Is this a village or a fortress? It's strangely massive.
I followed Michizane to see where he was heading, until he stopped without warning. He sat on the steps and drew his sword.
He just stared at it. Completely still.
I wondered what he was thinking about. I could've entered his consciousness to find out, but I figured I might need that later.
I kept watching him, and I'm not sure how much time passed, until he slid the sword back into its sheath and stood. He walked toward one of the houses, and two small children came running out to meet him. He caught them both and held them close.
And then ...
He smiled.
For the first time, he looked human. The aura around him faded, like he had lowered his guard and left that frightening side of himself completely behind.
A woman stepped out through the door and called to him:
My dear! Were you attacked again?
He answered in a quiet, warm voice:
Don't worry, nothing worth worrying about happened... Has Rin gone out to train again?
I tried to stop her, but... it seems she inherited her stubbornness from you.
He smiled.
I see. I'll talk to her when she gets back.
I hadn't expected to witness something this ordinary, after everything that had just happened.
Michizane went inside and I followed. He seemed completely at ease , the dark atmosphere from before was gone.
Then he reached for his sword and a chill ran through me.
The feeling of that spear going through my body still comes back every time I see a blade...
He picked up a cloth and started wiping the sword down, cleaning every trace of blood from it, then slid it back into the sheath and hung it on the wall. After that, without any explanation, he simply lay down on the floor and closed his eyes.
I kept watching him for a while, but he stayed asleep the whole time. Eventually I got bored and went out to explore the rest of the clan grounds.
I'd heard loud sounds coming from one of the rooms, so I went to check.
I opened the door and found it stretching far beyond what the outside suggested , some kind of space-warping technique built into the fortress?
A huge number of students were training with swords, but without any complex cursed techniques. Just swordsmanship, reinforced with cursed energy. Pure and simple.
I stood and watched the sparring matches. Their level was unbelievable. Are people in this era really this strong?
Thinking about it , this is an era built on conflict. Everyone here has been training to fight since childhood, pushing themselves to their limit. There's none of the complacency of the modern age.
Then I heard a name I'd come across just a few hours ago ...
Rin!
One of the students shouted it as he attacked her. In a single motion, she slipped past his sword strike, grabbed his wrist, and flipped him over her shoulder using the momentum of his own swing.
She didn't even draw her sword.
Everyone around her went quiet, same as me.
She had to be Michizane's daughter. But she was nothing like him. She dropped her opponent and gave him a look of pure disappointment, then turned away and moved to the next challenger like he barely registered.
The complete opposite of her father.
I kept watching her. She didn't seem to be putting in much effort at all.
Then she started a match against someone new.
And in one moment . Her expression changed completely.
Her fighting style became loud and aggressive. She dropped the calm from before and opened up entirely. She traded strikes with that person until she called out his name:
Hikaru!
She shouted it and pushed her sword to its limit with every bit of cursed energy she had. I felt the same thing I'd felt from her father —but different. This was filled with anger, and all of it aimed at Hikaru.
He was the opposite. Fully composed. He poured his cursed energy into his sword and launched it at her as a counter at the exact same moment.
Until...
The force between their blades expanded and split, each wave shooting off in a different direction. The attacks never met.
Then someone stepped in front of her:
Alright, alright. That's enough, you two. You got a little carried away, but I'll remind you. This is a training session, not a fight to the death.
Hikaru dropped to one knee and bowed his head:
I apologize, Sensei. This was my fault for getting too caught up. Please forgive my recklessness.
Rin at the same moment:
We put our lives on the line here. That's how it should be when we fight other clans in real battles.
The teacher replied:
I respect that. But leave wars and real battles to those older than you. Your role right now is to train, nothing more.
Rin sheathed her sword and walked out, clearly furious.
Hikaru spoke after she left:
I think she's still angry about what happened last year, Father...
The teacher:
We all are. But hatred shouldn't be what drives us.
That's when I understood ... the teacher was Hikaru's father.
I moved quickly to follow Rin. I caught up to her in the corridor and found her standing in front of her father.
I could hear their voices.
I believe I told you not to carry a sword last time.
She answered:
And I don't believe I cared what you thought. Don't act like you suddenly care about us.
He replied, his expression steady:
Don't make your mother worry about you more than she already does.
— Or what?
She drew her sword and pointed it at him.
He didn't move. Just stood there.
Her anger only grew. She came at him with the same attack as before ,but sharper this time, full of spite. He didn't dodge it. She stopped the blade just before it touched him and screamed:
— Why do you keep treating me like I'm nothing?
She paused. Then:
— Why does everyone act like nothing happened and just go on with their lives?
Her voice cracked slightly. Then hardened again:
I don't care anymore. I stopped caring, and I won't start again.
For my late grandparents, I will have revenge on everyone who brought pain and ruin to this clan.
The weight in the air was heavy enough that I could feel her rage pulsing through the space around me.
And then —
— Congratulations —
Skill unlocked: [ EmotionReading ]
(Level One)
You can sense the emotions of those near you.
I used it immediately.
Rin's emotions ... grief, hatred, and years of accumulated pain, all of it sharp and clear as a drawn blade.
But when I turned the skill toward Michizane, standing right in front of her ...
Something cold ran through me.
Emptiness.
Pure, total emptiness. No anger, no grief, no peace, nothing at all.
Like he was ...
hollow!