The leather of the notebook was moldy, stained by the damp walls of the basement. On the first page, the handwriting was shaky—the script of a child who had to teach himself to write by candlelight while his brothers practiced with steel above his head.
[Diary Entry: Age 7]
Today, the sun was out. I saw it through the floorboards. It looked like a golden coin. Big Brother is 10 now. Father gave him a real steel katana today because his "White Fang" energy woke up. The maids were crying because he is so handsome. Father smiled. I haven't seen Father smile at me. I tried to show him my drawing of a fox, but he stepped on it. He said "Empty" things don't need art. He said I am the only stain on the White Fang Clan. Why did Mother die? If she was here, would she hold my hand?
[Diary Entry: Age 12]
The Second Wife's children started the Trial today. There are so many of them now. They all have the "Glow." I am the only one who stays in the dark. Father says the White Fang Clan is one of the 12 Strongest, and a clan is only as strong as its blood. He says my blood is water. I asked him to teach me the sword, and he laughed until he coughed. He told me to go back to the cellar so the "real" students wouldn't see the family's shame.
The Present
Kenji closed the diary, tucking it into his tattered hoodie. He didn't look like a member of a legendary clan. His hair was stained black with cheap dye, and his eyes were hidden behind thick, cracked glasses.
Above him, the Palace was screaming with life. The White Fang Clan was hosting a trial for the elite students. His older brother, the "Handsome Genius," was leading the formation.
The door to the cellar groaned open.
"Kenji," a voice boomed. It was his father, the Clan Head. He didn't look at Kenji's face; he looked at the wall behind him. "The Varandaram Valley is infested. A B-Rank Demon has broken the seal. Your brothers are too busy with the Trial to waste their time on a scavenger hunt."
Kenji stood up, his legs shaking. "You want... me to go?"
"You wanted to be a swordsman," his father said, tossing a wrapped blade onto the dirt. "Prove you aren't a mistake. Kill the demon, and I will let you sit at the table with your brothers."
Kenji's heart soared. For the first time in 14 years, he felt a spark of hope. He ran to his father, throwing his arms around the man's waist in a desperate, sobbing hug.
"I'll do it, Father! I'll make the White Fang proud! I promise!"
The father didn't hug him back. He just stood there like a statue of ice, his hand resting on the hilt of the "Sacred" sword he had given his son—a sword he knew was forged with a hairline fracture, designed to snap at the first sign of pressure.
The Valley of the Broken
The rain began to fall as Kenji reached the clearing. The B-Rank Demon was a mountain of rotted flesh and bone.
Kenji lunged. He was fast—faster than his brothers realized—because he had practiced every movement in his head for a decade. He swung the blade at the demon's throat.
CRACK.
The sword didn't just break; it exploded.
"Wait... no..." Kenji gasped.
The demon's claw was a blur. A wet, sickening crunch echoed through the valley. Kenji hit the mud, his vision spinning. He tried to stand, but he couldn't feel his lower half. He looked down and saw only the red-stained grass. His legs were gone.
He dragged himself toward the river, his white hair starting to bleed through the black dye. In the bushes, a white fox with nine broken tails lay dying.
Kenji reached into his pocket. The Elixir of Life. He had stolen it from the First Wife's chambers, hoping to use it to wake up his own power.
He looked at the fox. He looked at his own stumps.
"If this world is a lie," Kenji whispered, his blue eyes finally clearing, "then I don't want its medicine."
He tilted the vial, pouring the golden light into the fox's throat.
As the river swept him away, the woman appeared in the water—naked, glowing, her nine red tails dancing in the current. She wrapped her arms around his sinking body.
"If you cry, let's cry together," she whispered.
"Let's make a world full of mistakes."
And ...