Chapter 31: A Physique Increase X Sabito and Makomo
Hiro Minamino was an ordinary man, a single speck of dust in a world of billions. No one, save for his family, would have ever mourned his passing. But now, there was one more.
Walking through the deep, silent woods of Sagiri Mountain, Roy clutched the single copper coin in his pocket. He opened his system panel and allocated the point of "Life Energy" to his Physique stat.
[Notice...]
[Physique: 10.55 -> 11.55]
A wave of intense, searing heat flooded his body. Steam began to rise from the crown of his head.
Tanjiro, trudging through the deep snow behind him, looked up. For a split second, he saw his brother's frame seem to... expand, his muscles swelling against his clothes. He blinked, rubbing his eyes, and when he looked again, Roy was back to his normal size.
Strange... Am I just seeing things? Maybe I didn't sleep well last night.
He hurried to catch up, his brow furrowed with concern. "You okay, Bro?"
Okay? Far from it. Every cell in his body was screaming. It took every ounce of his willpower just to keep walking.
The instantaneous increase in his physique was forcing his body through years of natural growth in a matter of seconds. Cells were furiously dividing, his bone density was increasing, his blood vessels were thickening, and his muscle fibers were being torn apart and rebuilt at an accelerated rate. It was a deep, cellular agony.
He finally had to stop, leaning against a tall cedar for support.
"Here, drink some water," Tanjiro said, uncapping his flask. Roy took a long swallow, the cool water doing little to quench the internal fire, but it was enough. He patted his brother's back, glanced at the sky, and pushed himself to keep moving.
Sagiri Mountain was famous for its perpetual fog. In the dead of winter, the sub-zero temperatures turned the mist into a clinging, crystalline hoarfrost. Tanjiro's nose was bright red, and he had to keep wiping ice from his eyelashes. He couldn't imagine what kind of person would choose to live in such a desolate place.
"Bro, does anyone really live up here?" he asked, his teeth chattering. "There's no sun, no green things... it's even colder than our mountain."
"Greatness is forged in hardship," Roy said, his gaze sweeping the fog-shrouded woods. His eyes, enhanced by a subtle Gyo, locked onto something high up in the branches of a birch tree.
Two figures, a boy and a girl, sat perched there, their faces hidden behind fox masks.
"Hey, Sabito," the girl whispered, her voice soft as falling snow. "Do you think he saw us?" She was small, dressed in a flower-patterned kimono, her fox mask askew on her head.
"Impossible," the boy replied, his voice calm and steady. He was older, with long, peach-colored hair, wearing a haori patterned with geometric shapes over his white robes. A scar ran down the side of his own fox mask. "No one can see us unless we choose to be seen."
"You're right. Not even Master Urokodaki can," the girl, Makomo, said, her voice tinged with sadness. She had tried so many times, standing right beside her master, watching him eat, sleep, carve his masks... but he never once acknowledged her.
"Don't lose hope, Makomo," the boy, Sabito, said, gently patting her head. "Someone has come seeking his guidance. That's a good sign."
"But... Master doesn't want any more students," she whispered, her green eyes dimming with sorrow. "He's too heartbroken. He doesn't want to see anyone else die because of him. That monster... it's gotten too strong. Even you..."
"Yes," Sabito said, finishing her thought, his voice heavy. "Even I was no match for it." He fell silent, watching as Roy and Tanjiro passed beneath their perch. A moment later, both he and Makomo vanished into the mist.
Roy's hearing, enhanced by his Nen, had caught their whispered words. Pure souls, he thought, crying out from beyond. He adjusted the basket on his back and pulled Tanjiro out of a snowdrift he'd just stumbled into.
As they ventured deeper, the fog began to thin. A sliver of morning light pierced through the canopy, illuminating a small clearing. In the center of the clearing, an old man sat on a tree stump, a Tengu mask covering his face. He was carving another mask, the rhythmic scrape and tap of his tools the only sound in the quiet woods. He didn't look up as they approached, completely absorbed in his work.
"Bro, there's someone there," Tanjiro whispered.
"I see him," Roy replied, holding up a hand to stop his brother from calling out. They would not disturb him.
Roy set down his basket, cleared a patch of snow, and started a small fire. Tanjiro, learning from his brother, filled his flask with clean snow and set it by the fire to melt.
"Why aren't they going in?"
Makomo had reappeared. She now sat on the porch of the small cabin behind the old man, her chin resting in her hands as she watched them with curious eyes. Sabito stood beside her. And behind them, a dozen other figures slowly materialized from the mist, all wearing the same fox masks. They were the ghosts of Urokodaki's fallen students.
Some watched their master carve. Others dozed against the doorframe. One boy, a mischievous glint in his eye, tried to snatch a sparrow out of the air. Another, named Shinsuke, drifted over to Roy and Tanjiro, circling them curiously. He waved a translucent hand in front of Roy's face.
Roy, who was peeling a rice ball, glanced up.
The ghost yelped and stumbled back, nearly falling into the fire.
"Hah! Don't be an idiot, Shinsuke," another ghost laughed. "You really think he can see you?"
"I'm not being an idiot!" Shinsuke shot back, scrambling to his feet. He cautiously waved his hand in front of Roy's face again. This time, Roy didn't react, his attention focused on his food. The ghost let out a sigh of relief. "See, Fukuda? I told you!" he said, and playfully tackled his friend, the two of them wrestling like children in the snow.