The morning greeted him with a gentle light filtering through the wooden window of his room. But to Itsuki, the world still felt far from peaceful. His body remained heavy from the events of the previous night a battle with a spirit-world entity that tested both his strength and resolve. There were no visible wounds, but his soul was shaken.
Hana met him in the kitchen, her expression as blank as ever, but her eyes held a glimmer of concern. "You look like someone who just fought in a dream," she said softly.
Itsuki stared at the warm tea in his hands. "It wasn't a dream. I faced a creature from the spirit realm. It came to test me. I barely survived."
Reina, who emerged from the back corridor, paused as she heard that. "It's arrived, sooner than we expected."
But before they could continue the conversation, the front door burst open. A tall figure in a long black coat stood in the doorway. His eyes were sharp, gleaming like metal, and his presence shifted the room's atmosphere to a chilling stillness.
"I knew it, you're awakening the legacy, Itsuki."
Reina immediately stood, alert. "Akito. You shouldn't have come back here."
Akito, Hana's former student and failed heir, had returned. He once trained under the same teachings as Itsuki, but left after rejecting the doctrine, choosing a faster, darker path to absolute power.
"I didn't return to fight," Akito said calmly. "I came to warn you. The spirit realm is breaking. The Four Shadows are growing impatient. They've found a way to breach the boundary, and I've seen what's coming."
Itsuki stood up, meeting Akito's gaze. "If you know something, say it. I need to know everything."
Akito sighed. "You think they'll attack directly? No. They'll target empty vessels—weak hosts, even your friends. They can mimic faces, steal voices. You won't know your enemy until it's too late."
Hana's gaze sharpened. "Are you saying they can infiltrate the human world?"
"There is a link…" Akito said slowly. "A woman once bound to the Black Emperor. The Shadows revived her. Now she's the Summoner of the Three Gates. If she opens all three, the spirit realm will pour into ours."
"Who is she?" Itsuki asked quickly.
Akito looked at him long and hard, then said,
"Her name is Yurina. And she is your mother."
---
Those words hit Itsuki like lightning. The mother he believed to have died when he was a child was alive and worse, involved in the war between two worlds.
Tension filled the air.
"You're lying," Itsuki hissed, though his heart was beginning to doubt.
"I didn't believe it at first either," Akito admitted. "But she is the link now. One of them."
Reina closed her eyes. "If that's true, then we're out of time. The First Gate must already be open."
And then, the atmosphere darkened further. Thunder rumbled outside. A strange flute melody echoed faintly from afar, like a summoning chant from another realm.
Itsuki knew. The game had changed.
It was no longer just about fighting the spirit world, but confronting his own past.
---
Rain began to pour heavily, as if the sky itself cried at the truth just revealed. Inside the training house, a tense silence cloaked them all.
Hana finally broke it. "If Yurina is truly his mother, then nowhere is safe anymore."
"She won't strike directly," Akito said grimly. "Yurina plays with time. She'll test Itsuki first break his spirit, make him doubt who he really is."
Itsuki stepped back, chest tightening. His world collapsed in his mind. He wanted to scream, to deny everything. But deep down, fragments of memories stirred—hazy visions of a woman's smile among cherry blossoms and a soft whisper before everything disappeared. He always thought it was a dream. But now he realized it was a locked memory.
"I have to meet her," Itsuki whispered.
Reina and Hana spoke in unison. "No, it's too dangerous."
"But if she's my mother, I need to know the truth. I have to understand why she's doing this."
Akito stared at him with unreadable eyes. "If you walk that path, there's no turning back."
Itsuki returned the gaze. "There's been no turning back since the day I touched this power."
Suddenly, the once faint flute became a piercing presence, seeping in like dense fog. The house trembled. The carvings in the training room glowed with an eerie green light.
Reina jumped up. "That's a summoning spell. The spirit world is forcing a breach now!"
"Protect the warding circle!" Hana shouted, forming an ancient spell formation.
But it was too late.
A shadow formed in the center of the room—a shapeless figure with glowing red eyes. The flute's melody twisted into a scream.
And from that shadow, someone stepped forward.
She wore a gentle smile, her face serene a woman long lost in Itsuki's memory.
"My son," she said. "It's time for you to choose, which world you will save."
Itsuki froze. This was no memory. This was Yurina—his mother—standing between the human and spirit realms.
---
The carvings on the walls now blazed, radiating an energy that made the floor shake. Yurina stood at the center of the storm, her hair flowing, her eyes glowing with both darkness and love in a confusing blend.
"Mom…" Itsuki whispered, barely audible.
Yurina stepped forward, but Reina quickly positioned herself between them, magical weapon drawn.
"Not one more step!"
But Yurina only smiled. "Reina. Still the loyal guard dog, I see? But you can't change the blood that flows in him. Itsuki is a part of me and one day, he will return."
Itsuki clutched his chest. Inside him, the Black Emperor's energy stirred, resonating with the summoner's presence. The sound of two worlds clashing echoed in the room.
"What are you doing, Mom? Why open the spirit world's gates?"
Yurina looked at him, her eyes glistening. "Because the truth has always been hidden by the guardians. They fear our power. The Black Emperor isn't a curse, Itsuki. He's the answer to injustice. I open the gates to free those who were cast away… including your father."
Everyone froze at her words.
"Dad… is alive?" Itsuki's voice cracked, trembling.
"His soul is trapped behind the Second Gate. They called him a monster, but he was a victim. Just like me. And now, only you can set us free."
Reina stepped forward. "Enough! Yurina, you're twisting the truth. The Black Emperor nearly destroyed three realms! You know that!"
"Three realms must fall so one new world can rise," Yurina said calmly.
Akito drew his sword, his aura flaring. "Touch that boy again, and I won't hesitate."
But Itsuki looked at his mother, tears in his eyes. Inside, a storm raged, the warmth of a mother he never knew, the hope for a different truth, and the fear that it was all a Shadow's deception.
Yurina slowly stepped back into the vortex of shadows. "Think on this, Itsuki. The Second Gate will open when the blood moon rises. And when that time comes, you must choose: to fight your blood, or accept it fully."
She vanished, and the storm died down. The carvings dimmed. The house fell silent, as if nothing had happened.
But the tension lingered. Itsuki dropped to his knees. Reina and Hana rushed to him, but none of them knew what to say. The world had changed, and nothing was certain anymore.
Akito sheathed his sword. "Prepare yourself, boy. The world won't wait for you."
That night, while the others slept, Itsuki sat alone on the small balcony. His eyes watched the moon, now tinged with red on the horizon.
And in his heart, Yurina's voice still echoed.
"One day, you will return."
---
The Second Gate
Night fell like a dark cloak over the world. But the sky was different. On the horizon, the moon turned blood-red, glowing with a strange light that made the trees groan in the wind. The air was filled with whispers from beyond.
Reina, Hana, and Akito stood atop the observation tower, watching the sky with grim expressions. Below, Itsuki stood alone in the courtyard of the ancient temple. Around him, a ritual circle long sealed now glowed. The old carvings pulsed with energy, like a heartbeat awakening from slumber.
"The Second Gate will open tonight," Hana said, her voice nearly lost in the wind. "If we don't stop it, the cast-out spirits will be unleashed."
"But if we stop it the wrong way, we might destroy both Itsuki's body and soul," Reina said sharply. "He's the key, but also the sacrifice."
Akito remained silent, his gaze locked on the boy. In his hand, he held a small pendant—once Yurina's. "We can't choose for him. We can only watch who he decides to become."
---
Within the circle, Itsuki closed his eyes. In his mind, the world shifted. He stood in a vast field of mist. In the distance loomed three giant gates. The first stood open, a dim blue light flickering behind it. The second remained shut—but now, it was cracking.
Before the gate stood a man. Tall, cloaked in shadow, long hair flowing. His face was eerily similar to Itsuki's.
"Who are you?" Itsuki asked, his voice trembling.
"I am what you could become, if you fully accept your blood," the figure replied. "I am the shadow passed down to you. A possibility—or a threat."
Itsuki clenched his fists. "I don't want to be a monster."
The figure smiled. "Monster? Or hero? It's just a story people tell. The world doesn't care what you want, Itsuki. But it will respond to what you choose."
Cracks spread across the Second Gate. Behind it, the wailing of cast-off souls could be heard—full of pain and rage. Yurina appeared beyond the mist, pale but her eyes burning.