Oliver let the silence stretch. His breath rasped like wind through broken bells, and yet his grin never left his face. He glanced down at his hands—scarred, trembling, but steady. Then his gaze lifted to the three girls standing just beyond the bone dust, their eyes fixed on him as if he were some ancient god who had stepped down among mortals.
"You did well," he said at last, voice low but carrying. "Your combat was sharp, your instincts sharper. Taking part in my dream-pattern ritual wasn't wasted—you've grown."
Their faces brightened, pride flickering through exhaustion, but he raised a hand, cutting the moment short.
"Don't fool yourselves. You're stronger, yes—but your Qi is shallow. All that strength, all that growth, it still only keeps you in Qi Refinement." His tone shifted, harder now, like a hammer shaping iron. "Against beasts, ghosts, even stray creatures that have gained a better understanding of Qi like Luna—you'll need more. Much more."
Takara lowered her eyes, gripping the edge of her weapon. Kaede bit her lip, nodding in silence. Sana, though, met his gaze head-on, as if daring him to keep pushing.
Oliver chuckled, his voice a rasp edged with smoke. "Good. You're not broken yet." He stepped closer, the pavilion lanterns flaring with a dull throb, casting long shadows across the ruined battlefield. "Then listen. I'll show you how to cultivate properly—how to seize Qi and make it kneel."
He motioned to the ground. "Sit. Get into lotus position."
The three obeyed, folding themselves onto the scorched earth. Around them, the battlefield still swam with remnants of power—the ghostly chill of the onryō, the lingering heat of the macaque's golden fire, the fractured echoes of Oliver's own clash.
"Don't waste it," Oliver commanded. "Breathe it in. Let your meridians taste the battlefield's blood. Cultivation isn't praying for heaven's favor—it's taking. Devouring. Use what's left here, even if it burns."
The girls closed their eyes, breaths steadying as the ruined plain seemed to hum faintly around them. Lantern-light pulsed from Oliver's foundation treasure, as if guiding the process, while he stood above them, watching like a warlord overseeing the forging of his soldiers.
"Good…" he murmured, almost to himself. "If you can drink from this field of death… then you're worthy to learn the path I'll give you."
He watched over them, helping them when they got stuck, needed assistance, or couldn't absorb Qi through a blocked meridian. Oliver was patient, turned back to just a normal oni, but as time passed he had a realization. Mmh? Where's Luna? he thought, as he hadn't seen her at the campground.
He turned to his macaque puppet and made it walk into the forest in search of his lost doe. But as he sent his corpse-controlled body into the depths, it lumbered into the forest, joints creaking, leaves brushing against its scarred hide. Oliver's eyes half-lidded in his Oni form as he guided it from afar, one thread of will split between overseeing the girls' cultivation and seeking the one who had slipped from his grasp.
—
Far away from Oliver's reach, branches gave way to the silver shimmer of a river, its surface restless beneath the sunlight. This was the place his companion had wandered to, and softly laughter filled the water and ripples circled around her as she bit into a fish and threw it away—this was Luna's newest game.
Her body no longer bore the fragility of an ordinary deer or half-humanoid. She swam as though born of the water, her slender frame now carrying the marks of yokai blood. Her long oceanic tail gleamed faintly in the light, droplets rolling from it like pearls, and a faint set of horn nubs crowned her brow, curling back like delicate antlers. Her eyes glowed with liquid silver, wide and alive, and at her back, translucent fins had grown where no human should have them, flickering with ghostly grace.
An Umishika—a deer of the water, a yokai rare even in legend.
Her joy was unrestrained. She darted through the current with impossible speed, twisting like a fish herself, her teeth darting out to strike with ruthless precision. One after another, fish split open in clouds of blood, drifting lifeless to the surface. She bit into one raw, savoring it, crimson staining her lips, then let the carcass drift as though the act alone was enough.
The river carried the iron tang downstream.
And the forest answered. A massive shadow emerged between the trees, fur bristling, fangs glinting as it lumbered closer. A bear, towering even on all fours, its nostrils flaring at the scent of slaughter. Its growl rumbled like distant thunder, shaking the branches as it pushed through, black eyes narrowing at the strange deer-creature reveling in its river.
The river stilled for the briefest of moments, as if sensing the predator that had stepped into its domain. The bear's growl deepened, its bulk swaying forward until the soil cracked under its paws. The beast's eyes glinted—not with hesitation, but hunger.
Luna tilted her head, silver eyes burning, droplets streaming down her face as her form shifted. Her slender waist rose above the water, the torso of a woman blooming from the sleek body of a deer, brown hair plastered against her shoulders. The oceanic tail behind her lashed, churning the current like a whip. In her hands, Qi daggers shimmered into existence, their edges wavering with pale-blue light.
"Do you wish to die as well?" Her words were intent, rippling through the water like a song of challenge.
The bear bellowed, and the river answered. Its massive frame lurched forward, paws tearing through the shallows. With a surge of Qi, its body shimmered and warped, skin darkening into scales as its form melted into the current itself. The bear dissolved into a beast of the river, its outline broad and terrible, a silhouette of fur and water.
The river itself had turned predator.
Luna's lips curled into a sharp smile. "Good… fight me properly."
The water erupted. A colossal paw of river-flesh surged upward, crashing down where she had floated. Luna twisted, body snapping into a spiral beneath the surface, the Qi daggers flashing as she cut through the wave like a silver blade. She darted past the massive paw, her dagger raking across the bear's liquid shoulder. The water sizzled, dark blood mingling with the stream.
The river roared in response. The bear's half-formed head lunged from the current, jaws snapping like a tidal wave, rows of translucent fangs closing around her.
She spun again, tail lashing, the river's momentum carrying her like an arrow. Her daggers slashed upward, scoring across the watery muzzle, breaking its shape with streaks of Qi. Blood splashed into the water, staining it red.
But the bear was no mere beast. Its body swelled, filling the riverbank, each movement dragging her deeper into its territory. A paw of water caught her from below, smashing her against the surface. The world spun, foam and crimson blurring, her lungs burning as she tumbled.
Yet the Umishika's laughter echoed through the water.
Silver light flared across her body, her fins spreading wide, her tail cracking against the river like a whip. She vanished into the depths, a streak of light too swift for the current to hold. She reappeared behind the beast's watery neck, plunging both daggers into the vital flow.
The river howled.
The beast convulsed, thrashing, sending waves hammering against the bank. Trees snapped, soil tore, the river itself surged into chaos. But Luna clung to it, twisting her body around its massive shape, driving her blades deeper. Her silver eyes burned with wild joy, her hair streaming like pale banners in the depths.
"Drown in your own river," she hissed, her daggers exploding with Qi.
A surge of light tore through the beast, the river boiling in bursts. The bear's watery form cracked, splintering into sprays of blood and current. Its roar dissolved into a gurgle, its massive outline collapsing into the stream with a deafening splash.
When the water stilled, Luna rose again, daggers fading from her hands. She tread the bloodied river with ease, her deer-tail swaying behind her, her human torso upright, droplets clinging to her skin like jewels.
The slain beast floated in pieces, its blood trailing downstream.
Her lips parted into a smile—half joy, half hunger—as she licked the crimson from her fingers.
"Mm… more."