《Judgement vows》


 Judgement legacy

    The morning sun curled around the shrine grounds, shine and warm, clinging to the ancient torii gates to the shrine. The air smelled of earth and incense, heavyweight with the weight of unspoken prayers and fate. Cherry blossoms flying through the air, catching the soft light of sun dawn before settling on the worn stone path ahead.


    Hikari Tsukimura, the one who bear judgement from different nine universe. She is the first judgement. She knelt before the shrine, the cloth of her ceremonial coat pooling around her. She just at fourteen, she wear a high responsibility that felt far too heavy for her years, as the Kanshisha, the Arbiter, one who passed judgment on those who stood before the gods, to judge. The beads around her neck pressed into her collarbone, a physical reminder of the burden she carried as the kanshisha.


    Infront of her, an poor old man knelt, his hands outstretched and trembling neither from the weight or his age. Yoshida-san. the rice merchant who lived near the eastern gate of Yamaoka. His fear for judgement was obvious, though he trying to keep his head bowed, his back straight. Everyone knew what it meant to be called before the Kanshisha. To be judge.


    Hikari let out a slow breath, steadying herself. Then, she reached out.


    Her power wasn¡¯t thing people could see or watch, but she could feel. Threads of light-thin as silk its mixed with yellow and white light, weightless as breath-unraveled from her thin fingers, weaving through the air before settling over Yoshida¡¯s hands but he cant see it. Each thread pulsed, carrying whispers of his soul.


    The vision came in fragments.


    A winter night, bitter and cruel. Yoshida, hunched against the cold, slipping into the village storehouse. His hands, stiff from the frost, fumbling with the sacks of rice. Fear, not for himself, but for the children huddled in the abandoned temple, their bellies empty, their limbs too thin. He stole-but not for greed. He stole so they could live.


    The judgment beads around her neck warmed. They recognized his intent, just as she did.


    Hikari opened her eyes.


    "Your heart is pure kindness Yoshida-san" she said softly.


    Yoshida flinched, as if the words struck him harder than any relief.


    "You broke law" she continued, "not for selfish reasons. You risked yourself to save those would have died otherwise. Your punishment is this-you will take in the children you saved. You will be responsible for them, and the village will assist you in providing for them."


    For a brief moment, Yoshida was silent. Then, his frail body breath with relief. Tears form in his eyes as he pressed his forehead to the wooden pavement.


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    "T-Thank you, Thank you, Kanshisha-sama," he whispered softly and shakingly. His voice was unsteady thick with emotion. "I-I couldn''t let them starve¡­ i-i couldnt..."


    "You did what you thought was right." Hikari said gently. "Now, make it right in the eyes of villager."


    Yoshida nodded weakly, wiping his tears as he pushed himself to his shaking feet. The weight of judgment always left people changed¡ªsome more than others. As he walked away, Hikari exhaled, the familiar heaviness settling over her like an unseen shroud. Every judgment took something from her, something deeper than exhaustion. And lately¡­ the darkness in people¡¯s hearts was becoming harder to ignore.


    "You really do make it look easy," a voice murmured from the shadows.


    She turned.


    Hakari leaned against one of the shrine¡¯s pillars, arms crossed, watching her with that inscrutable expression a knife¡¯s edge between amusement, disdain, and envy. He had grown taller, stronger, and sharper. Where she remained pale and slight, he carried an intensity that made him seem older than his years. The prayer beads around his neck were wound too tightly, darker than hers, as though trying to strangle something restless inside him.


    "The gift shows me the truth," she said simply.


    Hakari let out a quiet laugh, devoid of warmth. "Truth," he repeated, rolling the word in his mouth like it tasted bitter. He pushed off the pillar, moving slowly, deliberately. "Funny how the truth always bends in your favor."


    She frowned slightly. "W-what are you talking about?"


    Hakari stepped closer, his presence pressing in like a shadow stretching long at dusk. "You think you''re different from the elders, no you''re just like them, sealed and blinded from tradition." he said, voice low, deliberate and bear something. "They praise you because you fit their perfect idea of a Kanshisha to make you work for them more. But real power? It doesn¡¯t come from tradition. It doesn¡¯t come from beads or a title that has no excuse of it." His gaze darkened. "It¡¯s taken, its learned... Not something that past generation to generation... Hmm. Wait. No. Both really past generation to generation i mean it wasnt restrain too strictly."


    Hikari¡¯s fingers brushed the judgment beads at her throat, she shaking slightly. No way her brother... A pulse of energy rippled beneath her touch a warning.


    "I-i never asked for this," she said quietly almost whisler. "The gift chooses its bearer. You are smart Hakari... You know that."


    Hakari tilted his head, studying her. Something flickered in his expression turn into something unreadable. Then, he smiled. Sharp. Humorless.


    "If you really can see the truth so clearly, tell me, my dear sister Hikari¡­" His voice was almost gentle, just almost. "Can you see the rot in this village? Black root of rot from generation to generation. The weathered filth that hides behind kind faces called the elders?"


    A chill crept up her spine. She didnt know what to answer.


    Before she finnaly could answer, footsteps echoed from the shrine¡¯s entrance.


    Haruka, Hikari older sister stepped inside, her healer¡¯s robes swift around softly. Sunlight caught in her white hair. But her expression was tight, her hands twisting in her sleeves.


    "The elders... are gathering." she said. "They¡¯re requesting your presence... Hikari."


    Hakari exhaled, the ghost of a smirk playing at the corner of his lips. Of amusement and envy. "Duty calls, little Arbiter." He turned away, his voice dropping to a whisper. "Don¡¯t keep them waiting. They did not wait. Not want to."


    Hikari watched him go, unease curling in her gut like a knot pulled too tight.


    Haruka¡¯s hand found her shoulder, grounding her. "He''s been... different lately," she murmured. "I saw him coming back from the forest last night. His robes were¡­ stained with something dark... And... And when I tried to talk to him, he wouldn''t look at me."


    Hikari¡¯s jaw tightened as she looks down. "He''s been studying... something," she admitted. "Something he shouldn¡¯t be..."


    Haruka hesitated, then, barely above a whisper, asked, "Should we tell the... elders?"


    Hikari''s grip on her beads tightened. As she shake her head. The whispers of past Kanshisha stirred against her skin, but none of them offered guidance on what to do when the darkness you feared¡­ was your own blood.


    "Not yet," she said. "He''s our brother... Haruka. If there''s darkness growing inside him, we need to understand why before... we really pass... judgment."


    Neither of them noticed the small scroll that had slipped from Hakari¡¯s robes, lying forgotten in the shrine¡¯s shadows. Its ink shimmered unnaturally, the symbols along its edges shifting, alive.


    Outside, the mist was lifting, the village bathed in soft morning light.


    But to Hikari¡¯s gifted eyes, the shadows lingered where they shouldn¡¯t.


    And somewhere, Hakari was smiling.

 Shadow in the family

    On that evening, the Tsukimura family was quiet save the gentle clinking of chopsticks against plates. Their mother, Mizuki, had placed on the table an unpretentious but elegant repast: hot rice, fish grilled over charcoal, and leaves from the home garden. Fingers stiffened by years of channeling energy towards healing those who lay broken or dying relaxed with practiced elegance as she alternated in each turn presenting a bowl. While she donned the white robes of a healer like her daughter Haruka, hers had discrete stitching marking her as the leader of the medical shrine of their village.


    Hikari watched her mother¡¯s movements, remembering how those same hands had once healed her childhood scrapes with a touch and a smile. Mizuki had taught both her daughters that true strength lay in gentleness, a lesson Hikari tried to remember in her judgments. But tonight, her mother¡¯s usual serenity seemed strained, her eyes constantly darting to Hakari¡¯s hollow face.


    Her brother ate mechanically, his eyes fixed on some distant point before the paper walls of their home. Dark circles underlined his eyes, and his fingers twitched at times, as if clutching something he could see alone. The elegant set of calligraphy given to him by their mother for his previous birthday was still in the corner, gathering dust.


    Their father, Takashi, sat at the head of the table, broad shoulders still held straight after years of training up-and-coming guardians for the village. The katana signifying his position as head trainer lay on its stand behind him, its well-oiled surface glinting in the light of the lantern. Scars crisscrossed his wrinkled hands, each one garnered defending their home and traditions. He had always been stern but fair, demanding excellence while understanding the unique path each student must walk.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been missing your training sessions,¡± Takashi said suddenly, breaking the silence. His deep voice, which had guided countless students through their forms, carried a weight that made even the shadows seem to pause. ¡°The young guardians ask about you. Kenji especially¡ªyou were always his favorite instructor.¡±


    Hakari''s chopsticks froze in mid-air to his mouth. "I''ve been doing some research of my own." The phrase was brusque, on the edge of hostile.


    "What research?" Mizuki asked, her healer''s perceptions clearly detecting the strain in her son''s aura. She reached across the table as though to lay a hand on his, but he pulled it back. "The elders have told me they haven''t seen you at the archives. Where are you?


    ¡°Because not all knowledge worth having is kept in their precious archives.¡± Hakari¡¯s voice had an edge that made Hikari¡¯s judgment beads warm against her skin in warning. ¡°Some truths require. deeper searching. Things the elders are too afraid to even whisper about.¡±


    Haruka, seated beside Hikari, tensed. ¡°Hakari, if you¡¯re experimenting with forbidden techniques¡ª¡°


    "With what?" Hakari interrupted her, at last looking them in the eye. His eyes were fever-bright, and Hikari thought of the plague victims their mother had tended last spring. "With abilities that could actually do some good? That could bring true change to our stagnant customs? Not every one of us can be content with parlor tricks and pretty lights."


    "Parlor tricks?" Their father sprang to his feet, his hand gesturing for the sword that was not at his side. "I have seen your sister''s gift save lives, prevent wars between villages, steer us through floods and famines. The power of the Kanshisha¡ª"


    "Is a crutch!" Hakari hit his hand against the table, making the dishes rattle. "We rely on the visions of a child while other villages build genuine strength. Does our foe take the trouble to have a clean heart when they sharpen their swords?"


    Mizuki slowly rose, her robes shuffling as she did so. "Hakari, my son, I will help you. I can feel something is wrong in your soul, something consuming¡ª"


    "Get out of my head, mother," Hakari snarled, and for a moment, his face undulated like water in moonlight. "Your healing can''t fix what isn''t broken."


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    "Watch your tone," Takashi growled, taking a step closer. The boards creaked beneath him, and Hikari saw his fists clench in the way they did before he pulled out his sword. "Your mother has healed half the village with those skills you disdain. And if you''ve forgotten the respect due your family, perhaps it''s time I reminded you why I was chosen to train the guardians."


    The room air chilled. Hakari stood up slowly, and the darkness behind him twisted like a living thing. "Beat respect into me like you did for your students who rebelled against the old ways?" His smile was wickedly cruel. "I am no longer one of your students."


    "Hakari!" Her cry shattered like ice on a winter branch, her healing energy flashing hot for a moment¡ªa desperate attempt to defuse things. That beyond corruption.


    But Hikari raised her hand, halting them all. The judgment beads at her neck pulsed with a warning light. "Let him speak," she whispered. "These thoughts have corrupted his heart long enough. Better they be out in the open."


    Her brother turned to her, and for a moment she saw something flash in his face¡ªa recollection of the boy who used to carry her on his shoulders during festival times, the boy who used to defend her from bullies when her magic had just started. And then it was gone, obliterated by shadows that appeared to consume the glow of the lantern.


    "You want to judge me, sister?" He thrust out his hands, imitating the gesture of supplication she had so frequently observed in the shrine. "So do it. Read my heart with your precious gift. Judge me as your perfect judgment sees me."


    "Hikari, stop," their mother warned, her healer''s senses sharply sensing something wrong. "His soul... is. tainted."


    "Let her attempt," Hakari mocked. "Let the chosen one show us all what real power is."


    Hikari stood, her ritual garments whispering against the tatami. The judgment beads on her neck began to emit a soft, pearlescent glow. "Are you sure that''s what you want, brother?"


    For a moment, a shadow of doubt flickered in Hakari''s eyes¡ªdoubt, or even regret. Then his face hardened once more, and he thrust out his hands precisely as the old man had done that morning. "Judge me, Kanshisha. Show the world the truth you pretend to see."


    Hikari reached out, the familiar threads of light extending from her fingers. But the moment they touched Hakari¡¯s skin, she recoiled with a gasp of pain. Where there should have been the clear flow of his life force, she saw only churning darkness, like ink dropped into clear water. And within that darkness, something moved¡ªsomething that should not have been there, something that turned to look at her with eyes made of void.


    "Hakari," she panted, cradling her burned fingers as their mother rushed to heal them, "w-what have you done to yourself?"


    A smile crept onto Hakari''s lips, but it did not reach his eyes. "I''ve done what had to be done. What you and the elders were too afraid to do. I''ve learned true power¡ªpower that isn''t dependent on chance of birth or the capriciousness of old spirits.".


    He rolled up his sleeve, revealing marks etched on his arm in that same light-drinking ink she had found on the scroll at the shrine. The symbols twisted in her vision, sending her head reeling with their wickedness. Their father breathed sharply in, reading forbidden runes from the years he had spent guarding against dark magic.


    "Desist," Takashi commanded, his tone thick with the weight of years of command. "This is prohibited magic, Hakari. You know the penalty¡ª"


    "The penalty?" Hakari laughed cold as broken glass. "The penalty is death, yes. But only if death may come to you." He propped his stamped arm out, and the blackness in the room began flowing against the light of the paper lanterns, extinguishing them individually. "And I''m beyond death now, father. I am immortality it self."


    Mizuki moved forward, her hands emitting healing light. "Hakari, please whatever darkness has taken hold of you, we can fight it together. Let me¡ª"


    "Always trying to fix everything, mother," Hakari sneered, though a look of pain crossed his features. "But some things cannot be healed over. Sometimes the old must be burned to ashes for the new to grow."


    Haruka jumped forward, her own healing energy building, but too late. Shadows enveloped Hakari like a cloak of living darkness, and in the moment before he vanished into them, Hikari glimpsed his eyes¡ªno longer human, but churning with the same darkness that had corrupted his soul.


    Remember this night," Hakari voice echoed from everywhere and nowhere. "Remember it when the old ways crumble and true power arises from their wreckage.".


    The family stood frozen in the aftermath, the remnants of their meal growing cold, the lantern light seeming weak and insufficient against the darkness that had swallowed their son and brother. Takashi¡¯s hands shook as he lowered them from a protective stance that had proved useless. Mizuki collapsed to her knees, her healer¡¯s senses overwhelmed by the residual taint of corruption.


    "I know it. He''s already hubris in the first place." Takashi says looking out side the window.


    "What do we do?" Haruka whispered, helping their mother to her feet while trying to flow soothing energy into her frazzled spirit.


    Hikari caressed her judgment beads, sensing the heat throb in sync with her racing heart. The weight of her duty had never felt so great. "We do what we have to," she said, though the words were bitter on her tongue. "We report to the elders. And then. then I must complete what the Kanshisha was called to complete."


    She looked at her parents¡ªher father''s rigid stance betraying his grief, her mother''s hands continuing in a healer''s position towards where her son had stood¡ªspoke up quietly, "I must... I must judge my own brother."


    "Meveni ancestors forgive us," Mizuki whispered, her hand on her husband''s arm gripping tightly. "And keep him from what he is now."


    Outside, the night pressed against the paper walls of their home, and somewhere in that darkness, Hakari¡¯s laughter echoed like a curse. The shadows seemed to dance with newfound purpose, and in the distance, a temple bell began to toll, though no hand had touched its rope.


    The demon Hikari had sensed long time ago this morning had arrived, and it wore her brother¡¯s face.

 The Immortal mask

    Dawn had hardly kissed the sky when Hikari met Rinne at the border of Yamaoka. Her childhood friend was already there, his hunter''s attire merging with the morning shade. He was sitting on an old fallen tree where they used to meet as kids, carving a wood piece with skilled strokes. Unlike the other villagers who kept their distance with respectful reserve, Rinne had always looked beyond her title of Kanshisha, addressing her simply as Hikari.


    "You haven''t slept," he stated, not looking up. It wasn''t a question.


    Hikari sat beside him on the log, wrapping her robes closer in the chill of morning. "How can I? Every time I close my eyes, I see those Hakari soul, Rinne. The way they seemed to. to drink in the light."


    Rinne put aside his whittling and looked at her. Morning sunlight illuminated the worry in his dark eyes. "Tell me about last night. Everything you saw."


    "It happened during dinner," Hikari began, her hands instinctively going to her judgment beads. "Hakari was different¡ªmore different than usual. Father confronted him about skipping his training sessions, and s-something just... Something just snapped.".


    "His true Hakari or the mask he has been sporting?"


    The inquiry gave Hikari a pause. "Both, perhaps. Don''t you recall how he used to be, before I was blessed with judgment?"


    Rinne nodded slowly. "He was a good brother to you. Protective, even. Used to chase off the kids who attempted to peek in on your early training sessions to tease you."


    "Also he would bring me rice balls to those sessions," Hikari whispered, her eyes watering at the memory. "But after the gift showed up."


    "He changed," Rinne finished.


    "He spent more time in the archives, obsessing over ancient texts... I thought initially that he was just trying to impress the elders. To demonstrate that he could be useful, even without the gift." Hikari''s voice broke. "But in the middle of the night, when I attempted to read him through my gift, what I saw. Rinne, it was like peering into an abyss without depths. Only darkness, consuming whatever it came in contact with."


    Rinne reached out and grasped her shaking hands in his. "You''re certain about this? Heading to Kurohana village. the elders expressly prohibited anyone from going near it after the disappearances. If we get caught¡ª"


    "I require evidence," Hikari cut in, clenching his fists. "The elders won''t move against Hakari without it, not when our family has been guarding for so long. And there was something in those markings on his arm. they were recognizable, the sorts of things in Kurohana''s old stories.".


    "The village that sought immortality," Rinne whispered. "I heard about it from my grandmother. She said that they had rituals that opened their shrine as a doorway for demons."


    "Did she ever say why they wanted to be immortal?" Hikari''s voice was barely above a whisper.


    Rinne shook his head.


    "I came across an ancient scroll in the archives¡ªbefore Hakari began occupying all his time there."


    "It told how the people of Kurohana did not fear death, but rather being forgotten. They believed that if they lived forever, their names would never be forgotten." She looked up at the lightening horizon. "I think something of the same thing is happening with Hakari. He fears so much being forgotten, living in my shadow, that he will do anything to make his own mark in the world."


    "Even if that signature is written in blood?" Rinne''s voice was gentle but firm.


    "That''s what I''m most afraid of Rinne, " Hikari confessed. "The brother I knew¡ªthe one who was supposed to protect me¡ªhe would never have stood for such evil. But now." She squared her shoulders, determination taking the place of sorrow in her face. "That''s why we need to go to Kurohana. If there''s any hope we can discover what he''s mixed up in, perhaps we can stop him before he goes any further."


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    Rinne stood up straight, shifting the bow slung over his shoulder. "Or perhaps we''ll discover he''s done more than we already suspect."


    "Then at least we''ll know," Hikari stood up with him. "And I can approach the elders with certainty rather than suspicion."


    They set off down the forsaken trail that wound into the interior of the woods. As she walked, Hikari could sense the weight of the corruption within her brother pressing against her mind. The darkness that she had sensed in him was something she had never experienced¡ªnot mere malice or greed, but something that appeared to consume light itself.


    "You''re thinking about him again," Rinne murmured. He''d never needed magical abilities to be aware of her moods.


    "I keep wondering if there was something I could''ve done to prevent this," Hikari admitted. "If only I''d realized the signs earlier. I recall one day, perhaps a month ago, I saw him leaving the restricted section of the archives."


    "His eyes gleamed with fever, and he was holding a scroll to his chest as though it were worth more than gold. When I questioned him about what he was reading, he merely smiled and replied, ''The truth about power, little sister.'' I should have realized then that something was amiss."


    "This isn''t your fault." Rinne''s fingers touched hers for a moment. "Whatever Hakari did, he chose to do it of his own accord. Do you recall what you said to me when we were kids and I was blaming myself for not being able to save that wounded fox?"


    A wry ghost of a smile crossed Hikari''s features. "That we cannot rescue everyone from their own choices?"


    "Precisely. Even if those choices break our hearts."


    The forest grew denser as they went along, the trees closing in until they formed a canopy that blocked out all but a little of the morning sun. The air grew thick with an unnatural mist that clung to their skin.


    "We''re close," Rinne breathed, gesturing forward where the trees started to clear. "Kurohana should be just over that ridge."


    They broke through the trees and were confronted with a vision that halted them both. Kurohana village was spread out in the valley below them, but it was far from the deserted town they had anticipated. The structures remained, yet they were somehow wrong¡ªtheir lines appeared to twist in ways that pained the eyes, and the wood of their walls had darkened to unnatural black.


    Yet it was the silence that shook them most. No birds sang, no insects hummed. Even the wind appeared to perish when it reached the outskirts of the village.


    "Air." Rinne touched his throat. "It is heavy."


    Hikari nodded, her judgment beads unpleasantly warm against her skin. "There is power here. Old power. Can you feel how it resists us?"


    They made their way down the ridge, each step like trudging through water. When they came to the village itself, Hikari''s gift woke. Threads of light flickered from her fingertips involuntarily, trying to connect with. something.


    "Look at these," Rinne exclaimed, kneeling alongside one of the charred buildings. Symbols were carved into the wood¡ªsymbols that made Hikari''s heart pound with recognition.


    "They''re the same as those on Hakari''s arm," she whispered, her shaking fingers tracing the air over them. "But these are older, more finished."


    "Over here!" Rinne had walked ahead to what must be the village shrine. Unlike the other buildings, its wood was unstained, though the torii gate that came before it had been twisted into a spiral that led the eye inward, creating a dizzy sensation of falling.


    As they got closer to the shrine, Hikari''s beads started flashing warning light. "There''s something underneath it," she said. "A space that doesn''t belong."


    Rinne notched an arrow in his bow with a practiced ease. "Or simply called a cave?"


    "More than that. It''s." Hikari''s voice faded out as her present revealed more to her. "It''s a door. They made their whole shrine into a door to something else."


    They discovered the doorway concealed behind the altar of the shrine¡ªstone stairs leading down into the dark. The air that wafted up from underground was sweet and cloying, like overripe fruit, Hikari thought.


    "We should return," Rinne said, though he was not very convincing. "Seek aid from the village."


    Hikari shook her head. "Whatever is down there. it''s related to what''s going on with Hakari. I can feel it." She laid her hand on his arm gently. "But you don''t have to come with me.".


    Rinne''s laugh was soft but firm. "As if I''d leave you to handle this by yourself." He drew a torch from his pack and ignited it. "Just. promise me something?"


    "What?"


    "If we locate what we''re searching for¡ªif we locate evidence of what Hakari''s up to¡ªwe leave right away. No heroics, no fighting, no judgment okay? We bring the evidence walk away and goes to the elders and they deal with it."


    Hikari nodded, although something in her heart was saying it wouldn''t be quite that easy. "I swear."


    They walked down the stairs together, the torch''s beam sending dancing shadows across the stone walls. The scent of sweetness increased with every step, and Hikari''s beads pounded harder, a scared heartbeat against her chest.


    The stairs ended in a circular chamber that took their breath away. The walls were covered in the same glyphs they''d seen upstairs, but here they were done in something that glistened wetly in the torchlight. Altars ringed the room, topped with things that Hikari''s mind seemed to dart away from rather than actually look at. And in the center of it all stood another altar, larger than the rest. Upon it lay a mask made of what looked like polished bone and painted red. Its seems it wants a paint at all its like hardened blood, its surface carved with symbols of such complexity that they seemed to move when viewed directly.


    "The Immortal Mask," Rinne breathed, recalling bits of the ancient tales. "They really did it." Rinne crept nearer to the mid-altar, bow half-drawn. "Is this what Hakari''s trying to achieve? Some kind of immortality ritual?"


    Before Hikari had a chance to respond, a hollow voice that seemed to ooze over shattered glass said, "what clever little mice have crawled into my nest?"


    The air between them and the altar churned, and a woman emerged from nowhere¡ªa woman of impossible loveliness, her face pale as moonlight, her eyes aglow with an inner flame that said something far removed from human.


    "The hollow queen," Rinne whispered, drawing his bow fully as him and Hikari back away.


    The vacant queen does not say a word, but being near her is stifling. "The Kanshisha herself, and her faithful guard dog. How delectable." She stroked the mask with a long-fingered hand. "Do you come for answers about your dear brother? Or maybe. You''ve come for the same power he pursued?"


    Now, as the shadows shift and the air is heavy with the perfume of fruit gone too far, the Hollow Queen inclines her head. "You were well advised to come seek me out, young Kanshisha. Do you come. To look for your brother. Or perhaps." her head back to normal again. "would you rather die remembered. or live forever in immortality."


    The edges of the room started to writhe in the darkness, and Hikari could sense her power struggling to alert her to something¡ªbut by that time, it was already too late. There crept in from all directions an unnatural darkness, like a fog, and the vacant queen silence rang off the stone walls like the toll of a funeral bell.