceptible tremor.
She did not know what it was. But she also did not question it.
Her body responded sluggishly as she pushed herself up from the ground. The moment she tried to move, her arms buckled, and she collapsed forward, landing on her elbows. Her breath hitched—short and shallow, as if her body didn’t fully understand how to do something as simple as breathing. Her fingers twitched against the earth, clenching and unclenching as she tried to command her limbs.
She tried again, rolling to her side before attempting to push up. Her knee bent at an awkward angle, her weight uneven, and she tumbled onto her back. The sensation was strange—neither pain nor discomfort, just… a miscalculation.
The orb beside her lowered slightly, as if in concern. It lingered there, close but not touching, as if watching over her.
Kyuu grit her teeth—not in frustration, but in something like determination. She moved more deliberately, planting her hands against the ground and lifting herself again. Her arms shook, her legs unsteady. She tried to balance, tried to find where to put her weight. Her foot slipped on a loose patch of earth, and she fell again, her shoulder hitting the dirt.
Still, she did not stop.
She tried again.
This time, she stood.
The orb remained at her side, steady. It did not quiver or react in excitement—it simply stayed with her, unwavering.
Kyuu took her first step. The ground beneath her was solid, but her own weight felt foreign. Her body wobbled, unsure of itself, and her footing was clumsy. The way she moved wasn’t uncomfortable, but it wasn’t natural either—just something she would have to figure out.
The world stretched vast before her. Towering trees swayed gently in the breeze, their emerald leaves shifting under the sunlight. The sky above was endless, pale blue, like an open canvas.
There was nothing stopping her from moving forward.
So she did.
She walked for hours.
The orb followed, never straying too far. It didn’t just trail beside her—it guided. When she neared uneven terrain, it would shift in front of her, blocking her path before nudging her in another direction. When she drifted toward a rocky incline, it pushed against her, gentle but firm, redirecting her steps.
She never questioned why.
The sun dipped lower into the horizon, casting long shadows across the ground. The air cooled, but Kyuu’s pace did not slow. There was no exhaustion, no sense of time pressing against her body. She simply continued, letting the world unfold around her.
Then—
Orby stopped.
Kyuu had been mid-step when she noticed. The orb, which had been moving so fluidly all this time, had frozen in place. Its faint glow pulsed, as if tense.
Kyuu stopped, her foot lowering soundlessly onto the earth.
The air felt still.
A faint rustling came from the trees ahead.
The orb tensed, hovering slightly higher as if anticipating something unseen.
There was no particular scent in the air, no obvious disturbance in the environment. But something in the silence—the way the natural sounds of the world had dimmed—suggested that she was no longer alone.
She tilted her head, staring forward.
The orb trembled.
The rustling grew louder.
And then, the sound of slow, deliberate footsteps pressing against the earth.
Kyuu remained still.
The orb drifted in front of her, and for the first time since she awoke, something like urgency filled its movements.
Something was there.
Something was watching.
And it was getting closer.
