The mist of the Island of Kugutsu hid not just the landscape — it hid ancient sins. It was under the relentless light of the full moon that Kanji Yuzuki walked among the trees, as if every step took him deeper into a forgotten time.
The dense forests whispered secrets in lost tongues, and the dark waters reflected the moon like a bloodstained mirror. The silence was not the absence of sound. It was a living entity, overwhelming, pressing down on Yuzuki's shoulders with every breath.
"I can't run anymore," he thought. "If I don't uncover the truth now, what remains of my name will be nothing but dust."
At the heart of the forest, where even time dared not touch, stood a stone altar. A magical circle etched into the ground pulsed with faint red light. Symbols twisted like living snakes. On a pedestal made of bones and black rocks rested a ceremonial blade of crimson metal, as if every drop of blood shed there had never been forgotten.
Yuzuki opened the old tome he carried — a black leather book, its yellowed pages vibrating with malevolent energy. The words seemed to move as they were read, as if trying to avoid being spoken.
He took a deep breath.
"O spirit of the abyss," he murmured, his voice trembling with tension, "grant me the power to dominate the puppets from beyond. Let my soul be the price to uncover the hidden secrets."
The wind ceased. The air became thick, suffocating.
Something awoke.
Before him, a presence emerged like an eclipse within reality itself. Two red embers ignited in the darkness: the eyes of Mao, the demon who slept beneath the island's seals.
— "You called me, mortal?" Mao's voice didn't echo — it invaded. It was like having thunder inside his mind. "You think you can dominate me?"
Yuzuki felt his body shudder, but he did not retreat.
— "I did not come to dominate you. I came to break chains. Mine... and yours."
Mao laughed. A deep laugh, full of mockery and condemnation.
"Power? Truth? Are you willing to sacrifice everything for illusions? Your soul will be the currency, Kanji Yuzuki."
Yuzuki did not answer. Instead, he held the blade. The cold metal burned. He knew that gesture would separate him from the world of men.
With a firm strike, he tore his own flesh. Blood gushed out, bathing the circle. The ground trembled. The sky darkened. The trees bent.
Mao revealed his true form: a living mass of shadows, flaming eyes piercing the soul, mouths whispering in all directions at once. The world seemed to bend around him.
"You are mine now," said the creature, a promise and a curse fused into a single sentence.
Yuzuki staggered, his chest on fire, but smiled.
— "Perhaps. But I chose this fate."
And as the darkness consumed him, Yuzuki felt the first beat of a new heart... that was not his.
Yuzuki's First Battle – The Encounter with the Clã do Salt
After completing the ritual, Yuzuki felt strange, as if walking between two worlds. His body was stronger, faster, more resistant... but his mind began to fragment. He could feel Mao in his head, like whispering poison. Voices goaded him, instigating violence, death, chaos.
As he walked through the dark forest, a shadow moved before him. He stopped instantly. His senses, now beastly, caught the faintest sound, the slightest shift of air. A hooded figure approached: Shio, one of the executors of the feared Clã do Salt — the loyal dogs of the King of the Island of Kugutsu, hunters of traitors and violators of sacred seals.
Shio wore a black cloak that seemed to merge with the darkness itself. The white mask hid his face, but not his judgment.
— "Kanji Yuzuki," he said, his voice smooth and firm like a drawn blade. "You were a promise to all of us. Now you are just a mistake that must be erased."
— "Who's here to stop me?" Yuzuki retorted, with a bitter smile, raising the sword. "You?"
— "Me?" Shio tilted his head as if observing a wounded animal. "I've only come to ensure you don't flee. What you've invoked will consume you faster than you imagine."
In an instant, Shio moved with supernatural speed. His blade cut through the air toward Yuzuki. He, fueled by the newly awakened demonic power, dodged at the last second.
The battle erupted among the trees. Shio attacked with surgical precision, daggers hidden in his cloak emerging like serpents. Each strike targeted vital points, as if he read Yuzuki's body with the eyes of a surgeon.
Yuzuki, in turn, responded with unrestrained violence. His black sword, with a silver hilt, slashed in wild arcs. His eyes burned red, and his blood boiled. He was faster... stronger... but something was wrong.
His vision blurred. His heart raced. A metallic taste rose in his mouth. His body trembled. It was Mao.
"Are you feeling it, little fool?"
Mao's voice whispered in his mind like claws scraping against glass. "This is the price. This body is mine too."
Yuzuki staggered, and Shio took advantage. A direct strike to the chest sent him crashing into a tree. Blood trickled from his mouth. He gasped, dizzy, but still standing.
— "The power you seek will destroy you," Shio said, approaching with the dagger poised to pierce his neck. "Mao is no simple Kugutsu. He is much worse. The Clã do Salt knows what he is. The King knows."
Yuzuki heard Mao's muffled laugh grow louder like distant thunder inside his skull. His vision distorted — and in that moment, more out of desperation than strategy, he released a wave of energy that pushed Shio back.
— "Perhaps..." Yuzuki murmured, breathless, with a twisted smile, "...but death will be my choice, not yours."
And then, Mao spoke again, like an echo of something too ancient to be understood:
"Let's see if you're still so brave... when I want what belongs to me."
Shio watched as Yuzuki retreated through the forest, wounded and staggering. The mission was far from over. The Clã do Salt would not rest. Yuzuki was now marked.