The air inside the Haven was heavy and stagnant. Koma remained leaned against the stone pillar his gaze fixed on Kaola with a look that promised nothing but ruin. He did not move but his presence alone seemed to shrink the room. He was waiting for a reason to stop being patient. The shadows in the corners of the room seemed to stretch toward him as if drawn to the sheer weight of his intent. Every breath Kaola took felt like it was being stolen by the silence that Koma commanded. He was a predator who had already caught his prey and he was simply savoring the moments before the end.

  "You look worried sister." Koma said his voice smooth and dangerous. "Is the seat uncomfortable? Or is it the realization that your options have finally withered away and you are trapped in this room with me?"

  Kaola sat perfectly still in the chair across from him. She kept her chin high but her pulse was visible in her neck. She knew exactly what Koma was capable of when he decided he was bored with talking. She could feel the cold radiating from the stone behind him and it matched the chill in his eyes. There was no escape from this room and there was no logic that could sway him once his mind was set on destruction.

  Kova stood nearby his eyes distant as he felt the jagged vibrations of malice screaming from the south. The energy signature was unmistakable. It was the sound of a seal being shredded. The air itself seemed to vibrate with a frequency that only those of their blood could truly perceive. It was a violent and erratic rhythm like a heart beating too fast and too hard against the ribs of the world. Kova knew that the restraint he had expected was failing and the consequences would be absolute if he did not intervene.

  "Sorry." Kova interrupted his voice cutting through the tension like a blade. "But I will be right back. Something has come up that requires my attention."

  Without waiting for a response Kova vanished. He did not walk away. He simply ceased to exist in the room leaving only a faint ripple in the air where he had been standing. Kaola felt a surge of genuine panic. She didn't want him to leave because she thought he would stop the Koma from killing her. Now she was alone with the one person who wanted her dead the most. The silence returned and it was even heavier than before. Koma did not even blink at the sudden departure. He simply narrowed his eyes and took a single step forward.

  The world was falling apart but Kota remained on the ground where he had been sent flying his breathing coming in ragged desperate gasps. He was immensely tired. His body was weak and he had expended a lot of Yen.

  Every muscle in his body felt like it was being pulled apart by invisible hooks. The dust from the impact settled over him like a burial shroud and the copper taste of blood filled his mouth. He tried to push himself up but his arms buckled and he collapsed back into the dirt. He was defenseless.

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  As Hykee started unleashing something sinister.

  Kana saw bandages ripping away and remembered the warning. She began to actively back away her eyes wide with fear as she scrambled to put distance between herself and the street.

  The ground beneath her felt unstable as if the earth itself was terrified of what was about to happen. She begin to look around as sound of the wind had turned into a low mournful howl. Juno however remained frozen. She stood like a statue her eyes locked on the boy lying in the dirt.

  "Why are you not stopping him?" Juno asked her voice trembling as she looked at the Hykee. "Aren't we supposed to bring the boy back alive?"

  Lokee did not look at her. She felt a presence closing in. The weight of the air was becoming unbearable. She knew that the power being unleashed was beyond anything she could merely contain. "I am not strong enough to stop him." she replied. "Get away if you can."

  Hykee raised his hand toward the sky. The sewed eye on the back of his hand was wide now weeping black tears. The eye pulsed and black lightning coiled around his arm. He was about to unleash something catastrophic. The sky darkened as if a curtain had been pulled across the sun and the very concept of peace evaporated. The lightning was not like natural light. It was a void that consumed everything it touched and the sound it made was like the grinding of tectonic plates.

  The air rippled behind Hykee. That was when Kova appeared out of thin air striking Hykee in the neck with precision to knock him out. The lightning vanished and the pressure evaporated instantly. The sudden silence was deafening. Hykee body went limp and Kova caught him by the collar before he could hit the ground. The transition from total chaos to absolute stillness was so jarring that Juno and Kana both staggered back as if they had been hit by a physical wave of relief.

  Kota stared at the newcomer through blurred vision from his position on the ground. "Who is that?" he whispered to himself. "Why did he do that to him?"

  Kova looked toward Lokee with a gaze of cold authority. "Take your brother home and heal him." he commanded. The authority in his voice was not something that could be questioned. Then he turned his eyes toward Juno and Kana. "You two. Come with me. We are leaving together."

  After issuing his commands Kova finally looked over at Kota on the ground.

  His expression remained a mask of cool neutrality as he observed the wreckage of the fight. He looked at Kota not with pity but with a strange and detached curiosity. "You are lucky." Kova stated his voice echoing in the sudden quiet. "He has no self control he would've killed everyone here."

  Kota watched them leave but the world was beginning to tilt. He began to lose consciousness. The massive Yen expense finally took its toll and his vision went black as he passed out. The exhaustion was a physical weight that finally crushed the last of his consciousness and he allowed himself to sink into the dark.

  As the darkness took him he heard the voice of a woman. It was soft and sounded familiar. "Boy." she whispered. The sound of it seemed to anchor him even as the rest of the world dissolved into nothingness.

  "Boy it is time."

  "Is this where the dream ends?" Kota asked her his voice echoing in the emptiness.

  "It is time for you to wake up." she replied.