The moon hung low over the city, a silver eye watching from the clouds.
The shrine grounds were silent except for the rustling leaves. Kaito stood there, heart pounding, light still faintly glowing from his hand.
He stared at the mark that now shimmered across his palm — a sigil of intertwined gold and silver lines. "What… is this?"
The moment he whispered, a voice echoed in his mind — faint, ancient, and kind.
You have awakened, Tenkei's blood… The Eien Ryoku recognizes you once again.
Kaito stumbled back, gripping his hand. "Who are you?"
But the voice was gone, leaving only the echo of his heartbeat.
The next morning, everything felt... off. The sky was too bright, the air too still. In class, Sayaka sat near the window, sketching symbols in her notebook — the same ones that appeared in Kaito's dream the night before.
When she looked up, their eyes met. A strange warmth passed between them, like two puzzle pieces finding their match after centuries apart.
"You've seen it too, haven't you?" she said softly after class.
Kaito froze. "What do you mean?"
"The light," she said, glancing at his hand. "And the mark."
He hesitated. "How do you—?"
Sayaka smiled faintly, sadness flickering in her eyes. "Because I have one too." She turned her wrist, revealing a glowing symbol of white petals — the mark of Reishin's Spirit Core.
Before either of them could speak further, a loud crash echoed from outside. The windows rattled. Screams filled the hallways.
They ran out — and froze.
In the school courtyard, shadows were writhing — forming into shapes, crawling up from the cracks of the ground. Kuzuremono.
Their eyes glowed red, and their bodies pulsed with black smoke.
Sayaka gasped. "This… this can't be real."
Kaito clenched his fists. "No… it's happening again."
The mark on his palm burned, light spilling from his arm. Without thinking, he thrust his hand forward.
"Eien Ryoku — Celestial Covenant!"
A pillar of light surged from the ground, forming a protective barrier around the courtyard. The Kuzuremono shrieked, retreating momentarily. Sayaka extended her hand, channeling her Spirit Core — ribbons of emotion and light swirling from her fingertips.
"Kaito, what are they?!"
He stared at the writhing shadows. His memories flashed — Kage's smirk, the dark mist, the mountain. "They're echoes of the past… the ones we sealed."
And as if summoned by the words, a familiar voice drifted through the air — calm, almost amused.
"So the descendants have awakened too."
The students froze. A boy stepped forward from the far end of the courtyard — dark-haired, his uniform pristine, his eyes a deep, unnatural violet.
Sayaka whispered, trembling, "Who... is that?"
Kaito didn't answer. He already knew.
It was Kage no Michi, reborn.
The shadow of an ancient friend — and the curse of eternity.