Chapter 6
The Ethereal Pact

Jun's tender words are still floating in the air when Komayō's gaze darkens. Her deep eyes hold Jun in their mystery, while a shadow of melancholy passes over her face. She gently turns her head away, her long lashes casting delicate shadows on her rosy cheeks.

Our meeting, she begins, in a voice tinged with sadness, enchanted though it is, is destined to be only fleeting. Her words are like shooting stars, shining with a brief brilliance in the darkness of her expression. A sincere regret shows on her lips, while every syllable bears the weight of a truth that is hard to voice.

Jun feels a heaviness in his heart, as if a distant storm were gathering. He stares at Komayō, searching her enigmatic eyes for a glimmer of hope. Why? he murmurs, his soul aching before a reality he refuses to accept.

With natural grace, Komayō touches the ōgi board, her fingers brushing the pieces as if to underline her words. There are forces greater than our simple desires, she says, her hand rising to her heart in a gesture full of vulnerability.

Jun, captivated, drinks in her words, drawn to her as to a flame he cannot resist approaching, even knowing that he might be burned.

Faced with Jun's visible distress, Komayō lets a bittersweet smile escape. There might be a way, she begins, her hand gliding delicately over the ōgi board. If you win this game, I might perhaps find a path to join you in your world. But if you lose... Her voice dies away, her intense gaze fixing on Jun's. Then you will have to follow me, to a place where time and space dissolve into the infinite.

Jun breathes deeply, plunging his gaze into Komayō's, a gleam of determination in his eyes. What I desire above all, he says, in a voice of touching sincerity, is to share my existence with you, whatever world that may lead us to.