Seijuro glanced at his watch, "Come on! Hurry up!"
His voice echoed through the stone corridor as he and his little brother pressed deeper into the tomb. The place felt endless, the walls twisting into darkness, the air thick with dust and silence. Seijuro, seventeen, had always been drawn to places like this abandoned, forbidden, dangerous. Ren, eight years old and terrified of all three, still followed him every time.
Seijuro's long dark-brown hair was tied back in a small ponytail. Mud stained his grey shirt and blue haori, and his light-brown skin glistened faintly under the lamplight. Ren, wearing a smaller version of his brother's outfit, looked up at him with wide, fearful, brown eyes. His hair was messy and dirty,
"Brother… do we have to do this?"
"Quit crying," Seijuro muttered. "We'll leave once we find something valuable. What's there to be scared of?"
"It's dark… and so quiet…"
Seijuro sighed. "If you don't stay quiet, I'll leave you here, and Jashin will come for you."
Ren gasped and nodded quickly, fighting back tears. Seijuro raised the lamp and aimed it down another hallway. Murky water shimmered back at him, rising to about his hips,
"Climb on my back," Seijuro said,
"What?! You're going through that?!"
"Yes. We don't have a choice. Dad always came back with something shiny. Maybe we can, too. Mom needs help, the will's money is gone and…" He stopped himself before finishing,
"Maybe this can pay off her debts."
Ren hesitated, then whispered, "But what if…"
"If there's nothing down there, we'll come back. I promise." Seijuro held out his pinkie. Ren wrapped his around it and managed a shaky smile,
"Okay… I'll do it."
He climbed onto Seijuro's back, closing his eyes as his brother stepped into the cold water,
"Hey," Seijuro said after a while, his tone softening. "You all right back there?"
"Y-y-yeah," Ren said, barely convincing himself,
"I was only kidding, you know, about leaving you here. I'm not Dad."
"I know," Ren muttered. "Just hurry, please."
Hearing the fear in his brother's voice, Seijuro moved faster. The lamp's beam glided over slick walls and uneven ripples on the water's surface. Up ahead, the passage forked in two,
"How about you choose?" he asked lightly, trying to ease Ren,
"Me?! Okay… umm…" Ren glanced both ways. "Right."
"What made you choose that way?"
"The water's lower that way."
They were about to head right when a heavy thud echoed from behind them. Both brothers froze and looked back. The sound came again, closer,
"...Brother?" Ren whispered,
"Don't look back," Seijuro said quickly, walking faster toward the right corridor.
His pace turned into a stride, then a near run. The water grew shallower, and he set Ren down beside him. Despite usually teasing his brother for being scared, Seijuro didn't hesitate when Ren reached for his hand. They hurried through the narrowing corridor until they reached a solid wall,
"Damn it! A dead end!" Seijuro cursed, punching the stone,
"Brother…" Ren began, voice trembling.
Seijuro didn't answer. He slammed his fist again, and this time, it cracked through the wall. Shocked, he peered through the hole and saw another hallway beyond it.
His hope flickered back to life,
"There's another path! If we just…" Ren tugged at his sleeve.
Seijuro turned, following his brother's terrified gaze. In the water they had crossed, two pale eyes floated just above the surface, unblinking,
"Eyes…" Ren whispered.
Seijuro scooped him up instantly and charged at the weakened wall. It began to crumble under each hit, dust raining down as a deep growl echoed behind them.
With one last strike, the wall gave way, and he sprinted through, clutching Ren tight. The lamp slipped from his hand and splashed into the water, snuffing out the light. Darkness swallowed them. The sound of the creature thrashing behind filled the tunnel. Seijuro ran blind, slamming into corners and walls, guided only by instinct and Ren's whimpers against his shoulder.
Then something hit him hard from behind, a snout, and his legs buckled.
Ren tumbled from his grip. "BROTHER!" Ren screamed.
Seijuro spun just in time to see the beast's jaws snap onto Ren's torn shirt. He lunged forward, seizing his brother's arms,
"HOLD ON! I'VE GOT YOU!"
Their eyes locked, Ren's wide and wet, Seijuro's burning with panic. He pulled as hard as he could. The cloth ripped; both boys fell backward through a crumbling section of floor. They hit rough stone, rolling through debris before coming to rest. For a long moment, neither spoke, only their ragged breaths filled the silence. Ren crawled to his brother and clung to him. Seijuro held him tight, heart pounding,
"You okay?" he asked softly. Ren couldn't speak, only nodded,
"Looks like we weren't followed." Seijuro exhaled and looked around.
Faint purple light flickered to life around them, torches burning along the walls of a circular chamber. At its centre stood a chest, untouched and ancient. Seijuro's eyes widened. A smile crept onto his face,
"Finally… something. Maybe we can use this to help Mom."
Ren tugged at his sleeve again, pointing toward the passage behind them, but Seijuro's excitement overpowered his caution,
"Don't worry. Let's just see what's inside." He approached the chest and pushed.
The lid groaned, sliding open inch by inch until it fell back with a hollow thud that echoed through the chamber. Seijuro leaned forward and froze. The chest was empty,
"How? I was so sure…" he whispered, voice cracking.
He sighed, defeated. "Okay, Ren, you win. We can…"
He turned, and his blood ran cold. Ren was gone,
"Ren?" His voice echoed off the walls, "Ren, where are…"
A shadow shifted near the torches. Seijuro spun around. His brother dangled in the grip of a cloaked figure, draped in dark purple cloth. A tall man held Ren as though he weighed nothing. His face was hidden beneath his hood; only the glint of his eyes could be seen in the torchlight. Before Seijuro could react, an unseen force slammed him to the ground. His chest crushed against the stone, air torn from his lungs. Panic set in when he saw the curved blade at the man's waist and Ren struggling in his grasp,
"Please… don't hurt him…" Seijuro managed to gasp,
"You freed us, correct?" the man asked, his voice low and heavy, like stone grinding against stone,
"Yes! Just… don't hurt him! That's all I ask!" Seijuro's heart pounded in his ears.
From the edges of the chamber, seven more figures emerged. An older woman with two crescent blades strapped to her back. Two tall, shadow-shrouded women who moved in perfect unison, their forms flickering like smoke. A teenager with blood-red eyes and a crooked, hungry grin. An old woman leaning on a twisted walking stick, her stare sharp enough to cut. Another woman around Seijuro's age, silent and watchful. And finally, a man who simply appeared behind him, as though stepping out of thin air,
"Shall we reward him?" asked the woman with the curved blades,
"Kill him," said the red-eyed teen, his grin widening, "What's the use of keeping them alive?"
"Quiet." The cloaked leader's voice cut through the air like a blade, "Boy… you are free to go."
Relief flooded Seijuro's body. He scrambled to his knees and bowed. "Thank you. Thank you so much. Ren, come on…"
He turned toward his brother, but Ren didn't move. The cloaked man still had him pinned by one arm,
"I said," the man repeated, his tone colder, "you are free to go."
Seijuro's stomach dropped. "Please," he whispered, taking a step forward.
An invisible pressure lifted him off the ground and crushed against his ribs.
He choked, eyes widening,
What… what is this?!
"Did the master say you could speak?" sneered the woman beside the shadows.
Her hand hovered lazily in the air she was the one squeezing the life from him, "He gives you mercy, and you talk back."
"Marisa," the cloaked man said. "Let him down."
She flicked her wrist, and Seijuro fell, gasping for breath, "Please," he begged, crawling toward Ren, "I'll do anything… just let him go."
"Brother…" Ren whimpered.
Their eyes met, one pair filled with tears, the other with fear,
"As you wish," the leader murmured.
He released Ren, but placed his hand on the boy's head before letting go. A deep hum filled the air. Ren convulsed, falling limp to the floor,
"Ren!" Seijuro shouted, staggering forward.
Ren's head lifted slowly. His face had vanished replaced by a jagged grin of exposed teeth. His body melted into a swirling purple shadow,
"Ren… no!" Seijuro tried to grab him, but the creature that had once been his brother lunged, slamming into him with inhuman force,
"Come, my subordinates," the cloaked leader said, turning away, "We leave this wretched place."
The others dissolved into mist, the old woman's cane tapping once before she vanished, the shadow women slipping soundlessly into the walls. Only the leader lingered, watching Seijuro struggle beneath the creature's weight,
"Good," he said softly, a faint smirk hidden beneath his hood, "At least you'll die before you can regret the choice you made today."
And with that, he faded into the dark, leaving Seijuro fighting for his life against the shadow of his own brother.