⚔️ Chapter 2
The rain came without warning.
A low rumble rolled across the skies of Velis Sol, followed by the hiss of water striking steel. The city shimmered beneath it — towers glistening like spires of glass, their mirrored surfaces rippling with reflections of the storm. Below, the underdistrict turned to shadow and echo. Neon signs flickered over puddled streets, painting the wet pavement in ghostly hues of blue and red.
Kairu walked through it all with his hood pulled low, his coat soaked through. The silver mark burned faintly under his sleeve, tracing its slow, alien pulse. Every heartbeat felt heavier now, resonating with something that wasn't entirely his own.
He reached his apartment and slipped inside. The door closed with a dull click. For a moment, he just stood there — dripping water onto the wooden floor, listening to the hum of the conduits that lined the outer wall. His breath came in slow, uneven drafts.
He looked at his hand. The faint chain of light still shimmered across his skin, moving slightly, as if alive.
> "The vessel awakens…"
The words from earlier came back, cold as the rain. He didn't know what they meant — but deep down, in the part of him that dreamed of bleeding moons and burning mountains, he could feel what they implied.
Something had changed.
He went to the bathroom and flicked on the light. A weak glow filled the small space, reflecting off cracked tiles and a rusted mirror. His reflection looked back at him — tired, rain-soaked, eyes too old for his age. But the moment he leaned closer, the light flickered.
His reflection… smiled.
Kairu froze. His own lips hadn't moved.
The reflection's eyes darkened, pools of shifting gray swallowing the pupils. The edges of its face rippled, distorted by an unseen current, until the mirror seemed to breathe. His stomach twisted.
He stepped back.
The reflection stepped forward.
The air thickened. The hum of the conduits outside died, plunging the room into a strange, humming quiet. The light bulb above him buzzed, then went out. Only the glow of the mark beneath his sleeve remained — faint, trembling, like the last heartbeat of a dying star.
> "Kairu Ryoku…"
The voice came not from the mirror, but from behind it — deep, layered, echoing through glass and bone alike.
> "Your blood remembers the oath."
Kairu staggered backward, his shoulder slamming into the wall. "Who—who are you?"
The mirror darkened completely, like ink flooding its surface. The figure within was no longer his reflection. It was tall, faceless, robed in shadow that shimmered like water in moonlight. Chains of pale light coiled loosely around its arms.
> "I am what your blood was forged to bind."
The voice grew quieter — softer, almost human. "When the first Yorimashi sealed the storm, he tore a piece of it into his own soul. His descendants carry that fragment still. You… are the echo of his defiance."
Kairu's pulse roared in his ears. "Yorimashi…? What are you talking about?"
The figure tilted its head. The chains around it rattled faintly.
> "The name has faded with the centuries. But the curse does not fade. It only sleeps."
The mirror began to crack. Thin lines of light spread across the glass like veins of fire. Kairu raised his hand instinctively, the mark on his palm flaring in response. The air thrummed — energy surging from his chest outward.
The reflection reached forward — and from the mirror's surface, a hand made of shadow and light burst free.
Kairu stumbled back, crashing into the sink. The walls groaned. Every conduit in the apartment screamed with static. The hand of shadow brushed his cheek — cold as frost, yet searing with invisible heat.
> "Wake up, vessel."
The mirror shattered.
The blast threw Kairu to the floor. Shards of glass flew like silver dust, hanging in the air longer than they should have — suspended by invisible force. Each fragment reflected a different image — the man on the altar, the bleeding moon, the chained storm. All of it.
Then, silence.
The lights returned. The hum of the city came back. The glass fell to the floor, lifeless and ordinary once more.
Kairu gasped for breath, his palms cut and bleeding. The mark still glowed faintly beneath the red.
He looked up at the ruined mirror. The last shard still hanging in the frame shimmered — and in it, for just a heartbeat, he saw himself again. But not as he was.
In the reflection, his eyes burned silver.
And behind him stood a figure cloaked in darkness — smiling faintly, as if it had always been there.
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