The moment we stepped into the house, my body almost gave up.
Every muscle hurt.
My arms felt heavy.
My legs felt even worse.
After training the entire night, even standing felt like a challenge.
"I'm going to die," I muttered.
Ken placed the practice swords against the wall.
"Unfortunately, no."
"...Why do you sound disappointed?"
"Because today's training was only the beginning."
I stared at him.
"...You're actually evil."
"I know."
"Stop saying that so casually."
Ken ignored me and walked toward the kitchen.
"Go take a bath."
"...Bossy."
"You smell like a battlefield."
"...That's rude."
"It is accurate."
I clicked my tongue and headed upstairs while Ken entered the kitchen.
The sound of running water echoed through the bathroom as I stood under the shower.
The warm water felt amazing.
My tired muscles slowly relaxed.
For the first time since all this spirit nonsense had started, my mind felt quiet.
No trains.
No spirits.
No glowing swords.
Just warmth.
By the time I finished, my eyelids already felt heavy.
I changed into fresh clothes and walked downstairs.
The smell hit me immediately.
"...Woah."
The entire house smelled incredible.
I slowly peeked into the kitchen.
Ken stood in front of the stove with his sleeves rolled up slightly.
Sunlight streamed through the kitchen window, illuminating the rising steam around him.
His movements were smooth.
Precise.
Almost like swordsmanship.
The knife moved through vegetables effortlessly.
Tak.
Tak.
Tak.
Tak.
The sound was so fast it almost blended together.
"...Since when can you cook?"
Ken didn't even look up.
"Since before you were born."
"...That doesn't answer anything."
"It answers enough."
I watched him place ingredients into a pan.
A second later—
FWOOSH!
A burst of fire rose from the pan.
I nearly jumped.
"KEN!"
"Hm?"
"The food is on fire!"
"That is intentional."
"...IT SHOULD NOT BE!"
"It is under control."
The flames vanished as quickly as they appeared.
Ken calmly continued cooking.
Like nothing happened.
I stared for a few seconds.
"...You cook like you're fighting a final boss."
"Cooking and combat are similar."
"They absolutely are not."
"They require timing."
"...No."
"Precision."
"...Still no."
"Discipline."
"...Stop trying to justify this."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
For some reason—
seeing him like this felt strange.
Not as a spirit.
Not as some mysterious being.
Just...
Ken.
The smell became even stronger.
Unfortunately for me—
my exhaustion won the battle.
"I'm just going to rest for five minutes."
Ken glanced toward me.
"Five minutes?"
"Five minutes."
"You will fall asleep."
"No, I won't."
"You will."
"I won't."
"Very well."
I pointed at him.
"Wake me up when breakfast is ready."
"You are already making unreasonable requests."
"...Just wake me up."
I dragged myself toward the couch.
Then everything went dark.
---
The house was silent.
Only the faint sounds of cooking remained.
Ken glanced toward the living room.
Ryu was already asleep.
"...Predictable."
A small smile appeared on his face.
Then—
the smile disappeared.
The wind stopped.
The house became strangely quiet.
The morning sunlight dimmed slightly.
A presence had entered.
Ken slowly turned toward the window.
The glass hadn't opened.
Yet a cold breeze moved through the room.
Like something had slipped between worlds.
Golden eyes appeared first.
Then a figure stepped into existence.
Long white hair flowed down his back.
His white robes looked ancient, decorated with faint silver patterns resembling spider webs.
A strange mark stretched across one side of his face.
Like delicate threads woven beneath the skin.
His golden eyes slowly moved toward the sleeping Ryu.
The spirit smiled.
"Hmm."
"So this is the boy."
Ken folded his arms.
"Did you come here to invite your own death?"
The spirit laughed softly.
"No, no."
"I have no desire to die by your hands."
His eyes remained fixed on Ryu.
"I simply wanted to see what was so special."
A brief silence followed.
Then he smiled again.
"The entire spirit world knows about him now."
"The news has spread."
"Spirits are talking."
"Questions are being asked."
"And naturally..."
His golden eyes narrowed slightly.
"I became curious."
Ken's expression remained calm.
"You have seen him."
"Now leave."
The spirit chuckled.
"Still impatient."
His gaze drifted back toward Ryu.
"Interesting."
"Very interesting."
For a moment—
the room became quiet.
Then the spirit spoke again.
"I will not kill him today."
His smile widened slightly.
"But you won't always be there."
A chill moved through the room.
"I can come whenever I wish."
His golden eyes met Ken's.
"So be careful."
Ken didn't move.
Didn't blink.
Didn't even look concerned.
"Try."
The spirit laughed.
A genuine laugh.
As though he had heard something amusing.
Then he slowly reached inside his robe.
When his hand emerged—
a black card rested between two fingers.
The surface was covered with silver markings.
Spider-web-like patterns stretched across it.
The longer one looked—
the more those patterns seemed to move.
Connecting.
Separating.
Reforming.
Like invisible threads weaving reality itself.
Ken narrowed his eyes slightly.
The spirit rotated the card once.
Twice.
Three times.
As it spun—
silver threads emerged from the card.
Not physical threads.
Something stranger.
They spread through the air around him.
Across the walls.
Across the ceiling.
Across the room.
A giant glowing web formed around his body.
Beautiful.
And unsettling.
The mark on his face began glowing softly.
The web expanded further.
Then further.
Until it looked as though the entire room had been trapped inside it.
The spirit smiled.
"Ah."
"One more thing."
His gaze shifted toward the sleeping Ryu.
"My name."
A brief silence followed.
Then—
"Akihara."
The silver web trembled.
"Tell him to remember it."
His golden eyes narrowed slightly.
"Because we'll meet again."
Then he tapped the center of the card.
The web shattered.
Thousands of glowing threads broke apart simultaneously.
And the spirit's body shattered with them.
His robes dissolved.
His hair dissolved.
His face dissolved.
The golden eyes were the last thing to disappear.
Then—
nothing.
The room returned to silence.
The morning sunlight brightened again.
The wind returned.
As if none of it had ever happened.
Ken stared at the empty space for several seconds.
Then his eyes moved toward's me sleeping on the couch.
For the first time that morning—
his smile was completely gone.
And somewhere deep inside—
a feeling he hadn't felt in a very long time returned.
Concern.