Chapter 1: The Whisper Beneath the Stone
The night in Kagetsu Village was colder than usual.
Akarui Rin sat on the rooftop of an abandoned house, his black hoodie pulled over his messy silver hair. His eyes, dark but sharp, scanned the empty streets below. He could see the flickering lanterns near the guard posts, but no one was patrolling this side of the slums. They never did.
The guards only cared about the rich districts—the places where the Vein Lords lived. Down here, in the gutters of Kagetsu, you survived alone or you didn't survive at all.
Akarui licked his cracked lips, feeling the hunger gnaw at his stomach. He hadn't eaten in two days.
"Another useless night," he muttered, pulling his scarf tighter around his face. His breath came out in small clouds. "Guess I'll try the graveyard."
His eyes drifted to the east side of the village where the old Stone Graveyard sat, untouched and cursed. Even the strongest mercenaries refused to go there after sunset. They said the Murei—shadow beasts—came out at night, feeding on leftover Vein energy from the dead.
But Akarui wasn't scared of ghosts. He was scared of starving.
He climbed down from the rooftop silently, his shadow flickering behind him like a tail. He didn't notice it—but for a brief second, his shadow twitched, moving in the opposite direction of his body.
The Stone Graveyard was colder than the village streets. Akarui's footsteps crunched over frozen grass as he approached the center of the cemetery.
His goal was simple: scavenge Vein Crystals from the graves. Mercenaries buried their dead here, and sometimes, small shards of leftover Vein energy stayed behind. You could sell those shards on the black market for a meal or two—if you didn't get caught by the Kuro-Crest Guild, the mercenary thugs who ruled Kagetsu Village.
Akarui knelt by an old tombstone, brushing off the snow. His fingers touched something smooth beneath the dirt.
His eyes narrowed.
It wasn't a crystal.
It was a stone amulet, cold and sharp-edged, shaped like a fang. A thin line of moonlight reflected off it, making the veins in his wrist glow faintly.
"What the hell is this?" he whispered.
The moment his skin fully touched the stone, a voice echoed in his mind—soft at first, then sharper, like the crack of thunder inside his skull.
"So… you finally found me."
Akarui yanked his hand back, heart racing. His eyes darted around the graveyard. No one was there. Just gravestones, shadows, and wind.
But the voice spoke again, this time clearer.
"You don't have much time, boy. They're coming."
"Who—?!" Akarui tried to stand, but his legs felt heavy, like they were rooted to the ground. His shadow rippled beneath him, moving even though he was still.
Then he saw them—figures stepping out from behind the tombstones. Black-cloaked mercenaries with the Kuro-Crest symbol stitched onto their shoulders.
"Found you, brat," one of them growled, cracking his knuckles. His eyes gleamed red, enhanced by Vein energy.
Akarui's stomach tightened.
"Wait, I didn't steal anything!" he shouted, backing away.
The mercenaries ignored his words. One of them pulled out a Vein Blade, its edge glowing with electric Vein power.
"You touched the Moon Fang Stone," the leader said coldly. "That's forbidden. The Guild has orders to kill anyone who awakens a Vein Curse."
"I—I didn't awaken anything!" Akarui protested, clutching the amulet tightly. His hands were shaking, but he refused to drop it.
The voice returned inside his mind, calm but firm.
"Listen, Akarui. I am Kaguro. Your parents trusted me once, before they vanished. Your Veins are special. You carry both Shadow and Light."
Akarui's heart pounded faster.
"What do you mean? My parents—?"
"There's no time. Let me help you unlock the first seal."
The mercenaries stepped closer, blades humming.
Akarui closed his eyes. He didn't know if the voice was real or if he was losing his mind, but he was out of options.
"Fine," he whispered. "Do it."
The world shifted.
Suddenly, it felt like ice water rushed through his veins, freezing his blood and then setting it on fire. His shadow stretched long beneath him, swirling like smoke.
The ground under his feet cracked.
The air shimmered.
The Kuro-Crest mercenaries stumbled back, panic flashing in their eyes.
"Vein Overload!" one of them shouted. "His Veins are breaking!"
But they weren't breaking—they were awakening.
Akarui's vision blurred. He saw flashes of light and darkness twisting together inside his body. For a split second, he could see his own Shadow Veins, pulsing like black roots under his skin.
Then the earth beneath the graveyard exploded.
Tombstones shattered. Dust and rocks flew into the sky. The mercenaries were thrown backward, their bodies landing hard against stone walls.
Akarui stood in the middle of it all, panting. His shadow flickered unnaturally behind him, writhing like it had a life of its own.
The voice of Kaguro whispered again.
"This is only the beginning. The Guild will hunt you. The clans will want your blood. But if you can survive the next seven nights, I'll tell you everything about your parents… and the truth about the Shadow Veins."
Akarui's hands clenched into fists. His heart was still racing, but now there was something else inside him—power, raw and dangerous.
And fear.
Not of the mercenaries.
But of what he had just become.
From the broken ground beneath him, a low growl echoed—a sound that didn't belong to any human.
Akarui's eyes widened.
In the shadows of the destroyed graveyard, something was crawling out of the earth. A Murei Beast, bigger than any he had ever seen before.
Its eyes locked onto him.