"Please! No! Don't...don't do this!" Kado screamed, his voice raw, hoarse, echoing against the cold stone walls. "I...I'm your nephew! Uncle! I'm begging you!"
He thrashed against the ropes that bound him to the altar rock, every muscle straining, trying to escape the unyielding grip.
Kenji's hands gripped him tighter. "Shut up, Kado. It's the only way. You know the rules."
"I don't care about your damn rules!" Kado spat, tears streaking his face. "I...I don't want to die! Please! I'll do anything, anything! Just...just don't—"
"You've done nothing to save yourself," Kenji said quietly, almost bored. "The curse doesn't care if you beg. It hungers, and so do I."
"No! Damn you! I'll scream, I'll—" Kado roared, pounding his fists against Kenji's chest. "I'll die screaming if I have to! I—"
Pain tore through him. Hot, jagged, impossible. His breath hitched, his body convulsed, and a strangled cry tore from his throat.
"Why?! Why are you doing this?! I...I trusted you!"
Kenji's expression didn't change. "Trust has nothing to do with survival. You're the sacrifice. The heir. And the curse wants what it wants."
"I—I curse you! Curse the house! Curse this—this stupid bloodline!" Kado screamed, the words raw, desperate, shaking through him. "I—I'll die screaming, but I—won't—be eaten! Damn you all! Damn the curse! Damn—"
A sudden, icy chill swept through the chamber, crawling across his skin like fingers of shadow. Kado shivered, heart hammering, sensing something watching him—not Kenji, something far older, far hungrier.
A sharp, tearing pain cut through his chest. Kado's scream shattered into a strangled gurgle as darkness clawed at the edges of his vision. The last thing he saw was Kenji's shadow looming above him, calm, unflinching.
And then—nothing.
....
....
....
"Is he dead? Alive? Some cursed thing?" a villager yelled, gripping a wooden staff.
"He's a boy!" a second shouted, pushing others back.
Kado groaned weakly, chest burning, lips moving but no sound coming out.
A small voice rang out. "Father! We have to help him!"
A fisherman pushed forward, Akira clinging to his sleeve. "Careful, Akira. Stay behind me."
"Who are you letting into our village?" one man barked. "If he brings trouble, we'll all be punished!"
"He's alive. That's all that matters," the fisherman said firmly, ignoring the angered villagers.
One bold man stepped forward, swinging a hoe toward the fisherman. "Move! I said—step back!"
"Let him be!" another villager snapped. "He's just a boy!"
The fisherman knelt beside Kado, lifting him carefully. "He's alive… just barely," he murmured.
Akira's small hands hovered over Kado as he was carried inside. "He… he's alive?" she whispered.
"Yes," her father said firmly. "We'll take him in. Keep him steady."
The villagers grumbled but stepped back, wary. "If he brings trouble, it's on you!" one hissed.
....
.....
Inside, Kado's chest heaved. He blinked, touching the spot where the axe had pierced him.
"My… chest…" he muttered, voice hoarse, trembling. "I can't feel the axe. There's no hole in my shirt… my heart… it's… sealed. But it still hurts. How… how am I alive?"
Akira hurried over with a bowl of soup. "Eat this… it'll make you heal faster," she said softly, kneeling beside him.
"I don't need it!" Kado snapped, voice hoarse, eyes dark.
She tried to guide the spoon. "Just a bite—"
"No! Don't force me!" he barked, slamming his hand on the bed. The bowl tipped, soup spilling across her clothes.
Akira jumped back. "Ah! My—"
Kado pressed his hand to his chest, trembling, teeth gritted. Pain stabbed him, but his eyes hardened.
Her father rushed in. "What happened? Are you hurt?"
Kado shook his head violently. "Be… quiet!"
"You need to—"
"Shut up! I said shut up!" he roared, pressing his hand harder to his chest. Trembling violently, he forced himself upright.
"Stop!" her father barked, voice cutting. "Do you realize what you just did? You hurt my daughter with your screaming!"
Kado froze. His chest heaved, eyes wide. Rage faltered as reality hit.
Akira pressed her scarf to her face, murmuring softly, "It's okay… just… breathe."
Kado's tremors slowed. He let out a shuddering breath, eyes still burning with raw pain.
....
....
....
The sun dipped below the horizon, casting long, jagged shadows across the village as Kado was led back to the small hut, his mind a storm of unanswered questions and lingering pain
The fire crackled, but the warmth couldn't reach the ice in Kado's chest. He sat on the edge of the cot, staring at his reflection in a bucket of water.
"Why...?" he whispered. His fists clenched until his knuckles turned white.
"Kado?"
He flinched as Akira stepped into the room. She looked exhausted, her hair messy and her clothes stained with sea salt from helping her father at the docks. She held a tray with a single bowl of soup.
"I don't need your pity!" Kado snapped, his voice lashing out like a whip. "I am a Hoshiro! I was meant to rule, not rot in a hut eating scraps!"
Akira didn't flinch. She just set the tray down. "You're not a ruler right now. You're a boy who almost died."
"I should have died!" Kado roared, his rage finally boiling over. "My own uncle—my own blood—gave me to the demons! I trusted him!"
As the words left his mouth, a searing heat erupted in his right arm. It felt like liquid lead was being poured into his veins. Kado gasped, clutching his forearm as thick, black and red veins began to crawl up his skin like ink spilled in water.
"Kado... your arm..." Akira whispered, her eyes widening.
Kado looked in the water bucket. His right eye had bled into a terrifying, solid crimson. "Get away!" he screamed. "Don't touch me! I'll—"
"Be quiet!" Akira shouted back. She didn't run. Instead, she lunged forward, her right fist glowing with a soft, pale light. She slammed it into his chest.
The burning stopped instantly. The black veins receded, sinking back into his skin as he collapsed, gasping for air. Akira placed a hand on his forehead; her touch was surprisingly cool.
"You've been touched by the end," she said softly. "This isn't just a wound. You've been cursed by Death himself."
Kado sat in the silence, trembling as he explained the Hoshiro betrayal. Akira listened, then reached into her pouch and pulled out a shimmering, metallic token. It bore the insignia of a prestigious Battle Academy.
"Take this," she said, thrusting it toward him
Kado's gaze fell from her face to her hands. They were raw, red from the salt water, and covered in small nicks from handling rough fishing nets. He looked at the heavy bags under her eyes and the way her shoulders slumped with a fatigue that sleep couldn't fix.
The token in her hand caught the firelight. It was pristine, expensive—wholly out of place in this dirt-floor hut.
She didn't just find this, Kado realized, his throat tightening. The fisherman... her father... they've been killing themselves for this.
"No," Kado said, recoiling as if the metal burned him. "That is yours. I've seen the state of your hands since I woke up. I know what you've been doing while I was lying here feeling sorry for myself.
"You worked for this. You've been slaving away at the docks for this 'future' you talk about."
Akira's grip on the token didn't waver. "I worked for a future," she whispered, her voice suddenly fierce. "But what future is there in this village for a girl like me? And what future is there for a man who is being hunted by his own blood?"
She stepped closer, her eyes flashing. "If you stay here, the curse will eat you from the inside out. Or my father will eventually run out of luck protecting you from the villagers. You are a Hoshiro! If you want to kill the demons and your uncle—you have to get stronger!"
She grabbed his hand, forcing the cold metal into his palm.
"Go to the Kyoto War-Arts Academy. Learn to control that shadow in your blood. Do you want to be a sacrifice forever, or do you want to be a King?
"I'll make them regret they ever left me alive"