Ashes of the North
The wind howled like a wounded beast through the scorched trees. Snowflakes fell softly, but they didn't melt. They simply rested on ash. The forest had burned weeks ago, but no one had come to bury the dead roots. No one dared.
Tsukihana Yoru stood alone on the edge of the forest, her scarf fluttering behind her. Her black-and-purple robe was dusty, torn near the sleeves. She tightened her grip on the broken sword strapped to her back. It had no name — just like her past.
Behind her, the old man finally caught up.
"You always walk ahead," Kaien muttered, leaning heavily on his twisted wooden staff. His blindfold covered both eyes, but he never tripped. "You'll leave me to die in a ditch one day."
"You said we'd find something here," Tsukihana said, ignoring his tone.
"And we will."
She glanced back at him. "You're sure this is the place?"
He nodded. "This forest was once called Veinsfall Grove. Long ago, it was sacred ground. Now, it's hollow."
"Hollow…" she echoed. That word made her chest ache. As if something in her blood remembered it.
Kaien didn't answer. He just walked past her, into the dying woods.
They moved through the silence for over an hour, stepping over ash piles and half-burned prayer stones. The deeper they went, the heavier the air became. Not just in cold or smoke… but in presence. Like they were being watched.
Finally, they reached a clearing. In the center stood a half-collapsed shrine made of black stone. Symbols were carved into its frame — spirals within circles, veins twisting like roots. Her breath caught. She'd seen these marks before.
In her dreams.
Kaien placed his palm on the altar. The stone pulsed.
"She is here," he whispered. "Your mother."
Tsukihana's heart skipped. "What?"
Kaien turned to face her. "I told you before — you weren't born in any known province. You were found near this forest. This shrine once belonged to a group that worshiped the Hollow Vein."
"But they were all wiped out, weren't they?"
"Yes. By the Five Provinces together. No one was spared. No survivors… except maybe one."
Tsukihana stepped toward the altar, her hand trembling. The air around it shimmered like heat waves, even though the cold bit through her boots.
Suddenly, the trees groaned. Snow shook loose from the branches. Kaien raised his head sharply.
"They have found us."
Three shadows dropped into the clearing.
They wore black armor with red sashes — and no clan symbols. Their faces were hidden under bone masks. One of them — the tallest — stepped forward and drew a long spear glowing faintly purple.
"Tsukihana Yoru," he say, voice muffled. "You're coming with us."
She didn't ask how they knew her name. She didn't care.
Kaien moved in front of her. "She's under my protection."
"You're blind, old man," the masked warrior said. "You can't protect what you can't see."
Kaien didn't respond.
The man lunged.
Tsukihana reached for her broken sword, heart pounding. But before she could draw it, Kaien moved. His staff hit the ground — hard — and a shockwave cracked the ice beneath their feet. The other two masked enemies were thrown back.
But the tall one twisted midair and slammed his spear into Kaien's shoulder, knocking him down. Blood hit the snow.
"Master!"
Tsukihana ran forward, swinging her sword at the attacker — but he blocked it easily. She staggered back, and the second enemy appeared behind her.
He slashed down with twin daggers.
She raised her sword to parry, but then — her Veins pulsed.
A ripple of energy burst from her arms. Purple lines crawled over her skin like glowing cracks. Her eyes burned.
The man's attack froze mid-swing. His dagger shattered — not from her sword, but from a mirror-like force that erupted from her.
The energy bent, twisted… and then copied his exact move. A flash of speed and force — and his own dagger style was used against him.
Tsukihana didn't understand it.
The enemy flew back, landing hard against a tree.
Kaien groaned from the ground. "Control it, Tsuki…! Don't let it take over!"
But it was too late.
The third enemy, a woman with silver braids, leapt in — slashing in wide arcs with her curved blade. Tsukihana dodged, but her feet slid on the ice.
Then the strange energy pulsed again.
Her arm moved on its own — mimicking the silver-haired woman's style exactly, down to the footwork. Slash, spin, lunge — it was like she had trained for years in the same art.
Her blade connected — and the woman fell back, stunned.
Tsukihana collapsed to her knees, breathing hard.
"What's… happening to me?"
Kaien coughed behind her. "You… copied their Veins. Their fighting styles. That shouldn't be possible."
"But I didn't do it on purpose…"
The tall one rose again, his spear now glowing red. "She's one of them," he growled. "A Mirror Vein."
Kaien forced himself to stand, blood dripping from his cloak. "That's enough," he said. "You won't take her."
"Old fool," the man said. "We already have what we need."
He threw a small dagger directly at Tsukihana.
Kaien stepped in front of her — and took the hit in his stomach.
"NO!"
Tsukihana caught him as he fell. His breathing was shallow. His hand trembled as he pulled a scroll from inside his robes.
"Take this… to the Sky Province," he said. "There's someone there… someone who knew the first Hollow Vein. Someone who never returned…"
His voice cracked.
"Akarui… still lives."
Tsukihana froze. The name felt like thunder in her ears.
Kaien's hand dropped.
The attackers had vanished into the woods.
And in the snow beside her, the scroll trembled with heat — and pulsed with dark energy.