The wind over Ochisuita no longer felt the same.
It moved through the streets, through the trees, through the empty spaces between houses… but to Koi Ren, it felt distant. Like it didn't belong to him anymore.
He stood alone in Watashi's old training field.
The place was unchanged.
Wooden swords still lay near the porch.The ground still carried faint marks from their sparring.Even the broken fence Watashi never bothered fixing was still there.
But the silence felt heavier.
Koi tightened his grip on Koru.
"…You said to become iron."
His voice came out low.
"…But what if iron still breaks?"
No answer came.
Only the wind.
He trained anyway.
Not because he wanted to.
Because stopping felt worse.
Strike.
Step.
Turn.
Again.
And again.
Each movement sharper than before—but empty.
His body remembered Watashi's lessons.
His mind did not.
As night fell, Koi finally stopped.
He stood in the center of the field, breathing heavily.
For a moment, everything was still.
Then—
A strange pressure pulsed in his chest.
Koi froze.
"…What is this?"
It wasn't pain.
Not exactly.
It felt like something inside him was responding.
Like something had been waiting.
His hand slowly moved to his chest.
Nothing was there.
But the feeling remained.
Stronger now.
Thump.
Thump.
His heartbeat slowed.
And then—
For a fraction of a second…
Something appeared.
A faint symbol.
Burned into his vision.
Not on his skin.
Not in the air.
Inside him.
Koi stumbled back.
"What…?"
The symbol flickered.
Then vanished.
Silence returned.
Koi stood still for a long time.
"…Watashi…"
His voice trembled slightly.
"What did you give me?"
Far away, in the quiet depths of Ochisuita's night, a shadow moved between the trees.
Something watched the village.
Something that did not belong.
It tilted its head slightly.
As if sensing something familiar.
Then it vanished into the darkness.
Back in the field, Koi clenched his fist.
The wind moved again.
But this time—
he felt it.
Not just around him.
But within him.
And somewhere deep inside, something that should not have awakened…
responded.