The bells did not ring like warnings.
They rang like accusations.
Deep, resonant tones rolled across Kanezawa, overlapping and clashing as different temples took up the cry. Lanterns flared to life across the city, casting long, jittering shadows that stretched and tangled along walls and streets.
Hiroto felt it immediately.
The shadows were being pulled.
He rose from his futon in one smooth motion, already alert. Outside, the estate's inner courtyard filled with hurried footsteps guards shouting orders, servants retreating indoors, steel scraping against stone.
Goro was at his side in seconds, sword already in hand. "That's not a drill."
Yui appeared in the doorway, rubbing sleep from her eyes. "Brother?"
Hiroto knelt instantly. "Stay here. Lock the door. Don't open it for anyone but me."
Her lip trembled. "Something bad is happening."
"Yes," he said gently. "But I'll come back."
She nodded, trusting him again.
That trust burned.
The First Fracture
They moved fast through the corridors as Masanori's estate erupted into controlled chaos. Ward-lanterns glowed brighter as they passed, protective sigils activating in layers.
Masanori himself stood in the central hall, calm amid the storm, speaking rapidly with armored officials.
"You felt it," Hiroto said, not a question.
Masanori turned, eyes sharp. "Yes. A resonance pulse from beneath the city."
"You said no one would touch the seal," Hiroto said coldly.
"I said we wouldn't," Masanori replied. "That does not account for ambition."
A distant boom echoed through the stone low, heavy, unmistakable.
Goro swore. "That sounded underground."
Masanori nodded. "House Saionji."
Hiroto frowned. "Another clan?"
"A powerful one," Masanori said. "And impatient."
Hiroto clenched his fists. "They're trying to control it."
"They are trying to claim it," Masanori corrected. "There is a difference."
Another tremor rolled through the city. Somewhere, a building collapsed stone grinding against stone, screams rising briefly before being swallowed by distance.
Hiroto felt the Sentinel stir faintly, strained.
"They're hurting it," Hiroto said.
Masanori studied him. "You can tell?"
"Yes," Hiroto said. "And if they keep forcing it"
"The seal will rupture," Masanori finished. "Or worse."
Goro shifted his stance. "So what's the plan?"
Masanori looked at Hiroto. "We stop them."
Into the Underway
They descended again, this time not as fugitives, but as a sanctioned strike.
City guards led the way through sealed passages, breaking open forgotten doors and old warded locks. The deeper they went, the heavier the air became, thick with spiritual pressure.
Hiroto's shadow stretched unnaturally long, responding to a pull he could not ignore.
"They've activated a conduit," Hiroto said, breath tight.
Masanori frowned. "How do you know?"
"I can feel it," Hiroto replied. "They're not sealing the Gate. They're siphoning it."
"That's madness," Goro muttered. "You don't siphon shadows. They push back."
They reached a vast underground chamber larger than the first, carved with layered sigils and half-collapsed tunnels branching off like veins.
At the center stood a ritual platform.
Around it, Saionji clan enforcers formed a defensive ring, blades drawn, armor etched with glowing runes. And at the heart of the platform.
A man in white ceremonial robes.
His hands were raised, chanting softly, blood dripping from his palms into a basin of blackened stone.
The shadows screamed.
Hiroto staggered. "Stop him!"
The man turned calmly.
"Ah," he said. "The boy arrives."
His eyes gleamed with fanatical interest. "You feel it too, don't you? The power beneath us."
Masanori stepped forward. "Lord Saionji Takeru. You violate Council law."
Takeru smiled. "Law bends to necessity."
He spread his arms wider.
The basin flared.
A wave of shadow surged outward, knocking guards off their feet.
Hiroto dropped to one knee, gasping.
The Sentinel's voice echoed faintly, strained.
"Warden's blood… the seal weakens."
Goro roared and charged, cutting down the first line of enforcers. Steel rang violently as battle erupted.
Masanori barked orders, guards surging forward.
But Hiroto could barely hear them.
The shadows were begging.
The Second Command
Hiroto stood.
"No," he said, not loudly, but with weight.
The shadows hesitated.
Takeru's smile faltered. "Interesting."
Hiroto stepped onto the ritual platform.
Goro shouted, "Kid don't!"
Hiroto didn't stop.
"Get off that circle!" Takeru barked.
Hiroto raised his hand, not toward Takeru.
Toward the shadows.
"Enough," he said.
The chant faltered.
The basin cracked.
Takeru staggered. "You think you command this power?"
Hiroto met his gaze, eyes burning with resolve. "I command responsibility."
The Sentinel answered.
Not fully.
Just enough.
The shadows reversed.
They surged inward, collapsing toward the platform, ripping free from the conduits and slamming back into the seal like a tide returning to the sea.
The chamber screamed.
Takeru cried out as the backlash tore through his ritual, flinging him backward. He hit the stone hard, blood spraying.
The enforcers froze in terror.
The seal stabilized.
Barely.
Hiroto collapsed, breath ragged.
Goro caught him before he hit the ground. "You did it."
"No," Hiroto whispered. "I delayed it."
Masanori stared at the ruined ritual, face pale. "This will have consequences."
Takeru laughed weakly from the floor. "You've just declared yourself."
Hiroto looked at him. "To whom?"
Takeru's eyes gleamed. "Everyone."
Aftermath
They emerged hours later.
Kanezawa was shaken but standing.
Buildings cracked. People afraid. Rumors spreading faster than fire.
Hiroto stood on a balcony overlooking the city, exhaustion heavy in his bones.
Masanori joined him. "You saved Kanezawa."
"For now," Hiroto said.
Masanori nodded. "The Council will debate this for years."
"And the clans?" Hiroto asked.
"They will not wait," Masanori said. "They will come for you."
Hiroto looked down at the city.
He wasn't running anymore.
But he wasn't free either.
Behind him, Goro leaned against the railing. "Kid… you just rang bells people don't ignore."
Hiroto's shadow lay long and steady at his feet.
"Good," Hiroto said quietly. "Let them hear."
Because if the world was going to hunt him
Then it would have to face him.