Chapter 6: Ruri's Dream And Ryo Past
Ruri found herself once again in that cave, the walls glowing faintly with an unseen light. But the scarlet tree was nowhere in sight. Instead, the girl was there just ahead.
With her back to Ruri, the girl had blonde hair trailing behind her like threads of gold. She was the same height and build as Ruri like a mirror that refused to look back.
"Hey-wait!" Ruri called out.
No answer. The girl didn't even flinch. She walked forward, through the mist.
And the world changed.
A sudden burst of sunlight revealed marble towers stretching into a golden sky. The wind carried the sounds of bells and distant voices, a kingdom, alive, vibrant, thriving.
But in the blink of an eye, it all crumbled.
Screams echoed around her. Smoke filled the air. Ash fell like snow. Bodies lay on the ground, soldiers falling like leaves in a storm. The world twisted into fire and steel.
Then, silence.
The scene shifted again.
Now, back inside the dark cave, the girl was on the ground, crawling until her last breath. With blood flowing from her, she brought out a seed and planted it in the ground.
Ruri stepped closer, but then they appeared.
Seven tall, cloaked figures stood before her. They were neither human nor spirit. Their faces were shadowy and unreadable, their presence overwhelming.
The girl looked up at them not with fear, but with grief.
And then the world turned dark.
In the Bedroom:
The morning light was just beginning to turn the sky blue.
Instinctively, her hand flew to her pocket, but the charm wasn't there; it was resting on her desk under a stack of notes. Even so, her palm burned faintly, like the memory of a fire long extinguished.
She stared at the wall for a long time, her mind echoing with fragments of what she had seen the seed, the blood, the girl, and the shadows.
Ruri exhaled slowly, wrapping her blanket around her shoulders. Something was changing, and whatever it was… it was getting closer.
She looked toward her desk, where the charm sat in silence. It didn't glow or pulse, but for the first time, it felt like it was listening. The morning light was just starting to turn the sky blue.
Her hand flew to her pocket instinctively, but the charm wasn't there it was resting on her desk under a stack of notes.
Even so, her palm burned faintly, like the memory of fire long extinguished.
She stared at the wall for a long time, her mind echoing with pieces of what she saw
The seed.
The blood.
The girl.
And the shadows.
Ruri exhaled slowly, dragging her blanket around her shoulders.
Something was changing.
And whatever it was… it was getting closer.
She looked toward her desk, where the charm sat in silence.
It didn't glow.
It didn't pulse.
But for the first time…
It felt like it was listening.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Ryo Past-
And the scene shifted.
In this unknown establishment, a man dressed in black slowly walked down a dimly lit hallway. Each step echoed throughout the room until he reached the end.
As the door opened, the man bowed his head in respect and acknowledgment of his master. "Master, Miro," he said. The old man, who had his back turned, spoke without looking back. "Ryo, it has been so long since I last saw you."
Ryo stood straight, facing him. "It looks like you have grown stronger," he remarked.
"I want to ask you something," Ryo continued. The old man replied, "Of course, you can. What is it?"
"What is the purpose of this mission?" Ryo asked. "Why was this mission assigned to me? What is the reason?"
The old man's expression changed to a serious one. "So you want to know?" He walked further into the room to pour himself a drink. "I know you remember the accident from 11 years ago, right?"
Ryo's face darkened with anger. "Why would I forget that? What is the connection between that accident and this mission? Tell me."
The scene then shifted to Ryo's flashback from 11 years ago.
Seven-year-old Ryo was exploring the forest when he stumbled upon a girl sitting by the river, watching the water and the fish swimming. Curious, he called out to her, "What are you doing here alone?"
The girl didn't respond; there was only silence. Moments later, he heard his parents calling for him, urging him to come back. "Okay, I'm on my way," Ryo answered.
When he turned back to look for the girl, she was gone, and all he could see was the river.
2 Days after that;
When he got back home from school, he saw the girl from the view waiting silently in the street. when he blinked one's. The girl was nowhere to be seen, and something whispered in his ears.
In the creepiest and scariest possible of speaking, but in a whisper tone of speech, "those people should die, all of them should," the tone of voice changes multiple times in a deep and creepy voice, mixed voices of people.
"they maddde meee aafsa hungryy. they killed me, those taall people need to be kiilled. they killed me, no-no--nono-noono they need to pay, diee, die die repeatedly."In his ear.
And a burn started spreading into the houses of the neighbors. The girl started crying and started laughing, and he heard voices of screams, the heads of the people in the neighborhood were alive, screaming, but only the head was chained to an iron of nothingness. when he ran to his house, he saw her mom and dad's bodies split in half.
And he saw the girl again, saying something that words that he couldn't understand. he was in total despair
His mind couldn't handle it.
The girl starts to walk toward him and starts to look so different, it becomes a much bigger black figure with a lot of blood flowing into it and laughing, and its hand tries to reach him and hold him by the neck, trying to kill him too. But when she was about to snap her neck, a slash of a blade heard the girl's head split into two pieces, and her body started to become black ashes.
The guy who slashes it walks toward him.
As the black ash scattered into the wind, Ryo collapsed to his knees, trembling, eyes wide, lips parted, but no voice came out. His breath came in gasps, raw, uneven.
The man stood over the fading remnants of the monster, his blade humming with energy, its edge still dripping with something darker than blood.
Master Miro, much younger than sheathed his blade in one smooth, deliberate motion. His eyes, piercing, ancient, filled with sorrow, rested on the boy before him.
He knelt, placing a firm hand on Ryo's trembling shoulder.
MIRO: "I know what you saw. I know the pain. I've seen it before… lived it, too."
Ryo, his voice just a whisper:
RYO: "W-what… was she… What was that…?"
Miro looked toward the ashes, a heaviness hanging in his words.
MIRO: "Not a 'what'. A 'who'. Once, she was human. Like you. Like me. But hatred… grief… hunger, they twisted her soul until only the curse remained. This world, Kid… it hides things. Dark things. And tonight, it decided to show you one."
RYO: "She… killed my mom… my dad… everyone…""Why?"
Miro stood, his silhouette long and dark under the moonlight.
MIRO: "Some questions don't have answers, only burdens. But you've seen now. The veil has lifted. You can't go back to pretending the world is safe."
He looked down again, his voice firm.
MIRO: "But you can choose what you do with this pain."
He extended his hand.
MIRO: "Come with me. Learn to fight them. Learn to stop this from happening again. To anyone."
RYO:(staring up, tears cutting down his face)"You want me to become like you?"
Miro's eyes softened.
MIRO: "No. I want you to become more. Stronger. Wiser. The kind of sorcerer who remembers what it feels like to lose… and swears to make sure no child lives what you just lived through."
A long silence. Then
Ryo slowly raised his hand and grasped Miro's.
RYO: "Then teach me. I'll make them pay. All of them."
Miro nodded once.
MIRO: "Then come and follow me"
SCENE FADES BACK TO PRESENT DAY
Ryo stands silent for a long moment, remembering. His eyes shadowed, jaw clenched.
RYO: "That night... I thought you saved me. But you didn't, did you?"
MIRO:(nods slowly)"No. I just gave you a weapon. You've been saving yourself ever since."