One blink there was nothing, the next, dirt pressed under his boots, packed hard and uneven, the smell of smoke already in the air. Buildings leaned at awkward angles, wooden frames warped as if rebuilt from memory rather than reality. Cloth banners hung between posts, faded symbols painted by hand,
A village?
Seijuro didn't move. His Tenebris shifted low and tight, reacting before his thoughts caught up. A scream ripped through the village. Then another. Something dropped from above. A boogeyman hovered inches off the ground where it stopped, never truly landing. Its limbs unfolded slowly, bending backward at joints that shouldn't exist. They flexed and recoiled like loose wires searching for purchase. At its center floated a dark sphere, slick and semi-translucent. Its mouth split across the surface. Teeth, uneven, crowded, clicking softly against each other. Beneath them, visible through stretched flesh, a heart beat. Fast. Seijuro drew his blade. The bandages unwound as steel slid free, pale and clean, reflecting the flicker of false purple fire,
Lowest of the Fears, a Boogeyman. At least now, I can fight!
The boogeyman shrieked and lunged. Seijuro charged too, now drawing his blade, sword positioned onto the right side. Both hands clutched tightly around the hilt. A dark purple aura spread along his chest, arms and finally, his blade, "Dragon Stance: Ryū's Breath!"
The first limb struck. Seijuro met it head-on. Clashing. The air cracked around them. The limb bent wrong. The creature recoiled. The heart sped up,
"HELP!"
Seijuro turned sharply. A house to his left was collapsing, roof beams snapping as a woman-shaped figure stumbled beneath it. Her face blurred if he stared too long, but the scream was real enough,
What the… a fake person…
The boogeyman used the opening. A limb wrapped around Seijuro's ankle and yanked. He hit the dirt hard, breath forced from his lungs as teeth snapped down where his head had been a moment earlier. It swung him around like a ragdoll, tossing him into a building. Seijuro rolled to his feet, chest tight, eyes scanning,
Their strength is unreal. It's much stronger than Ren.
The village was alive now. Figures poured from doorways, men, women, children, movements slightly delayed. Fires sparked along rooftops without consuming the wood. A child tripped in the dirt near the center path, frozen, staring at the hovering Fear. The boogeyman spread its limbs wide, rotating slowly, placing itself between Seijuro and the civilians,
So, that's the rules, can't let anyone die, and I have to defeat it.
He didn't rush. The boogeyman surged forward. Seijuro stepped into it. The boogeyman shrieked and flung itself backward, "Dragon Stance: Ryū's Breath!"
His blade traced a tight arc, slicing through a limb at the joint where it bent wrong. The limb recoiled, unraveling into shadow. The heart accelerated. The creature retaliated violently, three limbs striking at once. Seijuro blocked one with the flat of his blade, redirected another with his forearm, and took the third across the ribs. Pain flared sharp and grounding,
Good!
"HELP!"
Another scream. Seijuro sprinted. He scooped a small figure up with one arm, spun, and hurled it toward a clear patch of ground. The figure vanished midair. No resistance. No weight. The boogeyman slammed into him from behind, teeth scraping sparks off his blade as he twisted just enough to avoid being bitten in half,
Damn! That was close!
He countered, raising his sword in the air,
"Dragon Stance: Wani's Hurricane!"
Tenebris flared off his blade as he slammed it down. A flurry of spectral copies sent shockwaves outward, shredding the creature into pieces. The heart convulsed. The creature shrieked and blasted him backward. Seijuro skidded through dirt, catching himself on one knee, blade planted to steady him,
More screams!
A larger building collapsed farther down the road, trapping several figures beneath splintered beams. Fire crawled unnaturally fast along the walls. The boogeyman hovered between him and the wreckage, teeth clicking, heart hammering,
It wants me tired. I need to pierce it's heart, but the civilians…
Then he ran, not at the creature, but at the fire. He leapt, kicked off a support post, twisted midair, "Dragon Stance: Ryū's Breath!"
Seijuro slashed through a beam, the cut precise. He grabbed a trapped figure and yanked it free as heat licked his back. A limb speared out of the smoke and slammed into his shoulder. He hit the ground hard but rolled, keeping the figure shielded until it vanished. The boogeyman descended again, movements sharper now, more aggressive. Its heart was racing. Another structure began to fall, this one farther away. Too far if the boogeyman stayed in his way. The creature drifted deliberately into his path. Blocking. Taunting. It's body still slowly healing,
Its heart is exposed, I can finish this!
Seijuro wiped blood from his lip and adjusted his grip. He charged straight at it, "Dragon Stance: Wrath Of Tatsu!"
Seijuro thrusted fully as his blade plunged deep into the creatures heart. Teeth scraped past his ear as he forced the creature. The trapped figures flickered and vanished. The village went quiet.
The boogeyman shrieked, rising high into the air, limbs flailing wildly. Its heart hammered so violently it distorted the sphere. The strike drove upward, Tenebris released only at contact. The heart ruptured. The boogeyman collapsed inward, teeth shattering, limbs unraveling as its body imploded into shadow. It slowly began to dissipate and then silence fell.
The village dissolved, buildings breaking apart into drifting light. Seijuro stood alone, chest heaving, blade lowered, "Well done."
Frank's voice echoed through the space, steady and unmistakable, "You passed."
Seijuro exhaled, slow, controlled, then sheathed his blade, the white bandages settling back against his spine as the world faded.