CHAPTER 165: CHAPTER-165.

She paused and pulled something from her pocket. Holding it gently between her fingers, she let it catch the faintest glimmer of light.

"—this." A single feather.

She ran a thumb over it, then looked up—not at him, not fully—but from the corner of her eyes, quiet amusement ghosting her lips.

"You think it looks familiar?"

The moment those words hit his ears, the sparrow’s feathers twitched. A single drop of sweat formed near his brow—then another—and soon, they began to trickle down his cheek like nervous little streams.

Across from him, Kaya stood with a smile. Not just any smile—one of those terrifyingly calm ones. The kind you wear when you already know the truth and are just waiting for the confession to walk right into the trap.

It wasn’t fair, really. The sparrow gulped hard, his throat clicking. He knew—he knew—he was doomed either way.

If he confessed? Kaya might snap his neck before he could blink.

If he denied? Well... Kaya would probably just pluck him bald and toss him straight into boiling water, feathers and all.

So, with silent sobs echoing in his soul, he did what any desperate little creature would do.

He began to slowly... slide.

Just a bit. Just a harmless shuffle across the stones. Maybe, if he moved slow enough, she wouldn’t notice.

But Kaya did.

He slid again.

Kaya slid too.

He tried once more—this time a little faster, maybe too fast.

Kaya followed, perfectly in sync, like they were in some weird, deadly dance.

And then—

BAM!

He tripped over his own feet—or a pebble, who knows—and landed flat on his face with a dramatic thud that echoed through the silence.

Kaya didn’t even blink.

Her smile only widened.

Kaya cupped her face in one hand, tilting her head slightly as she looked at the flustered sparrow. A slow smile curled on her lips as she held something between her fingers.

"Oh? Does this feather look familiar to you?" she asked sweetly, the kind of sweet that could turn poison sour.

The sparrow froze. His tiny eyes darted between Kaya’s face and the feather in her hand. Then, without warning, he let out a panicked chirp, flung up his wings, and launched himself into the air in full retreat.

Or so he thought.

Because the moment he took flight, Kaya sprang up like a shadow with perfect timing, and—snap!—caught him mid-air in her hand.

The poor sparrow, who had barely tasted five minutes of shaky peace, was now once again clutched by the very doom he’d tried to flee. His little head, stiff like a wind-up toy, creaked slowly around to look at Kaya.

She smiled.

And oh, what a brilliant, glowing, terrifying smile it was.

The sparrow’s soul nearly exited his body. With a defeated sigh of a bird who had clearly lived too long for his own good, he simply gave up and flopped flat on his face into the soft, mossy creek bed. His wings spread awkwardly, his tiny legs twitched, and for a second, one could mistake him for just an unfortunate bit of scenery.

Kaya, amused, stood over him and muttered with a mischievous grin, "If you want to die that badly, go on."

And just as she finished, the sparrow’s tiny beady eyes blinked toward a fellow bird nearby, as if whispering for backup. That other bird blinked back slowly, utterly useless.

Now trembling from beak to tail feather, the sparrow looked up at Kaya again, the corners of his beak twitching like he wanted to say something—anything—but his brain had left the conversation long ago.

Kaya clenched her fist so tightly that the little sparrow visibly flinched, as though his tiny soul tried to escape his fragile body in pure terror.

Her voice was calm—too calm—as a smile stayed plastered on her face. "I’ll give you two seconds," she said, sweet as honey. "Transform into your human form... or I’ll start plucking your feathers. Four at a time."

The sparrow blinked rapidly, fluttering his wings, trying his best to look innocent—wide eyes, tilting his head slightly, as if pleading with her to be merciful.

Kaya tilted her head too, matching his look with one of her own. "One..." she began, dragging the word out like a gentle lullaby.

"Two."

Pluck.

The sparrow let out a shrill "Chrrrriiiipppp!" of pain as four of his feathers were yanked out with one swift motion.

He stumbled in her grasp, eyes spinning, trying to comprehend what just happened. His beak trembled as if about to beg.

But Kaya was already counting again, her fingers still curled, ready. "One... two—"

Pluck.

Another four feathers gone. The sparrow let out a sharper, louder screech, wings flapping in pure panic.

His tiny chest heaved, eyes watering, feet dangling. Kaya’s smile didn’t falter. She leaned a bit closer, her tone darker this time.

"This time... if you don’t transform," she whispered, "I won’t stop at four. I’ll strip you clean—every last feather, right now."

The sparrow froze. His body stiffened as the threat sank in. The horror in his eyes wasn’t just about the pain anymore—it was about the realization that Kaya wasn’t bluffing. Not one bit.

Kaya opened her mouth again, her tone still maddeningly calm. "One."

The air grew heavy. The dread on the sparrow’s face deepened, his tiny eyes wide as saucers.

"Two—"

Before she could even finish the count, a flash of light burst in front of her, like someone had cracked the sky open. The sparrow had no time left, no feathers left to sacrifice. The threat was too real—this time, she meant it.

With a whoosh of air and a swirl of shimmering light, the transformation happened. Kaya loosened her clenched fist slightly, watching with narrowed eyes.

And then he appeared.

A boy.

A teenage boy stood there, bare feet scraping the rocky ground, looking as though he’d just stumbled out of a high school classroom and into a battlefield. Wings still clung awkwardly to his back, ruffled and half-folded from the rushed shift. He was about Kaya’s height—no, just a tiny bit shorter, enough to notice but not enough to mock.