The battlefield was painted in blood and fire. The sky, once serene, was now choked with smoke, and the air was thick with the metallic scent of death.
Raiyo’s hands trembled as he tightened his grip on his newly awakened Jinken—a weak, unstable sword that flickered in and out of form, struggling to hold its shape. His mismatched eyes, wide with shock, darted toward his uncle.
Shigure stood firm, but blood poured from a deep gash across his chest. His breath was ragged, yet his grip on his sword did not falter.
The Voidborns circled them like vultures. The leader—the same monster that had slaughtered Raiyo’s father—towered over them, its grotesque body shifting like liquid darkness. The three others that had ambushed them stood behind it, their hollow eyes fixated on the wounded warrior.
Shigure coughed, spitting blood onto the dirt. He let out a small chuckle.
"Raiyo… are you scared?"
Raiyo's breath hitched, his entire body frozen.
"Fear is natural. But letting it consume you? That’s weakness."
A Voidborn lunged.
Shigure reacted instantly, his blade intercepting the creature mid-strike. Sparks erupted as steel met abyssal flesh. But even as he pushed back, his body was failing him. His movements were slower. His strength was waning.
Another Voidborn took its chance.
Raiyo saw it. Too fast! He tried to move, but his legs refused to listen.
The monster's claws neared Shigure’s neck—
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SHRRKK!
A massive gash appeared on the Voidborn’s chest.
Shigure stood there, panting, his blade now dripping with the monster’s black blood.
"Raiyo…" his voice was hoarse but firm. "Do you know… what separates the strong from the weak?"
Raiyo's fingers twitched around his sword.
"It’s not talent. It’s not bloodline. It’s not luck."
The Voidborns roared, charging again—this time, all at once.
Shigure exhaled, then his voice dropped into a whisper.
"It’s will."
A sudden explosion of energy erupted from him. The ground cracked beneath his feet as a violent gust of wind spiraled outward. His blade—once ordinary—began to glow with a fierce, silver light.
"Shinken…" he muttered, his voice steady.
The Voidborns hesitated.
"Hakuro Tenken."
BOOM.
Shigure vanished.
A flash of silver.
A scream.
The first Voidborn was bisected before it even realized what had happened.
Shigure reappeared behind it, his blade humming with untamed power.
Raiyo’s breath caught in his throat. What… was that?!
The remaining two Voidborns screeched in rage, their forms shifting into something even more monstrous.
"No more games." The leader snarled, its deep voice echoing like a death knell.
Shigure staggered slightly. The second evolution—Shinken—was powerful, but it drained him. His body was already on the edge.
And the Voidborns knew it.
The leader smirked.
"You’re dying, old man."
For the first time… Raiyo felt something deeper than anger.
A burning, unshakable resolve.
His uncle had given everything. His father had died fighting. And he? He had stood by, weak, helpless.
No more.
Something snapped inside him.
His Jinken—his frail, unstable sword—stopped flickering. The blade pulsed. The energy inside it was small, but it was his.
Raiyo lifted it, locking eyes with the last two Voidborns.
"If willpower is what separates the strong from the weak…" His voice, though quiet, carried through the battlefield.
"Then I refuse to be weak."
His legs moved before his mind could process.
His sword—though weak—swung with everything he had.
CLANG!
He met the leader's strike head-on.
The impact rattled his bones, but he stood firm. His muscles screamed, his vision blurred—but he pushed forward.
For the first time, he wasn’t just watching.
For the first time, he was fighting.
Shigure watched, a proud smile forming despite the pain.
"Tch… about damn time."
The battle was far from over.
But that night… Raiyo took his first step toward the impossible.
