The rays of the sun peeked through the dense canopies of the yellow-leafed trees and washed over Jean's face. His eyes then slowly opened. He then stood up and brushed off the many yellow leaves that fell onto his body during the night. He then glanced at the rest of the campsite. Four out of the five of his companions were sleeping. The only one awake was the same man that asked him a question the night prior. He sat against a tree, and once he saw that Jean was awake, he greeted him.
"Good morning, Takeshi. Did you rest well?"
Hearing this, Jean thought: Takeshi… I suppose that I won't be hearing the name Jean Prince for quite some time. I just have to accept it—that I'm Ren Takeshi for the time being. In that moment, Jean decided to himself that he would view himself as an amalgamation of himself and Ren Takeshi. He decided to keep his personality but to embrace his new identity, as it would just make things a lot harder for him if he didn't.
With that, Takeshi replied, "Not bad. My body has rested. I'm ready for the journey ahead."
He said this, though it was the complete opposite of how he truly felt. His back and the back of his skull ached from spending the whole night on the hard, uneven ground.
The man sitting against a tree—whose name Takeshi still didn't know—reached to his waist and pulled something out, extending it toward Takeshi in a silent gesture.
As Takeshi approached, he realized what the man was offering: a gourd. Takeshi took it, and the man said,
"Drink up. There's a long journey ahead of us. Just leave some for the rest."
Takeshi nodded and briefly examined the gourd before raising it to his lips. It was the first time he'd ever had to drink from something like this. Glasses are clearly much superior, he thought as he took a gulp of the liquid inside. He immediately realized this wasn't ordinary water. The moment he drank it, the pain in his back vanished. He wanted to ask what the liquid was—but ultimately decided not to. There was a chance that the original Takeshi already knew, and asking might raise suspicion.
After returning the gourd to the man, the latter stood up and decided it was time to wake the rest of his subordinates.
After a few nudges, each of them woke up. Within minutes—after stretching, fully waking, and drinking some of the mysterious liquid—they were ready to depart from the camp. The man who had offered the water spoke to the rest, "Follow my lead, and don't fall far behind."
With that, he began moving, and Takeshi concluded that this man must be the leader of the group. Obeying his command, Takeshi grabbed his sword and slowly followed behind the others.
Time passed slowly as they ventured forward. The dense forest of yellow-leafed trees began to thin, gradually replaced by green grass and trees spaced much farther apart. Through the widening gaps in the canopy, not too far off in the distance, they saw a towering mountain. Near its peak stood a grand temple carved into its side.
Upon seeing it, the group's leader announced, "That's our destination."
After more traveling, they came across a tranquil pond. The leader turned to the group and said that if anyone was thirsty, this would be their last chance to drink. Everyone, including Takeshi, silently nodded in acknowledgment and approached the pond.
Once he reached the edge of the pond, Takeshi knelt down, ready to scoop the water into his hands. But just as he was about to, something caught his attention. Reflected on the surface of the water was a face—his own. The man staring back at him had a proportionate, angular face that seemed to wear a constant serious expression. He had dark brown eyes and long black hair tied into a bun at the back, with a few strands falling loosely down his neck. Takeshi could have stared at the reflection for hours, studying the features of the man he now was. But he knew they didn't have time to waste.
The group quickly drank their fill from the pond before continuing their journey. And before long, they arrived at the foot of the mountain. Its surface was entirely stone and relatively steep, leaving no immediate way to climb it.
Seeing this, Takeshi asked in confusion, "What do we do now?"
The leader, to whom Takeshi had directed the question, remained silent for a few seconds before replying, "We'll have to go around the mountain. There must be a trail or some other way up—someone built an entire temple near the peak, after all."
Everyone silently agreed with his reasoning. With that, they began to follow the base of the mountain in a counterclockwise direction, searching for a path that would lead them upward.
After what felt like at least thirty minutes of circling the base of the mountain, Takeshi and the others finally found a narrow path that snaked along the mountain's edge, leading upward. The path appeared mostly shaped by nature, with only occasional human intervention—small stone slabs had been placed between uneven sections to form rudimentary steps.
The six warriors moved slowly and carefully, navigating the narrow, uneven path. As they climbed higher, the mountain seemed to open up beneath them, and soon the path ended. In its place stood a stone staircase—clearly man-made—that stretched onward.
The sight of the staircase filled all of them, even the leader, with a sense of unease. The staircase looked ancient, its stones cracked and weathered, as though it might crumble and send them plummeting to their deaths at any moment.
After a tense climb up the precarious stairs, they finally reached the temple of the Kageyama Clan.
Carved gracefully into the mountainside, the temple stood proudly, seemingly untouched by the ravages of time. Despite being over a thousand years old, it showed no signs of decay, its grandeur standing strong against the elements.
As Takeshi admired the grand temple, something caught his attention.
In front of the steps leading into the main building of the temple, two strange creatures sniffed the ground.
Takeshi's eyes widened as he saw them.
They were two wolves, their entire bodies seemingly made of darkness and shadows. Every few seconds, thin yellow lightning coursed through them, crackling from one part of their bodies to the next.
Takeshi watched, filled with both awe and fear. This was his first encounter with one of the many mystical beasts that roamed this strange world. He stood still, struck with fear, unsure of what to do. Then one of his companions reached for the hilt of his sword, intent on drawing it. But the whispering voice of the leader quickly stopped him.
"No! They are Umbral Lightseekers. As long as you don't attack them, they won't bother you. Suppress your bloodlust, we can't afford to deal with them now."
Takeshi, though not driven by bloodlust, listened attentively, his fear of the creatures overwhelming any desire to act. He was also impressed by the leader's knowledge of these beasts.
After a brief moment of tense silence, they all calmly walked past the two wolves and entered the temple.
The interior of the temple was shrouded in extreme darkness, making it difficult to see even a few meters ahead. Fortunately, the temple's interior wasn't large, so they could faintly make out what they needed. There wasn't much within the temple itself—just a few tables with long-melted candles and a handful of scrolls, their text long faded. At the center of the temple stood a ceremonial altar.
While the others examined the tables, Takeshi's attention was drawn to the altar. He approached it, gazing at the thin stone slab resting on it, surrounded by dozens of melted candles. Driven by curiosity, he picked up the stone slab. Squinting in the dim light, he tried to make out the text carved into it. It would have been much easier if there had been a source of light inside the abandoned temple, but Takeshi managed to discern the message.
Written in an unfamiliar language, which for some reason he could understand, was the sentence:
"One of the mighty rulers of the Shadow Realm, the great master of taking and unmaking, stealer of essence and breaker of claims—please respond to my prayers and grant me your guidance.."
Takeshi unknowingly read the sentence aloud, a deep sense of confusion washing over him as he wondered about the meaning and the powerful entity it referred to. Then a thought crossed his mind:
Last night, didn't the leader mention that the Kageyama Clan—who this temple belonged to—had made contact with a demon from the shadow realm?Could this be the prayer they used?
Before he could think any further, the darkness around him suddenly thickened, consuming his vision. In an instant, he found himself standing in an endless expanse of blackness. His companions were gone, and so was the temple. The infinite darkness stretched on in every direction, both tranquil and terrifying. Not a single sound could be heard.
Takeshi stood frozen, his heart racing, at a complete loss for what had just happened.
But before he could process it, a sliver of the void before him seemed to peel away, forming an eerie rift in the fabric of the darkness. From within the opening, a single, immense eye emerged. At the center of its silver iris sat a black pupil, staring straight into Takeshi's soul.
A silence hung in the air, oppressive and thick. Then, as if the voice itself had been pulled from the depths of the void, it resonated—ethereal, ancient, and cold:
"It's been quite some time since someone has prayed to me."