Cards Of The Silent King-Chapter 47: Yuki-Onna’s Assessment

The rooftop of Kurenai Academy was empty. The sun had set an hour ago. The sky was a deep purple fading into black. The wind was cold. It whipped around the ventilation units and the chain-link fence.

Kaito stood near the center. He was alone. The door to the stairwell was closed. He had locked it from the outside. No one would come up here.

He pulled the card from his jacket. It was custom. The Queen of Ice. The artwork showed a woman in a white kimono standing in a snowstorm. The card was cold to the touch. It frosted his fingers.

Kaito said: "Yuki-Onna."

He placed the card on the concrete. It did not blow away. The wind avoided it.

Light bloomed from the paper. It was pale blue. It did not hurt the eyes. It felt like stepping into a freezer. The light solidified.

Yuki-Onna stood before him. She was tall. Her hair was white and long. It moved like it had its own weather. Her kimono was pristine. It did not flutter in the wind.

She looked at Kaito. Her eyes were pale blue. They were permanently calm.

Yuki-Onna said: "You called."

Kaito said: "I need answers."

Yuki-Onna said: "You usually do."

Kaito said: "Kuro told me about the city."

Yuki-Onna said: "He talks too much."

Kaito said: "He told the truth."

Yuki-Onna said: "He did."

Kaito stepped closer. The cold radiating from her was intense. It did not bother him. He was used to it. It felt like clarity.

Kaito said: "What is Vortelius."

Yuki-Onna was silent. She looked past him. She looked at the city lights below. They flickered in the distance.

Yuki-Onna said: "He is not a monster. Not in the way you think."

Kaito said: "Then what."

Yuki-Onna said: "He is a function. A process. He is hunger given form."

Kaito said: "He thinks. He plans."

Yuki-Onna said: "He learns. That is not the same as thinking. A virus learns. It does not have goals. It has needs."

Kaito said: "He is eating the city."

Yuki-Onna said: "He is consuming reality. The buildings are just matter. The stories are just energy. He does not distinguish."

Kaito put his hands in his pockets. He looked at her. Her expression had not changed. But the air around her had grown colder. The frost on the ground was spreading.

Kaito said: "You have seen him before."

Yuki-Onna said: "Yes."

Kaito said: "When."

Yuki-Onna said: "Centuries ago. Before this land was called Neo Ashford. Before there were cities here."

Kaito said: "What happened."

Yuki-Onna said: "I left. There was nothing else to do."

Kaito said: "You fled."

Yuki-Onna said: "I survived. There is a difference."

Kaito looked at his feet. The frost was creeping up his shoes. He did not move away.

Kaito said: "Can we beat him."

Yuki-Onna said: "You cannot kill hunger. You can only sate it or starve it."

Kaito said: "How do we starve it."

Yuki-Onna said: "You cannot. He moves between dimensions. When one is empty, he finds another."

Kaito said: "Then what is the point."

Yuki-Onna said: "The point is delay. The point is protection. You buy time for the things that matter."

Kaito looked up. He met her eyes.

Kaito said: "You are afraid."

Yuki-Onna did not blink. Her face was smooth like ice.

Yuki-Onna said: "I am concerned."

Kaito said: "That is fear."

Yuki-Onna said: "It is calculation. I have seen what he does. I do not wish to see it again."

Kaito said: "But you are here."

Yuki-Onna said: "I am here."

Kaito said: "Why."

Yuki-Onna said: "Because you are here. You are small. You are fragile. But you stand."

Kaito said: "I have cards."

Yuki-Onna said: "You have will. The cards are just tools."

Yuki-Onna stepped forward. The frost stopped spreading. She reached out a hand. She did not touch him. She hovered her palm near his shoulder.

Yuki-Onna said: "He is not alone. You know this."

Kaito said: "Kuro said there were others."

Yuki-Onna said: "There are always others. Hunger attracts scavengers. Grief attracts mourners. Logic attracts builders."

Kaito said: "Three of them."

Yuki-Onna said: "Perhaps. Perhaps more. The cracks are widening. They are not accidental."

Kaito said: "Someone is opening them."

Yuki-Onna said: "Someone is inviting them."

Kaito felt the weight of the words. It was heavier than the cold. He had suspected it. Now he knew it.

Kaito said: "Who."

Yuki-Onna said: "I do not know. But they are close. Closer than Vortelius."

Kaito said: "Can you find them."

Yuki-Onna said: "I can sense the cold spots. The places where hope dies."

Kaito said: "Show me."

Yuki-Onna said: "Not tonight. You are tired. Your merge with the wolf was sloppy."

Kaito said: "It worked."

Yuki-Onna said: "It cost you. You cannot afford many more costs."

Kaito said: "I do not have a choice."

Yuki-Onna said: "You always have a choice. You choose to fight. That is your burden."

Yuki-Onna lowered her hand. The cold around her lessened slightly. The frost on the ground began to melt.

Yuki-Onna said: "Go home, Kaito. Sleep. Eat. You cannot fight on an empty stomach."

Kaito said: "There is no time."

Yuki-Onna said: "There is always time. Even for hunger."

Kaito looked at her. He saw something in her eyes. It was not pity. It was respect. And beneath that, a deep, ancient weariness.

Kaito said: "Will you stay."

Yuki-Onna said: "I am always here. In the card."

Kaito said: "Will you fight."

Yuki-Onna said: "When the time comes. I will not let him take this city without a storm."

Kaito nodded. He picked up the card. It was warm now. The frost was gone.

Kaito said: "Thank you."

Yuki-Onna said: "Do not thank me. Just survive."

Yuki-Onna faded. She did not walk away. She simply became mist. The mist dissolved into the night air.

Kaito stood alone on the rooftop. The wind picked up. It was no longer cold. It was just wind.

He looked at the card. He slipped it into his jacket. He walked to the edge of the roof. He looked at the Grey District.

It was dark. There were no lights in the sector where the building vanished.

Kuro said: "She is worried."

Kaito said: "I know."

Kuro said: "If she is worried, you should be terrified."

Kaito said: "I am."

Kuro said: "You do not show it."

Kaito said: "Someone has to stay calm."

Kuro said: "Why you."

Kaito said: "Because no one else knows."

Kaito turned away from the edge. He walked to the stairwell door. He unlocked it. He pushed it open.

The hallway was quiet. The school was empty. His footsteps echoed on the tile.

He thought about Yuki-Onna’s words. *Hunger given form.* *You cannot kill hunger.*

It was not a hopeful assessment. It was honest.

Kaito reached the ground floor. He exited the school. The night air was cool.

He started walking home. He passed the convenience store. It was open. The clerk was reading a magazine.

Kaito went inside. He picked up a bento box. He picked up a bottle of water. He put them on the counter.

The clerk scanned them.

Clerk said: "Rough night?"

Kaito said: "Long night."

Clerk said: "Get some rest."

Kaito said: "I will."

Kaito paid. He left the store. He walked down the street. He ate the food as he walked. It was cold. It did not matter.

He needed the fuel. Yuki-Onna was right.

He reached his apartment building. He climbed the stairs. He unlocked his door.

Inside, the cards were on the desk. They waited.

Kaito sat down. He opened the notebook. He turned to a fresh page.

He wrote: *Vortelius. Function. Hunger.*

He wrote: *Yuki-Onna: Concerned.*

He wrote: *Third Party: Opening cracks.*

He stopped. He looked at the last line.

Someone was inviting them.

Kaito closed the notebook. He turned off the light. He lay on the bed.

He closed his eyes. He did not sleep immediately. He listened to the silence.

Kuro said: "You heard her."

Kaito said: "Yes."

Kuro said: "We are outmatched."

Kaito said: "Probably."

Kuro said: "Then why fight."

Kaito said: "Because someone has to."

Kuro was silent. The shadow shifted on the wall.

Kaito said: "Sleep."

Kuro said: "Sleep."

Kaito closed his eyes. He dreamed of ice. He dreamed of a city vanishing into snow.

He woke up before the alarm. He was ready.

The hunger was coming.

He would be waiting.

The sun rose. The day began.

Kaito stood up. He washed his face. He looked in the mirror.

His eyes were dark. They were tired. They were determined.

He put on his jacket. He checked the pockets. The cards were there.

He opened the door. He stepped out.

The game was changing.

He was changing with it.

The stairs were quiet. Hana was not there today.

He was glad.

He walked down. He walked into the light.

The shadow followed.

The hunt continued.