Chapter 6: The Sacrifice   Yui had always known how to listen— not just to sounds, but to things that were never spoken. The silence of love. The weight of pain. And now— the breath of the curse. That night, the library was almost empty. Outside, light rain was falling, as if even Tokyo was moving slowly. Yui sat alone with an old Japanese folklore book open in front of her. The pages had turned yellow, but the words felt alive. Her eyes stopped on one line. “When a curse is tied to love, its most powerful form is born