Kaen pushed open the creaking door of the apartment, still dazed by what had just happened. His footsteps echoed in the narrow hallway with its faded walls. The familiar smell of vegetable soup greeted him, a jarring contrast to the violence of the marketplace.
— "Kaen?"
His sister Sakina appeared in the kitchen doorway, a rag in hand. Her long hair was hastily tied back, and her sharp eyes revealed a woman already burdened with too many responsibilities for her age. She frowned at the sight of her brother, disheveled, dusty, and short of breath.
— "What did you do this time?" she asked sharply.
Kaen collapsed onto the old wooden chair in the living room and let out a sigh.
— "I didn't do anything, Sakina. I swear… It was criminals. They wanted to sow chaos. They said they were acting in the name of some organization… the Haseidan."
The rag nearly slipped from Sakina's hands. She sat across from him, her face suddenly grave.
— "You said… Haseidan?"
Kaen nodded.
She lowered her voice, as if the very walls might betray them.
— "They're not just street thugs, Kaen. It's a criminal organization. They infiltrate everything: trade, politics, the army. Their goal is domination, the law of the strongest. Those who fall into their hands either disappear… or become their soldiers."
The young man clenched his fists, remembering the translucent spear he had seen, the golden light that had burst from him.
— "So… it wasn't a hallucination. Those weapons, that power…"
Sakina studied him closely, worry etched across her face. She knew her brother all too well: impulsive, always ready to meddle in things beyond him.
— "Promise me one thing, Kaen. Don't go near them. Whatever you saw today, don't try to understand it. It's too dangerous."
Kaen turned his eyes away. He didn't want to lie to her, but he already knew he couldn't ignore what he had felt.
The Friend with Dark Eyes
The next day, at the foot of Kuzari's crumbling apartment blocks, a figure waited for Kaen, leaning against a graffiti-covered wall. His slim build, sharp features, and dark eyes that seemed to carry a burden too heavy gave him an air of mystery.
— "You were at the market again yesterday, weren't you?" he asked in a calm, almost indifferent tone.
— "Tobias…" Kaen breathed, relieved to see him. "Yeah. And trust me, it was no walk in the park."
Tobias smirked faintly, irony in his eyes.
— "I heard about the incident. Men from the Haseidan. They say someone stood up to one of them… with a spirit weapon."
Kaen froze.
— "You… you knew what that was?"
Tobias lifted his gaze to the gray sky.
— "A ñinkû. The weapon of the soul. Few people can wield one. Fewer still at your age."
Kaen's brow furrowed.
— "And you—how do you know all this?"
Silence fell. In Tobias's eyes shone a strange, almost painful gleam.
— "Because I, too… carry something. Something I didn't choose."
He turned away, as though his own words weighed him down. A shiver ran through Kaen. His friend wasn't just another companion from the slums. There was a shadow within him… something dangerous.
Tobias suddenly shifted the subject, his tone detached once more:
— "Listen, if you want to survive, you need to understand this hidden world. The Senshi, the organizations, the burden of the seal… Nothing happens by chance."
He placed a firm hand on Kaen's shoulder, his gaze burning with sudden sincerity.
— "And believe me… you and I are tied to something far greater than Kuzari."