The Storm That Learns
The wind howled like a wounded beast.
The shrine was falling apart, piece by piece, tile by tile. One of the support beams collapsed in the back chamber, sending dust clouds rolling into the main hall.
Tsukihana didn't flinch.
She stood in the center of the chaos, barefoot, eyes glowing with pale blue fire. Her hands were open at her sides, her breath steady like she'd done this before—even though she hadn't.
Above her, Raikan hovered like a god.
"You're not natural," Tsukihana said, voice thin but clear.
"You're built from stolen veins."
The storm didn't answer with words, but it shifted.
Lightning cracked in a rhythm. Almost like a pulse. A voice trying to be born.
And then—
it spoke.
"I… learn."
"I… burn."
"I… be… come."
Renjiro's Warning
Pinned under half a pillar near the edge of the hall, Renjiro coughed out dust and blood.
His vision blurred, but he could still see her.
Tsukihana.
She was changing again. The marks on her arms moved like ink in water. Her shadow flickered, split into two directions.
"No," he growled. "Not again."
"Don't lose yourself… don't let it take you."
He reached for her, but his hand collapsed before it got even halfway there.
"Tsuki… please…"
Kira Awakens
Kira blinked awake under broken beams and shattered clay jars. Her ribs ached, and her vision swam.
The air was too thick to breathe right.
She crawled out of the rubble, dragging her sword behind her. It scraped across the stone, leaving sparks.
She saw Raikan—huge and twisting, flickering like flame and storm all at once.
And then she saw Tsukihana.
Her friend.
Her fire.
Alone against it.
"Not again," Kira muttered.
"I won't lose another person."
She stood, even if her knees buckled.
She would fight.
Even if it killed her.
The Storm Speaks
Raikan lowered its center down toward Tsukihana, lightning stretching like claws.
"Ashborn… teach me… flame."
"Give me… your burn."
Tsukihana's hair whipped wildly in the storm's pull. Her eyes narrowed.
"You want the fire?"
"Then take it."
She raised her arms—and the markings along her body flared. Fire poured out, not as an attack… but as an offering.
Raikan struck.
The lightning slammed into her chest—
and instead of burning—
it connected.
The energy swirled, mixed. Tsukihana cried out as the two forces collided inside her.
Not against each other.
But with each other.
"You… accept?" the storm whispered.
"Why… not fight?"
"Because I'm tired of destroying everything," she said.
"Maybe… maybe I can teach you another way."
The storm paused.
And it learned.
Renjiro's Choice
Renjiro felt it.
The storm's anger was shifting. Its hunger was turning into curiosity.
But so was Tsukihana's flame.
Her fire—the wild, cursed thing they were all afraid of—it wasn't fighting anymore. It was… fusing.
Renjiro's thoughts raced.
"Is this what Master Senzoku meant? That she could change the flame?"
But deep inside, he still had doubt.
If she failed…
If the fusion broke…
Everything would burn.
Kira's Strike
But Kira didn't see the fusion. She didn't hear the whispers. All she saw was a storm attacking her friend.
And so she ran.
Sword raised, tears on her cheeks, scream in her throat—
"GET AWAY FROM HER!"
She leapt into the air and slashed—
Just as Tsukihana looked up.
Too late.
Kira's sword cut straight into the storm's tendril—
which was now linked to Tsukihana.
And in that moment, everything broke.
Cliffhanger: The Tear in the Sky
The bond shattered.
Raikan screeched.
Lightning blasted outward in all directions. A wave of force knocked Kira across the hall. Tsukihana was thrown back into the altar, hitting it so hard it cracked in half.
Raikan split into two storms.
And the sky above tore open.
A glowing crack, wide like a wound, appeared in the clouds.
And through it—
A single black feather fell.
Followed by a whisper.
"The Hollow King knows."
"She tried to merge with my creation."
"Now… she must be broken."