Smoke rises. Dust settles. Fire lingers.
And from within it— something walks out.
Midwinter.
Flames crawl along his body. Clothes burned. Metal exposed. White eyes—
still focused. Still present.
Kasumi says from a distance. "You can't hide it. I know more about him than you will ever know..."
Midwinter stays silent.
He thinks, "That's right… Sometimes, even Lord Jigen doesn't obey his own rules…
The one whom I thought to be absolute…"
———————————————————————
One day.
Lord Jigen approaches me.
"Midwinter… There's someone who wants to see you."
I followed him without question.
At that time, I believed I understood hierarchy. I thought that Lord Muzan might have called me.
We walked through places that did not belong to the same world.
Dense forests swallowed light. The air grew colder, yet my body did not react. The further we moved, the less the world resembled anything I knew.
Then—
the sea.
It stretched endlessly, but its surface did not behave like water. It shimmered unnaturally, reflecting a sky that did not exist. The horizon bent slightly, as if distance itself had been altered.
For a moment, I felt observed…
Not by something within it… but by the sea itself.
We crossed. I do not remember how.
Then a river.
Still. Narrow. Silent.
On both sides stood two enormous dragon monuments. Their scales were too precise, their eyes too detailed. They did not look carved, they looked preserved. As if they had once been alive, and simply chose to remain still.
We moved forward. And the world changed again.
A field of flowers. Endless.
Soft hues shifting under a silver moon that should not have been there. The air carried a faint, sweet fragrance… too pure, too clean, almost intoxicating.
Each petal seemed untouched by time. Each stem stood perfectly upright. Nothing bent, nothing decayed.
And at the center—
she sat.
Eliza
Her presence was not subtle… It was immediate. Absolute.
The first thing I noticed— was her posture.
She sat with her back perfectly straight, one leg folded over the other, her form balanced effortlessly atop the stone. Not a single movement was wasted. Not a single detail out of place. Then— her body.
Slender, yet full in all the right places, her silhouette defined even beneath her flowing white garments. The fabric clung lightly where it should, outlining her figure without restricting it, as if it existed solely to complement her shape.
Her shoulders were bare. Smooth. Untouched. Her collarbone visible beneath a crystal necklace that caught and refracted the moonlight into sharp, clean fragments.
Her chest rose slowly with each breath—controlled, steady, yet undeniably present, the fabric shifting subtly with each inhale. Her waist narrowed elegantly, leading into soft, natural curves that her seated posture only emphasized further. Her legs— crossed.
Exposed just enough beneath the flowing layers of white. Pale. Flawless. Not a single imperfection. Her face— was worse. Not beautiful in a way that could be admired. Beautiful in a way that disrupted thought. Perfect symmetry. Soft, natural crimson lips, slightly parted. Her nose—sharp, delicate. Her skin—pale, smooth, reflecting moonlight like polished marble. And her azure eyes… Clear. Bright. Just… impossible to ignore.
Her hair flowed down her back in long, dark strands, reaching past her waist, shifting gently despite the absence of wind. A platinum hairpin held a portion of it in place, while the rest moved freely, catching light in subtle glimmers. Moon-shaped earrings swayed lightly beside her face. A sapphire choker rested against her neck. Silver bangles circled her wrists. A delicate crown sat upon her head. Every piece is perfectly placed.
Around her—
rabbits sat calmly near her feet. Birds perched on the stone beside her.
I lowered my gaze immediately. Not out of discipline, but instinct. Looking directly at her for too long felt like stepping somewhere I should not.
Jigen stepped forward.
The animals scattered instantly. Not in panic, but in recognition.
"Lady Eliza… I've brought him."
She did not look at him.
"Wait."
Her voice is soft, clear. Each word perfectly formed. "I'm not done yet."
Then, her eyes shifted directly to me.
I knelt immediately.
She stood, her full height revealed. Elegant.
Her body aligned perfectly as she rose, her clothing adjusting naturally over her figure, the fabric sliding smoothly along her form. Her steps toward me were slow, measured, each one deliberate.
"Midwinter…"
She stopped in front of me. Close enough that I could feel her presence.
"I want to ask you something… What exactly does Jigen-sama do?"
I kept my head bowed. "What does he do…? He completes his missions..."
"That's all?"
"Yes."
"Does he go anywhere else? Speak to anyone? A girl?"
"No."
A soft exhale left her lips. "You're safe, Jigen-sama."
She reached out, placing her hand on his head. Her fingers slender, pale, delicate.
Then—
everything stopped.
Color drained.
Sound vanished.
Time itself paused.
Light erupted from within Midwinter. A book emerged—
formed from something beyond matter… floating, its pages turning on their own.
Her eyes shone faintly. Focused. Intent.
Then—
everything returned.
She looked at me again. "Oh… So your name is Kenshin Tadachi."
A faint smile curved her lips. "You're interesting."
Then, softly. "You should be careful." Her gaze lingered. "Not every rule is meant to be followed."
Something in me resisted, but I said nothing.
"We have to leave now, Lady Eliza." Midwinter said.
She smiled again. "You go… Jigen-Sama stays here."
"No." Jigen's response was immediate.
She stepped closer to him. No hesitation. No concern. Her body pressed lightly against his arm— her ample bosoms making contact, soft yet firm beneath the thin fabric.
Her voice lowered. Playful. Controlled. "Won't you stay… Jigen-Sama? We can have a lot of fun."
Moments later—
She was chained to a tree. Wrists restrained, metal binding her arms.
"What was that?!" She yelled.
Brows furrowed just enough to appear annoyed. "I thought you'd do something interesting with those chains."
"I told you not to behave like that in front of others…" Jigen replied calmly.
"You're the worst." She pouted, almost childish.
I glanced.
Her expression is innocent. Completely, unnaturally convincing.
He returned, and unlocked the chains.
"Don't repeat it again…"
She smiled brightly. "Understood."
Months passed.
Their interactions never followed hierarchy.
Never followed rules.
Anyone else would have died instantly. But she remained untouched, uncorrected.
And I began to understand. I hoped that I might be wrong. But as time passed, my observation was correct.
I hated Lady Eliza. Not only because she didn't follow rules or she's an exception to Lord Jigen's orders. But also because she disobeys everything… She doesn't obey Lord Muzan, not even Lord Jigen. She's not serious at all. It's as if it's a joke for her to follow orders.
She invalidates my worldview just by existing…
One night.
She called me.
A dark room, only illuminated by moonlight.
She sat on the bed, one leg crossed over the other. Her body angled slightly, relaxed. Her hair draped over one shoulder.
"Tadachi-kun…" Her earrings shimmered.
"Whatever you're thinking… It's true."
My chest tightened. So it wasn't just assumptions… but my observation was correct.
"Look at me," she said calmly.
I did carefully, avoiding her eyes. But even that was enough.
She leaned back slightly. Supporting herself with one hand. Her posture shifted, revealing more of her form.
"How do my earrings look?" She lifted a hand, letting them sway.
In their reflection, for a split second—
I saw him—
Muzan Kibutsuji.
Watching.
Every movement she made was calculated. Precise. Layered.
She asks calmly. "Why do you follow rules…? Don't you get tired of those boring rules?"
"They give us something meaningful to follow. They maintain structure. They are the absolute truth."
She tilted her head. "Rules are tools, not truths."
He pauses, then he says. "They exist to serve life, not replace it."
She softly smiles. "A cage made of gold… is still a cage."
The line completely shook my soul… Because I realised that my entire life is the golden cage of discipline.
I stayed silent.
She said. "Don't worry… you can ask anything you want. I won't punish you like that coward… Muzan Kibutsuji."
How can someone say this? Especially when Lord Muzan is watching us.
I ask, my voice hesitant. "Why don't you obey them? Why do you always break rules…?"
She smiled, soft, knowing. "Because not every rule is meant to be followed… Some rules are meant to be broken."
I stayed silent.
She continues.
"If you must follow someone… Follow God. He is the only absolute."
I knew God is absolute. But…
I stood up, and turned around. "I apologize, but I have to leave now… Lady Eliza. Excuse me."
When I was about to leave, her voice followed. "I knew it… You obey because you fear the emptiness beyond command."
Another line that shook my world.
I always kept running from reality… because it was different from my own.
What I thought to be absolute… Lord Jigen… is not.
If Lord Jigen represented absolute order. Then Lady Eliza represents absolute freedom that I always avoided.
I didn't understand it at that time… But now I do… and it's too late.
———————————————————————
Now.
In the present time.
Kasumi stands still, his eyes glow green.
Midwinter tightens his fist. "I've lived my entire life believing that rules are supreme… But this kid… He understood it… far earlier than I ever could… Is this jealousy?"
He lunges at him, transforms his hand into a massive mace. He swings.
But Kasumi disappears—
— materializing beside him.
A cut appears.
Then another.
Then—
dozens.
Midwinter's body jerks as invisible slashes carve through him from every direction.
His eyes widened.
I can't see him—
He forces distance, landing hard.
His body begins to regenerate, flesh and metal reassembling slowly.
Midwinter exhales heavily.
I can't keep up… This is my last chance.
His body shifts violently—
Guns emerge from his arms, shoulders, ribs. Missile pods form along his back, explosives line his frame like veins—
He fires.
Everything, at once—
The battlefield erupts.
Bullets tear the air apart. Missiles scream forward. Explosions overlap before they even land. All of it—
focused on one point.
Kasumi.
And in that moment—
Kasumi breathes. Slow. Deep. Complete.
"Mist Breathing…"
The air trembles.
"…Seventh Form…
Obscuring Clouds."
Mist spreads everywhere. The battlefield disappears.
Sound dulls, light fades.
The weapons vanish into it.
Then—
Kasumi moves.
No sound, no trail.
Silence.
Midwinter stands. Still. Silent.
Then—
his head slides.
Separated. Clean. Effortless.
His body collapses.
For a moment— his eyes remain open.
…Ah.
The ground feels distant.
His vision trembles.
So… this is the end.
His head falls to the ground.
The pain fades faster than he expected. Only a strange lightness remains. His eyes soften.
I followed every rule… every vow… every command… I never strayed… not even once.
Lord Jigen… You will… acknowledge me, won't you…?
But the thought doesn't feel as firm as it once did.
Something inside him loosens.
For the first time in years—
he exhales.
…I'm tired.
The words echo in his mind like something forbidden.
So tired… of being unbroken.
All this time… I feared breaking my vows… more than I feared death itself…
…But I never once asked… what I wanted.
His vision begins to fade at the edges.
The sky above him is pale. Almost morning.
Liberation… Is this what it feels like… to finally be free…?
A faint tremor passes through what remains of him.
God… I doubted you… I tried to replace you with rules… with order… with something I could control… But in the end… nothing surpasses you…
I did everything I could… I lived exactly as I was meant to…
…So please…
let me rest now.
The first light of dawn touches the horizon.
His body begins to crumble into ash.
I'm coming…
And just like that—
Midwinter is gone.
Kasumi stands still. The wind carries the ashes away. He looks at what remains— and lowers his head.
"…Thank you."
His voice is quiet, earnest.
"Because of you… I've learned something I never could have… on my own."
The sun begins to rise. And for the first time—
the battlefield feels… still.
When his chest starts crumbling, his metallic heart comes out. Right after it drops to the ground—
Bzzzzzz—
An unnatural buzzer vibrates through the air. Loud. It reaches everywhere.
Like something ancient waking up.
———————————————————————
Two days ago again.
Midwinter stood before Jigen. "I won't disappoint you… I won't die."
Jigen did not look at him. His gaze remained on the endless night sky.
"Yes… Just don't.
…because if you die… the entire world will suffer."
Midwinter frowned. "Suffer…?"
Jigen's eyes shifted. Not to his face, but to his chest.
He stepped forward. Each step deliberate, measured.
Then—
His hand pierced through Midwinter's chest.
No hesitation. No resistance.
Blood exploded outward, warm, violent.
Midwinter's eyes widened, his body froze. Yet, he was still conscious.
Jigen's hand emerged, holding his heart. Metallic. Beating. Alive.
Jigen looked at it calmly.
"You see…" His voice remained steady. "You possess something… forbidden."
Midwinter's mouth trembled. Blood spilled from his lips, yet he listened.
"It only awakens when you die."
Jigen lifted the heart slightly, the faint sound of its pulse echoed unnaturally.
"You have already seen what an atomic bomb can do… But even it's nothing. A hydrogen bomb is thousand times stronger than the atomic bomb... It would've destroyed way more than what the atomic bomb did to Hiroshima…
However, the ability you possess… it's even much stronger… and more deadly. If you die and your heart ever touches the ground, it would be total annihilation…
It can summon something thousands of times stronger than the hydrogen bomb. What comes after… will erase the nation within seconds, shake the entire world, and make everything suffer. And that does not align with our plan."
He placed the heart back. Gently. Precisely.
———————————————————————
Now.
Midwinter's body finishes crumbling. Ash disperses. Silence settles.
The heart rests.
Bzzzzzz—
The sky trembles.
Kasumi looks up. And his breath stops.
Above him—
something descends.
A bomb.
It consumes the sky.
A mass so vast it distorts scale itself. Clouds are pushed aside without contact. The air bends around it. Light struggles to exist near it.
Kasumi's pupils shrink. "What… is that…?"
His body doesn't move. His fingers twitch.
Wait… I can't even move.
He turns to Miyuki, far away, sleeping beneath a tree peacefully.
What… How can someone sleep in such a situation?!
Kasumi, standing on the mountain's base, watching the bomb dropping from the sky.
It's closer.
closer.
It touches the ground. And—
BOOOOOMMMM!!!!
No sound at first.
The world turns white. Everything disappears.
Kasumi's vision collapses. His senses shut down. He cannot feel his body, cannot hear, cannot think.
Only absence. Absolute absence.
Time stops meaning anything.
Then, slowly—
the whiteness fades… Fragments of reality return…
Color leaks back into existence.
The ground reforms beneath him. The sky rebuilds itself.
Kasumi lifts his trembling hand. "…Am I… alive…?"
His voice sounds foreign, like it belongs to someone else.
He lowers his hand.
And sees—
A plain. Empty. Flattened.
As if the world had been pressed down by a god's palm.
And in the distance—
Something moves.
A black horse. Not colored black, but made of it.
Shadows peel off its body like smoke, its eyes burning with a deep, unnatural red. Each step is slow. Measured. Deliberate. As if the world is adjusting itself to allow it forward.
And on it—
A young man on black robes, untouched by dust.
Heat and vapours emanate from the young man's body and clothes. His long, silky obsidian hair, flowing in the surreal air. His skin, as cold as winter's moon, his eyes glow crimson, watching everything.
Jigen.
But this time, he looks more elegant, better hair and better black clothes, as if death has worn a beautiful skin.
He absorbed the entire destruction, entire shockwaves, and impact on himself as if even the apocalyptic bomb were nothing to him.
He thinks.
Kenshin Tadachi… You could have lived. But you didn't… You chose to sacrifice yourself…
If I had arrived earlier… you would have survived.
A pause.
But if I had arrived later… this country would not.
The sun rises.
Golden light spills across the ruined land.
It touches the horse, and the horse begins to crumble, disintegrate. Like darkness losing its argument against the day.
But Jigen doesn't change. Not even slightly.
He steps down.
Kasumi's breath shatters. His fists tighten until bone protests. Veins surge. Eyes bloodshot.
"HE'S HERE! HE'S HERE—!"
His voice cracks the silence.
"THIS TIME I'LL—"
He stops mid-rage. "Wait… When I charged at him in the last fight, I didn't stand a chance. If I go berserk again, it won't make any difference. It would be the opposite of what I've learned in this fight."
He exhales sharply. "I need to calm down… Calmness beats rage."
He takes a deep breath. The demon slayer mark blooms across his cheeks once more.
"I'll give everything in this attack."
"Mist Breathing—"
The air distorts.
"Seventh Form: Obscuring Clouds."
He vanishes.
Jigen is one kilometre away.
Distance collapses—
A kilometre erased.
He appears right beside him.
Perfect strike. Perfect timing. Perfect execution.
Jigen keeps walking. He doesn't even turn.
And casually swings his arm—
His fist connects.
Kasumi's face caves into the earth.
The ground shatters.
A violent, ugly sound tears through the silence—
His eyes go white. Blood erupts. Thoughts scatter. Consciousness fractures.
Jigen speaks, cold, flat, final.
"I came for Ren Hajime."
A step forward.
"…not for you."
A pause.
"Walking skeleton… Return to your grave."
Kasumi's vision dims. Blue. Distant.
Fading.