The stone in the path

That same morning, in a building near the eastern district of the Holy City, Kiyomi the Fox Spirit was sleeping restlessly.

The room was decorated in a style entirely different from the Church's architecture. A low bed draped with dark red silk sheets, beside it a wooden cabinet carved with fox patterns, and near the balcony sat a tea set alongside a small incense burner brought from the Fox Spirit territory. The door leading outside was left slightly ajar, morning sunlight slipping through the thin curtains and falling across the floor.

Kiyomi lay curled on her side.

Her black-violet hair was scattered across the pillow, and the fox ears that usually stood upright had folded down. The white-and-violet tails were wound tightly around her body by instinct, but her forehead was still beaded with cold sweat.

"Don't..."

Kiyomi's hand gripped the bedsheet.

In the dream, she was running.