Chapter 42 – The Whispering Shadow

  The room was silent.

  Yet, the words still echoed in Akari’s mind.

  > "You cannot suppress what has already awakened."

  She pressed her fingers against the restriction seal on her wrist, feeling its warmth. The golden symbols still pulsed softly, doing their job—restraining her qi, keeping whatever had changed inside her in check.

  But if that was true…

  Then why did she still hear it?

  Tsubaki let out a low growl from her perch on the windowsill. The spirit beast’s feathers bristled, eyes darting around the dimly lit room.

  Akari’s heart pounded.

  > It wasn’t just my imagination.

  She was being watched.

  But by what?

  ---

  A Flicker of Darkness

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  A sharp chill crawled across her skin.

  Akari turned toward the far wall, where the candlelight barely reached.

  A shadow flickered.

  It wasn’t hers.

  For a breathless moment, she saw something—a tall, slender figure standing at the edge of the light. Its form was blurred, as if reality itself struggled to define it.

  > Not human.

  Then—

  It moved.

  Akari’s body reacted before she could think. Her fingers snapped into a defensive stance, summoning her qi—

  Nothing.

  The restriction seal tightened, choking off her energy.

  She cursed.

  The figure shifted, stepping closer. The dim candlelight barely illuminated its face, but—

  It had no face.

  Just an endless void, deeper than the night sky.

  The whisper came again.

  "You are not bound to this world anymore."

  Akari’s breath hitched.

  The Seventh Gate.

  Had she brought something back with her?

  She wanted to move, to run, but her body felt like it was sinking into the floor, trapped beneath an unseen weight.

  The figure raised a hand—

  Tsubaki screeched, launching herself at the shadow.

  The room shattered.

  A blast of energy surged outward—not from her, but from the entity itself. The windows cracked, papers scattered, and the air itself rippled as reality seemed to bend around them.

  Then—

  It was gone.

  The weight lifted. The candlelight steadied. The room was still again.

  Only Tsubaki remained, her wings spread wide, her golden eyes locked onto the space where the shadow had stood.

  Akari let out a shaky breath.

  She wasn’t just being watched.

  Something from the other side had followed her into this world.

  And it wasn’t going to leave her alone.

  ---

  A Visitor in the Night

  Akari didn’t sleep.

  She sat in the dim glow of the fading candles, her fingers absentmindedly tracing the restriction seal.

  > I need answers.

  She needed to know what had changed inside her. Why her qi felt different. And most of all—what had crossed over from the Seventh Gate.

  A soft knock at the door pulled her from her thoughts.

  She tensed. It was well past midnight.

  Slowly, she stood and approached the door, fingers brushing against the wooden frame.

  “Who is it?” she asked cautiously.

  Silence.

  Then—

  A familiar voice. Low, smooth, and laced with amusement.

  "You’re not the only one keeping secrets, Akari."

  She froze.

  That voice—

  She threw the door open.

  Standing before her, wrapped in a dark cloak, was Renji.

  A fellow disciple. A core member of the sect. Someone who, until now, had never given her more than a passing glance.

  But his eyes—those piercing silver eyes—held something unsettling.

  He knew.

  About the Seventh Gate. About what had happened to her.

  And from the way he smirked—

  He wasn’t afraid.