That morning, Chibaki took his place once again on the mat set in the grass, sitting cross-legged with his back straight. His yellow eyes shone with a new determination.
He inhaled slowly… then let the bluish glow emerge, gently covering his hand.
Across from him, Genshiro spoke in a calm, measured voice. But every time Chibaki's aura wavered, the master would stop mid-sentence, silently staring at him.
Not a word. Not a breath.
Chibaki would grit his teeth, forcing himself to breathe, to find his center… and only then would Genshiro resume speaking as if nothing had happened.
After a while, the boy let out a frustrated sigh.
— "You're testing my concentration, aren't you?"
A faint smile appeared on the master's lips.
— "Exactly. As long as you are not stable, my words are nothing more than noise. Learn to listen… even within the chaos."
Chibaki swallowed his frustration, then finally asked the question that had been burning on his lips.
— "Then… tell me. How did you get here? What did you go through before coming to my village?"
A silence settled.
Genshiro's dark gaze drifted into the distance for a moment… before he looked away.
— "My past… is of no use to you right now," he replied simply, his tone neutral.
Chibaki frowned.
— "Of no use? But I want to know, Master…"
— "What you need to understand today, Chibaki, is not my story."
A brief pause.
— "It's the story of the world you live in."
His voice grew deeper… heavier.
— "You think you understand your world, but what you see is only a small, protected fragment. You still don't know the true scars that mark our lands. So listen carefully…"
He crossed his arms, his gaze darkening.
— "The world is vast. Beyond this village, there are kingdoms, shining capitals… and regions devastated by war. You must understand—twenty years ago, everything nearly collapsed."
Chibaki straightened up, eyes wide.
— "…The Lacroma War?"
A brief silence followed.
Genshiro narrowed his eyes, slightly surprised.
— "That's right. You already know about the Lacroma War?"
Chibaki nodded timidly.
— "Yes… but only the name. I heard my friends talk about it once, but they didn't know much either. I asked my parents before… but they always told me it wasn't important."
Genshiro's gaze darkened.
A bitter smile crossed his lips.
— "I see…" he murmured.
Then he took a deep breath, his eyes locking onto his student's.
— "Well then… I'll tell you everything. Not rumors, not tales… but what I've seen, what I've lived through. Brace yourself, Chibaki. What you're about to hear is no game."
A chill ran through the boy. The aura around his hand wavered, but he forced himself to refocus.
He already knew… what Genshiro was about to tell him would change his view of the world forever.
Genshiro crossed his arms and took a slow breath.
— "Before we talk about the war… you need to understand what Lacroma is."
Chibaki frowned, fully attentive.
— "Its origin is unknown. Even today, no one truly knows where it came from. But forty years ago, the first case was reported in a small town in the south of the Kingdom of Aeloria. A few sick people… then dozens… and within days, an entire district collapsed."
Genshiro's voice grew heavier.
— "The symptoms were horrific. The infected would start with reddened eyes… then dark tears—almost black—would flow endlessly. Then came the nightmares, the fever, the marks spreading across their skin… and an unbearable pain that bent them in half."
Chibaki swallowed, his fists trembling.
— "And after that…?"
— "After that…" Genshiro paused, his eyes hardening. "The body gave out. Either the victim died in excruciating agony… or they transformed."
— "Trans… transformed?" Chibaki repeated, his throat tight.
— "Yes. Into something no longer human. These creatures… had only one purpose: to spread the disease. They bit. They clawed. And worse…"
He clenched his fists at the memory.
— "They were never alone."
— "The infected always gathered. Always. As if some invisible will bound them together. If you saw one… you could be certain a horde was close behind. And believe me—nothing is more terrifying than hearing their screams echo in the night."
Chibaki felt his blood run cold. The aura around his hand flickered, but he forced himself to stay focused.
— "That is what Lacroma is, Chibaki."
A brief silence.
— "A disease… that spreads like a plague."
Genshiro took a long breath, as if gathering the strength to awaken memories he would have rather left buried.
— "The Lacroma War…"
His voice grew heavy… distant.
— "It was an endless slaughter. Every time an infected fell, two more would take its place. You thought you had cleared an area… and a few hours later, it would be crawling with those abominations again."
He closed his eyes for a moment.
— "They say men feel fear on the battlefield… but that wasn't fear. It was despair. You could be the most trained soldier in the kingdom… when their screams echoed, when you saw a horde rushing toward you… you knew you had no chance alone."
Chibaki swallowed hard. His aura trembled, but he forced himself to steady it.
— "But… how did you endure? How did you win?"
A strange glint passed through Genshiro's dark eyes.
— "We endured because we had no choice. The entire kingdom rose up—every soldier, every garrison. Every city sent its men. We burned, we cut, we crushed… again and again. And even then… despite everything… victory seemed impossible."
He paused, his gaze lost in the distance.
— "And then… they appeared."
Chibaki lifted his head, intrigued.
— "They?"
— "A small group of soldiers. Barely a handful. But their actions changed the course of the war. They appeared where the situation was most desperate… and pushed back the inevitable."
Genshiro straightened slightly, his voice taking on a solemn tone.
— "No one knew their names. But everyone knew their titles."
He raised two fingers.
— "There was The Invisible Light. A warrior who struck like an intangible flash, hitting before anyone even realized he was there. Some said he moved faster than sight itself."
His tone deepened as he raised another finger.
— "There was also The Telepath. A man capable of sensing the minds of both allies and enemies. Thanks to him, entire armies could move as one without a single word. In the chaos, he brought unity."
Finally, Genshiro clenched his fist in front of him.
— "And then… there was The God-Sent Physician. Without him, the war would have been lost a thousand times over. Wherever his hands touched, life returned. He healed what no one else dared to touch. To many… he wasn't a man. He was a miracle."
He fell silent for a moment, letting the weight of his words settle like a crushing pressure.
— "Because of them… we endured. Because of them… the war came to an end."
Chibaki remained frozen, pale.
The words echoed in his mind—heavier than any lesson he had ever received.
Genshiro resumed after a heavy silence.
— "After the war… came another battle. The battle of reconstruction. The capital of Aeloria was nothing more than a field of ruins—its walls shattered, its markets reduced to ashes. The other cities and villages were no better. The kingdom's economy had collapsed. Trade, harvests… everything had to be rebuilt."
He paused, his gaze hardening.
— "But something new emerged from it: alliances. Neighboring kingdoms, once indifferent, were forced to reach out. Humanity as a whole understood that alone… it would be swept away. So pacts were signed, treaties were carved, and little by little… we raised our heads again."
Chibaki's eyes widened, completely absorbed by his master's words.
But at that exact moment, his aura faltered. His breathing grew unstable. The bluish glow around his hand flickered like a flame on the verge of going out.
Genshiro stopped instantly.
Not a word. Not a breath.
His eyes remained fixed on his student's hand.
— "Argh… wait…" Chibaki groaned, biting his lip as he tried to regain control.
He took a deep breath, clenched his fist, and focused.
The light stabilized once more—soft and flowing.
Only then did Genshiro resume speaking, as if nothing had happened.
— "It was from those ashes that a new balance was born. But remember this well, Chibaki…"
A brief pause.
— "A world that heals too quickly… always carries wounds that were never properly closed."