Amina was minding the family bookstore, leaning over the reception counter reading a random book, when chaos erupted in the city. At first, she didn't notice anything, as her eyes were focused on the reading; however, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed unusual movement outside, and when she looked at the street, she was startled to see people running in desperation.
She knew they were shouting and tried to focus on someone to lip-read and understand what was happening. A middle-aged man on the opposite sidewalk gestured to his wife, who was walking behind, saying: "Let's go, the Nefaris have invaded the city!"
Amina was shocked to read that on the man's lips, so she left the bookstore and ran a few blocks ahead to see a building's big screen. It was broadcasting live news, with the caption: "Urgent! Nefaris have crossed Mizuki's border and are heading toward the city." The journalist presenting the news said: "Everyone must go to Mizuki's underground shelter immediately; meanwhile, we hope the Hinoken group comes and controls the situation."
Amina didn't need to see anything else; in shock, she ran back to the bookstore to grab her phone and try to video call her family. However, as soon as she reached the door, she found Amara sitting behind the counter with a strange smile on her face.
Before entering, Amina took a good look at the busy street and saw no sign of the car her sister had left with earlier. She looked back at Amara and was surprised to see her talking to her.
Amara never spoke to her; although she knew Amina could lip-read, the twin sister always insisted on communicating through sign language. So, seeing her sister there, with the black curly hair that distinguished them, smiling and talking as if she thought Amina could hear her, made Amina alert.
Her memory turned to the book about types of Nefaris, and she remembered the Morphids, creatures that could shapeshift. That thing in front of her could only be a Sombro, a type of Morphid that replicated human form to deceive and devour its prey. Amina also noticed that the creature's scent was not the same as Amara's, so she was sure.
Amina masked the fear on her face, putting on a carefree smile and nodding to everything the sister's copy said. She took a few steps to the side, keeping her eyes on the creature, and felt for a thick book on the shelf behind her.
The Sombro in front of her stopped smiling and asked, "What's wrong, sister?"
Amina shook her head, forcing a smile. She couldn't speak, so she had to keep pretending she could hear the creature to deceive it.
"You've figured it all out, haven't you, little deaf girl? How about looking behind you?"
However, Amina didn't look. Instead, she threw the thick book at the sister's copy in front of her. Another Sombro jumped from behind the shelf, this one identical to herself, and grabbed her arm, biting it hard.
The young woman managed to pull her arm from the creature's mouth and screamed in pain. Then, the other Sombro, resembling her sister, also leaped toward her and grabbed her neck with its arms, but Amina elbowed it and turned to try to break the creature's arm with a move she learned in Khalawa's military training. The Morphids' strength was similar to humans', so she had no difficulty fighting with her bare hands.
The creature yielded to the pressure Amina applied to break its arm and fell to the ground, howling in pain. However, the Sombro behind Amina scratched her back with sharp nails that emerged from its fingers. The young woman arched due to the sharp pain but forced herself to flee and ran toward the counter, becoming cornered.
The Sombro identical to her smiled with sharp teeth, while the other, whose arm she had broken, was already contorting to set its limbs back in place.
"It's your end, little deaf girl!" the copy of her said before jumping on her. However, that Sombro didn't expect Amina to raise a pen she had secretly taken from the counter and stab it with all her strength in its neck. The creature, eyes wide and mouth agape, still managed to scratch her a bit more before Amina pulled the pen to the side, making the cut larger and fatal.
Black blood spurted everywhere as the Sombro gave in and fell dead at her feet. The copy of Amara also prepared to attack her, but Amina was quicker and stuck a pen in its left eye, causing black blood to gush out. Then, she tripped it, knocking it to the ground, and tried to strangle it, but her strength didn't seem sufficient, and the creature scratched the floor in desperation.
Amina quickly got off it, grabbed a rare encyclopedia from the shelf, and struck the Sombro's head repeatedly with all her strength. When the demon stopped scratching the floor and black blood had soaked the book, she stopped and sighed loudly. She got off the Morphid and searched for the phone among the mess on the counter.
Amina was disappointed to see that the device had fallen to the other side and cracked the screen. Unable to use the phone, she hurriedly left the bookstore, locked it with the dead Sombros inside, and ran through the busy streets toward the shelter.