Shiro left the tower, passing demons who bowed respectfully as he entered a deserted area. Nestled between the Yellow Springs, Takamagahara, and Ukiyo towers, this small patch held only a few humble smithies. Shadowed by the towers, it lay dark and foreboding, thick with despair. Even fierce demons avoided it.
Black snow drifted from the sky, staining souls with eternal damnation. This wasn't natural, it was rather formed by humanity's darkest emotions: grief, numbness, hatred, greed. Here, they pooled into a sea of negativity, tangible and oppressive.
Kyoto's citizens felt none of this. They were the chosen, living blissfully in a paradise free of such darkness.
Yet, this pocket of despair stood out starkly, like a forgotten wasteland.
On this barren ground, a lone smithy stood.
It was modest, except for its towering chimney, blending in with any village forge.
Shiro stepped into the wasteland, brushing off the black snow like ordinary flakes. As "Yellow Springs," he feared no soul-corrupting darkness; he'd long since sunk to the depths of Naraka (Avici Hell).
(Avici Hell is the deepest level of hell in Hindu and Buddhist cosmologies)
At the smithy's door, a wicked ghost cackled. "Well, well, the busy onmyoji graces us with his presence. Aren't you afraid to soil your shoes?"
The ghost, barely four feet tall, resembled a young girl except for the horns marking her as a demon.
Shiro smiled wryly at her taunt. "You make it sound like I am some big shot…"
"Aren't you?" Ibaraki Doji's eyes narrowed. "If a man like you claims to be small, that's not humility, it's arrogance!"
"Arrogance?" Shiro blinked, then relaxed. "I see… I've been arrogant all along. My wish is nearly fulfilled, and I got carried away. My discipline's lacking…"
"Anyway, are you satisfied here, Lord Ibaraki?"
She scoffed. "It's fine. I'm a ragged ghost. As long as I have fine wine and fine women, I'm content. It's dark, but the chaos suits me…."
What magic had Shiro used to make this willful ghost guard the door?
"As promised, I'll guard this place. But where's my reward?" Ibaraki's voice turned icy, her smile predatory. One wrong answer, and Shiro would be torn apart.
He scratched his head. "I don't have much on me…"
From his robe, he produced a small, ornate box. Ibaraki's eyes lit up like a dog spotting a bone.
"Glad I brought sweets…" Shiro chuckled, stepping inside, leaving her drooling over the box.
Why did he always carry candy… best not to ask.
As soon as he stepped inside, heat blasted him, the air thick with sulfur.
Clang… clang… clang…
Rhythmic hammering echoed, sparks flying like fireflies. A furnace blazed like a volcano, and broken swords and unfinished blades littered the floor.
This should've been a birthplace of weapons, steel and fire forging brilliance. Instead, it was a graveyard of failed creations.
It wasn't even a "sword cemetery"; none here deserved the name "sword." Just a scrapyard for ruined metal.
Before the furnace, a solitary figure hammered tirelessly at a piece of metal.
He was the smith, the forge's master; a swordsmith, to be precise.
But he wasn't crafting a sword; he was destroying one, pounding a treasured blade into scrap.
After countless strikes, the rare weapon snapped, reduced to worthless chunks of metal.
Tossing the "scrap" into the furnace, he turned, his voice cold. "Why are you here? I said I didn't want to see you."
Shiro had waited silently. Now, he spoke. "I wanted to check your progress… but it seems unnecessary. Your skill is beyond doubt. I shouldn't have worried."
If anyone else were present, they'd marvel at the resemblance. Except for their hair color, the two were identical twins, mirrors of each other, yet distinct.
They were indeed twins, sharing the same blood, alike yet separate.
" Lord Yellow Springs" wasn't Shiro's true name, just a mask he wore.
Two hundred years ago, he was known as Amakusa Shiro.
In the original history, an "Amakusa Shiro" led a massive uprising in the Edo period but was killed by the Tokugawa shogunate, meeting a tragic end.
In this world, Amakusa Shiro was born fifty years earlier, into the warring Sengoku era, not the Tokugawa's rule. His life took a different path.
He'd once sought to change this hopeless world, striving tirelessly, even becoming a reviled sorcerer. Like a schemer, he manipulated events from the shadows.
The rain that saved Honnoji, the poison Oichi gave Nobunaga, the curse that drove Ieyasu to lust after the swordsmith's wife was all his doing.
But history defied his hopes.
Nobunaga survived, not as a hero but as a tyrant.
After his death, his empire fractured, seized by retainers.
He'd backed Hideyoshi, but even with magic, Hideyoshi couldn't outlive Ieyasu.
When Ieyasu finally died, Shiro expected his heir to rule wisely, but the fool alienated the daimyo, sparking more war.
Since then, he has tried hard for a long time and each time he place the bets on the person who had the best chance to unify the world but each time he failed.
In the end he realized: 'Fine, I'll do it myself!'
Around then, the demon world shifted: the Slippery Gourd's "Hundred Demons Night Parade" ousted Hagoromo Kitsune from Kyoto.
How he undermined the onmyoji, persuaded (cursed) the Slippery Gourd, and took control of the Hundred Demons is a tale for another time.
But a boon came: he acquired Hagoromo Kitsune's reincarnation technique (Note: her power to be reborn in gifted human girls). He tweaked it for his own use.
He reincarnated many times, each life bringing new identities, skills, names… and efforts.
He led peasant revolts, turned generals, manipulated emperors, purged courts… yet the world stayed broken.
After 150 years and seven or eight lives, Amakusa Shiro grasped a truth: war was a disease, and humans couldn't cure it; they could only suffer.
Thus, to save humanity, he'd discard this "sick" world and create a perfect new one!
It was a daunting goal, but his centuries of reincarnation had amassed near-omnipotent skills, and the Hundred Demons he'd nurtured were ready. He lacked only a method.
Then a shadowy figure appeared, offering a mad yet plausible plan.
Desperate, Amakusa Shiro embraced it, renaming himself "Lord of Yellow Springs" and reincarnating one last time.
This life brought him the plan's keystones: his brother and sister.
…..
In fact this reincarnation could be considered unplanned.
To fulfill his vision, he needed a special demonic sword. He'd intended only to acquire smithing skills, but instead, he was born a twin!
Yes, he had an identical brother, and somehow, the forging talent went entirely to him. Shiro got nothing…
Later, he learned their family, the "Muramasa," had changed their name "Muramasa" to evade Tokugawa persecution.
…And the Muramasa clan's downfall? Shiro's fault, as Amakusa Shiro.
By cursing Ieyasu to covet the smith's wife, he'd sparked the assassination and the clan's ruin.
Learning this, Shiro could only sigh at karma.
But there was a silver lining. Though he lacked the talent, his brother "Muramasa Shiro" possessed unparalleled swordsmithing gifts, the greatest in clan history!
His skill with other weapons was average, but with swords, he was exceptional, even forging demonic blades as a human.
Shiro saw his potential and subtly guided him, using magic to hasten his growth.
As Muramasa Shiro's talents blossomed, another surprise arrived: their newborn sister showed extraordinary signs from birth, deemed a true "divine child" by the elders, a prodigy who could summon miracles.
Upon hearing this, Shiro sent the Hundred Demons to attack the Muramasa clan that very night.
Casualties were few, but the clan's foundation crumbled, scattering its members to survive alone.
Afterward, as the eldest, Muramasa Shiro fled with his siblings. To protect them, he grew swiftly, not just in smithing but as a warrior.
Shiro played the obedient, caring brother, helping raise their sister Yuri while they wandered for eight years.
Under life's pressures, Muramasa Shiro's growth was astonishing, soon exceeding Shiro's hopes. Yuri thrived too, as a divine child.
Shiro would never forget the day he revealed the truth, taking Yuri from Muramasa Shiro; the rage, the tear.
…
"You! Shiro!"
"Unforgivable… Grandfather, so many others and you killed them! I'll kill you, Shiro!"
"Give her back! Give Yuri back!"
…
Shiro's gaze was dimmed by those unpleasant memories.
"Brother—"
"I'm not your brother, Lord Yellow Springs!" Muramasa Shiro's voice was cold. "I'm just a smith, unworthy of your address."
"…Shiro, how's the work? Time's short."
"Oh, quite well. Faster than I expected."
He picked up another fine demonic sword, hammering relentlessly. "I thought finding even one or two would be hard, let alone five hundred. But you managed."
His face twisted bitterly. "Most smiths never see one such blade. I'm blessed to see hundreds; lucky me. But instead of caring for them, I destroy them… heh…"
"Shiro…no, Lord Yellow Springs! How far will you mock me?"
Shiro's throat tightened, words failing him. After a moment, he forced a smile. "You jest. It's necessary for the demonic sword's creation, not an insult."
Gathering so many renowned blades wasn't easy. Shiro had barely managed with centuries of knowledge and the Hundred Demons' reach.
In this plan, they were mere materials, broken and melted into raw components.
The furnace wasn't ordinary either. It was a monstrous creation capable of incinerating anything, fueled by "karmic fire."
The vast barrier over Kyoto, linked to the three towers: Yellow Springs, Takamagahara, Ukiyo and other nodes, formed a complex array: "Paradise."
Its purpose was simple: to turn the enclosed area into a "Pure Land."
What's a Pure Land? A realm free of suffering, where people live in eternal bliss.
But humans are born to suffer. Pain, worry, and grief are inevitable.
Unless… you remove their capacity for misery. Then, only joy remains.
The array did just that: it stripped away the emotions tied to suffering.
Take away their tears, only a smile remains.
Take away their pain, only pleasure remains.
Take away their sorrow, only happiness remains.
Take away their hate, only gratitude remains.
The list went on…
Kyoto's residents felt no cold, fear, or unease. They were saintly, pure.
Though unorthodox, Shiro had, after centuries, built his "Pure Land" here.
And the filth taken from them? It gathered in the wasteland between the towers, as black snow.
The darkest parts fueled the furnace, creating hellish "karmic fire" to melt legendary blades.
Shiro had materials, fire, and the crucial smith—he needed this demonic sword to be born at all cost!
If the shadowy figure who'd urged his final reincarnation spoke true, this blade would open the path to a new world.
"Bro–...Master Shiro, I entrust this sword to you! Please, bring it to life!" Shiro bowed deeply.
Muramasa Shiro hammered on, a flicker of conflict in his eyes. He knew the fire's evil, knew he was aiding tyranny, but he had no choice.
"As agreed, ensure Yuri's safety, and I'll give you your demonic sword!"
He didn't think what he did was just.
As the eldest, for the sake of his younger siblings, he'd learned "deceit" from a young age to protect his siblings.
However, now he only has a sister to protect…
Helping Shiro forge this sword was wrong, far from heroic; it was evil.
But so what?
If protecting Yuri meant becoming "evil," then so be it!
.....
(The Sengoku Arc will be till chapter 60)
.....
Unlock 15 chapters ahead exclusively on Ko-fi for 2$ 📚
Advance chapters updated daily.
ko-fi.com/darkness95