EPISODE 9 — The Whisper Beneath the Skin
Renji woke up to darkness.
Not the peaceful kind that comes before sleep…
but a heavy, breathing darkness that felt like it was alive.
A faint blue glow leaked from the cracks in the old wooden ceiling above him. Each flicker of light matched the pulse beating from the kanji on his chest — 恐 — dim, unstable, and trembling like a trapped heart trying to break free.
His vision blurred for a moment.
Then came the voice.
"You ran again… little vessel."
Renji jerked upward, clutching his chest. The voice didn't echo in the room — it echoed inside him. The God of Fear's presence felt closer, louder, almost sitting beside him in his own mind.
"This isn't… this isn't normal," Renji whispered, breathing fast. "You're not supposed to be this awake yet."
A low, amused rumble echoed inside him.
"The seal is thinning. You felt it during the battle, didn't you?"
Renji's throat tightened.
He remembered everything — the hunters, the shadows, the panic. The way his body moved without permission. The way the fear mist wrapped around him like it had a will of its own.
"Don't pretend you saved me," Renji muttered. "You nearly killed everyone there."
"And?"
The voice didn't ask with malice. It asked like someone genuinely curious why he should care.
---
A rustle came from somewhere nearby.
Renji's eyes adjusted, and he realized where he was —
a small old shrine room. Dusty tatami mats. Prayer beads. Incense ash. He recognized it vaguely… a shrine at the edge of his town. A place people rarely visited.
Someone must have dragged him here.
The sliding door opened gently.
Aya stepped inside.
Her short hair was messy, her uniform ripped, and her hands full of talismans. She looked like she had fought her way through a rainstorm and three monsters.
"You're finally awake," she sighed in relief. "You almost died, idiot."
Renji blinked. "…Aya? You did this?"
"Not alone. Miyako helped too. You passed out on the rooftop. The hunters were swarming the area. We had to hide you somewhere spiritual — this was the closest place we could drag your unconscious body."
Renji swallowed hard.
He never asked for anyone to protect him, but here they were… doing it anyway.
Aya knelt beside him. Her expression hardened.
"What happened out there? Your eyes changed. The air froze. Renji… it felt like someone else was using your body."
Renji lowered his gaze.
"…Because someone was."
A long silence settled between them.
---
Before Aya could respond, the shrine walls trembled.
Not physically — spiritually.
A wave of cold pressure swept through the room, making every candle burn a sharp, unnatural blue.
Aya stiffened. "W-What is that?"
Renji knew.
Another vessel.
And this one was strong.
A second presence entered the shrine grounds — heavy like thunder, sharp like metal. Even the God of Fear inside Renji stirred with mild irritation.
"Tch. That one… I remember its scent. A child of divinity that should have died long ago."
Renji stood shakily. "You know them?"
"A fragment. A vessel who carries the God of Judgement. And they are coming straight toward you."
Aya grabbed Renji's arm. "We need to run—"
The shrine door burst open.
Cold moonlight spilled across the room.
A figure stood at the entrance — calm, expressionless, wrapped in white spiritual bindings that glowed with golden cracks.
Their eyes were pure silver.
"Vessel of Fear," the stranger said softly. "You are ordered to come with me."
Renji felt the mark on his chest burn.
Aya stepped in front of him instinctively.
"No," she said. "You're not taking him."
The silver-eyed vessel studied her like she was an insignificant obstacle.
Then spoke, voice emotionless:
"Interference will be punished."
Behind Renji's ribs, the God of Fear shifted with slow, wicked amusement.
"Let's see what judgement looks like… when it crumbles."
Black mist gathered around Renji's shoulders like wings unfolding.
Aya braced herself.
The stranger raised a glowing seal.
And the shrine exploded into blinding light.