Chapter 15: Kaizen’s Descent

The Frozen Wastes stretched endlessly before Kaizen, a vast expanse of ice and death. The wind howled like a wounded beast, and the sky above was a dull gray, devoid of warmth.

Kaizen pulled his tattered cloak tighter around himself, though he knew it was useless. The cold had long since seeped into his bones, but it didn't matter. Pain was nothing compared to what burned inside him—rage, grief, and the insatiable hunger of the shards coursing through his veins.

Sayuri was gone. Daigo was dead by his hands. The village had turned against him. And now, they had banished him like a dog.

Let them.

He had given everything—his faith, his honor, his love. And in return, he had been cast aside, left to rot in this frozen hell.

But he wouldn't die here. No.

He would make them bleed.

The Call of the Demon

Deep beneath his skin, the cursed power of the shards pulsed. His body was no longer his own. Ever since he had absorbed the essence of the snake demon and the 100-million-strong spirit of vengeance, he had felt different.

At first, it had been subtle. A whisper in his mind. A flicker of unnatural strength.

But now, the demon was awake.

"You are wasting time." The voice slithered through his thoughts, cold and hissing like a serpent.

Kaizen clenched his jaw. "Shut up."

"You march toward death. You are weak. Power is within your grasp. Why do you resist?"

He ignored it. He had no choice but to keep moving.

But then the ground beneath him shifted.

Something was here.

The Beasts of the Wastes

The ice cracked violently, and from beneath, monstrous figures emerged—pale, emaciated creatures with hollow eyes and jagged teeth. The starving spirits of the Frozen Wastes.

They smelled his power.

They hungered for it.

Kaizen barely had time to react before the first one lunged, its skeletal fingers aiming for his throat. He twisted, dodging the attack, and struck out with his blade. The creature shrieked as dark energy flared from the weapon, slicing through its ghostly form.

But more were coming.

Dozens.

Hundreds.

Their shrieks filled the air, their bodies moving unnaturally fast, their claws tearing at his flesh. Kaizen fought savagely, his body moving with inhuman speed. Every strike cut through the creatures, but it wasn't enough.

He was losing.

"Submit." The demon's voice coiled around him, intoxicating. "Give in, and they will fall before you."

Kaizen felt his grip on reality slipping. His vision blurred. His heart pounded. The shards within him burned, their power desperate to be unleashed.

For a moment, he hesitated.

Then he let go.

The Unleashing

A shockwave of energy erupted from his body, black and crimson, tearing through the creatures like a storm of blades. The ice cracked beneath him, sending fissures through the landscape. The beasts screeched in agony as they were consumed by the surge of power.

Kaizen stood amidst the carnage, his breath heavy, his vision tinged with red. His hands trembled, but not from exhaustion—from exhilaration.

He had never felt so alive.

"Yes," the demon whispered, pleased. "You are learning."

Kaizen exhaled, watching as the last of the spirits faded into nothing. His body still crackled with power, but for the first time, he didn't feel afraid of it.

He embraced it.

Slowly, a grin spread across his face.

He wasn't the same monk they had cast out.

He was something else now.

Something far worse.

And when he returned… they would all suffer.