---
The moment Yuki stepped into the fire, it didn't burn—it welcomed.
His body didn't ignite. His mind did.
He stood in a place without time. A white void, but not empty—filled with images orbiting him like planets.
A girl holding a baby—her smile gentle, but her body made of light.
Nogitsune, younger, kneeling in a shrine, carving sigils into stone.
A spiral of void, locked inside a boy's chest.
And… a battlefield.
Hundreds of mythic beings. Destroyed.
All of them facing one direction.
Facing… him.
> "You weren't born by chance," a voice said behind him.
"You were made to end this cycle."
Yuki turned. The Eidolon stood as a human now. Familiar, like someone he once knew. Its form shifted—a copy of Yuki, then Ren, then his aunt. Finally, it settled on a featureless shape wreathed in flame.
> "You are not just Kitsune. You are the catalyst."
Yuki's hands began glowing. His aura, once soft like silk, now shimmered like a blade.
Void and reality—merging without resistance. His fingers twitched. The void obeyed.
---
Outside the flame:
Haru stumbled back.
"What the hell is that?!"
Kai dropped to one knee.
"I feel like I'm being unmade…"
Ren's eyes locked onto the flame.
"He's rewriting himself."
Himari whispered, eyes wide.
"No… the flame isn't showing him the truth. It's reminding him what he is."
And then, the flame cracked.
It didn't explode—it fractured. Reality blinked, and for a moment, all of them saw—
A tower of obsidian in a sea of stars.
A colossal creature, chained in space.
And Yuki—hovering in front of it, his eyes glowing like galaxies.
---
Back in the chamber, Yuki stepped out.
Changed. Not godly. Not monstrous.
Balanced.
Nogitsune smirked.
"Welcome back, little brother."
Yuki blinked.
"…I remember."
The chamber pulsed—once.
Unseen by either of them, a faint tremor rippled through the mythic realm.
Far beyond the sealed corridors, beneath forgotten roots of the world, something ancient stirred.
Eyes that had been closed for eons cracked open.
No name. No form. Just hunger.
And a whisper echoed from the deepest corner of the void—
> "The catalyst awakens… so the End must wake as well."
---
Yuki took a step forward. The flames behind him had gone quiet, as if their purpose was complete. He didn't glow. He didn't roar. He simply existed differently now.
His aura didn't flare—it folded. Compact. Silent. Terrifyingly calm.
Aiko clutched her chest.
"Yuki… you feel different—but I still see your aura."
Her eyes shimmered faintly violet.
"Wait… I can still see it. No—I can feel it shaping me."
She staggered, and her hand began to flicker with faint traces of white.
Aura manipulation.
From proximity alone.
Ren raised an eyebrow. "That's not normal. That's inherited resonance. His presence is forcing the mythic in us to adapt."
He narrowed his eyes at Yuki.
"So… what do you remember?"
Yuki looked up at the others. Something cracked faintly behind his stare, like a pressure leaking from within.
> "I remember… being born, not breathing… and her hands. Her light."
"I remember Nogitsune—watching from above. Silent. Always silent."
"I remember… a voice whispering that I wasn't supposed to wake up yet."
The room went silent.
Kai let out a low whistle.
"Man figures out how to bend reality, awakens people by accident, and still doesn't eat. Impressive."
Nogitsune chuckled.
"Typical. Unlock the truth of your existence… forget breakfast."
Aiko blinked.
"Wait, he hasn't—Yuki, you haven't eaten yet?!"
Yuki clutched his stomach dramatically.
"My greatest enemy… is hunger."
Ren smirked.
"You have void manipulation and reality warping—and you still can't conjure noodles?"
Kai tossed a scroll of emergency ramen from his bag.
"One of these days, you'll thank me."
---
But the laughter didn't last long.
The flame behind them still shimmered, subtly. It was no longer a flame. It had become an eye.
Watching. Blinking slowly. Like it had seen enough.
Himari whispered, her voice distant.
"It's not over. That thing behind the eighth flame... it knows we're ready now."
Yuki's gaze turned hard.
"Then we go back to the door. No more delays."
Nogitsune's smile faded.
"I agree. Because whatever's behind it... it's already seen our faces."
The stars were out—crystal clear and untouched by the strange reality inside the sealed domain. Somehow, the outside had reformed just enough to allow the group one peaceful night under the cosmos.
Yuki laid back on the grass, arms behind his head.
He wasn't glowing. Wasn't spiraling into power.
Just… still.
Aiko and Himari curled up beside him, both having fallen asleep mid-conversation.
He mumbled in his sleep with a faint smile.
> "W-what? I… I didn't say I liked both of you at once… wait stop chasing me—wait this is a hot spring?!"
Ren raised an eyebrow.
"Dreaming of harems already, huh?"
Haru burst out laughing.
"This guy's power can bend dimensions but he's still confused by girls!"
Kai nudged Ren.
"Think we should draw whiskers on him? For spiritual development, of course."
They all laughed—but behind it was a quiet understanding.
Tomorrow, they would open that door again.
And next time, they might not come back the same.
---
The group stood once more before the sealed archway.
It didn't burn with fire anymore.
It pulsed.
Alive.
Aiko gripped Yuki's sleeve.
"This time… I'm going in too. I want to see what made you what you are."
Nogitsune's tone turned serious.
"Remember this—whatever's watching isn't just waiting. It's testing. Watching who cracks first."
Yuki stepped forward.
And the door… opened by itself.
No push. No force.
Only memory, folded into light, pulling them inward.
Ren narrowed his eyes.
"…Get ready. We're not just walking into power."
"We're walking into the past."
---
Next day
Return to the Sealed Door
The group stood once more before the sealed archway.
It didn't burn with fire anymore.
It pulsed.
Alive.
Aiko gripped Yuki's sleeve.
"This time… I'm going in too. I want to see what made you what you are."
Nogitsune's tone turned serious.
"Remember this—whatever's watching isn't just waiting. It's testing. Watching who cracks first."
Yuki stepped forward.
And the door… opened by itself.
No push. No force.
Only memory, folded into light, pulling them inward.
Ren narrowed his eyes.
"…Get ready. We're not just walking into power."
"We're walking into the past."
---
"If you're enjoying the ride, don't forget to leave a power stone or a comment—it really helps this grow!"