Ren blinked as Aiko asked him to step aside, already rushing from behind him. When he glanced up at the roof, he saw a creature closely hiding there. Its shadow loomed above him.
"Geez."
In that moment, the creature vanished into the air.
Aiko stopped abruptly by Ren's side. They both stood back-to-back, alert, holding their swords straight. In the meantime, Aiko whispered to him.
"You got distracted again. What's going on?"
Ren didn't reply. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't afford to any more when the wind flashed past him. He knew it was the Kaidan that had just dashed across.
His eyes flashed from one place to another. First from the stone statues in the far distance, each just beside a lit flame lamp. Then to the greatly narrow door to his right, and finally to where they were standing.
Ren's brows furrowed as he saw the surface.
The stone shone like bronze. But most importantly, he figured out they were standing right inside a circle that had a set of petals in it. Meanwhile, each petal had the same seal as the entrance door.
Goosebumps rose on the back of his neck.
'A formation!'
Ren grabbed Aiko's hand and immediately dashed out of the circle. Right then, the creature erupted from thin air, swerving straight at his face. Ren ducked and sliced it in two mid-motion. Before they could finally leave the circle, an explosion sent them flying out of nowhere.
But they both perfectly landed on their feet just like well-trained knights.
Ren held his sword by his side and glanced around. Kaidans, just the same form as normal humans but with one or two disfigured features, popped out of thin air before them.
He locked eyes with Aiko, and she nodded back in understanding.
Aiko then swiftly pulled out two brown balls from her stash and threw them forward.
KABOOM!
An explosion resounded through the temple, shaking the ground to its core. Stones shot up from the ground, and a thick coil of white smoke enveloped the surroundings.
Ren jumped back some metres. Aiko was gone in the blink of an eye.
Knowingly, he glanced at the narrow door in the distance just as Aiko ran straight into it.
Every Samurai learned to think their allies were already dead if they were apart. That was why they couldn't wait for the incoming troop before making a move. If they didn't split up to solve the issue, they might as well just be fighting a non-ending swarm of Kaidans.
And besides, these were just ants for Ren alone to deal with. It would also be a source of happiness for him if the Kaidans were truly endless.
In a single throw, Ren dropped his sword's sheath.
The smoke in the room cleared, and he was standing face to face with the bunch of ghosts.
He held his sword up straight, then pulled the bun off the other side of his face.
Ren intoned.
"Kaidan's Eye."
Blue light flared out from his irises. A cold flash that rolled through the room like a tide. For some reason, the ghosts started to draw back, one step at a time.
Before Ren's eyes, the familiar bone fragments piled up in place.
[You have been recognised as the Ghost of Kuronami.]
[All Kaidans within radius: obey.]
[Respect: Strong - near complete.]
When Ren looked straight forward, all monsters but one were now on their knees. He nodded his head.
"Rebellious. I like that. Come on then; I'll make it quick."
The Kaidan stepped towards him, the ground trembling with every second. It had scaly skin, a huge bump on each side of its temples, and reptilian eyes from which a thick liquid oozed. As it got some metres from Ren, tendrils coiled gently out of its back.
"That's a good one. You remind me of someone."
RAHHHHH!
The Kaidan roared, channeling its tendrils towards Ren. But in a heartbeat, Ren vanished into black mist and reappeared right at the open spot near its neck. He then pushed his sword upwards and severed its head in a single strike.
The monster's whole body burned into a mist.
Ren walked forward and turned to the other monsters.
With his voice deep and eyes steady, he asked.
"How did the troops that trespassed this fortress vanish? TELL. ME. EVERY. SINGLE. DETAIL."
***
Aiko entered a quiet room.
A white cloud covered the entirety of the floor. The marble wall was decorated with skulls and talismans. But most importantly, a mirror was facing her.
Her lips gently parted as she saw the reflection of herself in it. Since when had she had fuller eyebrows, she wondered.
When she drew closer to the mirror, the reflection of herself felt familiar and strange at the same time. If she remembered rightly, the last time she saw this was nine summers ago. Back then, the mirror her father had gifted her hadn't broken yet…
"Accept it."
A piercing, seductively tiny feminine voice said out of nowhere.
Aiko held her sword straight and looked around immediately.
She whispered to herself.
"This must be the place."
The voice came again.
"Once you accept the Dimensional Mirror, you can always see yourself whenever you want. Not only this version of yourself, but also what you'd probably look like in greater realms. Think of being an angel in paradise, the controller in the Garden of Eve, the Dark Haven… name it. You will be capable of doing ANYTHING."
Aiko's grip tightened around her sword. For a few seconds, she went silent, as though trying to get a grip of herself.
She smirked.
"I haven't seen my father in years. He's someone I yearn to meet again. Does your cursed Dimensional Mirror turn into Lord Shin then? Lord Shin… my father! Does it, huh?"
She looked back at where the mirror was. Just as she affirmed, it had vanished. Only leaving a marble wall behind.
The voice mumbled in a confused tone.
"I-impossible."
"Too bad for you I know there's no damned thing as a Dimensional Mirror. You just—"
"Ahh. The others did their best too. But it just wasn't enough. You can't escape this temptation as you've already contacted the ancient seal, Aiko Koboyashi!"
Aiko gasped. What seal, she thought.
But before she could process her thoughts, the wall behind her split open. Long, tendril-like bricks rushed to tie around her arms. They drew her back no matter how hard she resisted and, finally, pulled her into the dark space in the wall. The brick tendrils closed off on her, burying her deep inside.
… Step, step, step…
Ren entered the room minutes later. He walked deep inside and stopped when his shoes hit against something on the cloudy floor. He bent down and picked it up, only for it to be Aiko's red sword.
His brows creased, and he stared forward.
Nothing was there.
Ren walked even closer, but nothing changed.
He had assumed this would happen.
"Are you scared? You recognised me even when my Kaidan eyes are off. Not bad."
Nothing has come yet again.
But Ren came prepared. After the Kaidans at the entrance shared everything, he had assumed the spirit behind everyone's disappearances might fear doing the same to him. It was just one Kaidan he knew so well.
Moboroshi-gami, the Phantom God.
It traps its victims in a false realm where they wander endlessly. With time, it feeds off their flesh and blood.
Ren slit his palm with his sword and threw his blood at the wall.
The wall yawned open immediately, and the tendrils hooked him too.
Ren chuckled.
"Hey, Moboroshi-gami, the soul of your stupid controlling spirit is too excited to eat something as precious as me. It betrayed you, you know that?!"
In a sudden moment, the voice yelled back out of nowhere.
"I WILL MAKE SURE YOU DON'T MAKE IT OUT ALIVE, GHOST OF KURONAMI! You shall suffer endlessly, even in the afterlife."
The tendrils pulled Ren into the wall. He responded with excitement.
"Let's see to that, Moboroshi-gami!"
"Cursed bastard!!!"