Deep in the jungle, Shin and Kenzo were training under their master, Minato. The thick trees surrounded the training ground, while sunlight passed through the leaves in narrow golden beams. Minato watched the trainees carefully, correcting their movements whenever they made mistakes.
Shin was already an exceptional fighter, while Kenzo was learning to control his telekinetic abilities. Reika, however, struggled to discover any special ability of her own.
During their break, Shin noticed movement between the trees. Shin followed and soon found an injured girl lying beneath some bushes. Her clothes were torn, and several wounds covered her body.
Minato immediately carried her back toward the village hospital, while Shin and Kenzo followed closely behind.
The village doctor examined the girl and suddenly became serious. He recognized the markings on her clothing and quietly told Minato that she belonged to a forbidden clan.
Shin and Kenzo didn't understand what that meant, so Minato explained that the clan had once been made up of powerful ninja who had rebelled against humanity and started cult devoted to the demon Naraka.
"They sacrificed humans in exchange for demonic power."
Minato ordered the doctor to keep the girl's identity secret. He promised to take responsibility for her and make sure nobody harmed her because of her origins.
The girl was too frightened to speak, so Minato stayed beside her until she finally began to trust him. Since she couldn't tell him her name, he gave her one himself.
"From today onward, your name is Reika."
Reika quietly accepted the name.
From that day forward, Reika became part of Minato's household and training group.
Minato knew about Shin's mysterious eyes, which could bind enemies, and Kenzo's telekinetic power, but he couldn't discover anything special about Reika.
Reika couldn't summon energy or perform any technique, no matter how hard she trained. Still, Minato never treated her differently and continued teaching all three of them together.
Years passed, and the three trainees grew into close friends. Shin, Kenzo, and Reika trained together every day and eventually began protecting the village as a team. They also ate together, argued over small things, and spent their free time together.
Reika had arrived in the village without a family, but Shin and Kenzo slowly became like brothers to her, while Minato became the father figure she had never known.
Reika also met a young trainee shaman named Kazuto. He was quiet, nervous, and especially shy whenever Reika was around. Reika quickly discovered that teasing him was extremely entertaining. Whenever Kazuto returned toward the shrine, she would follow him and confess her feelings without hesitation.
"Kazuto, I love you."
"No."
Kazuto would immediately reject her, his face turning red.
Reika would laugh and continue following him anyway.
One afternoon, Shin and Reika were guarding the edge of the village when Shin noticed a young man watching them from the jungle.
The stranger immediately ran when he realized he had been discovered. Shin and Reika chased him through the trees, but the man suddenly threw a smoke bomb. Thick smoke filled the area, and by the time it cleared, he had disappeared.
The two hunters returned to the village and reported everything to Shinobu. She listened carefully and promised to investigate the stranger's identity. Neither Shin nor Reika knew that the young man had already reached a hidden village deep in the mountains.
His name was Makato.
Makato entered the chief's house and stood before an older man named Kobayashi.
Makato explained that he had discovered the village where his sister was living.
Kobayashi's expression immediately changed when he heard the news. He ordered Makato to gather the clan's warriors because they would raid the village and bring the girl back.
Their purpose wasn't to rescue her.
They intended to sacrifice her to Naraka.
That night, Kobayashi, his four sons, and ten of his men attacked the village. The guards and Lampmen were caught off guard as the invaders moved through the streets, killing those who attempted to stop them.
Saito, Kobayashi's eldest son, volunteered to retrieve Reika and took six men with him, including Makato.
Kobayashi remained behind with his other 2 sons and four warriors.
Meanwhile, Reika was spending a peaceful evening with Shin and Kenzo. Shin was in the kitchen preparing their special meal while Reika and Kenzo argued over the television remote. Their argument suddenly stopped when the electricity went out.
Shin immediately sensed danger.
He entered the living room and froze when he saw Kenzo lying unconscious on the floor.
Reika was standing in the corner, terrified, while Saito stood between them with his katana drawn. Shin immediately activated his eye power and attempted to bind Saito.
The invisible force wrapped around Saito's body.
But Saito broke free.
Shin grabbed a vase and threw it toward the swordsman. As Saito avoided it, Shin grabbed Reika's arm and pulled her toward the door.
"Run!"
They escaped into the street, only to find six armed men waiting outside. Makato stepped forward and introduced himself as Reika's younger brother. Reika stared at him in disbelief as he explained that their father wanted her returned to the clan because she was needed as a sacrifice to Naraka.
His words awakened memories buried deep inside Reika's mind.
She remembered being imprisoned inside a cage with her older sister, Akiho. She remembered their father taking them away to be sacrificed.
During their escape, Akiho had attacked one of the guards and helped Reika get away. When their pursuers surrounded them, Akiho hid Reika inside some bushes and deliberately ran in another direction so the others would follow her instead.
Reika never saw her sister again.
Makato told her that Akiho had eventually been sacrificed, leaving Reika as the final daughter needed to be scarficed to fulfill their father's promise. If Reika wasn't sacrificed, their clan would supposedly be doomed by Naraka.
Shin stepped in front of Reika.
"Stay behind me."
He pulled out the kitchen knife he had been using earlier and faced the attackers. Three men charged him at once, but Shin moved with incredible precision. He slipped between their attacks and struck their weak points, using the small knife to defeat them one after another.
Shin had always been a natural fighter.
Even Minato had struggled to keep up with him during training.
Before Shin could recover, Saito stepped forward with his katana. The two immediately clashed, Shin's kitchen knife meeting Saito's longer blade. Shin moved quickly, but Saito's strength and swordsmanship were overwhelming. One powerful strike sent Shin crashing to the ground.
Saito raised his sword.
Then Minato arrived.
"That's enough."
Minato stepped between Saito and the young hunters. Saito immediately turned his attention toward him, and the two swordsmen began fighting. Their blades clashed repeatedly as they moved through the street, neither willing to give the other an opening.
Minato managed to hold Saito back, but Makato suddenly attacked from behind.
His blade pierced Minato.
Makato struck again and again before Minato finally turned with the last of his strength and swung his sword.
The blade cut through Makato's neck.
Makato collapsed.
Saito saw his brother fall and attacked with everything he had. His katana slashed across Minato's chest, and the older hunter staggered before collapsing to the ground.
Reika stood frozen.
Shin was injured.
Kenzo was unconscious.
Minato was dead.
The three people who had become her family were being taken away from her one by one.
Reika's eyes trembled as she stared at Minato's body. For years, she had searched for the love of a father and the protection of brothers. She had finally found them in Minato, Shin, and Kenzo.
And now she was losing them.
Something inside her awakened.
The bodies scattered across the street suddenly moved.
Reika's power spread silently through the battlefield. Invisible threads appeared around the corpses, connecting broken limbs and damaged bodies. One by one, the dead warriors slowly rose from the ground.
They moved like puppets.
Even Makato's corpse stood again.
Saito stepped backward in shock.
"What... are you?"
He swung his katana at one of the puppets and cut its body apart. But before the pieces could fall, invisible threads pulled them back together. The puppet rose again and continued toward him.
Saito attacked repeatedly.
Every time he cut the bodies apart, they simply reassembled.
The battle slowly exhausted him. The puppets surrounded him from every direction, grabbing his arms and legs and preventing him from properly using his katana. He struggled to break free, but the dead continued closing around him.
Makato's puppet seized him from behind.
Saito struggled desperately.
"Get off me!"
Reika slowly walked toward Minato's fallen body and picked up his sword. Her face was expressionless, but her eyes carried the grief of everything she had lost.
She turned toward Saito.
The puppets held him completely still.
Reika raised Minato's katana and walked closer.
Saito stared at her in fear.
Reika raised Minato's katana and struck Saito directly on the head. The blade cut downward from his forehead to his mouth, splitting his face into two. Saito staggered backward, his body losing strength, before collapsing to the ground, dead.
The street became silent.
Reika turned away from the battlefield and walked into the darkness. Behind her, the dead puppets followed silently, their invisible threads stretching between them as they moved.