Chapter 4: The Ghost and the Sword

A loud thud echoed through the room, followed by an indignant yelp. Kazama's hand had collided with Liora's forehead, the sound sharp and unmistakable. His silver hair swayed as he glared at the ghostly figure floating in front of him.

"How many times do I have to tell you?!" he barked, his voice tinged with a mix of annoyance and exasperation. "Don't just appear in front of me like that! Do you have any idea how creepy that is? Next time, knock on the door, you understand, dumb slut?"

Liora, the great warrior whose legend had shaped an entire lineage, recoiled in mock outrage, rubbing her forehead with one glowing hand. "Don't hit me like that!" she shouted, her voice echoing with a faint ethereal hum. "I might not be your real grandmother, but I'm still older than you!" Her eyes narrowed, and she raised her hand as if to strike back, only for it to pass straight through Kazama's head like mist.

The boy smirked, completely unfazed. "Yeah, good luck with that. You're a ghost, remember?" He leaned back on his bed, arms crossed, looking utterly smug.

Liora gritted her teeth, her glowing silver hair shimmering with an otherworldly light as she floated closer. "One day, Kazama, one day, you'll regret this insolence! Just you wait!"

Kazama rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. You've been saying that since I was five. Still waiting for that 'day' to show up."

Liora crossed her arms, her ghostly form flickering slightly. She muttered something under her breath about ungrateful brats, but Kazama ignored her.

---

Kazama leaned against the wall of his room, the ambient light from the enchanted chandelier casting soft shadows across the stone walls. He sighed, looking at the glowing figure hovering a few feet above the ground. Her presence, while routine at this point, still managed to be exhausting.

"Seriously, though," Kazama began, running a hand through his silver hair. "Do you have to pop out of nowhere every single time? You scared the life out of me when I was a kid."

Liora's expression softened, though her usual air of annoyance lingered. "Well, excuse me for being bound to a sword you decided to pick up out of a random pile of rubble," she retorted, floating closer. "I didn't ask for this either, you know."

Kazama scoffed, a faint smirk playing on his lips. "You didn't ask for this, but here we are. A legendary warrior reduced to babysitting a kid who doesn't even believe in all that noble nonsense your name stands for."

"Reduced?!" Liora's voice rose an octave, her ethereal glow flaring for a moment. "I'm here to guide you! Do you have any idea how lucky you are to even see me? Most people would kill for a chance to learn from the great Liora!"

Kazama's smirk widened as he leaned forward. "Oh, yeah. Super lucky. Because nothing says 'luck' like being haunted by a woman who can't even open doors."

Liora glared at him, her glowing sword shimmering faintly at her side. "Keep it up, Kazama. See how long your luck lasts when I—"

"When you what?" Kazama interrupted, raising an eyebrow. "You can't touch me, remember? I'm untouchable." He tapped his chest for emphasis, his tone dripping with mock arrogance.

Liora groaned, floating away in frustration.

---

Kazama leaned back on his bed, his smirk fading slightly as his gaze shifted to the sword propped against the wall. Its blade, though dull now, had once been a beacon of light—Liora's weapon, the so-called "Glowing Sword."

He ran a hand over his face, his voice quieter now. "You've been with me since I was a kid. That's... over a decade now, isn't it?"

Liora, still hovering near the ceiling, softened at his tone. "Yeah," she said, her voice losing some of its sharpness. "It's been a while, hasn't it? You were just a little boy when you found that sword. I still don't know why you decided to pick it up from that pile of junk."

Kazama shrugged. "I was curious. It looked... out of place. And then, the moment I touched it, bam! There you were, floating in front of me, all shiny and dramatic."

Liora chuckled softly. "And you screamed like a baby, remember?"

Kazama shot her a glare. "I was five! You just appeared out of nowhere!"

The two fell into a rare moment of silence, the room quiet except for the faint hum of the glowing sword.

---

As they sat in companionable quiet, Kazama finally broke the silence. "So, tell me again why none of the Glowing Sword family is actually related to you?"

Liora sighed, her expression turning more serious. She floated closer, sitting cross-legged in mid-air. "It's a long story, Kazama. But the short version is this: after I died, the village I lived in decided to honor my name. They were the ones who created the Glowing Sword family, not me."

Kazama frowned, leaning forward. "So, they just... made it up? The whole 'descendants of Liora' thing?"

Liora nodded. "At first, it was just friends and family—people who knew me personally. They wanted to keep my memory alive, to honor what I stood for. But as time passed, the story got twisted. The family grew, people started claiming connections they didn't have, and before anyone knew it, the Glowing Sword family became this massive, bloated institution."

Kazama leaned back, processing her words. "So, all the nobles running around with their heads held high... they're all frauds?"

"Pretty much," Liora said with a shrug. "But it's not entirely their fault. Most of them don't even know the truth. It's been thousands of years, Kazama. People believe what they're told."

Kazama's lips curled into a wry smile. "And here I thought I was just being a cynical jerk. Turns out I was right all along."

"Don't let it go to your head," Liora muttered, though there was a hint of amusement in her voice.

Kazama looked back at the sword, his mind swirling with thoughts. The legacy of Liora, the truth behind the family's rise to nobility, the lies that had been woven into history—it was all so much bigger than him. And yet, here he was, the only one who knew the truth, guided by the ghost of the woman who had started it all.

"One more thing," Kazama said, breaking the silence.

Liora raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Do you think they'd believe me if I told them their great ancestor is a dumb ghost who can't even win an argument?"

Liora's eyes flared. "KAZAMA!"

Her voice echoed through the room, but Kazama only laughed, his silver hair falling into his eyes as he leaned back on the bed.