Chapter 86: Demonstrating TUNA
The stark white door sighed open, revealing a circular chamber swimming in an eerie, pulsing light that seemed to breathe from the very walls. Kaida stood in the heart of it all, her silver hair a shock against the pale backdrop, her kaleidoscope eyes pinning Eren with a gaze that prickled his skin. Ringing her were the top seven numbered elves, their faces etched with a cold curiosity, a hidden hunger in their stillness. Unlike Kaida, each bore eyes of singular, unsettling hues. Kiran and Luna were among them, Kiran’s mismatched eyes alight with that familiar, unsettling glee, while Luna’s held a sharp, assessing gleam.
Viva wasn’t there.
Eren’s breath hitched. He’d been left adrift in that sterile room for what felt like forever, the silence only frayed by the frantic little chirps of the humic. Sensing today’s events would not be suitable for the small creature, he had left it behind in his chamber, its nervous energy a stark contrast to the cold sterility of this place. Viva’s absence was a knot tightening in his chest.
"Welcome, Veilwalker," Kaida’s voice drifted through the chamber, a melody that somehow held a razor’s edge beneath its sweetness. "And our... guest."
As if summoned by her words, two of the numbered elves glided forward, gently ushering Viva into the light. The silver bracelet still snaked around her wrist, its smooth surface radiating a faint, cold energy. Her eyes were open, but they seemed to gaze inward, unfocused, like she was a ghost in her own skin.
The top seven shifted, closing the circle around Eren and Viva, their eyes never leaving them. The air hummed with a silent tension, a thick anticipation you could almost taste.
Kaida moved with a liquid grace, a slow orbit around them like a predator circling its chosen. Her kaleidoscope eyes shimmered through impossible colors as she studied Eren and the seemingly vacant Viva.
"For four long cycles," Kaida began, the honey in her voice suddenly gone, replaced by a sharper tone that made the hairs on Eren’s arms prickle, "I have shown a patience quite... unusual for outsiders. I believed in your... willingness to share the delicate dance of this TUNA ritual. And yet," she paused, her gaze locking onto Eren, a hard glint in its depths, "progress has been... frustratingly glacial."
She completed her slow circuit, stopping inches from them, her presence radiating a quiet, potent power. The very air seemed to warp around her, the strange light in the room mirroring the shifting hues in her eyes.
"It dawns on me," Kaida continued, her voice now a silken threat, "that perhaps words alone are... insufficient. Perhaps a more... tangible demonstration is in order."
Viva finally spoke, her voice soft, almost a whisper, but with an undercurrent of defiance that surprised Eren. "The TUNA... it isn’t a thing you can just show. It’s a weaving of souls, an exchange so deep it’s born of... longing."