Chapter 9: [Vol.1] Chapter 6: voidwalker

“Some storms begin as silence pressing against a fragile thing.”

Aurora sprinted across the green land like a blur beneath the bright moonlight. The grass bent as she cut through entire acres of land in mere seconds. Eventually, she stopped within a group of trees that stood just before the river Obaa-san had spoken of, a stream that cut through the plains like a wound in the land. Its surface shimmered with silver light from the moon far above. A few feet beside the river was a strange man. He rested in the open, limbs folded calmly across his chest as if dozing beneath the stars after a long day’s labour.

Asleep? Aurora thought as she peeked from the tall trees. Where are the rest? Hmm. She didn’t move any closer. Not yet. They might now be here, but at the same time, this could just be a trap. What criminal lies in the open like this? Aurora closed her eyes as she raised her head. There, I can sense him, his small blue aura by the flowing water. She let out a silent breath. There's nobody around me. She opened her eyes and glanced left, then right. The woods hemmed her in, but it wasn’t the forest that troubled her. It was the silent, anticipatory feeling that wrapped around her bones like a cold wire.

No, this isn't right...I’m being watched!

The sensation slithered up her spine, slow and deliberate, then a sudden rustle came from her left, and a hand burst through a nearby tree bark. She leaned back, dodging as the loud sound of torn wood echoed through her mind. Another hand lashed out from below, this time it curved around another tree, directly towards her waist.

My katana!

Aurora forced her hands towards her waist until they found the handle of her blade. Then, a sudden, cold and metallic shiing echoed in the silence. The blade swung towards the hands that tore through the bark, then they paused. Aurora’s gaze focused on the hands that had appeared beside her. Those aren't rotten or scarred. They look normal. Her eyes widened*. The other hunters!* She turned with the motion of her initial strike to avoid hitting the human hands, then she vanished.

“I see,” her voice stretched into the darkness as her figure faded like a dream.

The forest went silent for a few seconds, then voices broke through the dark as three hidden figures panicked

“She’s like us...”

“Where did she go?”

“I’m not sure...”

The three figures emerged from the trees, each wearing similar robes. Before they could utter another word, the air around them thickened, and each figure instantly fell to their knees. A sudden, invisible weight had manifested within their bodies and had dragged them down with it, causing them to choke on their own breath. One figure choked on his blood, forcing him to fall on his back as he struggled to breathe.

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“V-void... pr-pressure...?” one of them whispered

“I-Is she an S-rank??” another grunted in pain as his throat filled with blood.

Behind them, a presence had manifested itself atop a tall tree. Two of the hunters managed to turn and face the presence. On a tall tree, Aurora stood against the moonlight, giving the illusion of a shadow in the night sky. One arm was stretched outward, holding the slumbering hunter from earlier, effortlessly by his neck. Her katana hung, held tightly in her other hand. The two hunters who had managed to turn around glared into the night sky, into her blue eyes that glowed against her dark shadow. There was only one feeling their body could comprehend in that moment.

Fear

Their bodies shivered violently as they glared into her eyes, and sweat poured from their skin like an endless river as they continued to choke on their own blood. Then, after what seemed like an eternity, the invisible pressure lifted. The three hunters immediately gasped for air, their bodies shuddering as oxygen returned to starving lungs.

“Who... who are you?!” one of them wheezed, his voice was cracked and hoarse.

“I am Aurora Tenshiro,” she said. “Daughter of Rahto Tenshiro.” She let the name fall like a blade of its own.

“Now... who are you? Why would you terrorise a village of innocents?” A moment passed as the hunters below glared at her silently, their lips unable to form coherent words. Aurora tilted her head slightly, “Ok then”

She released the Void Walker in her grasp. His body plummeted from the height of the tall tree, limp and unresponsive. The nearest of the three dove forward to catch him, gritting his teeth as the weight collided with his arms.

Aurora’s eyes narrowed. “So... you still care about life? Yet you kill innocent people for fun?” Her voice softened, almost unreadable.

Hunters usually kill demons. It’s a thousand-year-old tradition. But it just doesn't make any sense. Why the village? The children?

Before silence could settle, one of them lunged to his feet, his voice was laced with rage.

“Innocent? You must be talking about Yurei village, right?! Those people are demons, damn it!” Blood clung to the corners of his mouth as he shouted.

“They don’t deserve to live. The only reason we didn’t burn the rest... was because of the child!”

Aurora’s gaze sharpened. “Child?”

Another Void Walker spoke, quieter and tired.

“The boy. Brown clothing. Hair like rusted straw. He tried to stop us from erasing that village. We wouldn’t have stopped if not for that thing inside him”

A pause followed.

“A pure demon. Born into a home of innocence. Or at least that's what we think happened”

Aurora’s expressions softened. The child has something inside him? What are they talking about? It didn’t align. Nothing in her training could rationalise a child the same age as her little brother committing such cruelty. One of them stepped forward slowly and cautiously as he pulled a thick book from his satchel. It was worn, weather-stained, and held together with a dark brown string. He opened it to a marked page.

“Here,” he said. “See for yourself.”

Aurora took the book and scanned the ancient symbols. Across the top of the brittle parchment was the heading:

[Demons of Possession]

Below were crude sketches of distorted forms curled inside human silhouettes. Notes in fading ink. Diagrams of split consciousness and fraying souls.

“These kinds,” the man continued, pointing to the glyphs, “favour weak minds, empty hearts, vessels that won’t resist.”

“A child,” another said, “ as repulsive as this sounds, is perfect.”

Aurora stared at the page in silence for a few seconds, then closed it gently, returned it, and vanished.