Cards Of The Silent King-Chapter 13: Yuki-onna Speaks

Midnight. The apartment was cold. Not the cold of winter seeping through the walls. The cold of something inside the room.

Kaito sat at the desk. The lamp was off. Only the city light filtered through the window. It caught the frost spreading across the glass. Fern patterns. Intricate. Beautiful. Deadly.

The Queen of Ice sat on the windowsill. Her legs dangled outside the frame. Her kimono moved without wind. White hair flowed like frozen water. Her eyes were pale blue. Calm. Ancient.

The card lay on the desk. Queen of Ice. Custom suit. It was covered in a thin layer of frost.

Kaito looked at her. He did not shiver. He was used to the cold.

Kaito said, "The count is rising."

Yuki Onna turned her head. Her movement was slow. Deliberate. Like a glacier shifting.

Kaito said, "Forty eight cracks. Two years. Stable. Last week. Five cracks. Three days. Unstable."

Yuki Onna said, "Observant. You watch the lines well."

Kaito said, "Pattern."

Yuki Onna said, "There is no pattern. There is only pressure. Something pushes from the other side. The barriers weaken."

Kaito leaned forward. The wood creaked.

Kaito asked, "Why."

Yuki Onna said, "Need."

Kaito asked, "Need what."

Yuki Onna looked out the window. Her reflection did not show in the glass. Only the city. Only the lights.

Yuki Onna said, "Something wakes. It has slept for centuries. It dreams of consumption. When it dreams the walls shake. When it wakes the walls break."

Kuro said, "She speaks in riddles. Old habits."

Kaito said, "Silence."

Kuro said, "Just saying. She enjoys the drama."

Yuki Onna did not react. She was used to Kuro. She was older than him. She had seen empires turn to dust while he was still a shadow in a forest.

Kaito asked, "What wakes."

Yuki Onna said, "Hunger."

The word hung in the air. Heavy. Absolute. It was not a name. It was a function. A force of nature.

Kaito repeated, "Hunger."

Yuki Onna said, "It does not hate. It does not love. It simply requires. You have felt it. The entities you fight. They are not lost. They are scouts. Sent ahead. Testing the locks."

Kaito thought about the Wanderers. The packs. The coordination. They were not drifting. They were hunting.

Kaito asked, "How long."

Yuki Onna said, "Until it arrives. Soon. The cracks are not accidents. They are doors. Someone is opening them."

Kaito asked, "Who."

Yuki Onna asked, "Does it matter. The result is the same. The city will be tested. You will be tested. Your friends will be tested."

Kaito said, "Keep them out."

Yuki Onna said, "I cannot. I am a card. I am a tool. I hold the line. I do not build the wall."

Kaito asked, "Then what do I do."

Yuki Onna said, "Prepare. You ration your words. You ration your power. You ration your sleep. This is good. But it is not enough. You must ration your life."

Kaito asked, "Cost."

Yuki Onna said, "Every merge takes a piece. Every seal takes a year. You are eighteen. You feel forty. By twenty you will feel sixty. By twenty five."

She did not finish the sentence. She did not need to.

Kuro said, "She is cheerful today. Remind me never to ask her for advice."

Kaito said, "Truth."

Yuki Onna said, "Truth is cold. You asked for knowledge. I gave it. Do not ask for comfort. I do not have it."

Kaito looked down at his hands. They were steady. They were scarred. They were young.

Kaito asked, "Can we win."

Yuki Onna was silent for a long time. The frost on the window grew thicker. It blocked the view of the city.

Yuki Onna said, "Winning is not surviving. Winning is keeping what matters. You know what matters."

Kaito thought of the rooftop. The dumplings. The noise of Ryota. The notes from Hana. The silence with Jin.

Kaito said, "Know."

Yuki Onna said, "Then protect that. Do not protect the city. Protect the people in it. The city will rebuild. People do not."

Kaito said, "Wait."

She paused. Half gone. Only her eyes remained.

Kaito said, "The notebook. The count."

Yuki Onna said, "Burn it."

Kaito asked, "Why."

Yuki Onna said, "Numbers attract attention. If It sees the count It knows you are watching. If It knows you are watching It will hunt you specifically."

Kaito nodded. Once.

Yuki Onna said, "Sleep Kaito Ashen. Dream of warmth. You will not feel it for a while."

She vanished.

The cold remained. The frost on the window stayed. Kaito sat in the dark. The Ace of Spades was quiet. Kuro was not speaking. Even the sarcasm had died in the face of the warning.

Kaito stood up. He walked to the desk drawer. He opened it. He took out the lockbox. He opened the box. He took out the notebook. Black leather. Worn corners. Forty eight. Forty nine. Fifty.

He looked at the numbers. They were neat. Precise. Evidence. He walked to the kitchen. He turned on the stove. He waited for the burner to glow red. He held the notebook over the heat.

The leather curled. The pages blackened. The numbers disappeared. Smoke rose. It smelled like burning hair. Like old memories. He dropped the ashes into the sink. He turned on the tap. Water washed them away. Down the drain. Gone.

Kuro said, "Smart. She is right. Numbers are tracks."

Kaito said, "Know."

Kuro said, "You are alone now. No record. No count. Just you."

Kaito said, "Yes."

Kuro asked, "Does it scare you."

Kaito turned off the tap. He dried his hands. He looked at the window. The frost was melting now. Droplets ran down the glass. Like tears.

Kaito said, "No."

Kuro said, "Liar."

Kaito said, "Maybe."

Kaito walked back to the bedroom. He did not turn on the light. He lay on the bed. He stared at the ceiling. Hunger. The word echoed in his head. It was not a monster. It was a void. Something that could not be filled. Something that would eat until nothing was left.

He thought about Hanas smile. Ryotas noise. Jins silence. They were what mattered. Not the city. Not the school. Not the grades.

He closed his eyes. He would not sleep. Not yet. He would listen. He would wait for the sound of reality tearing. If Hunger was waking it would make noise.

He listened. The city hummed. A car passed. A siren wailed in the distance. Nothing else. Not yet.

Kaito rolled onto his side. He pulled the blanket up. He tucked his hand under the pillow. Near the cards. He would rest. For an hour. For two. Then he would wake. Then he would watch.

The count was gone. The danger remained. He slept.