🇬🇧 Whisper 🦊💤💭

(3/4) Yuka slowly descended to the ground of the shrine, feeling Misato's magical energy envelop her in a cozy warmth. Under the quiet, rhythmic whisper of the Nine-Tailed One's prayers, she quickly fell into a deep, unnatural sleep 🌀🌠 Some time passed. The silence of the dungeon was broken only by the kitsune's breathing. Suddenly, Yuka's body tensed. She began to twitch restlessly in her sleep, as if fighting invisible nightmares. From this movement, the ruby pendant around her neck flared brighter, casting a cold blue light onto the walls ✨💎 Misato, who was closely watching the trance, grew concerned. Deciding that the heavy ornament was pressing on her neck and interfering with her immersion into the subconscious, she carefully reached out to remove the pendant 🖐️💎 Her fingertips barely touched the warm stone, and in that instant, the world exploded. The entire space around them, from the ancient scrolls on the floor to the dark forest beyond the shrine, was instantly flooded with a thick, ominous crimson 🟥🌑 From the ruby itself, as if from an open wound, a thick red mist began to ooze. Misato was terrified 🦊😨 This was not the nature magic she knew… it was concentrated darkness that had been beside an ordinary Kitsune all along, or so Misato thought. The goddess wanted to summon her golden magic to protect herself and Yuka, but suddenly froze. Time seemed to stand still. She had already inhaled this mist, which ignored her divine protection and penetrated directly into her body. Inside her mind, a voice rang out — alien, cold, and unbearably powerful 💬 — And what next? — the voice was calm, but this calmness was more terrifying than any scream. — Do you think I am something you can handle? Misato, who had never before felt such all-consuming terror, could only utter with blue lips: — What are you? — You do not need to know that. What you already know is enough. If you try to remove this stone from her neck again, I… No more words sounded in Misato's head. Instead, the unknown entity transmitted an image into her imagination — an abyss of such absolute despair, such deep and endless pain, from which there was no way out. It was worse than death. Misato, the goddess of these lands, felt like a speck of dust in the face of this dark power. The whisper continued, returning her to reality: — Do you understand everything? Misato, whose body was still trembling from the terror she had endured, could only exhale: — Yes… The whisper sounded again, but this time a strange, almost unnatural warmth appeared in it: — My dear Yuka will wake up soon... This innocent soul should not know what just happened between us. Take care of her, and I will be grateful to you… The red mist began to dissipate rapidly. The crimson world around them slowly vanished with each passing minute. Misato, stunned, sank to the floor beside Yuka. She didn't know what it was: reality, a delusion, or perhaps the power of the morning sun chasing away the darkness… Yuka suddenly took a deep breath and stretched, opening her eyes. She looked completely rested and fresh, without a single trace of the nightmares Misato had seen. She only looked in surprise at Misato, who sat nearby with a glassy stare, and quietly asked: — How much time has passed? Misato forced her voice to sound calm with difficulty, though her heart was still pounding wildly: — A few hours... It’s already dawn... 🌅🦊