When the whole world betrays you, do you fight back? Or do you submit?
He had no appetite. A cup of black coffee was his breakfast.
Kenmei Isayama sat in his usual spot at the dining table. He picked up the cup and took a sip. The coffee was scalding and bitter, but his expression didn't change as it slid down his throat.
"Sis..."
Kenmei stared blankly at the empty seat across from him. That was Sakura's spot. Seeing it empty made the bitter coffee lose its taste entirely.
"Kenmei, you're slacking off again!"
A familiar voice from his memories suddenly snapped him out of his daze.
Did I get up too fast? Am I hallucinating?
For a moment, he thought he saw his sister sitting there, cheeks puffed out in fake anger, leaning on the table and lecturing him.
"This won't do! You have to eat a proper breakfast."
Kenmei hated hassle and always kept his meals simple, so Sakura used to nag him like this before serving him a hot plate of food.
Since the day she died, that scene had never happened again.
He could feel the soft breath of the "girl" right in front of him, see the face he knew and loved more than anyone else's.
"Sis..."
It felt so real. Kenmei was stunned.
It was as if she had walked straight out of her portrait, standing there alive and well.
A flicker of pain crossed Kenmei's face. He knew exactly what this "sister" in front of him was.
Sakura leaned in and hugged Kenmei, gently cradling his head against her chest.
"What's wrong? Don't recognize me?"
Her voice was soft.
"It's me, your big sister... Kenmei."
It looked like a touching reunion between siblings.
That is, if you ignored the fact that her serene smile was slowly twisting into something sinister, and a clear line of blood was cracking open at the corners of her mouth.
Rrrrip. Her mouth unhinged, stretching nearly two feet wide. Inside that gaping maw were three rows of serrated teeth, a rough, barbed tongue, and thick, sticky saliva stringing between her jaws.
This wasn't a person.
One look was enough to tank your sanity. It was a massive, horrific Cursed Spirit.
The gaping mouth slowly engulfed the space above Kenmei's head. At that size, she could swallow a whole watermelon—or a human head—in one bite.
"Hey, little brother..."
The girl's gentle brown eyes had turned into crimson, vertical slits. She smiled cruelly, her voice now a raspy screech, like nails on a chalkboard.
"Big sister is hungry too..."
Facing his sister-turned-monster and her invitation for a meal—where he was the meal—Kenmei remained still.
The "Cursed Spirit" stared greedily at him. It was obvious what "breakfast" meant.
But this monster wearing human skin didn't know one thing. Beneath Kenmei's chair, deep in his shadow, something terrifying lay in wait. The calm surface of the shadow began to ripple.
Provoked by her aggression, a pair of cruel, beastly eyes—far more terrifying than hers—opened in the darkness.
Blood-red eyes locked onto her. Whatever this unknown entity was, it looked ready to leap from the dark and tear her to shreds.
But "Sakura Isayama" was clueless.
Kenmei, eyes closed and resting in her arms, sensed the killing intent bubbling up from below. He opened one eye and shot a glare at the shadow on the floor.
Sensing its master's disapproval, the monster in the shadow seemed annoyed, maybe even a little hurt. With a low whimper, it sank back into the "shadow."
The phantom of the terrifying beast vanished, and silence returned.
Kenmei closed his eyes again, continuing to play this twisted game of family.
Unfortunately, the Cursed Spirit, having dropped its disguise, narrowed its eyes impatiently. It couldn't wait any longer.
Since breaking free from its seal, the overwhelming urge for blood had been driving it insane.
Its starving gut demanded warm, fresh blood.
Bite down! Eat him!
Born from humanity's darkest malice, Cursed Spirits are naturally violent. Slaughter and blood are all they crave.
With a terrifying growl, the Curse snapped its jaws shut, aiming to bite Kenmei's head clean off.
But the expected spray of blood never came. Nothing happened.
Time seemed to freeze in that second.
It wasn't that the "Sakura" part of her was fighting back to save her brother.
It was something else. An invisible force had completely enveloped the "Cursed Spirit."
"Why?! Why?! Why?!"
Her mouth wouldn't close. Her arms, wrapped around Kenmei, were locked in place.
The confused Curse began to emit crimson smoke—its own Cursed Energy burning frantically, trying to fight this force.
It let out a shriek that would drive a normal person mad. The sonic blast shattered the coffee cup on the table.
But that was it.
She couldn't move an inch. Her body was imprisoned by an invisible power.
"Why can't I move?!!!"
Even blinded by bloodlust, the Curse realized something was wrong.
The anomaly was coming from the boy still resting in her arms. Her "brother."
"It hurts, doesn't it? I'm sorry..."
The boy's calm voice seemed to hold a strange magic. The violent, crimson aura she was radiating was instantly washed away, vanishing without a trace.
Kenmei, who had been hugging Sakura's waist tight, finally let go. He did it slowly, reluctantly.
When he opened his eyes again, his irises—identical to Sakura's brown ones—had turned a deep, abyssal blue. Within them, silver particles swirled, shining brighter than stars.
At the same time, a black raven symbol appeared on the back of his hand. The mark of an ancient school.
Actually, before his stint as a "Flesh Hound," Kenmei had gone through another simulation. That was his true first run. And from that experience, he gained a power from the Warp: Psychic Power.
His master? Ahzek Ahriman.
Kenmei looked at the monstrous form of Sakura, his eyes filled with sorrow. His heart felt like it was being ripped apart.
No one could accept seeing their loved one turned into this.
He had used his immense psychic power to completely immobilize her.
Suddenly, a spiked brass collar appeared in his hand. The air filled with the scent of burning sulfur and blood.
The bound Curse looked at the collar with pure terror, struggling frantically to escape. But it was useless. Kenmei, annoyed by the noise, even silenced her voice with a thought.
Without hesitation, Kenmei bit his finger and dripped blood onto the collar. The brass drank the blood like parched earth. Having tasted blood, the collar glowed faintly with a reddish mist.
Prep work done, Kenmei gently pried the collar open.
Under the Curse's hateful glare, he placed the collar around her neck.
The large brass collar snapped shut, automatically adjusting to fit perfectly.
The changes were instant. The terrifying Curse roared in agony.
Her Cursed Energy was being suppressed.
Her massive, distorted body began to shrink, returning to the size of a normal teenage girl.
The hideous face smoothed out, becoming delicate and beautiful again. She was once again a lovely girl with skin as white as snow and hair like fine silk.
The collar around her neck gave her a vulnerable, almost fragile look.
"Sis..."
Kenmei gazed softly into Sakura's blood-red eyes, which were still filled with killing intent toward him.
"This time, no one is going to separate us."