'A frail-looking man.'
That was the first thought about the lean man standing in front of me. He possessed minimal muscle mass, and even that was hidden by his towering height, making his frame appear stretched rather than strong.
'Does he even exist?'
That was my second thought.
Every person I've ever met had a type of 'vibe' within them. A business owner had a serious and ambitious vibe to them, an upcoming athlete radiated the drive to train, and a serial killer gave off an unmistakable murderous aura.
But, there was no such thing emanating from him. There was absolutely no sense of drive, hatred, anger, fighting spirit, animosity, or bloodlust from him whatsoever. It was as if there was nothing inside him at all.
It was as if he were nothing more than a walking corpse.
"You are wrong."
I blinked, caught off guard. "I'm wrong?"
"Your musings," he said evenly. "I heard the desires of your heart while you were dancing. They are misguided."
And suddenly.
*woosh*
He took out his blade and began to dance.
*jingle*
His long red hair swayed despite the still air, moving as if alive. Each step made his hanafuda earrings chime softly, like distant bells echoing in a shrine. The pitch-black Nichirin katana caught the faintest light, reflecting his crimson eyes and the bold red mark etched across his face.
And I couldn't take my eyes off.
'That's the Kagura dance I was performing.'
No.
Comparing my amateur dance, which resembled the desperate flailing of a drowning child to his dance, that looked so masterful as if it were crafted by the gods themselves, would be an utter disgrace to him.
And yet.
'Dance.'
'Sunflower Thrust.'
'Burning Bones Summer Sun.'
I recognized all of the moves.
His movements held a beauty and mastery beyond human reach, flowing so perfectly that they seemed like a gift from the gods themselves. And standing before that brilliance, I could only feel the weight of my own inadequacy.
'What is he?'
*zing*
The world turned gray.
'Wh-what the hell is that?'
As soon as I looked at the figure's body with Transparent World, I couldn't help but be shocked.
'This guy doesn't have any muscles at all!'
No, that's not true, but at the same time, not false either.
To be more accurate, the muscles weren't real. Instead of the usual bands of muscle fibers that produced the red coloured muscles that decorated the body, his "muscles" were made of glowing dust-like particles instead.
Looking closely at his body, the only organs he possessed were his lungs, diaphragm, nasal canal, blood vessels, and muscles. Things like the stomach or the liver weren't present at all.
More specifically, his body only possessed the internal organs required for the activation and maintenance of Total Concentration Breathing.
Every time he should have drawn breath to unleash a form, the glowing "lungs" expanded and contracted as if mimicking the act of inhaling. The faintly shining diaphragm pulsed in rhythm, simulating the contraction and relaxation of life. Tiny threads of radiant particles streamed through his body like blood vessels, carrying light in place of oxygen. The muscles shifted and flexed, each movement a flawless imitation of what a human body should do.
A completely fake world, containing a fake person with a fake breathing style that was made to help me become stronger in the real world, with only one purpose.
'He wants me to copy him.'
Yes, this figure wants me to copy his breathing style, so that I can master Sun Breathing. The simulation of the organs, the breathing pattern, and even the smaller things like the movement of wrists and the bending of legs were perfectly laid out to me, with the sole purpose of my copying them.
However, something still nagged at my mind.
"Earlier, you said I was wrong." I said, "I still don't understand what you mean."
The figure stopped for a moment before resuming his dance.
"What I referred to was your self-degradation." The figure answered ", To be more specific, you listed three points.
You are not charismatic.
You are not brave.
You have a weak will."
"Ah, you're talking about those," I muttered in realization.
Truthfully, I had no idea where those thoughts even came from. It felt like I was standing at the edge of some strange enlightenment, as if my body and mind were carried into a place far beyond myself.
Even then, I barely gave those thoughts a second glance. I have lived my entire life surrounded by negativity, so having unintentionally degrading thoughts about myself became a common thing.
"Aoyama Yuito Daichi, why do you think of yourself as such?"
"Because that's what I am," I answered without hesitation. "That is what I have been my entire life."
"Your entire life?"
"I really don't want to trauma dump," I said with a sigh, "I've learned that it's a pretty cringe thing to do."
"Trauma dump? Cringe?"
"Yeah...cringe."
Despite saying so, I could not help but feel a slight pain in my chest.
'Is it really cringe? Or am I just afraid of telling people?'
I instantly banished that thought to the deepest part of my mind.
Yet, no matter how hard I tried, it kept coming back. No matter how desperately I tried to bury it, I simply could not forget that thought. My enhanced brain didn't exactly help me in this regard either. If anything, it made it worse.
'Why don't you want to remember?'
'Are you scared?'
'Coward'
'Coward''Coward''Coward''Coward''Coward''Coward''Coward''Coward''Coward''Coward'
I clutched my chest tightly.
'You are afraid.'
My vision blurred at the edges. The world tilted and warped, as though my body no longer belonged to me. My fingers trembled uncontrollably, my legs felt too weak to stand, yet my heart wouldn't stop racing.
'Coward.'
My breaths grew short, shallow, too quick. I tried to steady them, but the more I forced myself to breathe, the less air I seemed to draw in. My throat constricted, my lungs burned, and a cold sweat rolled down my back.
'Remember everything.'
I began to choke.
'I will make sure you remember everything.'
'SHUT UP'
Instantly, the voices ceased.
...
*ssss*
Taking in a deep breath, I tried my best to calm myself down.
'It's been a while since my last anxiety attack.'
Slowly, I forced myself to breathe. In and out. My chest still ached, my hands still trembled, but little by little the storm receded. The ringing in my ears dulled, my vision steadied, with the emotional part of my mind slowly being replaced with the cold, logical one.
'This isn't the place to freak out, dumbass.'
As I calmed myself down, I began looking at the surroundings before me.
'Where the hell am I?'
What lay before my eyes was a completely white world.
Everything I could see was completely white. The "sky" was completely white, and the ground was white. Even the sun of this world was completely white.
Wordlessly, I looked down.
'No way.'
I didn't have a shadow. No, to be precise, I did have a shadow.
But the shadows were white too.
'Okkkk, I'm freaking out, where the fuck am I?'
No shadows, no horizon, no ground or sky I could truly separate. Everything I saw, as far as my eyes reached, was swallowed by the same blank, endless white. I could not tell if this place stretched on forever or if walls stood just beyond sight, waiting for me to stumble into them. The only way to know was to walk—and hope I eventually collided with something real.
And that was the hopeful part. Who knew if this world even had walls? What if I accidentally discovered the edge of this world and there were no walls to stop me? I could fall off this world, and god knows what would happen then.
'Looks like I'm trapped.'
"Tell me, Aoyama," The spirit asked, "Why do you think of yourself as such?"
Silently, I looked at the dancing spirit.
'Currently, the only lead I have to getting out of here is this spirit.'
A sense of caution bloomed within me.
'Why does he want to know about me so much?'
Putting that thought in the back of my head, I started analyzing my situation.
'Is this a Blood Demon Art?'
It wasn't an illogical reason.
While getting carried away in my Kagura dance, I most probably danced until nighttime.
Even though the probability of a demon appearing near the residence of a former Hashira was zero, it's not completely improbable. For all we know, it could have accidentally stumbled upon me.
'If this is an illusion, then how am I supposed to get out?'
In the entirety of Demon Slayer, the only demon that showcased the use of illusions was Enmu, Lower Moon 1. However, his BDA trapped the victim in a peaceful dream, and this is anything but peaceful.
Wordlessly, my eyes shifted to the Katana in my head.
'They did show one way to escape his illusions, though.'
...
'No, not yet.'
For all I know, this could be one of those illusions where dying in here could equate to death in real life, or where injuries from this world are transferred to the real world.
'Fine, we'll play this game then.'
So, I turned to the spirit to answer his questions.
But I hesitated.
Logically, it was the only move to make, yet my chest tightened at the thought.
The conclusion was obvious. If I wanted answers, if I wanted escape, then I should open my mouth right now and spill everything—lay bare my entire life, every scar, every memory, every failure.
It's just...
'I don't want to tell him anything.'
Despite this being the only method I currently knew of to escape, I really did not wish to share the burdens of my life with some random dead stranger.
Not to mention, I don't want to accidentally spill any secrets from my past life, like me watching Demon Slayer as an anime, or reveal some sort of secret knowledge that shouldn't have been known yet.
...
''Forget it, I'll have to try my best to omit the important details.'
Fucking therapy, ahh Domain Expansion.
"Aoyama?"
"Tell me, spirit," I said with a sigh, "Did your parents love you?"
"My mother did," The spirit replied. "My father, on the other hand, viewed me as more of a swordsman than a son."
"Then tell me, spirit, it must have felt nice being acknowledged by your mother, right? To have been loved by one like her?"
"It was indeed wonderful." The spirit replied, pausing its dance, "Even though she died when I was but a child, I remember every moment I spent with her.
When I was a newborn child, my father immediately hated me upon seeing the mark on my face and ordered my execution. Hearing that, my mother instantly jumped in front of me, threatening to end her life if I were killed.
After that, my father ordered to have me exiled to a temple when I reached a suitable age. Everyone in the house ignored me, but my mother, who suffered from an illness so terrible that it pained her to even walk, was there to my every need.
Even though it hurt to walk, she took me around the manor and the surrounding towns. Even though it hurt to move, she cooked delicious food for me every day. Even though it hurt to breathe, she tirelessly recited stories for me every night."
Despite the spirit's words being a mere recollection of his memories, I couldn't help but grind my teeth in envy every time he spoke.
"Did you know, spirit, that my parents refused to hold me at my birth?'
At those words, he fell silent.
"Did you know that when I was born, my mother unconsciously scooted away from me. That day, my parents almost forgot to take me home.
Did you know, Spirit, that my sister never let me hold her? Every time I came close to her, she cried or ran away.
Did you know, Spirit, that none of my peers noticed me? They never applauded me when I won the class an award once? Did you know that I once broke a window in class, but the teacher never bothered to scold me?
Did you know, Spirit, that I never once entered a group activity? No one accepted me, and the teacher couldn't be bothered to help me. In the end, I always had to do everything on my own.
Did you know, Spirit, that I feared going to temples, where people were supposed to feel the safest, because it instantly turned into a disgusting ground of worship and loathing the moment they saw me?
SO TELL ME HOW THE HELL AM I WRONG?"
At the end, I could no longer hold back my emotions.
"If I were charismatic, my parents would have held me, and my sister would have played with me. My classmates would have congratulated me, and the teachers would have scolded me.
If I were brave, I would have shouted at my unfair treatment, instead of accepting it and making my life difficult.
If I could make hard decisions, then I-I..."
At those last words, I couldn't continue.
"If you could make hard decisions, then you would have done what?"
At his questions, I couldn't hold back anymore.
"THEN I WOULD HAVE DIED SOONER."
...
No sound but the ragged pull of my own breath, each inhale scraping against my throat as if the air itself resisted me. I pressed a hand against my chest, forcing myself to stay steady, to not collapse into the hollow white beneath my feet.
"Is that enough, spirit?" I managed to gasp, my voice trembling between anger and exhaustion. "Is that all you need to know?"
"That is indeed enough, young Aoyama."
I couldn't help but look up at him after he said those words.
"I will not say I understand your pain, Aoyama, because wherever I went, I was almost always the center of attention."
Saying so, he looked straight at me.
"When I was a child, I left my home and ran away. It was on that journey that I met a girl standing in a small rice field. It was a girl about the same age as me holding a bucket. After I asked her what she was doing, she told me that her family had died in an epidemic, and that she was releasing tadpoles from the fields back to their habitats.
After saying that, she just stood still without saying a word. Eventually, the sun set, and she finally bent down and released all the tadpoles back into the rice field. She said that she felt bad for the little ones and reunited them with her family.
'Then let's go home with them.'
'Really?'
Her eyes were like gems."
Yoriichi smiled at the memory.
"As we both had no families, we became each other's family. Her name was Uta, a girl who kept talking all day.
It was from her that I realized my vision was different as compared to a normal person, and that my Transparent World was an ability that no one else could access.
After ten years, we became a couple. Eventually, we married, and she became pregnant with my child.
Seeing so, I left my home in search of a midwife to help her. However, after I came back, I only saw my half-eaten, dead wife, with my unborn son missing from her stomach. I later figured out that the demon who attacked her probably ate my child."
How awful.
Even with Selfless State that hid all intent, the sorrow this figure held at this very moment could be clearly seen from his pained face.
No, not figure.
"Then what, Yoriichi Tsukiguni?"
"I wept." Yoriichi replied, "For ten days, I did not move, I did not eat, I did not drink. I held my wife's body and cried my heart out until my throat ruptured. In the end, a member of the Demon Slayer Corps arrived at my home."
He closed his eyes. For a moment, it seemed he might fall silent again. But then, his words grew harder, sharper.
"And then I became angry."
The white world around us seemed to tighten with his voice.
"Demons. It was all because of demons. These wretched things stripped everyone of their happiness. They stole lives, futures, love — all of it. Why do such creatures exist? Why does the world allow them to exist?
And then I began to hate myself. I, who was born strong, who could effortlessly annihilate these demons, was doing nothing. I was at home sleeping peacefully while these demons killed more and more innocent lives.
Why? Why did I not make use of my abilities? Why did I let such monstrosities roam the country and do nothing?
And so, I began to kill.
I took up a normal iron blade, and in my rage, the blade turned red. Despite not being made of Nichrin, the iron blade could kill demons.
For a month, I kept on aimlessly roaming, hunting for demons. Whenever I heard rumors about demons, I was there. It was then that I met Oyakata-Sama of that time, who invited me to the Demon Slayer Corps.
In the end, I reasoned that if I taught my breathing techniques to an entire organization, then demons would be exterminated faster. A thousand men are faster than a single man after all."
Yoriichi pointed a finger at me.
"But I persisted. Even after all the setbacks, all the losses, I persisted. In the end, the first generation of Hashira, whom I called my friends, exiled me. My own brother — the one who should have stood closest at my side — embraced darkness, turning into a demon out of pure spite for me. And Muzan Kibutsuji, the source of all this suffering, lived on. My blade, my strength, my very life's mission — all of it failed.
In the end, despite my overwhelming strength, I won nothing. Despite my strength, I only suffered and suffered. What use is strength, if you are all alone?"
Yoriichi's voice then took a sharp tone.
"You say you will become so strong you won't need the help of others? Then hear me well — you will be nothing more than a puppet of strength. A blade without a sheath. You will keep cutting, keep killing, keep walking forward with no hand to stop you, no voice to call you back.
And in the end… You will have no one waiting for you. No one to share your victories. No one to mourn your failures. You will stand on a mountain of corpses, alone, with strength that means nothing — just as I did.
You say you will become so strong that you will not need to be brave? Then hear me well- true strength cannot be achieved by hiding like a coward and lifting weights or swinging swords.
In the end, you will be undeniably strong, but your cowardice will be a hundred times greater than your strength, and you will never win a single battle.
You say that you will become a strong that you will not need to make tough decisions? Then hear me well- Strength does not come when you want it, it only comes when you need it.
Without will, you will never need strength, and you will forever remain weak. In the end, you will only console your bruised ego and boast about the strength you do not possess."
"Yoriichi..."
In the end, I could not refute a single word of his.
"Aoyama, it is only you who believes himself to not possess any capabilities.
You are not charismatic? Then how did you convince the entirety of the Slayer Corps to follow in your desire to eliminate an Upper Moon and reject the position of the Hashira in front of Ubayashiki despite it only being your first meeting?
You are not brave? The very act of you crossing over the boundaries of worlds and fighting man-eating demons to help your friends instead of staying at home or fleeing away, indicates that you are not a coward.
You are weak-willed? The very fact that you are a Demon Slayer is proof that you are wrong. If you were weak-willed, you would not have rejected the mission to kill Lower Moon 2 in Tokyo capital all for Rengoku's sake."
"Aoyama...You are strong, you have people who care about you, and friends who love you. Do not let your sorrowful past taint your bright future.
You are everything I wished I could have become in my life, so please do not ruin yourself.
So heed my words, proud warrior.
'Let go of doubts, let go of fear, let go of joy, let go of pride'
Do not let go of your doubts; they help you realize the truth
Do not let go of your fears, they are proof that you are still alive.
Do not let go of joy, it is the only thing that makes life worthwhile.
Do not let go of pride, satisfaction in one's art is the basics of life.
'Let go of hate, let go of rage, let go of love, let go of happiness.'
Do not let go of hate, not everything is worth loving.
Do not let go of rage, it will help you where joy cannot.
Do not let go of love, no being can survive on their own.
Do not let go of happiness, it is the basic needs of every living being.
'Let go of humility, let go of disdain.'
Do not let go of humility, some things must not be bragged about.
Do not let go of disdain, some people do not deserve trust.
'And finally, let go of your humanity.'
Do not let go of your humanity, for it is the sole reason that this world still lives."
...
"I see," I muttered, "In that case, thank you, Yoriichi."
However, despite the motivational speech, the atmosphere was anything but welcoming.
"It's just...how did you know that I'm an otherworlder?"
A noticeable tension set in the atmosphere as soon as I asked the question.
"Crossing over the boundaries of worlds? How did you know something like that, Yoriichi Tsukiguni?
Or maybe, you're not Yoriichi after all?"
Yoriichi's eyes stiffened for a second before going back to his calm demeanor.
Upon seeing that, my body instinctively prepared itself for combat. If this were the real Yoriichi, then logically I would have stood no chance of victory, but what reason would we have to fight?
And if this was a fake Yoriichi? I could only hope it was a demon and not something else taking his form.
"It was the goddess Amaterasu that informed me so," Yoriichi replied.
I stared at him for a second.
"The goddess Amaterasu?"
"Yes."
"The chief goddess of the sun?"
"Yes."
"A divine being?"
"Yes."
"Like from heaven?"
"Where else?"
"Damn"
'That explains a lot.'
Specifically, it explains all the abnormalities I had been experiencing for a while.
After leaving the temple, it always felt like there was a small fire burning in my chest. Nothing painful, but something that wouldn't go away. When I learned the Hinokami Kagura, that fire grew stronger. Every day, it spread a little more, warming me, changing me.
Bit by bit, I started noticing things. My body felt tougher. I moved faster, reacted quicker. Even my thoughts came sharper, like my brain was running ahead of itself. Cuts healed sooner than they should have. Sickness never touched me.
It was as if the fire was reaching into every part of me—defense, speed, strength, instincts, everything—slowly raising them.
Defense, speed, strength, instinct, nerve reaction speed, thinking speed and capacity, regeneration, and even other functions like the working of my hormonal glands were significantly magnified.
And then there was the hunger. Or rather, the lack of it. Logically, the stronger a Demon Slayer got, the more food they needed to eat, with someone like Kyojuro being hungry enough to buy out an entire shop's worth of bento boxes, eat them in a matter of minutes, and still digest them fast enough to be able to fight off Upper Rank 3.
However, it was the opposite for me. As my mastery over Hinokami Kagura grew, so did the fire inside me. Each day, I needed less food, less water. It was like my body was running more on that fire than anything else.
Also, I wouldn't expect a human, demon, or even a spirit to be able to tell whether or not I'm from another world, but if it's something like a god or a divine being, then it makes more sense.
'I was just joking about gods noticing the protagonists in other fanfictions, I didn't expect it to happen to me.'
"Yoriichi, did the goddess revive you to show me all the forms of Sun Breathing, so I could copy them?"
"Indeed," Yoriichi nodded.
'Seriously? She sent down the strongest Demon Slayer for me to copy from?'
No. Impossible. There had to be a price. No one gave this much for free, not even gods. Especially not gods. If anything, their "gifts" always came with chains hidden beneath the silk.
What I didn't realize then was that Amaterasu wasn't helping me out of goodwill… nor even out of her own will. She acted out of fear after being ordered by something terrifying.
"Though I do not condone it."
"I understand," I replied, "I would be mad too if some random kid copied my Martial Arts that I spent a lifetime mastering."
"No, I do not care about that," Yoriichi replied, shaking his head. "I am nothing more than a dead spirit. If my efforts can help people down in the living world, then I do not mind you copying my Sun Breathing.
It's just that you are a Martial Artist, while my techniques are sword forms. Copying the very core of Sun Breathing that acts as a physical enhancement is fine, but copying sword forms when you use your hands and feet instead of swords will only limit you."
"You don't need to worry about that," I replied, shaking my head. "I already found a martial artist who could help me."
"Are you referring to your martial arts teacher?"
"He's strong, yes," I nodded, "But the martial artist I'm referring to is much stronger, and much more experienced. If I go fight him and survive, I'm sure I won't have a problem with Martial Union anymore."
"A stronger and more experienced one?" Yoriichi muttered before realization dawned in his eyes, "I see, that is indeed a risky path, but if you succeed, you will no doubt become the strongest mortal in this world."
Saying so, Yoriichi picked up his sword.
"Then, shall I demonstrate my forms again?"
"No need, I observed plenty already."
While we were conversing, I had already copied all of Yoriichi's movements with Transparent World. At this point, I wholeheartedly knew all of Sun Breathing's forms, even including the 13th form.
"At this point, the only thing I need to do is get used to the forms a bit. Other than that, I have already mastered Sun Breathing. The only thing I need to do now is to get back to reality."
I looked at Yoriichi.
"How do I get back?"
"You already know Aoyama Yuito Daichi."
...
Yes.
I instinctively knew how to leave this world the moment I entered it. It's just that I was too afraid to try it out.
But I am no longer afraid.
No, I am still a bit afraid. After all, just because you die once doesn't mean you become indifferent to death. But there are people out there who need me, and the fear of disappointing them is much worse.
And with that resolve, I raised my blade and-
"I was strong, but even with my strength, I never succeeded even once. My wife and unborn child died, my beloved brother turned into a demon, and my failure to kill Muzan Kibutsuji resulted in the slaughter of millions. So, I have a request for you before you leave.
Aoyama. Please do not become me."
"I will not."
-cut my head off.
*DOOMPH*
Instantly, my eyes opened.
"HAAH"
I bolted upright, gasping, my lungs dragging in air like a man drowning. Every muscle in my body screamed, locked in fight or flight, as if I were in a nightmare.
'No, that was too real to be a nightmare.'
My eyes looked around the clearing.
'It's still night.'
The night was quiet. The moon was high, giving the clearing a pale glow. Shadows of trees stretched across the ground. The air was cool, and a light breeze moved through the leaves.
"...I'm back"
I quietly muttered, but no one was there to greet me. Everyone was fast asleep.
'But, I finally got what I wanted.'
Wordlessly, I stood up.
*ssss*
"Martial Union: Hinokami Kag-"
No.
This isn't Hinokami Kagura anymore.
"Martial Union: Sun Breathing."
~~~~
A/N: I didn't like this chapter, feel like I could've done better. This is probably the second-worst chapter after the Prologue one.