"He's gone??"
Haruka and Yuto both looked back at me with wide, unbelieving eyes and I felt horrible just by being the one to tell them.
I'd felt sick to my stomach the entire walk home...
Sora was gone... and it was all my fault. Unable to meet their eyes, I looked down at my feet from my place on the couch. "..."
Haruka and Yuto exchanged worried glances and automatically began talking, working out what to do next, trying to reassure me that we'd fix it, but... I couldn't focus on anything they were saying to me. The scene kept replying itself in my head over and over on an endless repeat.
"I hope you've said your goodbyes."
If I had just stayed by his side, then...
If I had just ignored them and refused to part then maybe I...
My hands clenched into tight fists, my knuckles turning white.
I couldn't forgive myself.
I had to do something.
Now.
Cutting off anything the two had been saying directed at me, I jumped to my feet and met their surprised gazes.
"I'm going after him."

"What?? Ayano, WAIT."

I was stopped in my tracks as Yuto latched onto my arm, yanking me back.
"You can't fight them! You don't even know where you're going!"

"I don't care. Let me go."

"Ayano please. I want him back just as much as you do. But we have to be reasonable about this."

"....."

I stared at the ground, setting my jaw. I was restless. Sitting and not acting just wasn't how I worked.
"Ayano," Yuto snapped me out of my thoughts. "I need you to tell me everything you know. Anything that could give us clues."
I raised my head to look back at him, meeting his determined, pleading gaze, and I let out a slow breath.
"They were all dressed in black."

"Black?"

At my words, Yuto's face contorted in thought, and he scrunched up his nose as he mulled it over, puzzled.
After a moment, his head snapped up to look back at me.
"Did you happen to see any emblem on their clothes? Written in gold? Anything like that?"
I tilted my head, thinking back as hard as I could.
"... come to think of it, I think they did..."
Realization struck Yuto's usually smooth and reserved face and his eyes go cloudy.
"... Verna."
I blinked at the weird word that spilled from his lips.
"...ver...na?"

Haruka came over to my side to look at Yuto with a matching puzzled look as he tried to explain.
"Verna is an ancient group of gods that formed centuries ago. It started when Sora first settled in this region of Japan. All the gods that were in this region and the surrounding regions, fanned throughout the country were apart of it. Even Sora."

"Even Sora?" I repeated in awe.

"Yes... but he resigned years ago..."

"Why?"

Yuto looked a bit troubled by the question and seemed to stumble as he tried to answer. "Well... see.. gods... as higher beings... typically... don't take much consideration into living things like humans and animals.."

"... what do you mean?" Haruka chimed in, her brow furrowing.

"I mean... they aren't known to consider how their actions affect mortals."

Haruka and I exchanged worried glances and looked back to Yuto as if he could somehow assuage our newfound fright.

"Sora, on the other hand," he went on gently. "Was oppose to their views."

I looked at him in awe, my shoulders relaxing. "He was?"

"He was. In fact... If I remember correctly, he resigned not long after he met you for the first time, Ayano."

My eyes widened at his words and I brought a hand to my chest. "Me??"

Yuto gave a sure nod in response.
"Before you, he'd never talked to a human before. I think... I think that meeting you opened up his heart."

My gaze dropped to the floor as I thought about what he'd just told me.
Me?
He went on without missing a beat, trying to get back to the task at hand.
"Anyway, Verna is known for its hatred of humans! If you met them.... all hell is about to break loose."

My stomach dropped into my stomach. "What does that mean...??"

Even though I knew I didn't want to hear the answer, I listened as Yuto murmured.
"It means Sora was kidnapped by gods. This battle just got a whoooooole lot bigger."