"Why get so emotional over a little transformation like that?" the worm-like yokai asked, his tone laced with genuine confusion. He hadn't anticipated Elias to react so strongly, so violently—to what, in his eyes, was merely a casual shift in form.
Elias didn't even look back at first. His voice was cold, venomous. "Ask me that again, and I'll kill you."
But when he did finally turn around, what he saw made him pause. His anger caught in his throat.
The grotesque, undulating form of the worm yokai had vanished.
And in its place stood a girl or what appears to be one.
She was real. Breathing, blinking—every detail undeniable. Her hazel eyes shimmered, flecks of gold and green dancing like autumn sunlight through rustling leaves. She tilted her head slightly, caught somewhere between surprise and amusement, as though Elias's astonishment mirrored her own.
