Chapter 3 - Threads Between Worlds

Anastasya doesn’t remember when the rain stopped. Only that the shrine’s roof now drums with silence, and the forest holds its breath.

She still stands beneath the torii gate, staring at the boy who claims he’s cursed, Haruki Amano.

Anastasya: “Why me?”

Haruki doesn’t answer right away. He turns, walking slowly toward the inner shrine as if inviting her without words. She hesitates, then follows.

The path is overgrown, the ground slick, but her steps are steady. Something compels her forward, deeper into the heart of this forgotten place.

Haruki: “The deity chose you. I don’t know why... yet. But it’s not random. It never is.”

They stop before the old offering hall. Moss clings to the wood, but there’s a strange sacredness to it, untouched, despite the decay.

Haruki: “Do you believe in fate?”

Anastasya: “I don’t know what I believe.”

Haruki: “Good. That makes you dangerous.”

He pushes the door open. Inside, the air is dry and warm despite the storm. Candles lit. The place seems prepared for her. It’s unsettling, but Anastasya feels no fear. Just... curiosity.

Haruki: “I can’t leave the shrine. Not for long. The deity’s hold keeps me bound. But when you came near, the pull weakened. Just a little.”

Anastasya: “So what, you want me to break the curse?”

Haruki: He steps closer. “No. I want you to understand it.”

He pulls something from behind the altar, an old book, wrapped in faded cloth. He sets it on the floor between them.

Haruki: “This shrine once belonged to the forgotten gods. Before temples and churches, before names were carved into stone, there were... voices in the dark. The deity inside me was one of them.”

He opens the book. Strange symbols, half-erased, cover the brittle pages. Anastasya kneels beside him, her fingers brushing ancient ink.

Anastasya: “Why does this feel familiar?”

Haruki: “Because it is. Your blood remembers.”

She snaps her gaze to him.

Anastasya: “What are you talking about?”

Haruki: “You’re not normal, Anastasya. You were never meant to be. The dreams. The cold. The way animals stop and look at you. You’ve felt it, haven’t you?”

She shivers, the truth in his words too sharp to deny.

Haruki: “Something binds us. Not just this curse. Something older.”

A moment passes between them, silent, electric.

Then a shadow moves behind the altar. Fast. Wrong. The air shifts, cold and heavy.

Haruki: “It’s waking.”

The candles flicker violently. The deity’s presence pushes into the space, unseen but immense, like a storm pressing against skin. Anastasya gasps, clutching the charm around her neck.

Haruki: “Don’t run.”

But Anastasya doesn’t move. The fear is there, but deeper still, something ancient inside her recognizes the force pressing in. A memory not hers whispers through her veins:

"Bind him to the girl of winter stars..."

Haruki drops to one knee, trembling. His eyes glow gold. The deity is trying to rise.

Anastasya: “Haruki?!”

Haruki: With a strained voice, he tries to speak. “Say it. Your name. Say your full name.”

Anastasya: “A-Anastasya Yelena Volkov!”

The shrine booms with force. Then everything goes still. Haruki’s eyes dim. He breathes shallowly, looking up at her like she just pulled him from drowning.

Haruki: “You... you really are her.”

Anastasya: “Who?”

He smiles faintly, voice barely a whisper.

Haruki: “The bride fate gave to me."

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