The forest was silent. Not peaceful. Heavy. Wrong.
Kashikari stood barefoot on cold soil. Breathing slow, controlled, unnatural.
Jinwi pulsed inside him. Patient. Hungry.
Memories erupted. Fire. Screams. His mother's voice cut short. His father's eyes—calm in death.
"Control it," the command burned deeper than the flames.
He clenched his fist. The air tightened. The ground cracked beneath him, spreading thin. He stepped back. It stopped.
He breathed. Again. And again. Not control. But something.
Time felt wrong. Minutes stretched. Hours collapsed. The world twisted around him.
Then… footsteps.
Light. Human. Careful.
His body tensed. Jinwi responded, dark aura wrapping him.
"Show yourself." Cold. Direct.
A girl emerged from the dead trees. Around his age, clothes worn but intact. Eyes calm. Too calm.
She stopped a few meters away.
They stared. Tension thick, unbroken.
"Why are you here?" Kashikari asked.
"You're leaking."
"What?"
She pointed at his chest.
"That thing inside you. It's loud."
Jinwi pulsed sharply. Kashikari flinched.
"You can't control it yet," she stated.
"Shut up."
Air snapped. Leaves crumbled to dust. She didn't move.
"Anger makes it worse."
Kashikari stepped forward, aura unstable.
"I said—shut up."
Darkness surfaced behind his eyes. Not anger. Something deeper. Colder.
Jinwi stirred. Not a voice, an urge: destroy. Erase. End.
His fingers twitched.
She stepped closer.
"Then kill me."
He froze. Mid-step.
"What?"
"If you can't control it, you'll kill someone eventually. Test it now."
Kashikari's aura flickered violently. But he didn't move. Breathing broke.
"I won't."
Silence. Heavy. Crushing.
She watched him. Analyzing. Measuring.
Then she nodded.
"Good."
"Why?" he asked.
She turned away.
"Because if you did… you'd already be gone."
She walked off. Calm. Unfazed.
Kashikari remained. Alone.
Jinwi pulsed quietly this time. Watching. Waiting.
Not satisfied. But aware.
For the first time, he felt it. Not alone.
Something else had entered the game.