Chapter — The Ritual of Devino and the April Snow
The laughter from the waterfall grotto had long since faded into the static of the forest, replaced by the heavy, ominous stillness of the Hanazawa mansion. **Luke** had returned early, slipping through the back entrance to maintain his ruse. He needed his friends to believe he had been buried in ancestral research, a monk of logic unswayed by the afternoon's festive barbecue.
He moved through the dusty corridors, the floorboards groaning under his weight. He searched the second floor, then the drawing rooms, and finally the vast, shadowed library. He looked into every nook and cranny, but the mansion seemed determined to keep its secrets folded away.
"Nothing," Luke muttered, dragging a hand through his hair. "I've been faking this 'indulgence' in mansion secrets for hours, but I'm actually starting to get annoyed. There's a weight here, Auru. A pressure."
*"It's like the house is holding its breath,"* **Auru** whispered, floating near a stack of yellowed ledgers.
Luke checked his watch. It was past 6:00 PM. The sun had long since dipped below the jagged mountain peaks, casting the mansion into a deep, obsidian dark.
Luke thought"They should have been back by now. Even if they shopped for every trinket in the market, they should be home. Maybe they decided to have a late dinner in the village?"
*"Don't you feel it, Luke?"* Auru's light pulsed a nervous violet. *"It's been too quiet for too long."*
"They're fine," Luke said, though a cold prickle of unease climbed his spine. "They're with Liod and Uno. They—"
*THUD.*
A heavy, leather-bound volume suddenly tumbled from the highest shelf of the library, narrowly missing Luke's head and slamming into the floor with a bone-jarring thud. Dust erupted like a miniature explosion.
"Whoa!" Luke jumped back, his heart hammering. "Where did that come from? There's no wind in here."
*"Are you okay, Luke?"* Auru asked, darting toward the book.
"Yeah. My head's intact." Luke knelt and picked up the volume. The leather was cracked and black, cold to the touch. The title was embossed in faded gold: **The Sacred Ritual for the God of Devino**.
"Devino..." Luke whispered. "I've never heard that name in any history class."
*"Are you going to read it?"* Auru asked. *"Shouldn't we check on the others first?"*
"They're probably just lost again or eating,its 2 hours only" Luke said, trying to convince himself. "I'll read a few pages while I wait. This looks... important."
### **The Legend of the Sokagues**
Luke sat on a dusty footstool, the book heavy on his lap. He opened the first chapter: *The Ritual of the White Winter.*
The text described a village cursed by a fickle god named Devino. Every half a century, as the month of April bled into May and the heat of the looming summer began to bake the earth, the village was required to perform a miracle to ensure a bountiful harvest.
*...To appease the Devino and ensure the grace of the valley, a winter of one day must be summoned in the heart of April. When the snow falls in the heat, the God is present.*
"A winter in April?" Luke exclaimed. "That's a literal miracle. Or a massive aura manipulation."
He read on, his eyes widening at the *Requirement of the Ritual*.
*...Three unmarried young men and three young women of pure spirit must be selected. They are the Sokagues—the vessels of the valley's gratitude. They must be clad in traditional white silk and carried upon pinnacles to the mouth of the Minakawa Cave at the hour of the red moon.*
"Minakawa Cave," Luke whispered. "I remember Dad mentioning that. He said it was the reason the villagers looked at us with such poison in their eyes. But he said he didn't know the location."
*"Luke... keep reading,"* Auru urged, her light flickering.
*The Completion of the Ritual:*
*...The Sokagues are left at the entrance of the cave. When the snow begins to fall, the Devino emerges. If blood stains the snow by morning, the God has devoured the sacrifice, and the village shall flourish. If no blood is found, the God has chosen the Sokagues as Disciples—they are taken into the dark to live forever as the Devil's servants.*
Luke felt a wave of nausea. "This isn't a miracle. It's a slaughter. They're are not prasing gof they are feeding people to a devil."
He flipped the page, there was image of the Minakawa cave and six Sokagues outside the cave for the ritual
He flipped the page frantically to the chapter titled: **The Hanazawa Enrollment.**
*...In the year 1670, a Hanazawa heir betrayed the covenant. He entered the Minakawa Cave before the Devino could strike and stole the Sokagues away. The God roared in fury, and for a half century, the village suffered drought and plague. Since that day, every Hanazawa is born with the impulse to betray the ritual. They are the Thieves of the Sacrifice.*
Luke's hand trembled. "So that's it. That's why they hate us. We're the ones who keep 'stealing' their luck by saving the people they want to kill.If this book is true then reason is clear and if its fake then its someone wnated to spread hate of us."
### **The Paper in the Dust**
As Luke closed the book, a loose piece of paper slipped from between the back pages and fluttered to the floor. Koru, who had been silent the entire time, suddenly darted down to look at it.
Luke picked it up. His heart stopped.
It was an old, grainy photograph. In it, a young man was holding a woman's hand, both of them running through a dark forest. The woman was wearing the distinct, flowing white silk of a **Sokague**. But it was their faces that shattered Luke's world.
"Mom? Dad?"
It was his father, looking younger and desperate, pulling his mother away from a dark, gaping hole in a cliffside. In the background, a massive, black-clawed hand could be seen reaching out from the shadows of the cave.
"He did it too," Luke whispered, his voice cracking. "Dad didn't just 'betray' them. He saved Mom from being a sacrifice. He never told me... he never said a word."
His hand start to tremble, he try to reach his hand to his phone. But can't.
His eyes darted back to the book, which had fallen open to the final page: *The Cycle of the Century.*
*...The Devino sleeps for nearly for fifty-nine years.And wake ups On the fiftieth year,but in special case due to betrayal of Hanazwas's if a Hanazawa is present, the God shall demand the blood of the heir's own circle. Three men. Three women.*
Luke's blood turned to ice. He looked at his watch. 8:15 PM.
"Three men... Liod, Uno, Kael," Luke gasped. "Three women... Shuri, Chika, **Marin**."
*"Luke! The time!"* Auru screamed. *"They've been gone for five hours! They left at 4:00!"*
Luke bolted from the chair, the book thudding to the floor. He ran through the mansion, the silence now feeling like a trap. He reached the front gate and saw the muddy tracks of multiple vehicles—trucks that shouldn't have been there.
"They didn't shop," Luke roared, his aura beginning to leak from his body in jagged silver sparks. "They were taken! The villagers... they're performing the ritual tonight!"
He looked at the sky. A strange, unnatural chill was settling over the valley. High above, a single, crystalline snowflake drifted down, landing on Luke's trembling hand.
April snow.
"I won't let it happen," Luke hissed. "Auru! Koru! We're going to war!"
Luke didn't wait to find a path. He sprinted toward the forest, his body erupting into the silver and indigo brilliance of **Auron**.
**"UNIFY!"**
The silver streak launched into the midnight sky, a bolt of divine fury heading toward the hidden Minakawa Cave. The 98% death risk, the nodes, and the secrets of the mansion were forgotten. There was only one thought in his mind: *Save them. Save Marin. Even if I have to burn this entire mountain to the ground.*
End of Chapter.