Do you mind explaining what happened to the doorknob of my basement? I don't remember it breaking like that. It was completely messed up when I saw it… and then you were lying right next to it. Could it be that you tried to break into my basement or something?
Yeng's voice was calm, but there was something underneath it—something sharp that made Toji's chest tighten.
Toji froze.
For a moment, he didn't know what to say. His throat felt dry, his mind racing faster than his body could keep up. Sweat slowly formed on his forehead and slid down the side of his face. The image of what he had seen in the basement flashed through his mind again—dark, endless space… something unnatural… something that shouldn't exist beneath a normal house.
He swallowed hard.
He was already scared.
Scared of Yeng.
Scared of what kind of man would build something like that.
Scared of what might be hidden deeper inside.
"I… I don't know who did that to your door, I swear," Toji finally said, forcing the words out. His voice wasn't steady, but he tried to make it sound convincing. "And I wouldn't try to break into your basement. You told me to stay away from it—I remember that."
Yeng said nothing.
That silence made everything worse.
Toji quickly continued, trying to cover the cracks in his lie.
"I was training out in the fields," he said. "I pushed myself too hard and got really tired. When I came back, I saw the door already messed up like that. I wanted to check it out, but before I could even do anything, I just… collapsed."
He paused, pretending to recall it.
"The next thing I remember is waking up two days later. That's all. There's no way I would intentionally try to break into something you warned me about."
Another silence.
Longer this time.
Yeng let out a slow sigh.
"Hmmm… that could be true," he muttered. "But then who the hell would try to break into my house… and into the basement of all places?"
Toji shrugged slightly, avoiding eye contact.
"I don't know… it's not like I'm the person who did it or anything."
Yeng stared at him for a few seconds longer before turning away.
"Well," he said, "I'll figure that out later."
Toji exhaled quietly, relieved—but only slightly.
"There's something I want to teach you," Yeng continued. "Come out to the peak of the mountain in an hour."
Toji frowned.
"What for?"
Yeng smirked faintly.
"You'll see when we get there."
And just like that, the conversation ended.
---
As Toji walked away, a cold feeling crept into his body.
It had been a while since Yeng called him out like this.
The last time it happened… it nearly broke him.
He remembered running across the entire forest until his legs gave out, his lungs burning, his vision spinning. Yeng never explained things—he simply forced you to adapt or suffer.
Toji clenched his fists.
A part of him didn't want to go.
But he knew better.
Ignoring Yeng wasn't an option.
So when the time came, he went.
---
The path up the mountain was quiet.
Too quiet.
As Toji climbed higher, something began to feel… off.
At first, it was subtle—a faint sensation brushing against his skin, like a whisper carried by the wind. But with each step, it grew stronger.
Energy.
There was energy flowing through the forest.
Toji stopped walking.
His eyes narrowed.
He could feel it clearly now.
An aura.
But not just any aura.
It felt… familiar.
His heart skipped.
It reminded him of something—someone.
Maki.
The first time he had felt her presence, it had been overwhelming. Dark, vast, suffocating… like standing at the edge of an endless abyss.
But this one…
This one was different.
It was still powerful—but warmer.
Less suffocating.
Yet…
There was something hidden beneath it.
Something dangerous.
Toji's breathing slowed.
He began moving again, faster this time, following the invisible trail of that aura. It was like he could almost see it—like faint distortions in the air guiding him upward.
Step by step, his pace quickened.
Then—
The smell hit him.
Toji froze.
His eyes widened.
That smell…
It was faint, but unmistakable.
Blood.
Not fresh blood.
Something deeper.
Something older.
Something that carried violence within it.
His chest tightened.
Images began to flash in his mind.
That day.
That moment.
Maki.
The air thick with killing intent.
The metallic scent that clung to everything.
The feeling of standing in front of something far beyond him.
Toji's expression darkened.
"No…" he muttered under his breath.
The aura intensified.
And so did the smell.
Now it was clearer.
Stronger.
More real.
His heart began to beat faster.
Not from fear.
From anger.
Raw.
Burning.
Uncontrollable anger.
His fists clenched so tightly his nails dug into his palms.
"That smell…" he whispered.
His body tensed.
Memories flooded in—fragments of fear, helplessness, humiliation. The feeling of being overwhelmed. The feeling of being powerless.
Something inside him snapped.
His breathing grew heavier.
Faster.
His aura began to leak out without him realizing it.
Dark.
Dense.
Unstable.
"Maki…"
The name slipped out like a curse.
His eyes sharpened.
If that aura belonged to her—
If she was here—
Then—
Toji took off.
---
He sprinted up the mountain at full speed.
The ground beneath his feet cracked slightly with each step.
Branches snapped as he passed.
The air around him distorted from the pressure of his movement.
His mind was no longer calm.
It was burning.
Every step fueled by anger.
By memory.
By that smell that refused to leave his senses.
"I won't…" he muttered.
"I won't run this time…"
His aura surged again—darker, heavier, more chaotic.
Even the forest seemed to react.
The closer he got to the peak, the stronger everything became—the aura, the smell, the pressure.
And then—
Another presence emerged.
Cold.
Sharp.
Deadly.
Killing intent.
It slammed into him like a wave.
But instead of stopping—
Toji pushed harder.
His eyes widened, but not in fear.
In recognition.
"That's it…"
His lips curled slightly.
"That feeling…"
It was too similar.
Too familiar.
Too close to what he felt that day.
His anger exploded.
---
At the peak of the mountain—
Yeng stood waiting.
A smirk on his face.
His aura was fully released now, flowing around him like a living thing. It pulsed steadily, controlled, deliberate.
He had been emitting it on purpose.
Testing.
Watching.
Waiting.
He had expected Toji to come.
But what he didn't expect—
Was this.
From a distance, he could already feel it.
Toji's aura.
Dark.
Unnatural.
Unstable.
It wasn't large.
Not yet.
But its nature…
It was deeper than anything Yeng had ever sensed before.
Even deeper than a gumiho.
Yeng's smirk faded slightly.
"…What is that?" he murmured.
He focused.
Trying to read it.
Trying to understand it.
But it felt incomplete.
Like only a fragment had been awakened.
And yet—
That fragment alone was enough to make him uneasy.
"Should I really teach him…" Yeng muttered quietly.
"…or is that a mistake?"
Before he could think further—
Toji appeared.
Bursting onto the peak.
His breathing heavy.
His eyes sharp.
Burning.
For a split second—
He stopped.
Looking straight at Yeng.
The aura.
The smell.
The killing intent.
It all pointed to one person.
Then—
Reality settled in.
It wasn't Maki.
It was Yeng.
But the anger didn't disappear.
It stayed.
Boiling.
Dangerous.
Yeng tilted his head slightly, observing him.
"So," he said calmly, though his eyes were serious now, "you made it."
Toji didn't respond immediately.
His fists were still clenched.
His aura still leaking out in dark waves.
The wind around them shifted.
The atmosphere grew heavy.
Finally—
Toji spoke.
"…What is this?"
His voice was low.
Sharp.
Controlled—but barely.
Yeng smiled again, but this time it wasn't casual.
It was calculating.
"A lesson," he said.
And for the first time—
He wasn't sure if he was the one in control anymore.