The morning sun filtered through the dense forest, casting long beams of light over the dewy grass. Birds sang as if nothing had happened, and yet Hakiru Tenshi could not hear them. The battlefield still screamed in his mind.
He sat alone behind a small cabin that had somehow survived the chaos. His chest ached with every breath, but he barely noticed. All that mattered was the anger, the hollow ache of loss, and the single name that haunted him: Rei.
"You didn't sleep again."
Hakiru flinched at the soft voice. A girl stepped into the clearing, carrying a bowl of warm soup. Her brown hair gleamed in the sunlight, and her eyes held a gentle warmth that seemed impossible in the shadow of his grief.
Lyra.
He said nothing. Words felt heavy, useless.
"You were barely alive," she continued, placing the bowl carefully in front of him. "You kept whispering someone's name… Rei. Who is he?"
Hakiru's jaw tightened. He wanted to speak, but his throat betrayed him. The pain of remembering was too sharp.
"My enemy," he muttered finally, voice low.
Lyra's eyes softened. "Then heal fast. If you want to fight him, you'll need your strength."
Hakiru looked away, staring at the forest beyond the cabin. He spared me… why?
The question lingered in the air. A cold wind brushed his cheek, making the hairs on his arms stand.
From the distance, he heard a faint, almost imperceptible laugh.
Rei… watching. Waiting. Testing.
Hakiru's hand itched, and black streaks appeared in his silver hair. Void energy stirred within him, a dangerous, silent force that could consume everything in its path.
"Stop that," Lyra said sharply, noticing the change. "You'll destroy the cabin, or worse, yourself!"
Hakiru closed his eyes and forced the void back down. His hair returned to silver, though his chest still throbbed with tension.
"I don't have time to be careful," he said softly.
Lyra stepped closer. "You don't have to do this alone. I'll help however I can."
For a moment, something flickered in Hakiru's gaze. Vulnerability. Trust. Something he had not felt in a long time.
Before he could respond, the forest shook violently. Birds erupted into the sky in a flurry of feathers and alarmed cries.
Something was coming.
Not human. Not fully. A monstrous creature emerged from the shadows, pale and twisted, its eyes hollow and glowing faint red.
Lyra gasped. "That… that's a Requiem Beast!"
Hakiru's chest tightened. The aura around the creature matched Rei's energy. It was a warning. A message.
"Lyra… stay back," Hakiru ordered, summoning his sword from the void. The air around the blade shimmered with dark energy, black and blue sparks crackling along its edge.
The beast lunged. Hakiru moved faster than the eye could follow. In a blink, he was behind it, slashing the air itself. The void energy tore through the creature, and it shrieked before collapsing into a pile of dust.
Lyra stared in disbelief. "How… how did you—?"
Hakiru's eyes glowed an eerie blue. "Rei… send more. I'm ready."
The wind whispered again, faint but unmistakable. Good. Fight. Grow.
And Hakiru smiled — a dangerous, determined smile. The path forward was clear. Revenge. Training. Power.
The ashes of yesterday were only the beginning.