The air hung heavy with the presence of poltergeists. Cold. Watching. Restless. Jin stood a few paces ahead, his katana resting on his shoulder like it weighed nothing. The glow along its edge had dimmed, but the tension between us had not.
Miranda finally broke the silence.
"All right, Samurai Jack. Spill. Who the hell is Malik—and why do you carry the energy of someone stuck between realms?"
Jin didn't turn. His voice was even, but edged like a drawn blade.
"I can't tell you anything about Malik."
I drifted closer, arms folded. "Why not?"
His eyes flicked to me, briefly—dark, unreadable. "Because he brought me back after I died. And even if he hadn't… I still wouldn't betray him."
Miranda scoffed, folding her arms. "Sounds like your classic manipulative cult leader. What makes him so special?"
This time, Jin turned fully. His face was grim, but something flickered beneath it.
"He pulled me from the void," he said. "From what comes after death. Gave me purpose when all I had was pain. I don't expect you to understand that."
Miranda blinked. "So, he brought you back? Like resurrection?"
"Alive. Breathing. Dangerous," Jin said simply. "Malik makes deals. He gave me a reason to keep existing."
I frowned. "And you're just okay with that?"
His voice softened—but not in a kind way.
"You don't have to be okay with something… to be loyal to it."
Before we could press him further, his head tilted slightly. He raised the orb in his hand, the way a priest might raise a relic. A faint cyan glow pulsed from within.
The Grave Orb. Not a new object—just refined. This was the orb. The one that had carried Yuki whisper. The one tuned for a single purpose.
And it was humming again.
The red moonlight bled through the trees, barely illuminating the twisting paths between headstones.
That's when we saw her.
A young spirit sat curled in the grass, clutching something tight to her chest. Her translucent form flickered—half there, half gone—like a bad memory trying to forget itself.
"She's a spirit," I whispered.
Jin stepped forward, his voice unusually gentle. "Who are you?"
She looked up, startled. Her voice trembled. "I… I don't know. I don't remember."
Miranda knelt beside her. "We're not here to hurt you. What are you holding?"
The girl hesitated, then slowly opened her hands. A locket. Tarnished and old—but still glowing faintly. Inside it… a picture of Jin.
His expression hardened. He knelt down.
"That's not yours," he said softly.
"I found it," she cried. "It called to me. I don't want to disappear!"
"It's a tether," Jin said. "A tool used to bind souls. If you keep holding it… you'll never move on."
Her grip tightened.
"I'm afraid."
Jin reached out slowly. "You won't fade. I promise. But you have to trust me."
She stared at him, trembling, then finally let it go.
Jin took the locket carefully. The orb pulsed in his other hand. His katana glowed slightly.
"You did well," he said. "Your son is safe. He's living in Colorado. Just got accepted to Stanford."
The spirit gasped. Her form lit up with peace and gratitude. "Thank you… I had him so young. I thought I'd ruined his life…"
She dissolved into the light.
We stood in silence.
Jin pocketed the locket and turned, heading toward the hill.
Miranda and I followed—but she leaned in and whispered to me, "How the hell did he know about the kid?"
I didn't answer.
Because deep down, I wasn't sure I wanted to know.
At the top of the hill, a woman waited—still, blank-eyed, her body seemingly alive… but hollow.
Jin walked to her slowly, reverently.
Then, without hesitation, he plunged his hand into her chest.
Miranda flinched. I gasped.
He pulled out her heart—still glowing faintly—and raised the Grave Orb in his other hand. The cyan light pulsed, then surged, and the orb drew the heart toward it, fusing like molten spiritsteel.
"What are you doing?!" I cried.
Jin didn't respond. His expression was unreadable.
He pulled out his phone. Dialed. Waited.
Then handed the phone to Miranda.
She answered.
And went pale.
"I understand," she said finally, her voice dry, before handing it back.
"He said we have 320 seconds."
She turned to Jin, fists clenched. "I thought we were working together."
"Malik predicted this," Jin said. "Every word. Every choice. I've earned decades of his trust. And you've earned none."
He drew the heart orb—now glowing brighter—and pressed it into the woman's chest. The light flared, swallowing her briefly. She stirred.
Then stopped.
Jin's face darkened.
And he plunged his hand back in.
Again.
"Are you insane?!" I yelled.
His hands worked quickly, mechanically—fusing the orb and the newly restructured heart. She spasmed. Collapsed.
A second passed.
Then her eyes flew open.
"Dammit, Hojin," she groaned, clutching her chest. "You could've warned me. I still feel your fingers in my ribs."
Then she looked at him.
And smiled.
He laughed—quiet, rare, but real.
"You're here," he whispered.
Then he pulled her into him.
And she melted into the embrace.
Like she'd been waiting to come home, this only made me miss the embrace of Henry the way the warmth drew into me.
At that moment… I saw her.
Not just a woman.
Not just a soul returned.
But something older. Wilder.
Her spirit shimmered behind her—tails, like ribbons of flame, dancing behind her like moonlight in motion. Her eyes sparkled with cyan foxfire. Her form rippled with layered energy. Spirit and flesh in perfect harmony.
I read somewhere that she was called a Kitsune.
I stared, awestruck.
She turned to me. Saw the recognition in my eyes.
And winked.
Then everything went to hell.
Graves exploded.
Spirits burst from the earth, entering bodies like moths slamming into lanterns. Rotting hands clawed from cracked tombs. Corpses reanimated with wild, erratic movement—hosted by the wrong spirits. Wrong energies.
The Veil had pockets opening letting out a gush of sprirts.
Zombies.
Dozens.
"Jin!" Yuki cried out.
He didn't even nod.
His sword exploded to life in a streak of red light.
In a single motion, he stepped forward.
And the world caught up a moment too late.
Zombies stood.
Then fell apart.
Their torsos slid cleanly in half before their minds even registered pain.
He sheathed his katana without a sound.
Yuki let out a sharp whistle. "Still fast."
"Still beautiful," he said.
He turned to us.
"Let's go. I'm not in the mood for another fight tonight."
Yuki looked at us over her shoulder, her tails curling around her like smoke.
"Hi," she said sweetly. "I'm Yuki. Hope we cross paths …soon sister."
And in a flicker of wind and moonlight, she was gone.
Jin vanished with her.
Leaving only silence.
And then—
A soft flare of white-gold energy.
Another figure stepped into the moonlight.
Cloaked.
Eyes glowing.
Voice low and furious.
"What the hell are you two doing in a graveyard?"
Anhur.