The morning sun timidly began to peek over the mountains, painting the sky with golden strokes. A cool breeze danced through the trees, rustling the leaves softly. At the top of a grassy hill, Donyoku and Chisiki rested, sharing the silence of dawn and the simple but comforting lunch that the girl who adored Donyoku had carefully prepared for them.
"Do you think we'll ever be able to change anything, Chisiki?" Donyoku asked, biting into an onigiri as his gaze drifted toward the blue sky.
Chisiki took a moment before answering. Then he turned his head and looked at him calmly.
"I don't know... but that 'someday' starts with us. Here. Now."
They both fell silent. The wind whispered through the trees, as if approving his words.
"So this is where you were…" a calm, ironic voice suddenly interrupted. "And here I was thinking you were taking training seriously."
"Master!" Donyoku exclaimed, startled. "We didn't know you'd already arrived!"
Reiji Mikazuki stood behind them, arms crossed and a sly smile on his lips. His robe fluttered in the wind, and his ever-tranquil eyes seemed to read more than they revealed.
"You really thought I'd miss another one of your lazy complaints? Don't be naive."
Donyoku laughed nervously. Chisiki just shook his head, already used to his master's humor.
"Come on, the day's just beginning," Reiji added, turning on his heels and descending the hill with graceful steps. "Today, you won't just train your bodies... but what lies within."
The phrase lingered in the air—more a warning than a command.
Later, as the afternoon faded into warm hues, Chisiki walked Donyoku home. It was a modest wooden house, weathered by time, but full of warmth. As soon as they stepped through the door, three small children threw themselves at Donyoku.
"Niichan! Niichan! You're back!" they cried, hugging him tightly.
"Hey, you're gonna break me!" he laughed, dropping to his knees to hug them back.
A woman with a kind face and tired eyes appeared in the kitchen doorway.
"Welcome, Chisiki. Thanks for looking after my son," Donyoku's mother said with a gentle smile. "You know there's always food here."
Chisiki bowed politely.
"Thank you for your kindness… It's an honor."
As he looked around, he noticed the little drawings on the walls, the toys, the smell of homemade food. This house—humble, yet full of life—revealed something essential about his friend: Donyoku wasn't just strength and fire. He was a boy with roots, with people who loved him. And maybe, that was his true power.
That same night, under a starlit sky, a slow-walking man arrived in the village. His cloak was worn from travel, his face hidden by a gray scarf. Only his eyes shone—sharp, dark, overly aware.
He introduced himself as a traveler. Asked for lodging at the inn without giving many details.
"Kagenami," was all he wrote in the guest book.
Over the next few days, he wandered the village discreetly. He watched the children play, the elders whisper their tales, the merchants haggle. But he also asked questions. About Reiji. About young people in training. About those who "stood out."
And while he smiled politely, his shadow... seemed to move a second behind his body. As if it had a life of its own.
---
Reiji was walking back to the shrine. The forest slept, but the master felt no peace. He stopped. The wind came to a sudden halt.
"...Strange," he muttered, staring into the darkness.
He made a subtle gesture. A blue butterfly of light emerged from his palm and took flight—unseen by human eyes. Reiji sent it to patrol the village.
"If you are who I think… you never should've stepped foot here."
There was something in the air, a shift in the current. As if something had awakened.
That night, Donyoku slept. But his dream offered no rest.
He walked through a gray, empty plain where sky and ground blurred together. Behind him, a dark figure approached—distorted, as if the air itself rippled around it. He couldn't see it clearly, but he felt it… familiar. Too familiar.
The figure raised its head. It had no face, but it had a voice. Hollow, echoing.
"Greed… is just need in disguise. And you… are full of need."
Donyoku tried to speak, but his mouth wouldn't open. Tried to run, but his body wouldn't move. Then the shadow split into seven. Seven forms, seven sins… and he stood at the center.
He awoke with a jolt. Sweat drenched him. He was breathing heavily. His chest burned. And his Shinkon… pulsed like a furious heart.
"What was that…?" he whispered.
The darkness in his room felt denser than usual.
---
The next morning, before the sun had risen over the hills, Donyoku and Chisiki headed to the training grounds. There, by the path, a young man was waiting.
"Good morning," he greeted softly. "My name is Kagenami. I heard you train under Reiji Mikazuki. I was wondering if I could join."
His smile was charming. His tone, polite. But Chisiki noticed something in his stance—a restrained tension. Donyoku, on the other hand, just stared at him, suspicious.
"And what exactly can you do?" he asked bluntly.
"I command an uncommon type of Shinkon. One tied to shadows."
"How convenient," Donyoku replied, crossing his arms.
Chisiki nodded, allowing his presence. And the three of them walked to the field.
Reiji was already there, leaning on his staff, eyes lost on the horizon.
"Today we work on control," he said simply. "If you can't master your core, your power will destroy you from the inside."
Donyoku swallowed hard. The words struck too close to his dream.
The training began. Chisiki manipulated the terrain with surgical precision, bending space to his will. Fragments of earth floated like chess pieces in suspension.
Donyoku, on the other hand, struggled against himself. His Shinkon appeared as a vibrant red glow, almost unstable. Each attempt to channel it ended in a burst of energy that sent him crashing to the ground.
"Damn it…!" he growled after being repelled by his own aura.
"Donyoku!" Chisiki rushed to his side.
"I'm fine…" he said, catching his breath.
Kagenami approached slowly.
"Your energy… feels built on suppressed rage," he observed—not judging, but with a cold, analytical tone.
"What do you know?" Donyoku snapped, irritated.
"I just observe," he replied, his smile still calm.
Reiji watched from a distance, not intervening. But inside, something stirred.
"That boy… his soul is stained. Not by hatred… but something heavier. A duty. A price he's already begun to pay."
That night, Donyoku came home covered in dust. His mother was waiting with dinner ready, his siblings already seated around the table.
"You didn't even clean up before coming in!" she said, laughing as she handed him a cloth.
"Donyoku-niichan!! Is Chisiki coming again tomorrow? Tell him to teach me how to use his power!" one of the little ones shouted.
Donyoku laughed. For a moment, the darkness faded. But inside, a part of him trembled. He was afraid. Afraid of losing this. Afraid of losing himself.
---
From a hilltop, Reiji watched the village. The night breeze stirred his hair.
"Kagenami…" he murmured. "What's your real purpose?"
A shadow moved among the trees.
Reiji turned. No one was there.
But the blue butterfly… stopped flying.