The morning after the escape from the forest brought a thick fog — dense as recent death, suffocating the world and the very senses.
Kanji Yuzuki, his body marked by the cuts of his confrontation with Shio, entered the village of Tsumori. The settlement, with its weathered huts and dense silences, seemed to shrink beneath the stern gaze of the mountains. A place where even the wind walked in fear.
There, everything breathed resignation — as if every soul carried on its back the weight of an ancestral sin.
Yuzuki moved forward with staggered steps, feeling the pact with Mao throb in his bones. The demon, now an incessant whisper, delighted in the agony of its new host.
Mao (whispering, mocking tone):
"This village... so small. So... fragile.
Do you really think you can hide here, Yuzuki?
They will fear you. Or worse... they will betray you."
He clenched his trembling fists, trying to silence the putrid voice in his mind.
Refuge and information.
That was all he needed.
But he knew — the Hunters of the Salt Clan were already scenting his blood.
The central market of the village was held in tense silence.
Few villagers moved around, their eyes low, but every fleeting glance felt like a blade on his skin.
Yuzuki was an intruder — and here, an intruder was an omen.
Old Merchant (murmuring, averting his gaze):
"That one... something about him is wrong."
Yuzuki ignored them and continued toward the inn at the end of the square. The structure creaked under its own weight, carrying a rusted sign that swayed like a forgotten warning. Inside, the smell of damp wood mixed with cheap incense.
Behind the counter, a robust woman, her gray hair tied with rigidity, looked at him as if recognizing a wounded predator.
Innkeeper (dry, firm):
"We don't usually receive outsiders.
What are you looking for, young man?"
Yuzuki:
"Shelter. Just for the night."
She hesitated.
Then, she handed him an old key, the number nearly erased.
Innkeeper:
"Room at the back. And stay out of trouble."
He climbed the creaky stairs, feeling the weight of unspoken gazes on his back.
It was shelter —
But there was no peace beneath that roof.
The Siege
The calm that covered the village shattered shortly after.
A metallic sound echoed like muffled thunder. Blades being unsheathed.
Yuzuki opened his eyes with a start.
He leaped from the bed, peered out the window — and the square was overrun.
Hooded figures.
Spears. Short swords.
Cloaks marked with the emblem of the Salt Clan.
Mao (laughing, cruelly):
"Ah... they've finally arrived.
I warned you.
Your enemies are as predictable as you... weak."
He grabbed the sword beside the bed.
As he descended, he opened the door — and a Hunter stood before him.
Mask on his face. Blade raised.
Hunter:
"Kanji Yuzuki.
In the name of the Salt Clan, you are surrounded.
Surrender... and your death will be quick."
Yuzuki (cold, empty eyes):
"I've died once.
I don't plan on repeating it."
The attack was instant.
Like hungry wolves, the Hunters advanced in unison.
Precise. Deadly.
Yuzuki responded with the fury of the Void that inhabited him.
Each strike was a dance between the abyss and survival.
His sword cleaved through flesh and iron as if it had already reaped a thousand lives.
But with each advance, he felt the cost.
Yuzuki (thinking, panting):
"I'm... running out.
This will kill me before they do..."
His muscles screamed.
His life force drained silently, sucked by Mao.
The pain was constant.
Physical. Spiritual.
When the Hunters withdrew for a moment to reorganize, Yuzuki drove his blade into the ground.
The impact kicked up dust, dirt, and splinters.
Yuzuki (shouting):
"YOU WON'T TAKE ME TODAY!"
And he ran.
Disappearing into the forest like a wounded wolf —
But alive.
A New Adversary
Gasping, staggering, Yuzuki entered the valley covered by a pulsating mist.
The cold there was unnatural.
It was... ancient.
Yuzuki (thinking):
"This energy... this damn darkness... is... consuming me..."
Mao (deep, slow voice):
"He is near...
A servant of the false order.
A loyal lamb... to the rotten god."
Then, the sound.
Heavy footsteps in the mud.
Yuzuki turned, but it was too late.
A cut slashed across his shoulder.
Yuzuki (screaming):
"AAAHHHHRRGHH!!"
Blood.
Pain.
Dizziness.
And from the fog... emerged the figure.
Cracked ceramic mask.
White, tangled hair.
Common sword—
Impossible movements.
Zeke.
The executor of the Salt Clan.
Zeke (firm):
"The sentence has been given: Yuzuki, son of heresy, sentenced to death."
Yuzuki (gritting his teeth):
"Try your luck, dog of the king..."
Zeke (alarmed):
"What... is this?!"
Zeke (screaming):
"THERE IS NO TURNING BACK FOR TRAITORS!"
But the darkness emerged.
The ground cracked.
A black, pulsating wall rose around Yuzuki.
Mao (threatening):
"Stand up.
Use me.
Let's show him... the Void."
Yuzuki hesitated.
There was no time.
He screamed.
His arm rose—
And Mao's energy enveloped him.
A dark aura.
Serpents of shadow intertwined with his flesh.
Yuzuki (shouting, possessed):
"MAAAAAAAAO!"
His sword grew.
It ceased to be steel.
It was... hunger.
It was living shadow.
Zeke (alarmed):
"What... is this?!"
Yuzuki (insane):
"The Void.
The demon that dwells within me... has awoken."
The swords clashed.
Zeke retreated.
But each strike drained Yuzuki.
The black smoke escaped from his pores.
His soul... was unraveling.
Yuzuki (thinking):
"Mao... why are you draining so much?!
Why... are you... killing me?!"
Mao (laughing, grotesque):
"You called me.
Now pay.
Each drop of strength...
I take a piece of your soul."
Yuzuki fell.
He trembled.
Gasping.
Yuzuki (screaming):
"AAAAAARGHHHH!!!"
Zeke, injured, seized the opportunity.
Zeke (growling):
"DIE, DAMNED ONE!"
Zeke (final):
"FINAL RUPTURE!"
The strike tore through space.
Blood gushed... pores tearing open.
Yuzuki (moaning):
"My... soul... is tearing...!"
With his last breath, he raised his black blade.
And screamed:
Yuzuki (screaming):
"VANISH, ZEKE!!!"
The impact shook the valley.
Silence.
Zeke fell.
Chest torn open.
Coughing up blood.
Zeke (moaning):
"You... are not... human..."
Yuzuki (stumbling):
"Not anymore..."
Zeke (final breath):
"The king... will... burn you..."
Yuzuki did not celebrate.
He trembled.
His heart... weakened.
His soul... draining away.
Mao (whispering, icy):
"As long as you fight for your freedom...
You will only be digging your prison.
Soon, Yuzuki...
...the void will be all that remains of you."
Yuzuki collapsed, standing.
The shadow around him remained. Protecting... or sealing.
Yuzuki now knew that the Salt Clan was not just after him, but also the secret he carried in the book.