"Even the faintest light fights to stay alive against the consuming dark."
— Letter from Hotaru no Yakusha
---
The air hung heavy with silence—an oppressive weight that pressed against Shindō's chest.
Before him flickered the last firefly in the jar, its blue glow trembling like a heartbeat struggling against the void.
This fragile light was all that remained of hope—a defiance in the face of an endless night.
---
Yuuki reached out, her pale fingers brushing the jar gently.
"Sometimes," she whispered, "it's not about the flame's strength, but the will to keep burning."
Shindō stared at the flicker, feeling its fragile pulse echo in his own veins.
---
Around them, shadows deepened,
whispers of Hotaru's cult closing in like a tide of inevitability.
The last flicker was not just a light—it was a promise:
that even when all seemed lost, the fight could still rage on.
---
Shindō tightened his grip on his nodachi.
The war was far from over.