The room was silent. Heavy. Oppressive. Darkness filled every corner, broken only by a faint red glow that pulsed from the walls like a heartbeat.
At the center of the room stood a man. Still. Unmoving.
He faced a large window overlooking the city below. Lights stretched endlessly into the distance, cars moving like slow streams beneath the night sky. From this height, everything looked small. Insignificant.
Behind him, the door opened. Footsteps echoed.
Three figures entered quickly, kneeling without hesitation.
"We have executed them, Master," one of them said.
The man did not move. "...All of them?" His voice came out calm. Too calm.
A brief pause. "...The parents are dead."
Silence. A dangerous silence.
"We did not find the child."
The air shifted. Subtly. Then the man turned. Slowly. His eyes burned.
"...You didn't find the child?"
The kneeling men lowered their heads further.
"We searched the entire building, Master"
"You searched," he repeated softly. A step forward. "You searched and failed."
His hand lifted slightly. Flames ignited instantly. Violent. Bright. Alive. The temperature in the room spiked.
"I told you," his voice dropped, filled with restrained fury, "to kill them all."
The flames surged wildly, wrapping around his arm.
"Do you have any idea how long it took to find them?"
The men trembled. "Y Yes, Master"
"Then why," he cut in sharply, "is the boy still alive?"
No answer came. There was none to give.
The flames exploded outward. In a single instant, the men screamed. Fire consumed them completely. Their voices were cut short as the flames swallowed everything. Within seconds, nothing remained. Only ash.
The room returned to silence.
The man exhaled slowly. "...Useless."
Behind him, another presence stepped forward. A boy. Slightly older than the one they spoke of. Calm. Composed. He held a box in his hands, wrapped in dark cloth. His eyes remained steady. Unshaken.
"Ruo."
The man's voice echoed softly.
"Yes, Master."
"Follow those fools' trail."
Ruo nodded once.
"Find the child."
A pause. The man's gaze hardened. "...And kill him."
Ruo bowed his head slightly. "Yes, Master."
Without another word, he turned and walked out. The door closed behind him. And once again, the room fell into silence.
---
Elsewhere, the house felt empty. Too empty.
Noritoshi Kento stood in the middle of it. Alone.
The shadows had calmed. Slowly retreating back into the corners of the room, into him. What remained was stillness. Cold. Unforgiving stillness.
Kento's chest rose and fell unevenly. His eyes moved slowly across the room. His mother. His father. Still there. Still not moving.
"I can't stay here."
The thought came suddenly. Clear. Sharp.
He swallowed hard, forcing his body to move. Step by step. Toward the stairs. Every sound felt louder now. His breathing. His footsteps. The faint creak of the house. It felt like the walls themselves were watching him.
"They might come back." His heart tightened. "I have to leave."
He moved faster. Up the stairs. Into his room. The same room from earlier. The game still on. The screen still glowing faintly. Like nothing had happened.
Kento stared at it for a moment. "That was just minutes ago." It felt like a different life.
He turned away quickly. No time. No time to think. He grabbed a small bag, stuffing in whatever he could find. Clothes. His phone. Anything useful. His hands moved quickly, but his mind was racing.
What were they? The clans. His father's voice echoed faintly in his head. You will understand.
Kento clenched his jaw. "I don't understand anything."
He zipped the bag shut. That was enough. He needed to leave. Now.
He turned toward the door, then stopped. One more thing.
Slowly, he stepped out of his room and walked toward his parents' bedroom. The door creaked slightly as he pushed it open. The room was quiet. Untouched. Like nothing had happened there. But everything had.
Kento stepped inside. "Why?" His voice came out faint. "Why didn't you tell me anything?"
No answer came. Only silence.
He shook his head. "Doesn't matter."
He turned to leave, but something grabbed the floor. A sharp, unnatural sound echoed behind him. Kento froze. Slowly, he turned.
From the shadows, a hand emerged. Dark. Shifting. Unnatural. It pressed against the floor. Then another followed. And another.
Kento's heart jumped. "Not again." He stepped back quickly. "I don't have time for this!"
He turned to run, but his body wouldn't move. "What?"
It was like something was holding him in place. Not physically, but pulling. Guiding.
The shadow hands moved. Not toward him, but toward the wardrobe. They pointed. Still. Intentional.
Kento stared. "What?"
The hands didn't move again. They simply waited. Like they were telling him something.
"You want me to check that?"
No answer. But the feeling was clear.
Kento hesitated, then slowly stepped toward the wardrobe. His hand reached out and opened it. Clothes hung neatly inside. Nothing unusual.
"This is pointless."
Still, he began pulling them out. One by one. Shirts. Jackets. Pants. Everything fell to the floor. Messy. Scattered. His movements became faster. More desperate.
"There's nothing here!"
Then he stopped. Something was off. Behind the clothes, there was something hidden. Tucked away carefully.
Kento reached in slowly. His fingers brushed against something solid. Cold. He pulled it out.
A sword.
It was wrapped in cloth, but he could feel its shape through the fabric. Ancient. Heavy. Important.
Before he could unwrap it, the shadows moved. Fast. Sudden. A hand shot forward and grabbed the bundle from his grip.
"What?!"
Kento stumbled back in shock. The shadow hand held the sword for a brief second, then slowly sank. Descending back into his shadow. Gone.
Kento stared at the floor. "It took it."
His breath slowed. "Why?"
No answer came. But somehow, he knew. It wasn't gone. It was with him. Part of him.
"This doesn't make sense."
But there was no time to figure it out. Kento shook his head. "I need to move."
He grabbed a few more things quickly. Whatever he could carry. Then turned and walked out of the room. Out of the house. Step by step. Without looking back.
The door remained open behind him. The night air hit his face as he stepped outside. Cold. Sharp. Real.
Kento paused for a moment, looking up at the dark sky. "They're coming."
He could feel it deep inside. "They won't stop."
His fists clenched. The shadows beneath him stirred slightly.
And with that, Noritoshi Kento stepped into the night.
Unaware that somewhere in the city, someone was already searching for him.