Shion turned toward the voice and saw an old man in an black hoodie holding a bottle of wine.
"No, thanks. " he said, looking at the man with caution.
The man laughed lightly, and he lowered the bottle to his side. "May I ask what's troubling you, boy?"
Shion walked to a nearby bench and sat. "I…" he hesitated. "...didn't qualify for Zenkai Academy."
"That so..." The man took a drag from his bottle.
"I trained out for years and it still wasn't enough!"
The man agreed with him and sat himself on the other end of the bench. "Talent's never fair, the ones who shine get noticed and the others are left to fade away."
"Sounds like you know the feeling." Shion gave a half smile.
"I do." The man turned the wine around in his bottle. "Did it hurt? Hearing them call other names while yours never came?"
Shion kept silent.
The man took another sip. "You know what the worst part is? I bet they've already moved on. Right now, they're probably celebrating the ones who made it. Your name won't cross their minds."
Shion pulled his head up sharply. "Why are you telling me this?"
"Because it's the truth..." The man gave a small shrug. "And also, it does not have to be that way."
"What are you talking about?"
"There are different ways, " the man declared as he got up.
"Ways that are not for their rankings or rules. Places where strength is not handed to you, you take it!"
Shion got up slowly, taking three steps back. "W-who are you?"
"It doesn't matter who I am, " the man came a step closer. "That anger that you are feeling right now... you can either leave it with you until it consumes you, or you can take action against it."
Shion lowered his head, the man's words ringing true to him, "I am angry, I admit... but to make up for my lack of power I must train- "
"Train?" The man grinned. "You think the ones at Zenkai earned their power through discipline and honor? They just picked chains that looked respectable."
"I am giving you a choice, " the man said in a low voice. "Stop settling for scraps!"
"I don't- " Shion's refusal was cut short by the trembling of the earth beneath them.
A wave tore through the air by the alley wall. The colors changed into shadow and swirled erratically.
"W-what is that?"
The man looked at the distortion. "A door." He moved toward it, shadows crawling up his coat. "Between what you are and what you could be."
He glanced back over his shoulder. "Come with me, Shion."
Shion took a step back. "How do you know my—"
"Do you want to remain as you are? Or do you want power?" The man extended his hand.
Shion stared at that outstretched hand. Every instinct screamed trap. He'd read enough stories to know how this went. The mysterious stranger and the impossible offer. People who followed never came back the same. Sometimes they didn't even come back at all!
But what if this one was different?
What if?
Another memory surfaced: Kairo's arm around Takumi's shoulders as they walked away from the announcement board. They turned to look at him, their expressions showing pity mixed with relief that they had made it and he hadn't. Then they kept walking, already talking about dormitory assignments, about which instructors they hoped to train under.
Next year.
He'd already trained for years. Pushed himself until his hands bled, until he collapsed in empty fields with no one watching. And it hadn't been enough. It would never be enough, not the way he was now.
The distortion pulsed, sending ripples of shadow across the alley walls.
Shion's hand trembled at his side. This was insane. He knew it was insane.
But staying here, spending another year grinding through the same exercises, seeing that same pity in people's eyes.
He thought of his father, who'd never made it anywhere either. Who worked the same job, wore the same resignation. Was that his future? Thirty years from now, would he be the one telling some desperate kid that "talent's never fair"?
"I..." The word barely made it out.
The man waited, hand still extended.
Shion closed his eyes and took a deep breath
When he opened them, his hand was already moving.
As soon as they touched, the void that separated them disappeared folding in on itself.
The man's voice was all around him as the light enveloped everything.
"Good... don't look back, failure is only failure if you accept it."
The alley fell silent once the light vanished.
Moments later, two guards walked past the old alley, they were talking in a lazy manner about nothing in particular, when the sound of a sharp, muffled, and thrum interrupted the air.
Both of them stopped instantly, exchanging a look.
"Did you hear that?" one asked cautiously.
Both of them stepped into the alley, and while they looked around the walls and corners, their boots made noise by hitting the water in the shallow puddles. But nothing was there. Only the drifting fog remained.
The first guard rubbed his chin.
"I could have sworn I sensed something, It was definitely right here!"
The second guard nodded slowly.
"Yeah… I felt it too."
He glanced around one more time, just to confirm.
"…Whatever it was, it's gone now."
An uncomfortable silence settled between them.
The first guard exhaled and dropped his hand over his shoulder with a shrug.
"Ah, forget it. Probably just my mind playing tricks on me. Now come on. Let's get that beer."
The second guard's words were accompanied by a chuckle.
"Good. I was starting to think you'd ditch me like last time."
Their voices faded as they headed back toward the main street, neither of them questioning it any further.
- - -
Several days passed.
The infirmary door opened with a slight creak. Itsuki came out of the room, his mother's hand poised above his elbow.
"Be careful."
"I'm good, Mom." Itsuki's voice came out steadier than he expected.
Kaito Naoya was visible for a few steps, and his head was held high. He came along with Nina two days ago and has spent most of his time restless and walking back and forth through the infirmary waiting room.
The outdoor streets were quiet compared to the usual. Most of the families had already gone back to their homes for the evening meal. Smoke was rising from the chimneys, carrying the aroma of roasted vegetables and rice.
When they got home, Itsuki went straight upstairs. His room looked exactly how he left it, his bed was unmade, his training gear lying all over the floor.
He took out his traveling bag from the closet and started to sort out his stuff: Training clothes, his katana wrapped carefully in cloth, a few personal items—he packed them all without much thought.
Zip…!
He zipped up his bag and put it over his shoulder. His parents were waiting downstairs by the door. Nina, without uttering a single word, handed over something wrapped in cloth to his hands.
Before opening it, he already knew what it was. Honey cakes!
"Thank you."
Kaito gripped his shoulder once, "Don't do anything stupid."
Itsuki let out a small smile. "I won't."
He stepped outside, closing the door behind him with a soft click.
…
Evernight Road lay empty under the moon. Itsuki's footsteps rang against the stone pavement as he made his way toward the meeting point.
There were two figures waiting under the light of a lamppost.
Takumi saw him first and straightened. "About time."
Kairo pushed himself off the post. "I was about to come get you, lazy bas!"
Itsuki stopped in front of them, adjusting the pack on his shoulder. His eyes scanned the road behind them.
"Where's Shion?"
Takumi's expression dropped. "We checked everywhere. His spots for training, the market… nothing."
"His father said he's probably off training somewhere," Kairo said. "Didn't seem too concerned about it."
He couldn't even see us off… Itsuki exhaled slowly. The thought was heavy on his chest. Shion was in pain and he has decided to hide it from them.
"He is going to come back, " Takumi said but it seemed to be more of a talk to himself than a declaration of fact. "He will be the first one to listen to our stories when we are back and then he will share his with us."
Itsuki remained silent.
Creak! Creak!
The sound of dismantled wheels interrupted the silence.
A carriage approached, drawn by two horses that were blowing steam into the chilly night air. The driver was sitting hunched on his bench, holding the reins loosely between his worn fingers.
The carriage came to a halt in front of them.
"This is it?" Takumi questioned.
"Only one that's scheduled tonight," Kairo said, already moving toward the door.
They entered one after another, welcomed by the smell of old leather and polished wood. There were cushioned seats facing each other with curtains drawn beside the windows.
Itsuki sat at the window and peered out to Evernight Road one last time.
Tch! Tch!
The driver clicked his tongue. The carriage lurched forward, and Itsuki braced against the seat. Through the window, Mythara's buildings began to slide past, growing smaller with each passing moment.