Chapter 11 – When Shadows Remember
The Almighty Katana: 全能の刀 (Zennō no Katana)
Season 1: Exile of the Blade
By Paul Richard
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Kenji stared into Kaede's vacant eyes.
> "Who… are you?"
That single question pierced deeper than any blade ever had.
She sat up slowly, blinking, looking around the ruined shrine like she was seeing it for the first time. The warmth that had once filled her voice—gone. The Kaede who had walked through storms with him, who knew the legends, the herbs, the whispering forests—was no longer there.
Kenji trembled. "Kaede, it's me… Kenji. You know me."
She stood, confused but calm, like a stranger waking in someone else's home. "I… don't remember being here. I don't remember you."
Kenji clenched his fists.
Seijintō hummed faintly. It had tried to warn him. But he had touched the blade of oblivion—and Kaede had paid the price.
Not just her name on the altar. Her entire self was unraveling.
He couldn't let it end like this.
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Into the Mirror World
Determined to restore her memory, Kenji returned to the shrine that night. Kaede rested at the foot of the mountain, unaware of what she had lost.
Seijintō guided him.
With every step into the shrine's shadows, he whispered, "Let me see what she saw. Let me remember what was forgotten."
As his blade touched the altar once more, the world fractured.
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He stood in an ancient battlefield drenched in twilight.
It was not a dream.
It was a memory—but not his own.
All around him, shattered katanas littered the blood-soaked ground. Trees burned violet flame. Warriors screamed silently as their shadows broke free from their bodies, slashing wildly.
In the center of the battlefield stood a temple twisted by time. And inside…
Kaede.
Except—this Kaede remembered everything. Her eyes widened when she saw him.
> "Kenji?"
He rushed forward. "You're here! You remember?"
She looked around, frightened. "I've been stuck in this… loop. I remember dying. Forgetting. Over and over. I couldn't find you."
Kenji pulled her into a tight embrace. "I'm getting you out of here."
> "You can't," said a voice behind them.
They turned.
A familiar figure emerged—taller now. Dressed in the tattered uniform of the Ryuzen Academy. Sword glowing faintly red.
Takeshi Raion.
> "You left me to die, Kenji," he said, eyes burning. "And now… you're dragging her into it too?"
Kenji's breath caught. "Takeshi… I spared you."
> "Exactly. And now your mercy has a cost."
Takeshi stepped forward, blade raised.
But Kaede stood between them.
> "He came back for me," she said quietly. "Can you say the same?"
Takeshi hesitated.
A long silence. Then, the temple crumbled around them.
> "This isn't real," Kenji whispered. "It's a test."
The ground shook.
The battlefield shattered.
Kenji grabbed Kaede's hand. "Hold on!"
Light exploded.
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Waking the Memory
They both woke with a gasp, back in the shrine.
Kaede blinked. "Kenji…"
She remembered.
Kenji exhaled with relief, falling back against the stone wall. "You're back."
But before they could speak further, Seijintō flashed violently. A warning.
Kenji looked outside the shrine.
Smoke rose in the distance—coming from the village.
He stood.
> "We're not done yet."
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Suspense Ending
As they rushed toward the village, a cold voice echoed through the wind:
> "You survived the shadow. But now you'll face the blade that remembers everything."
In the distance, Kurojin stood at the village gates.
Behind him, three new masked warriors emerged.
Each held a sword glowing with a different cursed light.
And the seal of the Council of Blades shimmered on their robes.
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