Far away.
Ren Hajime walks.
A narrow path stretches endlessly ahead, cutting through fields of tall grass and low shrubs. Under the morning sun, everything glows golden, almost unreal like the world itself has softened in his presence.
Each step he takes is soundless. The wind moves… but never against him.
His expression remains calm, untouched.
His thoughts drift, "…I told them to return before dawn.
…Matsunaga-kun… I hope you didn't cause trouble this time."
His long ponytail sways gently with each step, catching threads of sunlight. For a fleeting moment, it almost feels as if the light is following him… not the other way around.
Meanwhile,
Far away from that quiet path, Kasumi lies collapsed against the earth. Blood spreads beneath him, dark, heavy.
His fingers twitch faintly. His breathing is uneven, shallow.
The air here feels different, heavier, colder.
Jigen walks away.
No hesitation, no glance back.
Each step echoes, as if the ground itself resents being touched. The distance between them grows.
Kasumi's vision flickers.
The sky above him dissolves into fragments of pale light… then into nothing.
His senses collapse inward.
———————————————————————
6 Years Ago.
Golden light rests upon the earth.
A quiet road stretches into the distance, unmoving. The air is still. No wind. No sound. No birds. No footsteps.
Only Kasumi. He was eight years old at that time.
He sits alone on the wooden bench, his small figure bathed in sunlight. His eyes, distant, dream-like. As if he's already halfway gone from this place.
His fingers curl slightly. "…Should I… really do it…?"
Silence.
"…I don't know…"
His voice trembles, barely existing.
"…I don't want to live… Maybe… I should give him my life…"
Then, someone is sitting beside him.
No footsteps, no arrival, just presence.
Kasumi's body stiffens.
Slowly… very slowly… he turns his head.
"…W-When did he come…?"
An old man sits beside him.
His hair is long, white, untamed, falls like drifting threads of winter. His beard flows over his chest, untouched by the wind that does not exist here.
His clothes are simple, worn, like forgotten by time. Yet nothing about him feels ordinary.
He does not look at Kasumi. He does not move.
Without turning, the old man speaks. His voice is calm, warm, ancient in a way that cannot be measured.
"Don't worry… kid."
His calm words settle. Kasumi's fear falters.
Kasumi can feel his presence, too calm, too warm. Kasumi tries to look at his face—
Warm. Peaceful. His eyes are calm.
The old man asks. "Where are you going…?"
Kasumi swallows. "…I-I don't know… I just… sit here…"
Silence. Longer this time.
Then, the old man spoke again. Softer but heavier.
"You're wrong."
Kasumi flinches. His heart skips.
The old man continues, unchanged. "You don't understand… how precious your life is… Don't let it be in vain."
The words land deeper than they should.
Kasumi's eyes widened. "B-But… how do you know?!"
No answer.
The old man slowly rises.
Kasumi instinctively reaches forward, but stops. Something tells him not to.
Before leaving, the old man speaks once more without turning.
"Kid…
Stay away from him."
The air tightens.
Kasumi's voice trembles. "Stay away…? From who…?"
The old man turns, just slightly.
"That man does not belong to humans… It is too dangerous… to even come close to him."
Another pause.
"Don't trust that man blindly… Remember… what your elders say."
And suddenly—
Eliza's voice overlaps that once she said.
Soft. Feminine. Distant.
"Matsunaga-kun… Don't stay for a moment longer with him. Wait… till I arrive."
The two voices blend, then separate.
Kasumi freezes. His mind struggles to keep up.
The old man walks away, slowly, quietly.
Kasumi watches him go. Unable to move, unable to think.
…How does he know…? Wait… I've seen him before…
At night.
A mountain swallowed in silence.
The forest stands still, too still. Even the wind seems to hesitate between the trees.
Kasumi walks alone, his steps slow, uncertain.
Should I… really do that…?
The old man's voice echoes again.
"Don't trust that man blindly."
Again. And again.
Like something trying to break through his thoughts.
Kasumi stops.
Ahead of him, on a fractured piece of wood, resting like a forgotten throne, someone sits—
Jigen.
Not waiting. Not hiding. Just there.
Tall. Draped in black. Hair like a spill of night itself. Skin pale as moonlight. Crimson eyes unfocused, as if looking through the world rather than at it.
In his hand, a piece of wood. He carves it slowly. Each movement is precise… almost reverent. As if the act itself matters more than the result.
Kasumi hesitates. "I… I'm back…"
Jigen's hand stops.
For a brief moment, the world holds its breath. Then—
crack.
The sculpture is crushed in his palm, reduced to nothing. Effortless. Meaningless.
Jigen lifts his gaze. His face is calm, expressionless.
"So… you've reached a decision."
Kasumi nods slowly.
"I don't want to live…"
No wind. No reaction.
Jigen stands. The moment he rises, the forest feels smaller.
Kasumi looks up.
For the first time, the difference between them feels undeniable. Jigen is too tall for him.
Jigen speaks. "It is irrelevant to me whether you live… or disappear."
A pause.
His gaze rests on Kasumi. "But if you truly wished to die… you would not have returned."
Kasumi flinches.
Jigen continues, his voice almost philosophical, like someone stating a law of the world.
"Those who choose death do not announce it. They vanish quietly… without seeking witness."
Kasumi's thoughts stutter.
Jigen's eyes drift slightly, as if remembering something beyond time.
"You speak of abandoning life… yet you stand here, asking for meaning."
A faint pause.
"That contradiction alone proves… you are not ready to decide."
Kasumi's breath tightens. The old man's voice echoes again—
Don't trust that man blindly.
"I… I don't know…"
His voice trembles. Not from fear, but from confusion.
"I just… hate my life…"
Jigen interrupts, his voice final. "Then I will take it."
Kasumi blinks. "Take… it?"
Jigen looks at him, calm, absolute. "The remainder of your life."
A step forward.
The ground beneath him subtly decays, wood softens, leaves blacken, roots recoil.
"I will take the remaining of your life… And you will have only nine years to live. You will live until you're eighteenth years old. This time is enough to understand what you are attempting to discard."
His tone doesn't change.
"If, by then, you still remain empty… your life will end. But if you decide to live, you can tell me… I will return the remaining lifespan of yours…"
Kasumi lowers his head slightly. "...Understood."
Jigen turns. No farewell, no acknowledgment.
He simply begins to walk, and the world gives way. Wood rots, grass withers, even the air feels thinner where he passes.
Kasumi watches… until Jigen dissolves into the dark between the trees, like he was never truly there to begin with.
————————————————————————
In the present time.
Jigen walks away.
No hesitation. No interest. As if the fight already ended.
Behind him, Kasumi's eyes snap open.
A sharp inhale cuts through the silence. His cyan eyes glow green, leaking out like something breaking free from within.
His fingers dig into the ground. Blood drips from his head. He stands slowly.
Jigen stops.
For the first time, he turns.
Kasumi stands there, spine straight, head slightly lowered. No pain. No expression.
Jigen's gaze lingers. …Why does he feel different?
Kasumi doesn't even understand himself. …Why am I standing? My body… is moving on its own…
His muscles tighten, veins bulge, blood surges violently through his body. His senses sharpen beyond reason.
The air itself feels clearer, closer, slower.
Jigen fully faces him now. Silent. Observing.
"His body is forcing everything out… burning itself as a final option. I can't delay my plan anymore."
They stand apart. A long distance.
In an instant—
The distance disappears.
Jigen is already there.
Mid-air. Spinning—
A tornado kick descends with absolute precision. Then—
BOOM.
Kasumi's head bursts apart. Gone. Finished—
…No.
Kasumi blinks.
His vision snaps back.
Jigen's kick is inches from his face. Time resumes—
Kasumi's body moves before thought.
He slips barely. The kick grazes past him.
Wind pressure alone tears the ground apart behind him.
Jigen's eyes narrow mid-air.
Kasumi stumbles back, breath shaking. "What… was that…?" His heart races. "Did I… just dodge him…?"
Jigen lands silently, then moves again.
Too fast—
A slash cuts through the air. Clean. Invisible.
Kasumi's body splits in half—
—Again.
Vision resets.
Kasumi's eyes widened. He feels it this time. Something is coming…
He jumps—
The invisible slash passes beneath him, carving the ground open like paper.
Kasumi lands, breath unstable. "…Now I get it. I can see it… before it happens…
I don't know how… I feel too exotic..."
Jigen watches closely now.
"He's not reacting… he's moving before the attack exists. It's not like my attacks are slow…"
Jigen's thoughts sharpen.
"Because there are only two who can perceive my attacks like this…
The first one is Yoriichi…"
Jigen vanishes, appears in front of him instantly—
A blade-like strike cuts downward. Kung Fu.
"...and the other one is Kokushibo."
The earth splits. Kasumi shifts, dodges again.
He pivots, Kasumi is already above him.
Descending— Blade flashing—
Kasumi slashes—
Nothing happened.
His blade passes through Jigen like cutting air, like cutting the absence itself.
Kasumi lands, stumbling back, eyes wide.
Jigen speaks, cold, final. "You cannot hurt me… I exist on a different plane than you."
His crimson eyes lock onto Kasumi. "You are only seeing me… because I allow it."
A chill runs through Kasumi's spine. But he exhales. Forces himself to calm down.
Calmness beats rage.
Jigen moves again. He throws a roundhouse kick—
Kasumi dodges. Perfect timing again.
He's reacting before impact… is it intuition…?
Jigen lunges, grabs—
Kasumi sidesteps. But—
Jigen's hand hits the ground. He spins on one arm—
Capoeira.
A devastating kick slices through the air.
Kasumi jumps, barely escapes.
Jigen's eyes sharpen slightly.
"Something is wrong… No human can ever anticipate me… Only Eliza knows what I'm thinking…"
He attacks again, fast, fluid—
Taekkyon, whipping strikes—
Kasumi dodges. Again, again, and again.
His eyes now glow faint white beneath the green aura.
Jigen senses it.
"This isn't the same Kasumi that I know... This feels… divine. Something which is found only in temples…
I want to know more about him… I should not end this too quickly."
Jigen steps in.
Attacks relentlessly.
Muay Thai. Kyokushin. Kung Fu. Taekwondo.
Every movement is lethal. Every strike is absolute.
Kasumi dodges everything, barely. His body begins to fail.
Bones crack. Blood spills from his nose, his eyes. His muscles tear under the pressure.
"Tch…"
His vision shakes.
"I'm pushing too far… My power suddenly increased… I don't understand it… seeing the future… this strength… But one thing is clear…"
His eyes lock onto Jigen.
"…I can't even imagine this devil losing."
Jigen attacks again—
Kasumi dodges, but slower now. Breaking. Burning.
Kasumi's breathing is uneven. Blood runs down his face, but his eyes stay locked on Jigen.
Kasumi's voice comes out steady, cold. "I don't want to talk to you… But after everything… I'll give you one last chance."
His fingers tighten.
"…Why did you do that?"
Jigen doesn't move, doesn't blink.
"Do you still cling to the past…? How pathetic."
Kasumi's jaw tightens.
Jigen continues, voice as cold as ever. "The reason is simple. You are the cause… You trust too easily… Humans cannot be trusted… Not even Ren Hajime."
Jigen takes another step ahead.
"If you were not ignorant… none of it would have happened."
Something inside Kasumi snaps.
"You bastard! I trusted you the most. Even more than Hajime-san… more than anyone."
His teeth clench. "Everyone warned me… and I still chose you."
Jigen moves. No warning.
A strike cuts through the air—
Kasumi barely avoids it.
Jigen's voice follows the attack.
"I never told you to trust me."
Then—
A voice from behind.
"Matsunaga-kun! What are you doing all alone?"
Everything stops. Kasumi's eyes widen. "…No…"
He turns.
Miyuki is walking toward them, concern on her face, completely unaware.
"Hajime-sama will be angry. It's already too late."
"M-Miyuki-san… don't…"
His voice drops, almost pleading.
Jigen turns as well. For the first time, he paused. His eyes slightly widened.
Kasumi's panic rises instantly.
"Miyuki-san! Stop! Don't come any closer… He's here!"
Miyuki slows, her brows furrow. "…Who?"
She looks around, but sees nothing.
But, the air feels wrong, heavy, distorted. Like something unseen is watching.
Jigen begins walking toward her. Unhurried. Inevitable.
…This girl… She shouldn't be here.
Kasumi lunges forward, tries to grab Jigen—
His hand passes through him. Nothing, like trying to hold a shadow.
"Damn it—!"
Kasumi turns, shouting. "He's coming toward you! Please—run!"
Miyuki's expression hardens. She plants her feet, takes her stance.
"I understand." Her voice is steady. "But I won't leave you alone here, Matsunaga-kun."
Her grip tightens. Her eyes burn with resolve.
"He's the one behind everything, isn't he? The reason for your suffering. The reason Hajime-sama suffers."
Her voice sharpens. "I will never forgive him."
Jigen stops. Just a few meters away, looking at her.
She cannot see him, cannot touch him.
This girl… I never thought she would be here…
———————————————————————
6 years ago.
Before dawn.
A narrow valley, buried behind a roadside, where garbage rots in silence. No light reaches properly here.
Among torn bags, rusted metal, and wasted things—
a small girl sits.
Miyuki.
Her body is frail, unnaturally thin. Bones press against her skin. Her clothes hang loose, dirty, barely holding together. Her hair— half white, half black, falls unevenly over her face. Unlike her current self where her hair is completely white.
Unlike her current self, both eyes are still there. Both… too innocent, too alive for a place like this.
Her stomach growls softly. She doesn't react. She's used to it.
Footsteps.
Someone walks past the valley. Not loudly, but the air changes around him.
Jigen.
His hands are stained with blood.
His face, his clothes, splashed with what remains of something that once lived. And yet, he walks as if nothing has happened.
Miyuki turns. She sees him.
She smiles warmly.
Jigen stops. His eyes shift toward her.
…Why is she smiling…? There is nothing here.
Miyuki slowly stands. Her legs tremble. She almost falls, but catches herself.
Then she walks toward him, step by step. Unsteady, but trying.
"S-Sir…" Her voice is soft, weak.
"Do you… have any food…?"
Jigen looks at her carefully.
His eyes narrow slightly.
…She can see me. That means only one thing… She's about to die.
He steps closer, the distance between them closes.
She looks even smaller now. Jigen looks too tall, very tall for her.
From nothing—
his hand produces a bundle of cash.
One million yen.
He holds it out. "I don't know what you eat…"
His voice is flat, unchanged. "If you understand how to use this… buy something for yourself."
Miyuki looks at it. She doesn't take it immediately. Not because she refuses, but because she doesn't fully understand.
Her small hands slowly reach out. They tremble. She takes it.
For a moment, she looks up at him again. And smiles.
"…Thank you…"
Jigen turns. No response, no acknowledgment.
He walks away.
Behind him, the girl clutches the money like it's something fragile. Something important. Something she doesn't fully understand… but doesn't want to lose.
Jigen's thoughts remain steady, unchanged.
There is no point… She will die soon.
A pause.
…That girl… She reminds me of myself…
…I hope she dies quickly.
———————————————————————
Now.
Jigen moves.
No wind-up. No signal. He appears beside Miyuki—
His hand strikes her neck. A precise, controlled blow.
Her eyes roll white.
Her body collapses instantly, her blade slipping from her fingers as she hits the ground.
Kasumi's breath catches. "He didn't… kill her…?"
Jigen turns his head slightly. Cold, unmoved.
"I do not kill anyone before their lifespan ends… That is why you are still alive."
His crimson eyes settle on Kasumi. "No matter what you do… you will die at eighteen."
Kasumi's fists tremble.
Jigen relaxes his stance. His arms loosen, like what comes next requires no effort.
"I have never encountered someone like you."
A step forward. "Someone who sees the future… before being attacked. So I created something… for people like you."
Then, he is gone—
He's already in front of Kasumi, faster than anything.
His leg rises—
A roundhouse kick.
Kasumi's vision sharpens. He sees it. He knows it.
I can dodge this.
But—
Something breaks. The future he saw— shifts.
Jigen's leg twists mid-motion. Trajectory changes.
Too late—
THUD!!!
A Brazilian kick crashes into Kasumi's skull.
The ground explodes.
A crater forms as his head is driven deep into the earth. Blood spreads instantly.
Silence.
Jigen lowers his leg.
"No matter what you do…" His voice is quiet, absolute.
"No matter how much you train… There is a limit to mankind."
Kasumi's body trembles inside the crater. He steps closer.
"A limit they will never surpass… They will never surpass me."
Another step.
"Not you. Not anyone. Not in the past. Not in the future…
Ren Hajime… is the only exception."
Something inside Kasumi snaps. With what little strength he has left, he bites into Jigen's boot. Desperation. Rage.
Tears stream down his face, mixing with blood.
Jigen looks down at him. No anger, no disgust.
"Even if I cannot kill you… I can sever your limbs. And make you suffer in ways worse than death."
Kasumi's eyes widen. Fear finally pierces through.
"But…" Jigen's gaze shifts slightly. "I am not allowed to hurt you that much. There is someone… who would not like that. And besides…"
He looks at Kasumi again.
"You look pathetic."
Kasumi's teeth loosen. He lets go. His body shakes. "That's… cheating…" His voice breaks.
Jigen doesn't respond.
Kasumi lowers his head, his voice turns hollow.
"I couldn't land a single attack… You didn't even let me touch you…
If I could just behead you… maybe I could kill you…"
Jigen replies instantly. "Kill me?"
A pause.
"Go ahead."
Kasumi freezes. "…What?"
"I said… attack."
Jigen stands still, completely open.
"No one has ever killed me… Not even I could do it."
His gaze locks onto Kasumi.
"So I will give you one chance."
Kasumi slowly stands.
His entire body screams in pain, but he ignores it.
His grip tightens, knuckles white, muscles trembling. He inhales deeply. Then, he vanishes—
A single slash. Too fast to see.
His blade strikes Jigen's neck.
A clean hit.
But it stops. Barely cutting through.
Just a few inches.
Jigen doesn't move, doesn't react. Nothing happens.
Kasumi's eyes widen. "…No… I won't let this go to waste—!"
He roars.
For the first time, everything he has, every ounce of strength, every drop of blood—
He pushes. Harder. His Demon Slayer mark spreads. His veins bulge. His body cracks under the pressure.
But the blade stops—
Halfway. It doesn't move further, like reality itself refuses.
Kasumi's strength gives out, his sword slips. He drops to his knees, his eyes tremble.
…No… After everything… I still couldn't do anything…
His breath breaks.
Am I… that weak…?
Jigen's voice cuts through the silence, cold and absolute.
"I thought only Ren Hajime was the reincarnated one…"
He crouches slightly, his crimson gaze locking onto Kasumi.
"Everything you've shown so far… Are you the former Mist Hashira… Muichiro Tokito?"
Kasumi's heart stops. His pupils shrink, breath caught in his throat.
"H-How…?"
Jigen's lips part slightly. "I knew—"
He stops.
No hesitation, no confusion.
Jigen rises. Without another word, he walks past Kasumi, completely ignoring him.
Kasumi's mind spirals. How did he find out…? And why did he just—
He turns, and freezes.
Ren Hajime is walking toward them. No sound announces him. No pressure precedes him.
Yet the world changes.
The wind settles. The air clears. Even the distant noise of life feels like it has stepped back.
Jigen stops.
For the first time, his full attention shifts. His eyes lock onto Ren.
Ren stops as well.
They stand side by side for a brief second. Then turn, facing each other. Same height. Same stillness.
Two existences that do not belong in the same world, yet here they are.
A devil… and something far beyond human.
Jigen speaks first.
"Yoriichi… I was looking for you."
His eyes sharpen.
"Our last battle… was incomplete."
Ren's gaze doesn't waver. His voice is low, calm.
"Why did you lie?"
Jigen's brows narrow slightly. "…What?"
Ren steps forward, just enough for the ground to acknowledge him.
"When we first met… You said you kill without reason… But you don't…
You never do anything unnecessary."
Jigen's expression shifts, barely. A flicker.
"You don't need to know."
Ren's presence deepens. "Then why are you here?"
Jigen answers instantly. "To finish what remains."
A step forward.
"My final mission…" His gaze pierces through Ren. "…is to kill you… Yoriichi Tsugikuni."
The air fractures subtly.
In Jigen's eyes—
The world is different.
Layers unfold. Reality splits into countless streams. He sees everything. Ren's cells. His pulse. His breath. His lifespan— sixty years left. His bones. His blood. Even the outline of his soul, steady, unwavering.
To Jigen, Ren is fully exposed.
But in Ren's eyes—
Jigen isn't there. Absent.
Like something that does not belong to existence itself.
The wind surges now, violent, roaring across the mountain. Their robes whip through the air.
Jigen's long obsidian hair lashes like shadows in motion. Ren's black-maroon strands flow like burning silk.
Jigen speaks again, voice colder than before.
"Even your brother… Kokushibo… couldn't kill me… Will you?"
Silence answers.
Then, the auras emerge.
From Jigen— darkness, crimson aura leaking through it like something bleeding from reality itself.
From Ren— light, pure, white aura, calm, absolute, like something that has already reached its peak.
They stand there. Unmoving. Unshaken. Two truths of the world facing each other.