Dawn crept over the mountains slowly, pale light seeping through the torn canopy of trees like cautious fingers. The shrine grounds were scarred cracked stone tiles, splintered wood, blackened patches where the Gloombeast's ichor had burned into the earth. Yet despite the destruction, the air felt calmer, lighter, as if the mountain itself had exhaled after holding its breath for centuries.
Hiroto sat on the shrine steps, arms wrapped around his knees.
His body ached everywhere. His ribs throbbed with each breath, his palms were raw, and his head felt heavy, as though he hadn't slept in days. Still, he didn't move. He stared at the bell tower, where faint traces of moonlight still clung to the ancient runes.
It rang on its own, he thought.
Because of me.
Yui slept inside the hall, curled up beneath an old blanket. The shrine maiden had placed protective charms around her before sunrise quiet, glowing symbols etched into the wooden floor. Watching her chest rise and fall steadily was the only thing keeping Hiroto calm.
"You're awake," Goro said.
Hiroto glanced over. The ronin was squatting near a broken stone lantern, chewing on a strip of dried meat like nothing out of the ordinary had happened. His sword lay beside him, cleaned and carefully wrapped.
"Didn't feel like sleeping," Hiroto replied.
Goro grunted. "Figures. First real battle tends to do that."
Hiroto hesitated, then asked, "Was I… useful?"
Goro paused mid-chew and looked at him seriously. "Kid, if you hadn't been there, that beast would've eaten us all. So yes. You were useful."
Relief flickered through Hiroto's chest brief, fragile.
"But," Goro continued, "you were also reckless."
Hiroto looked down. "I know."
"You charged headfirst," Goro said. "You overextended your shadow. And you almost got killed."
"I didn't have a choice," Hiroto muttered. "If I hadn't"
"There's always a choice," Goro cut in. "Choosing the wrong one gets you dead."
Hiroto clenched his fists. "Then what should I have done?"
Before Goro could answer, the shrine maiden approached.
She looked different in the daylight less ghostly, more defined, though her silver eyes still reflected an ageless depth. The faint glow around her had dimmed, but it hadn't vanished.
"You should have listened to your shadow," she said.
Hiroto stiffened. "My… shadow?"
"Yes," she replied calmly. "It spoke to you, did it not?"
Hiroto hesitated, then nodded. "It whispers. Sometimes it tells me things I don't want to hear."
"That is because it is part of you," the shrine maiden said. "Not a weapon. Not a curse. A reflection."
Goro snorted. "That reflection nearly got him eaten."
The shrine maiden glanced at Goro. "Because he fears it."
She turned back to Hiroto. "Fear makes the Shadowforge unstable. It feeds chaos into its form."
Hiroto swallowed. "Then what am I supposed to feel instead?"
The shrine maiden considered him carefully. "Resolve."
"Resolve?" Hiroto repeated.
"To act with intent," she said. "To shape your shadow deliberately, not as a reaction. Last night, when you struck the beast… what were you thinking of?"
Hiroto closed his eyes.
Yui's scream echoed in his memory.
Her small hands clinging to him.
The terror of losing her.
"I was thinking… that I couldn't let it touch her."
The shrine maiden nodded. "And in that moment, your shadow stabilized."
Goro raised a brow. "So you're saying he needs emotional control?"
"Yes," she said. "But not suppression. Acceptance."
Hiroto frowned. "I don't understand."
"You will," she replied. "But first, introductions are overdue."
She placed a hand over her chest and bowed slightly.
"I am Tsukiyo, guardian spirit of the Silent Moon Shrine."
Hiroto bowed quickly, almost tripping over himself. "I….I'm Hiroto. Thank you for saving us."
Tsukiyo inclined her head. "You awakened the bell. In truth, it was you who saved me."
Goro scratched his head. "Still can't believe that thing rang itself."
"The Bell of Judgment responds only to those who walk between light and shadow," Tsukiyo said. "That you awakened it at your age is… unprecedented."
Hiroto felt heat rise to his face. "I didn't do it on purpose."
"That makes it more impressive," she replied.
Goro let out a low whistle. "Kid, you're going to give every monk in Japan heart failure."
Hiroto didn't smile.
Instead, a knot of anxiety tightened in his chest. "You said others would sense my power."
Tsukiyo's expression darkened. "Yes. The Black Daimyo is not the only one who hunts shadows."
Goro stood. "Which brings us to the unpleasant part."
Hiroto looked up. "Unpleasant part?"
"You can't stay here," Goro said. "Not long-term. This shrine hides you for now, but once hunters start sniffing around".
"They will come in numbers," Tsukiyo finished. "And I cannot protect you indefinitely."
Hiroto's heart sank. "Then where do we go?"
Tsukiyo turned toward the bell tower. "Before that… you must learn control. Even a few days of training could mean the difference between life and death."
Goro nodded. "She's right. You're strong, kid, but strength without discipline is suicide."
Hiroto hesitated. "You'll train me?"
Tsukiyo nodded once. "I will teach you to listen to your shadow."
Goro grinned. "And I'll teach you how not to get killed while doing it."
Hiroto managed a weak smile. "That's… reassuring."
They moved to the center of the courtyard, where the stone tiles were least damaged. Tsukiyo traced a circle on the ground with her finger; silver light followed the motion, forming a faint ring.
"Step inside," she instructed.
Hiroto did.
The moment he crossed the boundary, the air shifted. The sounds of the forest dulled. The light dimmed. His shadow stretched unnaturally long, curling toward the edges of the circle.
Hiroto tensed. "What is this?"
"A boundary of perception," Tsukiyo said. "Here, your shadow cannot hide from you."
Hiroto swallowed.
"Close your eyes," she said.
He obeyed.
"Do not summon your blade," Tsukiyo continued. "Simply… listen."
At first, there was nothing.
Then a presence.
Not loud. Not aggressive.
Just there.
"You hesitate again."
Hiroto's breath caught.
"I'm trying," he whispered.
"You fear losing control."
"Yes."
"You already lost control once."
Images flooded his mind the village burning, his mother's scream, the soldier falling.
"I don't want that to happen again."
"Then do not reject me."
Hiroto clenched his fists. "If I accept you… will I become a monster?"
The shadow was silent for a moment.
Then.
"Only if you choose to be."
Tsukiyo's voice drifted in from somewhere far away. "Hiroto. What do you see?"
Hiroto swallowed. "I see… darkness. But it's not empty. It's like… a mirror."
"Good," Tsukiyo said. "Now open your eyes."
He did.
The shadow at his feet was sharper, clearer but no longer thrashing wildly.
Tsukiyo nodded. "That is the first step."
Goro crossed his arms. "Took you long enough."
Hiroto shot him a look. "You try talking to your shadow."
Goro smirked. "Mine just complains about my drinking."
The rest of the morning passed quietly.
Hiroto practiced holding the shadow-blade without forming it fully letting the darkness coil around his arm, then dispersing it again. Each attempt drained him, but the instability lessened little by little.
By midday, sweat clung to his back and his arms trembled from exhaustion.
Tsukiyo raised a hand. "That is enough for today."
Hiroto exhaled heavily. "Already?"
"You are still wounded," she said gently. "Push further and the shadow will overtake you."
Goro tossed him a waterskin. "Drink."
Hiroto gulped it down gratefully.
As he sat beside Yui later, watching her play quietly with fallen leaves, Tsukiyo approached him.
"There is something you must know," she said softly.
Hiroto looked up. "About my power?"
"Yes. And about your past."
His chest tightened. "What do you mean?"
Tsukiyo's silver eyes reflected the distant mountains. "The Shadowforge does not awaken randomly."
Hiroto froze. "Then why did it awaken in me?"
She met his gaze.
"Because your bloodline was never ordinary."
Hiroto's breath caught. "My family…?"
Tsukiyo nodded. "Your village was not destroyed by chance."
The world seemed to tilt.
Goro's voice cut in, unusually serious. "I had a feeling."
Hiroto clenched his fists. "Then tell me."
Tsukiyo's voice was solemn.
"The Black Daimyo did not simply find you."
She paused.
"He was looking for you."