The wind shifted. Not like it had before—this was sharper, colder. It whispered no longer.
It watched.
Kael Ryuu knew it wasn't paranoia. The further they ventured into the Ashglass Canyons, the stronger the sensation became—like the very walls were tightening, folding in around them, urging them toward something ancient and hidden.
Kitsune seemed to feel it too. His fingers remained near the hilts of his daggers, and he kept glancing upward, eyes narrow.
"Eyes," Kitsune muttered.
Kael nodded. "Three of them. Watching from the ridge."
"Ambush?"
"Almost certainly."
Kurozan pulsed in his soul-space, reacting to something deeper than just a threat. It was as though the sword recognized this place—or feared it.
They didn't have to wait long.
The canyon narrowed again ahead, its jagged walls pressing closer. And then the path split, opening into a basin of black stone veined with molten red lines that pulsed like arteries. At its center stood a formation of broken pillars and cracked monoliths—ruins, unmistakably old. And standing before them were three figures, cloaked and masked in obsidian gray.
The central one stepped forward, lowering his hood. His eyes shimmered violet.
"You're a hard one to follow," the man said. His voice was calm. Too calm. "But the Ashglass never lies. And now we know. You're the bearer of the Void Crest."
Kael said nothing.
The lead figure removed his mask, revealing silver eyes burned into charcoal skin. Strange, crack-like veins ran from the corners of his eyes down to his neck. "My name is Orin. I speak for the Obsidian Circle."
Kitsune flared at the mention of the Obsidian Circle. "You're with them." His stance shifted beside Kael. Daggers lowered, but ready.
Orin continued. "The Void does not belong to the Empire. It doesn't belong to the Soulborne. It belongs to us."
Kael narrowed his eyes. "Then you're wasting your time."
"Am I?" Orin tilted his head. "You walk alone. You bear a power older than kings. We offer truth, not chains. Freedom, not duty. Join us, Kael Ryuu. The Circle remembers what the Empire erased."
Kael stepped forward.
"I'm not interested in becoming a pawn in anyone's game," he said. "Not yours. Not the Empire's."
The moment the words left his mouth, the air shifted. Blades flashed.
Orin sighed, disappointed. "A shame. We hoped you'd see sense. But if not…"
He dropped the relic.
It struck the ground and pulsed. "Then you will be erased," the leader hissed.
The battle ignited.
He dropped a relic.
It struck the ground and pulsed.
The shadows around the basin twisted—and from the cliffs above, more masked warriors dropped like stones, landing with inhuman grace. Blades unsheathed. Crests flickered. The ambush had been waiting.
Kael didn't hesitate.
"Kurozan."
Kael surged forward, drawing Kurozan in a spiral of black steel. Kitsune mirrored him, twin daggers erupting with flame. Their enemies moved with inhuman speed, launching a flurry of darkened attacks empowered by corrupted Crests.
"Together?" Kitsune asked.
Kael smirked. "Always."
The first wave surged forward. Kael ducked low, slashing upward in a crescent that carved through two attackers like wind through silk. Kitsune spun beside him, daggers ablaze, carving glowing arcs through flesh and flame.
Kael's runes burned to life across his arms—glowing glyphs etched into his skin from the encounter in Proving grounds. With a flick of his wrist, a glyph burst outward, catching one of the ambushers mid-lunge with a blast of kinetic force.
Kurozan's blade met another with a violent clang. Sparks flew.
"Kitsune! Left flank!"
"On it!"
Flames licked the canyon walls as Kitsune unleashed a torrent of crimson fire, forcing two of the attackers into a defensive circle. Kael twisted his body with Tenebris footwork, vanishing briefly from the masked leader's vision and reappearing behind him. Kurozan slashed—too fast to block—leaving a trail of violet blood.
Orin joined the fray, wielding a chained spear that seemed to stretch and phase through space. He and Kael clashed in a burst of power—Void against Obsidian. Kael's runes rippled across his skin, forming a lattice that absorbed one strike and redirected another.
But the Circle wasn't ordinary.
They fought with purpose—intent—and Kael felt his stamina slipping.
Until Kitsune roared, unleashing a nova burst of fire that cleared a path between them. "Now!" he shouted.
"You've been marked," the man gasped. "The Ashglass saw you."
Kael struck again. "Then let it watch me win."
The battle pressed on, fierce and unrelenting. Kael used every rune, every technique Senn had drilled into him. Kitsune fought like a flame incarnate, never still, never yielding. Together, they turned the tide.
Kael surged forward.
Kurozan flared with violet light—and Kael thrust it through Orin's relic core.
The pulse stopped. The remaining attackers stuttered.
And then silence.
Ash drifted like snow.
Bodies fell. Kitsune panted. Kael dropped to one knee, breathing hard, the runes on his skin dimming as they cooled.
But something tugged at him.
Kael exhaled, body trembling with exhaustion. Kitsune dropped to one knee, panting.
"They knew too much," Kael said quietly. "They knew about the Void."
Kurozan pulsed. ::You were meant to find them. Or they, you. But this path... it always ends in blood.::
Beyond the basin, hidden beneath a cracked overhang of stone, lay an ancient ruin—half-buried and forgotten. A whisper stirred in his mind as he approached. The door was carved from the same mirrored obsidian as the canyon walls, etched with familiar symbols.
They approached the shattered structure cautiously. The monoliths pulsed with a faint, ancient light—like memories frozen in time. Kael touched one and felt a flood of images: swordmasters training under blood moons, a masked figure wielding blades made of shadow, and a symbol he recognized from the visions he had.
A chamber opened beneath the central pillar—a staircase carved into obsidian, descending into the earth.
Kael and Kitsune descended.
Below, in the still heart of the ruin, was a pedestal. Upon it rested a scroll wrapped in black silk and sealed with silver thread.
This was a kenjutsu relic—an archive of technique.
He stepped forward.
Kael reached out, hesitating only for a second.
When he touched it, the seal dissolved, and the scroll unfurled in his hands.
Tenebris Kenjutsu: Form IV — The Mirage Blade.
Kael's eyes widened. He felt the knowledge pour into him—not just moves, but intent. This technique wasn't about power. It was subtlety. Illusion. A blade that struck where none were aimed.
A technique of illusion. Of becoming shadow and memory. A gift for those who walk unseen.
Then a fragment of a vision...
Kael's vision blur as he's dragged into a vision so lucid it felt real, too real.
The vision unfolds
The air shimmers. A gust of unseen wind carries whispers across a barren stone plateau. The sky above swirls with clouds not of this world—grey, heavy, and trembling with withheld judgment. A lone figure stands at the edge of a cliff, staring down at massive boulders that encircle him like ancient sentinels.
A second figure appears, cloaked in flowing garments that flutter despite the stillness. His voice carries both wisdom and weight.
---
Figure One (gritting his teeth):
"This gets more difficult every day…"
Figure Two (softly, almost amused):
"Only as difficult as you allow it to be."
Figure One (gesturing toward the stones):
"Oh, come on—gravity, solid mass… those aren't just thoughts. They're real."
Figure Two (stepping closer, eyes glowing faintly):
"You believe these stones are heavy. Therefore, they are."
Figure One (lowering his gaze):
"Then what? To someone like you, weight just… vanishes?"
Figure Two (raising a hand to the sky):
"To the chosen few, yes. Weight… is meaningless."
Lightning arcs faintly in the distance. The air crackles. The boulders seem to pulse, growing lighter, translucent, almost floating.
Figure One (whispering):
"How do you do these things?"
Figure Two (turning, speaking as if quoting ancient scripture):
"By learning to accept the unacceptable. Matter is energy. Energy is everywhere.
Sorcery… is merely the art of wielding it."
From his outstretched hand, a blade of compressed air flickers into existence.
Figure Two:
"A weapon born of nothing. Tell me—does it seem real?"
Figure One (squinting at the weapon):
"Doesn't look like it."
Figure Two (without breaking his gaze):
"Yet this time, you believed it was real."
Cracks form along a distant stone wall.
Figure one (startled):
"What happened to the wall?!"
Figure Two (smiling gently):
"You perceived it… and so it was. But now, your belief no longer holds it there.
And the wall no longer blocks your path."
"The difference between what is real and what is not is all in your perception. Your mind hold the key, limitation is often self-imposed, and perception shapes reality."
Figure Two (as the vision dissolves):
"When you realize there is nothing lacking," he said, his voice like wind over still water, "the whole world belongs to you."
----
Kael swayed, overwhelmed.
Kitsune steadied him. "You alright?"
Kael nodded slowly. "I am now. This… this changes everything."
He looked back at the dark scroll.
His path wasn't over.
But he had just taken a step the world would never see coming...
Kael gasped.
His body jolted, the scroll clutched tightly in his trembling hands. His breath fogged in the cold air of the ruins, sweat dripping down his brow. Kitsune steadied him.
"You okay?"
Kael didn't answer immediately. The vision lingered—not just in his mind, but in his soul. That voice, that blade of nothingness, the way the world bent to belief.
Tenebris Kenjutsu: Form IV – The Mirage Blade.
A technique that demanded not strength, but understanding.
Kael looked at his hands, flexing his fingers. The runes across his arms glowed faintly, responding to something deeper than muscle or will.
Perception shapes reality.
The ruin around them felt different now—less ominous, more… reverent. The silence wasn't empty; it was listening.
Kitsune looked toward the stairs. "We should go. Before more of them show up."
Kael nodded, eyes still distant. "Yeah… but this place…"
"We'll come back," Kitsune said. "When we're ready."
Kael turned one last time to the pedestal. It was empty now, but it felt like it had given more than a scroll.
It had given permission—to see the world differently.
---
Above the canyon, clouds swirled unnaturally. In the distance, far beyond what Kael and Kitsune could see, a masked figure watched from a pillar of wind-scarred rock.
His eyes gleamed silver beneath his hood.
"He found the Mirage Blade," he murmured. "The path is opening."
Behind him, another figure emerged, draped in ceremonial armor engraved with ancient sigils.
"Shall we inform the Circle?"
The first man shook his head slowly. "No. Not yet. Let him walk further. Let him believe he's free."
He smiled, cruel and curious.
> "Because belief... is the sweetest chain of all."