The air was heavy.

  Not just with the weight of the mission, but with something deeper. Something unspoken.

  A younger Koharu adjusted her grip on her bde, fingers steady, but her mind was anything but.

  Ancient was gone.

  She had spent years chasing his shadow, training relentlessly to surpass him, only for him to leave before she could prove herself. She had devoted everything—every breath, every technique—to the idea of standing at the peak, to surpassing the strongest warrior the Chūkan had ever seen.

  And now? Now she was being sent out with his repcement.

  Haruka was the next strongest, the one the elders whispered about, the one they relied on. He wasn’t just powerful—he was unmatched in the Tenkai no Shingi. Some even said his control over the arts was the greatest in history.

  Koharu knew he was strong. But she didn’t want him to be.

  She wanted to be the one they turned to. The one they called the strongest.

  A part of her hated that it was him standing beside her. Hated that his name carried weight, that hisreputation had already surpassed hers.

  Her emotions were a tangled mess of resentment, ambition, and something she refused to acknowledge as insecurity.

  But none of that mattered right now.

  This mission—this fight—was her chance.

  Haruka may have been the strongest now.

  But she would make sure that changed.

  She exhaled, shaking the thoughts away as she focused on the ruins ahead. They had been walking for hours, tracking their target, their orders simple yet absolute.

  Kill the Shingan. Eradicate the threat before he grows any stronger.

  Yet, as they approached the battlefield, Koharu could feel it—an unnatural stillness.

  Haruka exhaled slowly. “He’s waiting for us.”

  Koharu’s lips curled into a smirk. “Then let’s not keep him waiting.”

  And then—

  A single step forward.

  The world shifted.

  Dark mist coiled around the ruins, warping reality as a man emerged from the shadows. His golden eyes gleamed with amusement, his movements slow, deliberate. The Shingan.

  He smiled.

  “Only two? My, how the mighty Chūkan has fallen.”

  Koharu felt the tension in Haruka’s posture, but the captain did not react to the provocation. Instead, his gaze flickered slightly—beyond the Shingan.

  A second presence.

  A man stepped forward from behind the mist.

  A Death Phantom.

  Unlike the Shingan, he held no amusement in his gaze. His expression was cold, unreadable. A warrior, not a ruler. Koharu’s eyes narrowed.

  “Figures you’d bring backup,” she muttered.

  “And you didn’t?” The Shingan chuckled. “Not very strategic, little warrior.”

  Haruka finally moved.

  “Tenkai no Shingi No. 44 – Veil of Stillness.”

  The air itself thickened.

  A wave of energy expanded outward, locking the battlefield in absolute silence. Koharu could feel it pressing against her skin—her movements slower, her breathing heavier.

  The Shingan tilted his head.

  Then—he lifted his hand.

  A single snap of his fingers.

  And the technique shattered.

  The air returned, the weight lifted, the battlefield free once more.

  The Shingan smiled. “Cute trick. But it won’t work on me.”

  Then—he attacked.