The morning sun bled through the paper shoji screens, casting long, skeletal shadows across the courtyard. Kai sat on a weathered stone bench, his gaze fixed on Sayomi. She was a statue of grief, her eyes vacant, her voice locked behind the iron bars of trauma.
"Sayomi," Kai whispered, his voice cracking the silence. "Just one word. Give me a sign that you're still in there."
She didn't move. Her silence was an ocean, vast and suffocating.
"I will win," Kai said, his eyes hardening into flint. "No matter what this 'Rite' demands, I will burn it all down to bring you back."
The crunch of gravel announced the arrival of the others. Reina and Kurone walked in, their faces tight with a stress that didn't belong on students. Behind them trailed Itsuki, Satsuki, and Kaida.
"Hey, Kai," Reina said, her voice unusually small.
"Rei. Kuro." Kai leaned back, his eyes narrowing. "You look like you've seen a funeral."
"Have you told him yet?" Itsuki asked, crossing his arms.
"I was getting to it!" Kurone snapped, her pride flaring briefly before dying out.
Reina took a breath. "Kai... we've been selected. All of us. For the Chikei no Gi. It's a kingdom-wide free-for-all. No teams. No mercy. Just pure bloodshed until the quota is met."
"You say it as if it's a merit," Kai said, his voice dropping an octave, turning cold and predatory.
Reina flinched. "Your voice... it sounds different, Kai."
"Think about it," Kai continued, ignoring her. "A Masakado, the Demon Queen's heir, a master combatant, a Noble, and a relative to Prince Altheron. They didn't 'select' you. They're harvesting the strongest seeds before they can sprout. It's a culling."
"It's an order from Valena," Kurone argued. "She managed to sway twenty Solaris Royal Guard generals. She has the constitutional power to enact this. She's... she's basically a dictator now."
"A snake with a crown," Kai muttered.
"We have to go. Training with Lyra-sensei starts now," Kaida said, pulling Reina away. "See you later, Flame."
"Catch you later... Lily," Kai replied, his eyes following them until they vanished.
The moment the courtyard was empty, three shadows detached from the trees. Renaria, Zira, and Kaelin knelt before the bench.
"Report," Kai commanded.
"Master, it is worse than we feared," Renaria said. "The tournament is a lure. Valena is using the students as bait to force 'Umbra' into the light. She used her... charms... to make the Generals drop to their knees and beg to sign the decree."
"490 participants," Kaelin added. "90 seasoned killers, 109 Shinobi. The Vael and Hōzuki clans have sent their best. They want Masakado blood."
"And the Royals?"
"Altheron, Viona, and Caelina are confirmed," Zira hissed. "Aurelia is a 'Contender'—she's the King's proxy. Killing her is impossible; she's bound by a resurrection curse."
Kai's knuckles whitened. "They want a monster? I'll give them one. But I have to fight as 'Kai' without breaking the façade. How do I bridge that gap?"
"I'll handle that," a voice drawled. Ma'am Neko stepped out from behind a pillar, smirking. "I'll teach you to fight like a Force."
Zira's hand went to her blade. "One wrong step, Neko, and I'll carve your heart out."
"I'd like to see you try, kitten," Neko purred. The air between them ionized, the pressure rising until Renaria placed a hand on Zira's shoulder. The shadows vanished as quickly as they appeared.
"What is a 'Force'?" Kai asked, standing up.
"A deity born from a concept," Neko explained, her eyes turning serious. "Older than the stars. Concepts like Fujin, the Wind. To fight them, you need more than skill. You need Acuity—the ability to process reality across seven hearts and five brains. Follow me."
They entered a cave deep beneath the academy. It was a cathedral of light and shadow, beautiful yet oppressive. The moment Kai stepped inside, the air itself felt like lead. He collapsed, blood seeping from his pores as the atmospheric pressure tried to crush his bones.
"If you're going to kill a god, you must survive an environment that hates your existence," Neko said. She snapped her fingers.
SHINK.
Massive spikes of congealed blood—a cocktail of Demon, God, and Yokai essence—erupted from the ground, impaling Kai's limbs and torso, carefully avoiding his vitals. The poison was a liquid fire, rewriting his DNA in a scream of agony.
"MA'AM! You'll kill him!"
The voice was high and panicked. Sayomi was standing at the cave entrance, her eyes wide, her voice finally breaking through the trauma.
"Ah, look who's talking," Neko said, her face cold. "Don't worry. He'll be fine... probably. Now, let's go. I heard the cafeteria has mochi."
"But—!"
"I said he'll be fine."
While Kai suffered in the dark, the Akatsuki grounds were a theater of war.
Reina and Kurone were locked in a dance of death with Lyra, the embodiment of perfected hard work. Nearby, Itsuki, Satsuki, and Kaida were being dismantled by Elara, who moved with a terrifying, effortless luck—a "Gojo-esque" nonchalance that made every strike a critical hit.
"Is that all?" Lyra mocked, dodging Kurone's shikomizue.
Kurone spat blood, using her own leakage to create a slick on the floor. "Reina! Now!"
Reina surged forward. She didn't just dump her Kishō; she pulsed it. By rapidly fluctuating her output between 1% and 100%, she created a harmonic imbalance—a Resonance Surge. Her fist became a beacon of blinding white light.
"FOR THE MASAKADO!" she screamed, burying her fist in Lyra's gut.
The shockwave cracked the stone tiles for ten yards. Lyra didn't move, but a thin trail of blood leaked from her lips. She smirked. "A punch that actually felt like something. Not bad, brat."
Reina and Kurone collapsed, their bodies shutting down from the effort. On the other side, Itsuki had managed a desperate headbutt against Elara, earning himself a broken nose but the satisfaction of seeing the "Invincible" teacher blink in surprise.
"Rematch! I want a rematch!" Elara cheered as they limped toward the infirmary.
Back in the cave, the silence was broken by the sound of cracking glass.
The blood spikes were shattering.
Ma'am Neko and Sayomi watched from the shadows. "He figured it out," Neko whispered.
Kai hadn't just endured the poison; he had tainted the spikes with his own blood, causing a molecular rejection. As the spikes exploded, Kai stood up. His body had undergone a "Refinement." His muscles were lean, corded like steel cables, his breathing perfectly synchronized with the rhythm of the cave's shadows.
Neko launched a volley of blood kunai and tendrils.
Kai didn't move his feet. His eyes were clouded with a milky white Kishō, blinded to the physical world but open to the Acuity of the Force. In a blur that left an afterimage of black ink, he vanished.
A cold blade touched Neko's throat.
Kai stood behind her, a katana formed entirely from his own solidified blood gripped in a steady hand. The cave trembled as his presence flared—a silent, heavy pressure that felt like the weight of a mountain.
Then, the light in his eyes returned. The blood sword vanished, and Kai collapsed.
Sayomi rushed forward, sliding onto her knees and pulling his head into her lap. She cradled him, her tears falling onto his scarred face.
"You're different, Kai," Neko said, looking at her nicked throat. "You didn't just adapt. You evolved. You're not a god yet... but the potential is terrifying."
END OF CHAPTER