Day after day passed.
Shinichi gradually adapted to life here.
Every morning, he was woken by the laughter of Renji and Rina.
He watched Shinobu busying herself in the kitchen, drank wisteria tea, taught the two children to identify herbs in the courtyard, accompanied the round Maru-ni on walks by the river, and went to the medicine shop to prepare and decoct remedies for customers.
Everything was so peaceful.... so beautiful.
There were no demons, no death, no Nichirin blades, no smell of blood—only the ordinary necessities of daily life, only the playful noise of children, only the soft and gentle smile of his wife.
Shinichi seemed truly immersed in it.
In the afternoons, he would sit with Shinobu under the veranda and tell her amusing stories about things that had happened at the pharmacy.
At dusk, he would take the two children to the riverside to float paper boats, watching the setting sun dye the river golden-red.
Late at night, as Shinichi felt the steady breathing of the person beside him, he thought that a life like this was the one most worth pursuing.
This… was truly good.
....
Meanwhile, in the deepest part of the Infinity Castle—
Shokyu stood there, his crimson eyes slightly narrowed, the corners of his mouth curved in a half-smiling, half-mocking expression.
In front of him, Shinichi's body lay quietly on a cold platform, his Nichirin blade still in his hand, but the blue-green glow had completely gone out.
His eyes were closed, his breathing steady and slow, and the expression on his face looked extremely peaceful.
"Hmm… the effect is unexpectedly good," Shokyu muttered to himself in a low voice, his gaze piercing through layer after layer of obstruction.
"What is it that you've seen, to become so deeply immersed? Let me take a look…"
As he spoke, Shokyu extended a hand.
A mass of flesh churned in his palm, and soon strands of gray-black mist seeped out from the writhing flesh.
At the same time, fragmented images began to appear in his vision.
A sunlit courtyard, a warm and bright sitting room, two children with violet eyes and black hair, and a woman in a purple kimono smiling gently.
"That girl from the Demon Slayer Corps?" Shokyu froze for a moment.
Then the curve of his mouth grew wider and wider, finally turning into a low laugh full of mockery.
"HeheheHahahaha."
"Shinichi, I thought that since we both came from the underworld, your aspirations ought to be equally lofty. But who would have thought that your desire would be so weak."
As he spoke, Shokyu withdrew his hand and clasped it behind his back, lowering his gaze to the peaceful face on the ground, dark red eyes full of condescending pity.
"A happy family, a gentle wife, adorable children… What a plain and laughable wish." Shokyu's voice was like a venomous snake flicking its tongue—light and airy, yet filled with malice.
"What you desire most deeply is merely something even an ordinary human could easily obtain? After a few decades of that, what would you have left? You would only return helplessly to the underworld!"
With that, Shokyu turned around and did not spare Shinichi another glance.
"But this is fine too, foolish child. Just lose yourself in this tender paradise. Sink into that dream from which you will never wake, forget the Demon Slayer Corps, forget the demons, forget your identity as Moriki Shinichi." Shokyu paused, a cold arc lifting at the corner of his mouth.
"For you, that would be the best ending."
...
It was another ordinary dusk.
The setting sun sank westward, and the clouds on the horizon were dyed a lovely fiery red.
The wisteria trellis in the yard swayed gently in the evening breeze, petals drifting down and covering the ground like pale purple snow.
Shinichi had just finished coaxing the two children to sleep.
Rina had clung to his arm and refused to let go, while mumbling, "I want Daddy to tell a story!"
Renji, on the other hand, had fallen asleep first, his little body tightly wrapped in the blanket, a trace of drool hanging at the corner of his mouth.
After both children were asleep, Shinichi quietly left the room, crossed the sitting hall, and came to the edge of the courtyard.
Shinobu was sitting beneath the veranda, the hem of her purple kimono spread casually over the wooden floorboards.
Her hands were braced behind her as she tilted her head up to look at the evening glow in the sky.
Her black hair spilled over her shoulders, and the evening breeze lifted a few strands.
Hearing his footsteps, she turned her head.
The afterglow of the sunset was reflected in her violet eyes, and they were full of tenderness and love.
"The children are asleep?" she asked softly.
"Mm." Shinichi sat down beside her, shoulder to shoulder, looking at the same sunset.
Maru-ni came out from who-knew-where, lay down by their feet, yawned, and squinted its eyes as well.
Silence lingered for a moment.
Shinobu gently rested her head on Shinichi's shoulder.
She was so light that when she leaned against him, he could barely feel her weight—only the faint fragrance of wisteria lingering at his nose.
"Shinichi," she said, her voice very soft, as though afraid of disturbing something.
"Mm?"
"Being with you is truly, truly so happy. Would you be willing to stay with us like this forever, happily together?"
Shinichi did not answer at once.
He looked at the splendid clouds in the sky, at the sun slowly sinking beyond the horizon, at the wisteria petals spinning down in the breeze beneath the veranda.
Then he turned his head and looked at Shinobu, resting against his shoulder.
Her lashes drooped slightly, her violet eyes reflected him, and a faint blush colored her cheeks in the glow of sunset.
Shinichi raised a hand and gently ruffled her hair, answering softly yet firmly:
"Of course I would."
Shinobu's eyelashes trembled slightly, and the corners of her lips curved upward.
"And…" Shinichi continued, his voice still gentle but resolute, "from now on, we will definitely be this happy as well. Rather than only experiencing all of this inside an illusion."
Shinobu's smile faltered slightly.
She slowly raised her head, clear confusion appearing in her violet eyes.
"Shinichi, what are you saying? What illusion?"
This time, Shinichi did not look at Shinobu.
His gaze fell on the wisteria trellis.
The last trace of sunlight on the horizon had disappeared.
Maru-ni stood up from beside his feet, wiggled its plump rear, and walked toward its little nest.
"This place is truly, truly beautiful. But I know a perfect family like this is too rare. Thank you for letting me experience all of this. And I will make the life here my goal and fight with everything I have to obtain it. But now, I have to go back. Because my Shinobu is waiting for me."
Shinichi turned his head and looked into Shinobu's violet eyes, speaking with solemn firmness.
The air seemed to freeze.
The entire world was like a painting with the pause button pressed.
Shinichi gazed at Shinobu.
He had thought that, once the illusion was exposed, she might say something—but she did not.
Shinobu's expression remained as gentle as ever.
She even raised a hand and placed it against Shinichi's forehead, smiling as she said:
"That's good, then. As long as I can be with Shinichi, it doesn't matter which version of me I am."
Though it was only an illusion, Shinichi still felt that hand resting against his forehead was incomparably warm.
Crack… crack…
A faint sound of breaking echoed out.
The entire world before Shinichi's eyes began to shatter.
As though a mirror had been struck, fine cracks spread out from beneath Shinichi's feet, crawling up the walls, stretching into the courtyard, splitting across the sky.
At last, the cracks gradually appeared across Shinobu's face before him as well.
"Thank you."
Crack!!
Everything returned to darkness.
---
This mf author drag the story too much -_-