The words hung in the air like frost.
He was looking for you.
Hiroto stared at Tsukiyo, his mind refusing to accept what she'd said. The morning light felt suddenly too bright, too sharp, as if the world itself had tilted off balance.
"That's impossible," Hiroto said finally. "We were just farmers. My parents never left the village. No one even knew who we were."
Tsukiyo did not look away. "That is what they wanted you to believe."
Goro let out a low whistle. "And here I was hoping it was just bad luck."
Hiroto's hands clenched so tightly his nails bit into his palms. "Explain. Please."
Tsukiyo turned toward the shrine hall, her sleeves drifting softly as she walked. "Come inside. Some truths should not be spoken lightly beneath the open sky."
They followed her into the hall. Yui sat near the back, humming softly as she stacked smooth stones into a small tower. She looked up and smiled when she saw Hiroto.
"Brother, look! It keeps falling but I can make it stand again."
Hiroto forced a smile and nodded. "You're doing great."
Tsukiyo glanced at Yui, then traced a symbol in the air. A faint silver veil spread across the room thin, barely visible.
"She will not hear us," Tsukiyo said quietly.
Hiroto's chest tightened. "Why?"
"Because some truths would only burden her," Tsukiyo replied. "And because if the enemy is listening, they will hear nothing."
That did not comfort him.
Tsukiyo knelt across from Hiroto, folding her hands. "You asked why the Shadowforge awakened in you. The answer lies in your blood."
Hiroto swallowed. "My parents… knew?"
"Yes," Tsukiyo said. "And no."
Goro scratched his beard. "That's not ominous at all."
Tsukiyo ignored him. "Your mother was not Shadowforge. Your father was not either. But your lineage…" She paused. "Your lineage traces back to one of the Ten Shadow Clans."
Hiroto's breath hitched.
"The Ten Shadow Clans…" he whispered. "They're real?"
Goro nodded grimly. "Very real. And very dead. Or so everyone believes."
Tsukiyo continued, "Centuries ago, before the current clans rose to power, ten families guarded the boundary between the human world and the shadow realm. They were not rulers. They were wardens."
"Wardens of what?" Hiroto asked.
"The Vanished Gate," Tsukiyo said.
The name sent a strange echo through Hiroto's chest, as if something deep inside him stirred in recognition.
Goro cursed under his breath. "So that's it."
Hiroto looked at him. "You knew?"
"I suspected," Goro admitted. "Shadowforge didn't just belong to random warriors. It ran in specific bloodlines."
Tsukiyo nodded. "Your ancestor was one of them. A craftsman of shadows. Not a king. Not a conqueror. A guardian."
Hiroto shook his head slowly. "Then why… why hide in a village?"
"Because the Ten Clans were hunted to extinction," Tsukiyo said softly. "By those who feared their power. By those who wanted to control the Gate."
Hiroto's throat tightened painfully. "The Black Daimyo."
"Yes," Tsukiyo said. "And those like him."
The room felt smaller.
"You said my parents didn't fully know," Hiroto said. "What does that mean?"
Tsukiyo hesitated. "Your father knew the blood existed but not when it would awaken. Not if it ever would. He believed the Shadowforge had faded completely."
Goro exhaled. "Guess fate disagreed."
Hiroto's voice trembled. "Then my village…"
Tsukiyo closed her eyes briefly. "It was a test."
Hiroto's heart slammed violently. "A test?!"
"The Black Daimyo has been searching for signs of awakening Shadowforge blood," Tsukiyo said. "Unusual shadows. Spiritual disturbances. Anomalies. When he sensed something near Kagemura Village, he sent soldiers."
"To see if anyone survived," Goro finished grimly.
Hiroto stood up so suddenly the mat beneath him shifted. "They killed everyone just to check?"
"Yes," Tsukiyo said quietly.
Rage surged through Hiroto like wildfire.
His shadow writhed beneath his feet, lengthening, darkening. The air grew heavy.
Goro stepped forward instantly. "Kid. Breathe."
Hiroto's vision blurred. His mother's scream echoed in his ears. The burning homes. The blood. The shadows.
"They didn't have to die," he choked. "They didn't have to…"
Tsukiyo's voice cut through the storm. "Hiroto. Look at me."
He did,barely.
"Your anger is justified," she said firmly. "But if you let it shape your shadow now, you will lose yourself."
Hiroto's fists trembled. Slowly, painfully, he forced himself to breathe.
In.
Out.
The shadow stilled.
He collapsed back to his knees, exhausted.
Goro let out a breath he'd clearly been holding. "Good. You're learning."
Hiroto laughed weakly. "Doesn't feel like it."
Tsukiyo studied him closely. "You are learning faster than you realize. That is what frightens me."
Hiroto looked up. "Why?"
"Because rapid growth draws attention," she said. "And because the Shadowforge has stages."
Goro frowned. "Stages?"
"Yes," Tsukiyo said. "Awakening is only the first. After that come Shaping, Binding, and Domain."
Hiroto felt his stomach drop. "Domain?"
Tsukiyo nodded. "A space where your shadow obeys only you. Where reality bends to your will."
Goro muttered, "And where people start calling you a monster."
Hiroto swallowed. "And if I don't learn control?"
"Then the shadow will shape you," Tsukiyo said.
Silence fell again.
After a moment, Hiroto spoke quietly. "Why tell me all this now?"
Tsukiyo's silver eyes sharpened. "Because you must choose."
"Choose what?"
She stood. "Whether you will continue to run… or walk the path your blood demands."
Goro crossed his arms. "Translation: hiding forever isn't an option."
Hiroto glanced toward Yui, still stacking stones, unaware of the weight pressing down on her brother's world.
"If I walk this path," Hiroto said slowly, "will she be safe?"
Tsukiyo did not answer immediately.
Then she said, "She will be safer if you are strong."
That was enough.
Hiroto rose to his feet.
"Then I'll walk it," he said. "Not for bloodlines. Not for destiny. But so no one can ever take everything from us again."
The shadow at his feet rippled once then settled, almost approving.
Tsukiyo nodded deeply. "Very well."
Goro smirked. "Looks like you just volunteered for hell."
Hiroto met his gaze. "You're coming with me."
Goro laughed. "Kid, I was coming whether you asked or not."
Tsukiyo raised a hand. "Then we must prepare quickly. Scouts will come soon human and otherwise."
Hiroto frowned. "Scouts?"
Tsukiyo's gaze turned toward the mountains beyond the shrine. "The Black Daimyo does not hunt blindly. He sends eyes first."
As if summoned by her words, a chill swept through the hall.
The paper charms on the walls fluttered.
Goro's hand went to his sword. "You felt that too?"
Tsukiyo nodded. "A watcher crossed the boundary."
Hiroto's shadow stretched thin pointing toward the far forest.
His heart began to pound.
Tsukiyo's voice was calm but urgent. "Hiroto. This will be your first true test."
He looked at her. "What kind?"
She met his gaze without flinching.
"Not of strength," she said. "But of restraint."
Outside, somewhere beyond the trees, something unseen moved.
And it was watching him.