Aiko stood frozen, the vision still clinging to the edges of her consciousness. The presence of her ancestor had not faded. It lingered, watching, waiting.
But only she could see them.
Ryou's grip on her arms was firm, his voice low and urgent. "Aiko, what's happening? Who are you talking to?"
She barely heard him. Her ancestor's gaze bore into her, their robes shifting like mist in the dim glow of the shrine ruins. "The time has come," they murmured, "to see if you are strong enough to do what must be done."
Aiko's pulse roared in her ears. "You think I'll continue this cycle? That I'll let it go on?"
Her ancestor's expression was unreadable. "You speak of breaking fate, but fate is not a thing so easily shattered. It was not made by you. You cannot end what you do not understand."
Aiko clenched her fists. "Then explain it to me."
Her ancestor took a step closer, and though they had no shadow, their presence swallowed the light around them. "The Kyūbi's power was never meant to be whole. You and the one beside you… You were always destined to find each other, but not to stay together. That is the price of balance."
"No," Aiko hissed. "That's the price you decided."
Ryou shifted beside her, his concern bleeding into the bond between them. "Aiko, you're scaring me. Who are you talking to?"
She turned to him, heart hammering, but before she could speak, her ancestor's voice curled through her mind like smoke. He will never see what you see.
Panic flickered through her. "Ryou, you have to—"
He reached for her hand, and the moment his fingers closed around hers, the world shattered.
A rush of energy burst around them, and suddenly Ryou stiffened. His breath caught, and his fingers tightened around hers as if he had been pulled into something unseen. His dark eyes widened as the color drained from his face.
He could see them now.
The ancestor regarded him for a long moment before speaking. "Ah. The lost half. The burdened soul." Their voice was quiet, almost… pitying. "You were never meant to remember."
Ryou's jaw tightened. "Then why do I?"
The ancestor inclined their head slightly, as though amused. "Because she defied the cycle. Because you let her."
Aiko stepped between them, her power flaring in her veins. "Enough of this. If you want to keep us apart, why? What do you gain from this suffering?"
Her ancestor studied her, then, with something almost like regret. "Balance, child. The same balance the gods themselves fear to disrupt."
Aiko's body trembled with fury. "Then I will break your balance."
The shrine around them seemed to exhale, the very air bending under the weight of the confrontation. The ancestor extended a hand, the energy of the cycle pulsing at their fingertips. "Then show me, descendant of the Kyūbi. Show me if you are strong enough to do what no other has done."
The challenge was clear.
Aiko took a deep breath, grounding herself. She felt Ryou's presence beside her, steady and unyielding.
This was it.
The end of the cycle had begun.