The night air weighed heavily upon Karina as the venom pulsed through her veins, each heartbeat sending tremors of pain across her body. Amid the chaos of battle, her mind drifted involuntarily, pulled into a memory she had buried beneath years of discipline and endless training. The world around her—the lantern-lit streets, the clashing steel, the cries of combat—faded into a dim haze, replaced by the echoes of a European city ravaged by shadows.
It had been a mission like no other. Karina, young but already skilled, had been sent to hunt an Illusion Demon that had claimed countless lives. Its form had been fluid, impossible to pin down, and its deceptions far beyond ordinary demons. She had underestimated it, her Arcane Breathing precise but naive in its early application.
She remembered the first strike—the Illusion Demon twisting reality itself, bending light and shadow until her blades found only air. Confusion had seized her, every motion questioned by deceptive reflections and impossible pathways. Fear, alien yet piercing, had crept into her mind, eroding the foundation of her control.
Then, the critical moment: a fatal miscalculation. The demon's strike had connected, a searing blow that left both physical and mental scars. Karina had fallen, not just in body but in spirit. The weight of failure had pressed down, the echoes of screams and devastation ringing in her ears for months. She had been forced to retreat, leaving lives behind and carrying the burden of defeat alone.
The memory was vivid, almost cruel in its clarity. She could feel the cold cobblestones beneath her hands, the sting of blood, the rising panic as reality itself became untrustworthy. I failed… I failed them all, she whispered silently, the words unspoken yet heavy with guilt.
And yet, from that ruin had come discipline. She had rebuilt herself, honed her Arcane Breathing to a deadly perfection, learning to bend perception and reality not only for offense but for survival. Each strike, each illusion, each fractured reflection was forged in the memory of that European failure. The lesson had been seared into her soul: anticipation, precision, and adaptability must exceed instinct—they must surpass what even the senses could comprehend.
The present intruded sharply, Gyutaro's poisoned strikes slicing near her side, Tanjiro and Inosuke engaged with Daki, Tengen's presence steadying the battlefield. Pain and venom coursed through her veins, yet the memory that had haunted her became a catalyst. Her violet eyes flared with renewed clarity.
I will not fail again.
The European defeat was no longer a wound to lament; it was a foundation for mastery. Every misstep, every scar, every memory of desperation was a component of the lethal force she now commanded. The Arcane Breathing she wielded was no longer theoretical—it was perfected through trauma, survival, and unwavering discipline.
Her body moved almost automatically, Arcane energy pulsating faintly, Mirage Blade arcs cutting through the poisoned air around Gyutaro. Every motion was precise, deliberate, and informed by past failure. She anticipated his strikes, countered with uncanny accuracy, and began to reclaim control of the battle.
Tanjiro's gaze met hers briefly, sensing the shift. "Karina… you're… stronger," he breathed, awe in his voice.
Strength was no longer just physical—it was forged from memory, from pain, from the knowledge that defeat was a lesson, not a destiny. Karina's wound throbbed, yet her resolve crystallized. The European shadows that had once consumed her now fueled her, each strike infused with the culmination of experience, discipline, and survival instinct.
Gyutaro hesitated mid-attack, sensing the sudden change, the lethal precision sharpening with an intensity that felt almost inhuman. The foreign slayer who had survived Daki's illusions, coordinated flawlessly with allies, and endured his poison was now wielding her past as a weapon.
The night trembled as Karina's violet eyes flared. The Echo of the Past had transformed into the harbinger of a new awakening—a force that would soon surpass even the Upper Rank's expectations.