The Key and the Cage
Darkness.
Not the kind that comes from closing your eyes — but a darkness so deep it felt alive.
Tsukihana floated.
No ground beneath her. No sky above.
Just the endless echo of her breath.
And then—voices.
Hundreds.
Thousands.
Screaming. Laughing. Crying. Whispering her name like a curse… or a prayer.
"Tsukihana."
"You are the cage."
"You are the key."
She tried to speak. Her mouth wouldn't open.
Her body felt heavy. Like it wasn't really hers anymore.
And then…
A spark.
A pulse of silver flame in the void.
It drifted toward her like a falling star, and the voices fell silent — as if afraid.
Then she saw him.
⸻
Face to Face with the Hollow King
He wore no crown.
No armor.
He stood barefoot on the invisible air — a tall figure cloaked in shadow, his face half-covered by a cracked porcelain mask.
One eye glowed gold. The other… hollow.
Tsukihana trembled as he stepped closer.
Her Vein flared in response — purple tendrils flickering across her arms and face.
"You've come far," he said in a deep, echoing voice. "And still you don't understand what you are."
Tsukihana forced herself to speak.
"You're the Hollow King."
He tilted his head. "Yes."
"Why am I here?"
"Because you let me in," he whispered. "Long ago. Long before you were born."
She shook her head. "No. I didn't choose this."
"You did. You just don't remember."
The Forgotten Choice
Suddenly, the void shifted.
Memories flooded in — but they weren't hers.
A battlefield of blackened skies.
A girl — a younger version of Tsukihana — kneeling before the Hollow King, blood on her hands, pleading.
"Take me instead," the younger Tsuki said.
"Spare them."
The Hollow King touched her forehead, and his brand appeared.
Back in the present, Tsukihana gasped.
"That's not real…"
"It is," he said. "Your soul was reborn, but the promise remained. You became my cage — to seal what the world could not kill."
She looked down. Her body flickered — no longer flesh, but light.
"Then why do I feel like I'm breaking?"
He stepped closer.
"Because cages don't last forever."
A Terrible Offer
The Hollow King raised his hand.
A small, burning crown appeared in the air between them — silver and black, pulsing with raw power.
"You can free me," he said. "And become something more."
Tsukihana backed away.
"I'm not your weapon."
He smiled. "No. You are my heir. The world already fears you. They fear what you carry. But together, we can make them bow instead."
Her fists clenched.
"No."
He stepped closer. "You're already dying, Tsuki. Your Vein is cracking. Soon, it will consume you — or others will kill you out of fear."
Tsukihana's voice trembled. "What if I find another way?"
He tilted his head again.
"There is no other way."
And then—
He held out the crown.
Her Vein pulsed so violently it knocked her backward.
Reality Returns — With Blood
Tsukihana gasped awake, choking.
The air was thick with smoke.
The temple was half-destroyed. Rubble everywhere.
She coughed and pulled herself out from under a broken pillar.
"Renjiro—!"
No answer.
"Kira?!"
Nothing.
Then she saw the blood.
A trail.
Fresh.
She stumbled forward, her legs weak, following it down a narrow hall. Her Hollow Vein sparked against the walls — reacting to something close. Something familiar.
She reached a collapsed doorway and pushed the stones aside.
Inside—
Renjiro lay against the wall, bleeding, conscious but barely.
Next to him… was Kira.
But something was wrong.
Her hands were glowing with black Vein energy — not red.
"Kira…" Tsukihana whispered.
Kira turned slowly.
And her eyes—were no longer her own.
They were hollow.
Empty.
And behind her, a shadow flickered across the wall — the Hollow King's shape, smiling through her.