The Blade Once Broken
The trees groaned with every gust of wind.
Tsukihana stood frozen under the blood-colored moon, eyes locked on the figure vanishing into the mist.
Akarui?
No—she had seen his body burned to ash.
She had buried what was left of him.
But those eyes…
That smirk…
The way he moved.
It was him. Or someone wearing his face.
"Akarui!" she cried, sprinting forward.
But the forest swallowed the name like smoke.
Renjiro shouted behind her, "Tsuki, wait—!"
Too late.
She was already chasing a ghost.
The Phantom Path
Twisting trees bent around her like claws. Roots lifted as if trying to trip her. The forest did not want her to follow.
But she didn't stop.
Because in that split second before he vanished, his eyes flickered.
Flickered with pain.
With memory.
With her name.
"If you're really him," she whispered,
"then I'll bring you back. Even if it kills me."
Meanwhile: Renjiro's Reckoning
Back at the temple, Renjiro stood facing a woman dressed in black robes, her hair white as frost, her sword drawn.
"Hello again, little brother," she said coldly.
His breath caught.
"Suri…"
She smirked, blade glinting. "You thought I died with the monastery? The Hollow King saved me. Gave me purpose."
Renjiro clenched his fists. "He turned you into a monster."
"No," she said. "He showed me the truth. That all of this—light, dark, Veins, balance—it's all a lie."
"Only power matters."
Her blade ignited with black Vein energy.
And she lunged.
Reunion or Illusion?
Tsukihana finally caught sight of him near the riverbank.
He stood still this time, not running.
Moonlight cut across his face. His silver hair was shorter, rougher. His skin pale. But it was him.
She slowed her steps.
"Akarui?"
He didn't answer.
Her voice cracked.
"It's me. Tsuki."
Still silent.
Then he spoke, but not with his voice.
With a voice layered with others—cold, broken, and hollow.
"That name… no longer exists."
"The Hollow King burned it from me."
"I am no one now. Just a blade."
She shook her head. "Liar."
But he only raised his blackened sword.
And pointed it at her heart.
"If you want to free me," he said,
"then strike me down."
The Hermits' Prophecy
Back at the temple, Renjiro fought Suri in a storm of clashing steel and burning Vein.
She was faster, sharper.
But Renjiro had changed.
He wasn't the broken monk from the past anymore.
He drove her back with a flaming fist—but her laughter echoed.
"You can't stop what's coming," she sneered.
"The prophecy is already in motion."
"The girl… Tsukihana… is the Seed of Ruin."
"She will burn this world to ash."
He froze. "What…?"
Suri vanished in a flash of black smoke.
Renjiro collapsed to one knee.
"Tsukihana…"
The Blade That Remembers
Tsukihana didn't raise her fists.
She simply stepped forward, her voice soft.
"I know you remember me."
"The night we met. The oath we made. The fire you saved me from."
Akarui's grip on his sword trembled.
"Stop," he said.
She took another step.
"You told me once… that I was the reason you kept going."
"Well now I need you."
"Come back."
His sword dropped.
A flash of memory cut through his eyes.
Her smile.
Their training days.
The night she fell asleep on his shoulder.
And then—
He screamed.
Vein energy burst from his body in black and red tendrils.
"RUN!"
Cliffhanger: The Mask Breaks
Akarui fell to his knees, clutching his head.
Tsukihana tried to reach him—but the forest suddenly erupted in black fire.
She was thrown backward.
From the flames, a new figure stepped out—wearing a skull-shaped mask and a long cloak covered in hundreds of eyes.
The Hollow King's second Harbinger.
"Enough sentiment," the figure hissed.
"Your flame belongs to us, girl."
And with one wave of his hand, the ground shattered—
And Akarui vanished into the darkness once more.
Tsukihana stood in the ruins, shaking, a single tear cutting down her cheek.
"I swear… I'll save you."