The Silent Mist: Lan-Xia vs Kaito

The lights in the mansion flickered. A low hum vibrated through the air, then—darkness.

A creeping mist slithered across the floor, curling around the furniture like ghostly fingers. The temperature plummeted, an unnatural chill settling in.

Zane leaned back, arms crossed. “Guess someone forgot to pay the bill.”

Then his expression shifted. He sniffed the air, frowning. “You smell that?”

Kimiko paused, inhaling deeply. Her brows furrowed.

The candle flames trembled.

Then, like an unseen tide, the mist poured in.

Thin at first. A whisper of silver curling through the cracks beneath the doors. A soft, creeping presence that barely seemed real.

“Hm?” Kimiko’s breath slowed, her lashes fluttering as a strange warmth settled into her limbs. “Feels… kinda nice.”

“Stay awake,” Kaito warned, his voice edged with tension.

Kimiko swayed slightly, blinking as if trying to shake off the sudden drowsiness. “It’s just mist.” She gave a lazy smile.

The fog curled higher, wrapping around their legs.

Kimiko’s voice softened. “She’s beautiful.”

Zane’s eyes sharpened. “Who?”

“The woman behind this,” Kimiko murmured, her half-lidded gaze following the mist’s graceful movements. “Someone like this… They wouldn’t be a brute. It’s too elegant.”

Zane’s stomach twisted.

"Kimiko, stay with me!" Zane's voice was sharp, but his breath came shallow. His arms felt like lead. He tried to move, but his fingers barely twitched.

Kimiko's lips parted slightly.

"She's... calling me."

Zane's stomach twisted. A distant, nagging instinct screamed at him.

But the mist had already wrapped around his mind. His thoughts blurred.

“No. Not like this.”

Kimiko’s head dipped forward slightly.

“I wonder if she’ll be kind…” Her voice was barely above a whisper.

Then she collapsed.

Zane’s vision darkened. His pulse slowed. His knees buckled.

The last thing he saw before his body gave in—

Was the mist swallowing them whole.

Kaito stood unmoving.

The fog thickened, devouring the room in an eerie silence. Zane and Kimiko’s bodies vanished from sight, their outlines dissolving into the shifting silver abyss.

A slow, melodic chuckle drifted through the mist.

“I never expected to find you here, old friend.”

Kaito’s fists clenched. His stance subtly shifted. His breathing remained steady.

A silhouette emerged, stepping forward as though the mist itself had shaped her into existence.

Lan-Xia.

Her long red hair cascaded over her shoulders, strands lifting slightly as if caressed by the mist. A mischievous smile curved her lips, her half-lidded eyes locked onto him like a predator sizing up its prey.

Her fan rested lightly in one hand, partially open, the hidden blades glinting faintly in the dim light.

“Mmm… Such a strong, serious look. I’ve missed that.” Her voice was smooth, laced with amusement.

Kaito exhaled through his nose, unmoving.

“This isn’t the Mist Temple, Master.”

Lan-Xia chuckled, stepping closer. With every movement, the mist curled protectively around her.

“Then show me what you have learnt.”

And then—she was gone.

The mist collapsed inward.

Kaito barely shifted his weight before the first strike came.

A whisper of motion—too fast, too precise.

He pivoted sharply, the cold kiss of steel grazing his throat, missing by a breath.

Then—another attack. Then a third. Each one from a different angle.

He moved on instinct alone. The mist robbed him of sight, muffled sound, and stole every natural advantage. His lungs burnt. His muscles ached.

“Tsk, tsk, Kaito… You’re so tense.”

Her voice drifted through the fog, everywhere and nowhere at once.

Kaito slid back, grounding himself. “Calm down.”

Then—he struck.

A shockwave detonated outward. The sheer force blasted the mist apart for a single breath—long enough to see her.

Lan-Xia stood just beyond his reach, untouched.

She smiled.

“Mmm, you still have the spirit… I like that.”

The mist surged forward, no longer just obscuring his vision.

It pressed down.

Heavy. Thick. Poisonous.

Kaito’s breath slowed. His limbs grew heavier. His heartbeat faltered. The air itself turned to lead in his lungs.

Lan-Xia giggled softly, her voice dangerously close to his ear.

“You always did have a bad habit of holding back, darling…”

Kaito moved, but he was slower. A blade slipped through his guard, carving a shallow line across his ribs.

The sting registered immediately. Too real. Too precise.

Then—heat.

A slow, acrid burn seeped into his skin, curling through his veins like fire. Not just poison. Accelerated.

His power surged.

A deep pulse radiated from his core, snapping through his muscles like a tightening coil. His veins burnt, then cooled. His heartbeat steadied, forcing his body into balance.

The suffocation faded. The weight lifted. The numbness disappeared.

This time—he didn’t try to dodge. He countered.

His hand shot forward. Caught her wrist mid-strike.

Then, with brutal force, he slammed her into the ground.

The floor shattered.

Lan-Xia let out a soft gasp, then… laughed.

“Ohhh, Kaito… So forceful.”

The mist darkened.

It swallowed them whole.

Kaito inhaled sharply—then froze.

There was no oxygen left.

A flicker of realisation crossed his face.

Lan-Xia’s voice curled around him like silk.

“You can feel it, can’t you? The weight… the suffocation… You always struggled when I played rough.”

For a fraction of a second, Kaito’s balance faltered.

Lan-Xia struck.

Her fan snapped shut—then opened. The hidden blades sliced toward his throat.

He didn’t move.

He didn’t need to.

His power surged again.

The instant his body registered the lack of oxygen—his lungs adapted. His blood thickened. His cells demanded less air.

His speed snapped back.

Lan-Xia’s eyes flashed with amusement.

“Mmm… You’re keeping up better than I expected.”

Kaito drove a knee forward. Dealing a devastating hit. Lan-Xia staggered back, her grin widening despite the pain.

Kaito’s grip tightened as he pinned Lan-Xia to the ground, his knee pressing into her wrist to keep her blade at bay. The impact had cracked the wooden floor beneath them, dust and splinters rising in the thickened mist.

Lan-Xia, despite being restrained, only smiled. A slow, sultry curve of her lips.

Then—the air shifted.

A sudden wave of heat pulsed through the mist. The chill that had numbed the room moments ago gave way to an oppressive warmth, the very air growing heavy. Kaito’s skin prickled as he felt it—the mist itself was changing. “You won’t do it.”

Lan-Xia tilted her head, eyes gleaming with amusement. “Are you sure about that?”

The temperature spiked. The mist around them shimmered, wavering as invisible energy pulsed through it. Kaito’s muscles tensed, every instinct screaming at him to brace for the inevitable. If she ignited the gas in the air, the entire mansion could go up in flames.

Kaito's muscles coiled, ready to brace for the explosion.

But then... something felt off.

The temperature spiked, but the mist didn't combust. It wavered. Flickered.

Kaito's eyes narrowed. She's not going to ignite it.

It was never about the explosion.

He turned sharply – too late. The mist collapsed inward, swallowing her whole.

And when it cleared —

Zane and Kimiko were gone.

A faint whisper echoed through the air, teasing and distant.

“Until next time, darling.”

Silence followed, the remnants of the mist dissipating into nothing.

Kaito exhaled sharply, fists clenching at his sides. His gaze lingered on the empty space where they had stood moments before.

She had played him. And she had won.

For now.