The convoy advanced slowly up a road on a green hill. Below them, the rising sun was reflected on a huge lake and the morning mist was dissipating. A black-haired boy was seated on top of a cart and looked at the scenery with a smile. At his side, another youth wearing religious clothes was eating an apple.

“That’s Lake Mizuba, one of the twelve of this valley. Most of the rice we eat in Okachi comes from around here. That’s my home there.” The apprentice priest said while pointing at a structure.

A red gate stood in the middle of the water and multiple birds were standing on it. A path started from the border of the lake and led to a temple-like structure. Around it, there were some wooden houses with thatched roofs. Their inhabitants were already tending to their fields.

“It’s beautiful. It must be nice to live around there.” Kira replied to his companion.

“Well, I’d rather live in the city. Always seeing the same bald men’s getting boring. Also, the best food comes from the town. You’re lucky.” Takeshi shrugged.

“I guess you’re right.”

Kira looked forward. His mother, his sister, Naizen and the captain were walking in front of the convoy. They were probably talking about some important matter. The boy felt a bit annoyed to be put aside like a child but there was nothing he could do.

The soldiers all around them were watching their surroundings and Kira saw some of them glancing at him with curiosity. Shizuru was walking next to his cart and he knew she was attentively keeping an eye on him. The guards respectfully kept their distance from the woman.

“Why did you come?” The boy asked to his companion.

“Pops said I should see some things for myself. And I get to leave the temple.” Takeshi answered, after he threw his apple core. “For once, I’m actually happy to do what he wants. My father’s too old. He doesn’t even remember what it’s like to be young. Do this, do that. Blabla.”

“He doesn’t seem that old.” Kira said, grinning.

“He’s 427 years old.”

Kira’s eyes opened wide. “He’s that old?” He was astonished.

“If I remember well, Lady Kaguya is even older.” The little priest said in a low voice.

Hearing that, Kira was shocked. ‘Is that even possible? Can people really be that old?’ He thought, looking at the back of his mother.

‘And other people know more about my family than I do. Damn.’ Lost in his thoughts, he stared blankly at the sky.

“Are you alright?” Takeshi asked.

“Oh, yes. Sorry.” Kira answered, suprised.

“Did you already see someone soul sick die?”

“Yes. I did.”

“Is it really that bad?”

“It’s horrible.”

Then, the bald boy crossed his arms and said no more. Kira looked at him. The young priest had a casual and straightforward aura that appealed to Kira.

The rest of the trip was uneventful. The weather was warm and the fresh wind felt nice. Kira enjoyed the slow pace of the convoy and he observed the changing landscape with delight. He even laughed when he saw a family of rabbits on the border of the road and Takeshi mocked him for being so childlike.

**********

Eventually, the convoy arrived in the neighborhood of Namuya. The fields were empty and the roads deserted. As they neared the town, a company of soldiers patrolling around the area stopped them. After a word with captain Iwamoto, they let them through.

“Those are Imperial crests.” The young priest said, looking at the soldiers.

Kira had seen the white flower. ‘Ren did say the Empress had been warned. So they are looking for information as well.’

When they finally reached the town, the sun was setting. Two camps, composed of huge war tents, were facing each other on its borders. The convoy headed to the eastern one, where a flag bearing the emblem of the Fan had been erected.

In the middle of the bivouac, the carts finally stopped. The two boys jumped off their vehicles and went to meet their parents, carefully dodging the workers who were already unloading the supplies. Shizuru closely followed them and moved aside any obstacle with her sword handle. As he got closer, Kira heard a faint rumbling and felt the hair on the back of his neck bristling.

The adults were standing just outside the camp and were looking at the same direction. After Kira arrived at their sides, he turned his head toward the bottom of the hill.

Then, he saw the cloud. It was a huge mass of dark mist, like ink in water. He gritted his teeth. He had already observed that phenomenon on Selen multiple times, but it was the first time he saw one that enormous. It covered an area of more than fifty meters in radius. Even from five hundred meters away, the boy could hear its growl.

Naizen stared grimly at the huge mass.

“I will be going now. My fellows are not many so they might need some help containing it.” He declared, while pointing at the mist with his black staff. “Takeshi, you are coming with me.”

The bald boy looked at his father with horror and gulped. Kira would never want to get closer to that horror so he could understand his companion’s fear. But after looking closely, he could see a few people moving around the cloud.

‘It is really odd that the mist is so compact.’ The boy frowned. ‘Can they actually imprison it?’ He thought with wonder.

“Be careful.” Kaguya said to the priest.

“I always am.” He replied.

“Later.” Takeshi said to his friend.

“See you.” Kira answered.

Father and son slowly walked toward the haze. Even if the small boy was shaking from fear, it did not undermine his resolve. Kira looked at the backs of the two priests and felt awe at their courage.

“Are they confining it?” The boy asked his family.

“That is one of the main duties of the Shihō Temple.” His sister answered.

‘So they really can do this…’ He thought, while looking at the religious men around the cloud. They were performing some kind of ritual and had planted staves connected by threads around the mist. On the wires, paper talismans were fluttering in the breeze and sparks sometimes lit the area.

“What are clouds?” Kira inquired.

“When different kinds of Will clash, it creates a disturbance. If fighters from different schools trade blows, it can cause various consequences but the after effect is always the same. A dark cloud is formed.” Ren explained while waving her fan.

“It is the actual principle of spell casting. If one can use multiple Wills at the same time, one can cause disasters. That is probably the case right here.”

‘So it’s really similar to ether, they might even be the one and the same. Wills could be ether patterns. Damn.’ The boy thought.

“Let us rest for a while.” His mother eventually declared while spinning her umbrella.

On the way to their tent, they came across a group of soldiers bearing the imperial crest. A huge man was seated on a bench. He looked weary and his clothes were dirty but he had an aura of authority. While tying his brown hair, he was talking with several other men and then dismissed them. He stood with difficulty when he saw the ladies approaching.

“Lady Kaguya. Lady Ren. If I had known you would be coming, I would not have showed you such an appearance.” The soldier declared after bowing.

“It is fine, captain Ogata. One would not expect you to dress formally in such circumstances.” Kaguya replied.

“Would it have made a difference?” Ren asked.

The man face faintly reddened. It took him a moment to regain his composure.

“We just came back from a chase.”

“Was it successful?” Kaguya asked.

“Partly. We caught up to them but they gave us a hard time. We had no other choice but to kill them.” The man rubbed his thick beard. “They used powerful mediums. As you know, such things cannot be acquired easily. The crafting style is similar to the one used in Hirase so we came to your camp to ask if someone had any idea on whoever made them. No one knew for sure so we sent some agents to get information a few moments ago. They should be back by the end of the week.” He sighed. “Those men were skilled and knew the area. We were lucky Master Takano was present at this time or we would have failed.”

“I see. Why were they still around?” Kaguya said softly, as if asking herself.

“That is the troubling part.”

“Indeed. Is Master Takano still here?”

“I do not know. She left us on the way back.”

Kaguya nodded. “I heard you got married.”

“Ha-ha, yes. I even have a daughter.”

“Congratulations. You have earned it.” She smiled at him.

“Thank you very much.” He deeply bowed.

After rising, he noticed Kira who was looking at him curiously. The man glanced at Kaguya and then at back at the boy.

“Good evening.” Kira said with a grin.

“Good evening.” The man answered hesitantly.

“That is my brother, Kira. Be careful not to step on him.” Ren declared.

“I would never… I must go back to my camp now. Lady Kaguya, I am glad you are doing well. Lady Ren.” The huge man bowed and left.

During their short absence, the soldiers had swiftly raised a purple tent the size of a small house. Inside it, Kaguya knelt on a beige carpet and took a deep breath as she put her umbrella aside. Kira sat cross-legged beside the small table on the carpet and he looked at his mother. She smiled at him but she seemed weary. On contrary, her kimono and sandals did not seem to have been stained by the trip. The boy glanced at the two other women and noticed their clothes were also unsoiled.

‘Even if the weather was good, there should at least be some dirt.’ He frowned.

“Are you well? You should sleep.” Ren asked her mother.

“You know I cannot do that.”

“Shall I make tea?” The maid asked.

“Please.” Kaguya answered.

The maid knelt beside a jug of boiling water in a corner of the tent and brewed tea.

Ren sighed. “This whole matter is more complicated than expected. Should I try to find Master Takano? ”

“Kei will most likely come once she knows we are here. Do not waste your time trying to find the wind.” Her mother answered.

“You are right.” She put a hand on her hip. “That woman is annoying.”

“Who is Master Takano?” Kira asked.

“She is one the Tsuchiya clan’s spymasters.” Ren answered.

‘A damn ninja? Well, I’m not even surprised.’ The boy thought.

The soft fragrance of green tea filled the room and they silently enjoyed the beverage. For several minutes, Kaguya closed her eyes and nothing could be heard inside the tent.

“I will go see the town. I will not be able to rest until I clarify some points.” Kaguya eventually declared.

“You are too stubborn.” Ren shook her head.

“I want to come. If Takeshi can go with his father near the cloud, I can at least do that much.” The boy said.

“Fine.” His mother answered.

**********

Some moments later, the four of them were walking inside the town.

Soldiers were patrolling in the ruins of the village. Half of it had been either blown away or destroyed. Most of the residents were building shelters or scavenging in the remains of the houses. A handful was cleaning bloodied sheets in big pots of steaming water. Once in the undamaged area of the town, the party headed toward a huge makeshift building, made of battered wood and thatch.

Kira had seen many afflicted persons in his previous life, but never so many at the same time. The sight was horrifying. Under the refuge, dozens of soul-sick residents were aligned on mattresses. They were moaning in pain and sweating. Sometimes, a loud cry resonated on the walls. Under the faint light of the torches, he could see that the skin of the afflicted had already turned a dusky blue.

Their families were looking out for them but they were not unscathed, most had visible wounds and wore bandages.

‘It is that advanced after a mere ten days? How can this be? I never saw anything like that…’

People made way as Ren approached one of the wounded. She briefly talked with one of the physicians in place and then knelt beside a sick woman. The woman panted heavily, looking at her with a fearful expression. The lady took her hand and closed her eyes. Meanwhile, Kira was looking at the young boy and girl on the other side of the mattress. Hopeful, they were watching his sister, while shaking in their ragged clothes. Eventually, Ren slowly put down the arm of the villager and stood. She gave a wry smile to the children and came back to her family.

“It is as you feared, Mother. It is almost impossible to get a steady resonance with the usual purifying methods. I have tried with Swirl, Wave and Lightning. It is most likely…”

“A three-way resonance?”

Ren nodded. “The feeling is the same as in Garesh but stronger. They have been given soulsilver tea but the effect is nowhere near as effective as it should normally be. What we see here is only a quarter of the casualties.”

“This is what Sister wanted me to confirm. So the method survived…”

Someone started to weep loudly and everyone looked at the source of the noise. An elderly woman was cradling a lifeless body in her arms.

Kaguya’s lips became a thin line. “He passed away. Ten days…” She whispered.

‘That’s ridiculous! Even without support, it shouldn’t be that fast! None of the types I know spread like this!’ Kira was horrified.

All around them, the townsfolk started falling apart. They were crying and hugging each other.

The boy clenched his fists. ‘I am powerless again.’ His eyes moistened. ‘It’s always the same thing, the same people who suffer.’

Kira wanted to help so he took a step forward but Shizuru held him by the shoulder. Her grasp was gentle but firm. He raised his head and saw the maid solemn expression as she watched the scene.

Ten more villagers had passed away when they heard a commotion outside. The women of the party, as well as some physicians, turned their heads at the same direction. They looked troubled.

Suddenly, a scream resonated nearby. The old woman from before had retreated all the way to a makeshift wall. She pointed at the body she held in her arms a few moments ago.

Shizuru swiftly surged forward and took position in front of the group. She entered a fighting stance, ready to unsheathe her katana at any moment. A faint white mist came out of her priestess outfit and swirled slowly.

Kira only glanced at her as a horrendous scene captured all his attention.

The blue corpse stood slowly. The face of the creature was a mask of dread and saliva dripped from its mouth. It observed his surroundings with bloodshot eyes and started to growl. People had already moved away from the monster when it roared. Black mist leaked from its dreadful form as it jumped on a nearby man with unnatural speed and swung its arm at his head.

They heard a loud crack and the villager flew a short distance before he fell lifelessly on the ground.

The night had fallen.

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