Part One: The Summons
The summons came at dawn.
Muken read the parchment twice. The seal of the Shin Tou. Black spire, seven stars.
"They want something," Kage said.
"They always want something."
Shiori met him at the gate. Her uniform was crisp. Her expression was unreadable.
"You are coming too?" he asked.
"All team captains were summoned. And you." She glanced at his shadow. "You are the reason for the meeting."
The carriage rolled through crystal fields toward the black spires.
Muken stared out the window. The aurora sky was pale, muted. The memory rain had stopped.
"What do you think they will ask?" Kage said.
"Something dangerous. Something only we can do."
"And if we refuse?"
"Then someone else dies. Someone we could have saved."
His shadow pulsed.
The spires grew closer.
Muken's hands were steady. But his heart was not.
The council chamber was waiting.
✦ ✦ ✦
Part Two: The Council's Demand
The council chamber was cold.
Obsidian walls. High ceiling. Five council members on elevated thrones. The Grand Speaker sat at the center, her ancient eyes fixed on Muken.
Other captains filled the room. The Mizu captain with sea-green hair. The Honoo captain with his scarred face. The Gin captain with silver spectacles.
Shiori stood beside Muken.
The Grand Speaker's voice echoed.
"The Horobi Tou is gone. They stole a Dream Seed from the vault."
Murmurs spread.
"The Seed is ancient. Powerful. If Kodoku uses it, he can create a permanent nightmare realm."
Muken's shadow stirred.
"There is only one way to stop it. Someone must consume the Seed."
All eyes turned to him.
"Normal witches cannot. The Seed would destroy them. But you are different. Your shadow is a fragment of Kodoku. You have consumed nightmare essence before."
Muken stepped forward. "What happens to me if I consume it?"
"We do not know. You may survive. You may be changed. You may not survive at all."
Shiori's hand tightened on his arm.
"But there is another problem," the Grand Speaker continued. "You are not ready. Your shadow is too weak, too unstable. If you tried to consume the Seed now, it would consume you."
"Then what do I need?"
"Three skills. Lost arts."
The holographic image shifted, showing three symbols.
"First: Mind Riving. Separate your consciousness from your body. Learn this from the Gin Tou."
Muken nodded.
"Second: Memory Crampon. A fixed point in your mind. A memory that cannot be corrupted. Learn this from the Midori Tou."
"Third: Umbral Meld. Merge your shadow with another's. Learn this from a hermit named Roku. He lives in the Abandoned Reach."
"How long do I have?"
"The Seed is not yet blooming. You have weeks. Maybe less."
Muken looked at Shiori. She nodded.
"I will do it," he said.
The council murmured. The Grand Speaker raised her hand.
"Then it is decided. You will leave at once. The towers have been notified. They will assist you."
Muken bowed. "Understood."
As he turned to leave, the Grand Speaker spoke again.
"Muken. If you fail, the Dream World falls. There is no pressure."
Her eyes were cold.
He walked out of the chamber.
Shiori followed.
✦ ✦ ✦
Part Three: The Decision
After the council, Shiori walked beside him.
"You did not have to agree."
"Yes, I did."
"I am coming with you."
"To the Gin Tou? To the Midori Tou? To the Abandoned Reach?"
"To all of it."
Muken shook his head. "This is my burden."
"You are wrong." She stepped closer. "You are not alone anymore. You have not been alone since the day Kagura brought you to Hikari Tou."
"She is right," Kage said. "Let her come."
"Fine," he said.
She almost smiled.
They walked through the crystal corridors. The Shin Tou spire was cold, but Shiori's presence was warm.
"Where first?" she asked.
"Gin Tou. The archivists. Mind Riving."
"I have heard of it. It is dangerous. If you lose your way, you cannot return to your body."
"Then I will not lose my way."
Shiori stopped. "You are too confident."
"No. I am too scared to hesitate."
She studied him. Then she nodded.
"We leave at dawn."
They parted ways.
Muken walked to his guest room. His shadow stretched ahead of him.
"She cares about you," Kage said.
"I know."
"Do not let that become a weakness."
"It will not. It is a strength."
His shadow pulsed.
He opened the door to his room.
Inside, a letter waited on the bed. No seal. No signature.
One line: "The hermit Roku is not who he seems. Beware."
Muken's blood ran cold.
"Who sent this?" Kage asked.
"I do not know. But someone is watching."
He burned the letter in the candle flame.
The smoke curled toward the ceiling.
He did not sleep.
✦ ✦ ✦
Part Four: The Night Before the Journey
That night, Muken sat in his room.
His shadow stretched across the floor.
"Three skills," Kage said. "Mind Riving. Memory Crampon. Umbral Meld."
"Three chances to fail."
"Or three chances to grow."
Muken looked at his hands. Dark veins from the Nest Keeper were still visible.
"The Gin Tou first. The archivists will teach me to leave my body behind."
"That sounds terrifying."
"It is. But so was everything else."
He lay down on the bed. He did not sleep.
He stared at the ceiling, planning.
The ceiling had no cracks.
He was not the same boy who had stared at a white ceiling in a grey room.
He was something else now. Something new.
Tomorrow, he would begin the journey to become something more.
A knock on the door.
Shiori entered without waiting.
"You should sleep."
"I cannot."
"Then rest your eyes. I will watch."
Muken looked at her. "You do not have to."
"I know." She sat in the chair by the window. "But I want to."
He closed his eyes.
He did not sleep. But he rested.
His shadow watched Shiori.
She watched the stars.
The aurora sky shifted from violet to gold.
Dawn came.
Muken opened his eyes.
Shiori was still there.
"Ready?" she asked.
"No."
"Good. Let us go."
They walked out of the room together.
The corridor was empty. The lights were bright.
Somewhere, in the Gin Tou archives, a teacher was waiting.
Somewhere, in the Abandoned Reach, a hermit was hiding.
And somewhere, in the void, Kodoku was planting a seed.
Muken walked toward his future.
His shadow followed.