The forest did not return to normal after she left.
It remained still. Not empty, but aware.
Kashikari stood where he was, his gaze fixed on the direction she had disappeared. Her presence hadn't been loud like Jinwi's, yet it lingered longer. Cleaner. Sharper.
Different.
He exhaled slowly, trying to steady his breathing again. His body responded, but Jinwi didn't fully settle. It never did.
"Ninhim…"
The name felt strange in his mouth.
Jinwi reacted immediately. Not with hunger this time, but resistance. A quiet rejection, like two forces refusing to exist in the same space.
Kashikari frowned.
"So you felt it too…"
No answer came, but the tension inside him shifted. Subtle, yet undeniable.
He lowered his hand, staring at his fingers. They were still trembling, though less than before. Control was coming—but slowly, painfully.
He clenched his fist again.
This time, the air tightened… but the ground didn't break.
A pause.
Then he released it.
Better.
Not enough.
He stepped forward, moving through the dead forest. Each step was careful, measured. He wasn't running anymore. Not chasing anything.
For now.
His thoughts returned to her words.
If you can't control it… you'll kill someone eventually.
His jaw tightened.
"I won't."
The answer came out quieter this time. Not defiant. Certain.
But deep down, something didn't agree.
Jinwi pulsed once.
A reminder.
Kashikari stopped walking.
For a moment, everything aligned—the silence, the weight in his chest, the emptiness around him.
Then he felt it.
A shift.
Not in the air.
Inside.
His vision blurred for a second. Just a second—but enough.
Something tried to surface.
A memory.
Not his.
Fragments. Broken. Unfamiliar.
A battlefield.
Bodies scattered.
A voice screaming—
Then silence.
Kashikari staggered slightly, grabbing his head.
"…What was that?"
Jinwi didn't answer. But it didn't deny it either.
He steadied himself, breathing heavier now. That wasn't just power. It was something else.
Something stored.
Something waiting.
He lowered his hand slowly.
"So this is what you are…"
Not just destruction.
Not just power.
A history.
A weight that didn't belong to him—yet lived inside him.
Kashikari looked ahead again.
The path wasn't clear. There was no destination, no plan.
But he moved anyway.
Because standing still wasn't an option.
And running…
That ended with ashes.