Marked by the Cross

The road was quiet, lit only by flickering street lamps and the occasional glow of moonlight glancing off the ocean.

Ren sat beside Lucas in the car. The tires rolled over gravel and sand as the engine purred low like a beast waiting to wake up. Ren broke the silence.

“Are we heading to the harbor?”

Lucas smirked, eyes fixed ahead. “Harbor? Nah. We’re going to the blimp.”

“The blimp?” Ren tilted his head.

Lucas nodded. “Yep. Our team arranged a blimp for us. Pretty lucky, huh?”

The car finally pulled up near a towering airfield. A blimp, massive and silent like a sleeping sky-whale, loomed against the clouds. Two operators stood nearby. One called out, “Lucas! We’re departing in ten minutes!”

Ren and Lucas stepped into the floating ship. Inside, the walls hummed softly — not from engines, but from the sense of unknown journeys ahead.

Ren looked out a side window and asked, “So… what exactly does your team do?”

Lucas leaned back, his hand resting on Ren’s shoulder. “We kill evil.”

Ren blinked, unsure if Lucas was joking. “Right… That’s a cool way to dodge a real answer.”

Lucas chuckled. “No, I’m serious. You remember that… thing I showed you on the island?”

Ren shivered slightly. “That… creep? Yeah. That thing still haunts my thoughts.”

Lucas nodded solemnly. “They used to be just twisted souls. Good and evil. But now… the evil ones consume the weak good souls. Over time, they’ve taken human form. Imperfect, fragile… skin hanging loose, like their bodies are trying to remember how to stay whole. We call them creeps.”

Ren looked away. “That explains their broken appearance…”

Lucas’s voice lowered. “And they’re only the beginning. There are far worse things than creeps. Every year, evil changes. Adapts. Becomes more… human. Lately, there’s been a rumor of a perfect one. A perfect evil soul — indistinguishable from us. If that’s true… we have no idea what it’s capable of.”

Silence lingered in the air.

Lucas looked out the window. “That’s why we’re heading beyond Yochi. Towns are already reporting violent activities. It’s started.”

The engines flared to life. The blimp lifted slowly, leaving the island behind.

Ren stared at the world below shrinking into clouds. “That’s it… our world.”

Lucas smiled faintly. “Yeah… and it lit your heart up, didn’t it?”

Ren smiled too, though a touch of sadness glinted in his eyes. As the island slipped from view, he caught sight of the tall tree. Beneath it, someone lay asleep — peaceful and alone.

Kai.

From his spot under the branches, Kai watched the blimp rise.

“Wherever you go… beyond,” he whispered. “Be safe. We’ll meet again.”

The blimp vanished into the clouds.

Later that evening, knock knock.

Kai opened his door. A boy, about his age, with jet-black hair and sharp, calm eyes stood there.

“Is this your home?” he asked.

Kai frowned. “Who are you?”

“I… don’t really know. They sent me here.”

“Who did?”

“I was sent by an association… CRUX. Some call it the Crucifixion Team — a high elite group.”

Kai stepped aside. “Come in.”

They sat at the wooden table under a dim lightbulb.

“Sorry about earlier. I’m Kato.”

“You from Yochi City? Or… LZT?”

“No. I’ve never been there. Just like you.” Kato placed a folded paper on the table. “Five months ago, I got this application. They said, ‘Not yet.’ Then suddenly, I got a letter. It said: ‘Go to Yaso Island. Woodbeek Village. Meet someone.’ I think… they meant you.”

Kai stared at the paper, heart thumping.

"Kai asked, 'When you came in, you placed something outside. What was it?'

Kato replied, 'It's my katana with a silver handle. Most people have said it's the most beautiful one they've seen.'"

“Oh, that.” Kai looked at the blade leaning against the wall.

“Do you have any abilities?”

Kai shook his head. “No.”

“You don’t — yet. But I could sense your energy the moment I stepped in. It’s leaking out, like sunlight through a cracked door. My own ability is to channel presence through my blade. I’ve been practicing for months, but I’m nowhere near mastery.”

Kai looked thoughtful. “I wonder what mine will be.”

“You’ll figure it out,” Kato said with a warm grin.

“And where are you staying?”

“No idea. You’re the only person I know on this island.”

“Then stay here,” Kai said simply. “No one else lives with me anyway.”

“Thanks, man. For letting a stranger in.”

Kai smiled. “We were strangers… but maybe now, we’re friends. You’re my only companion. Let’s go to CRUX together.”

Kato nodded. “Let’s.”

Their bond sparked — something solid in a world full of ghosts.

Later, they walked through a dense forest. The blood haze drifted through the air like red fog.

“There’s a massive red tree at the top,” Kai said. “I like to rest under it.”

“I can imagine it’s beautiful.”

“It is.”

From a distance, high on a hill, a man stood. A cross-shaped chain hung from his neck. His eyes narrowed, lips curling into a smile.

“So,” he whispered, “just like I thought.”

With a soft whisper of wind, a clone peeled off his form and slithered after the boys, hidden in shadow.

Meanwhile…

Hachi and Toma stood at the edge of Yochi City.

The city gleamed like emerald and steel — buildings woven through trees, as though the forest had accepted them. A beach curled around it like a silver ribbon.

“Woah…” Toma said. “Even with all those buildings, the trees… it’s like the city grew inside a forest.”

The ship docked. Passengers stepped off, their shoes touching new soil and new fate.

Officials checked documents, then waved them toward large waiting buses.

Inside, an official spoke up: “We are heading to the Maze Pass Center — also known as Yenzai Forest.”

Murmurs rose. “A forest? For a test?”

“Yes,” the official said. “All will be revealed. Prepare yourselves.”

The bus started to move. Trees surrounded the road. Every passenger had their own thoughts, questions, and fears.

But all of them were heading deeper… into the unknown.