Night slowly descended over Kokoro no Sato.
The village lanterns glowed softly along the narrow stone roads, but beyond the houses, the forest was already swallowed by darkness.
Haru followed the path leading into the mountains.
The deeper he walked, the quieter the world became. Crickets chirped faintly, and the wind whispered through tall cedar trees.
At the end of the path stood the old shrine.
It was ancient—older than the village itself. Moss covered the stone steps, and a worn wooden gate stood crooked at the entrance.
Few villagers came here anymore.
They said the shrine was connected to the origin of emotional power in Kokoro no Sato.
Haru stepped closer.
A faint glow flickered near the shrine.
"Hey!"
Aiko waved when she saw him approaching.
"You actually came!"
Several other teenagers were already there, holding small lanterns. Among them were students from different clans—Takeda, Kuro, and Hoshino.
Technically, they weren't supposed to train together at night.
But rules often felt weaker in the darkness.
Aiko walked down the shrine steps toward him.
"I thought you might be too serious to come," she teased.
Haru shrugged slightly. "You invited me."
"That's true."
The others had already started practicing near the shrine courtyard.
One boy concentrated intensely, anger pulsing through his body as he struck a stone slab.
CRACK.
The stone fractured under the force.
Another student stood nearby, eyes trembling as fear twisted through the air around him.
The illusion formed quickly—three copies of himself appearing in the courtyard.
Haru watched silently.
Emotions filled the forest like invisible waves.
But something else was here too.
Something older.
Something deeper.
"Do you feel that?" Aiko asked quietly beside him.
Haru nodded.
"Yes."
The shrine felt… different.
The emotions around it were tangled and heavy, like ancient memories buried beneath the earth.
Aiko stepped toward the shrine entrance.
"My grandmother told me something about this place," she said softly.
"That long ago… this shrine was where the first villagers discovered emotional power."
Haru studied the worn stone carvings near the gate.
Strange symbols were etched into the rock.
Some resembled eyes.
Others resembled hearts.
Suddenly—
A sharp wave of emotion slammed into his mind.
Hatred.
So powerful it made his vision tremble.
Haru staggered slightly.
"What's wrong?" Aiko asked.
"My eyes…"
Through his Shin no Me, he saw something impossible.
For a brief second…
The shrine courtyard was no longer empty.
Figures appeared.
Shadows of people from the past.
Two villagers stood facing each other.
A man and a woman.
Their emotions burned violently.
Love.
Sacrifice.
Hatred.
The images flickered like fragments of memory.
Then they vanished.
Haru grabbed the shrine gate to steady himself.
"What happened?" Aiko asked again.
"I saw something," he whispered.
"What?"
Haru looked at the shrine.
His heart was beating faster now.
"I think…"
"This place remembers emotions."
The lantern flames suddenly flickered violently.
The wind in the forest grew stronger.
And deep inside the shrine…
Something unseen quietly awakened.