The Chūkan’s golden mist swirled around them, shifting with the movement of two figures in pursuit. Footsteps echoed off the stone corridors, one set steady and sharp, the other slightly less controlled.

  Ayase’s breath came faster than he wanted, but he didn’t falter. His eyes locked onto their target—a cloaked figure darting ahead, slipping through the winding paths of the realm.

  “Captain—” he started, but before he could finish, she spoke.

  “Put all your Tamashkii into your palm—then cp.”

  Ayase blinked. “…What?”

  Koharu didn’t slow down. Her tone remained as calm as ever. “Just do it.”

  Ayase exhaled sharply, forcing his focus. Fine. He concentrated, pulling his Tamashkii into one point, gathering it all in his palm. The energy condensed, humming against his skin.

  Then—

  Cp.

  A shockwave erupted from his hands, bsting outward in an instant. The force struck their fleeing target head-on. The Kegare operative barely had time to react before he was unched forward—his body smmed into the ground, skidding against the stone.

  Before Ayase could even process what had happened—

  Koharu moved.

  One second, she was behind him. The next—

  A blur.

  Then, steel glinted in the dim light.

  The Kegare member’s body hadn’t even fully settled before Koharu was on him.

  A fsh. A whisper of movement. A sword at his throat.

  Ayase’s breath hitched. Even after all these years, he wasn’t used to her speed.

  The Kegare agent coughed, barely lifting his head before he realized his situation. Koharu stood over him, eyes cold, bde steady. The golden mist curled zily around them, as if the realm itself acknowledged her dominance.

  Her voice was measured. Sharp.

  “Who do you serve?”

  Silence.

  Then—ughter.

  It bubbled up from the man’s throat, dry and ragged. Blood dripped from his lips, but he grinned up at her, eyes wild.

  “I’d never answer to a filthy Jūmonban.”

  Ayase’s expression darkened. Koharu didn’t react.

  The Kegare agent smirked. “But you already know who I serve, don’t you?”

  Then—his fingers twitched.

  Before Ayase could react, before Koharu could stop him—

  Crack.

  The small pill crushed between his fingers.

  Ayase’s stomach dropped.

  A pulse of energy burst from his body—violent, uncontrolled. The air warped. His Tamashkii energy twisted, distorting in ways that should have been impossible.

  He screamed.

  His veins bulged, turning pitch bck. His skin cracked, light seeping through the fractures. His soul—the very essence of his being—fractured.

  Then—

  Nothing.

  Silence.

  He slumped forward. Dead.

  Koharu sighed, exhaling through her nose. She flicked the blood off her bde before turning away.

  Ayase stared at the body. Even now, the residual energy flickered, unstable. His fingers curled at his side.

  What the hell was that?

  —CUT TO PRESENT—

  The air was thick. The weight of old memories pressed against Ayase’s mind.

  He exhaled.

  He had dismissed it back then.

  “That experiment was a failure. That man self-destructed.”

  “There’s no way they’d ever try to use that again.”

  But now…

  Here. In front of them.

  This wasn’t just some old, forgotten experiment.

  If they were using it again…

  That meant they had refined it.

  That meant they were close to something worse.

  That meant the Kegare were trying to finish what the first Shingan started.

  His jaw tightened.

  This was bad.

  —CUT TO BLACK.