Like the Korosu, the members of the Shi family were enjoying a period of prosperity.
Saku was the reigning tribal chief, and she channeled her bitterness for the dragons' death toward bettering the lives of her peers.
She started by sealing off the dragons' cave and constructing a wall around the Shi Mountains to keep its inhabitants safe. She also appointed a gatekeeper who would supervise entry and exit.
Meanwhile, following Warui's death, Tensai was battling uncertainty.
As the official tribal chief, he could have almost anything he wished. But, nothing seemed to satisfy him as he was never sure what he wanted.
When orphaned after the arson attack on his home, he thought his dream was to resurrect his parents using his father's ability.
He thought he was correct for a while, but after surviving as an orphan, his desire for his parents faded. To him, the feeling of independence was more pleasant.
As he grew older, his desire transformed into wanting to master his father's technique. However, this also turned out not to be his true goal.
Being someone who's experienced both ends of the spectrum, from having everything to having nothing, Tensai never felt a longing for anything.
But now, for the first time, he yearned for something. He desired the artifacts within the dragons' cave.
He wasn't sure why. He didn't know whether it was for power, pleasure, or profit. All he knew was for him to walk away with those artifacts, he'd have to rid himself of all distractions, starting with his own clan.
Channeling his doragonken skill and his latent hatred for the tribe, Tensai lashed out at the Korosu, eliminating them one by one.
There was little resistance. Despite every Korosu knowing doragonken, none of them was a match for Tensai.
With every ounce of blood spilled, Tensai felt more and more alive. Then, he knew why he longed for the dragons' ancient artifacts.
"This feeling of greed..." Tensai grinned, covered in the blood of his clan. "It was caused by curiosity."
He finished eliminating everyone within the village. However, because he knew everyone in the Korosu family, Tensai realized that two remained: Kurome and his mother.
Kurome's mother was on her daily stroll to her son's cave. She neared the entrance, unaware of Tensai, who trailed behind her.
Inside the cave, Kurome concealed himself in a corner. He sensed Tensai killing everyone within the village, but thinking it was another one of his illusions, Kurome stayed put and waited for its effects to wear off.
"Tensai's the tribal chief," Kurome muttered, "he wouldn't turn on the clan. It's just another one of those damn illusions."
He could hear Tensai closing in on his cave, but he continued to brush it off until he heard a shriek that made his hairs stand up.
He ran to the cave's entrance.
Over the years, he coped with being blind by honing his elite sensory skills to practically having an extra pair of eyes.
Still regarding the situation as an illusion, a terrified Kurome sat at the cave entrance, hearing and sensing the scene before him.
His mother crawled toward him. Covered in cuts and bruises, she dripped an excessive amount of blood.
Tensai strolled behind her with a wide grin.
"Help me, Kurome," she cried out.
He didn't move.
"Kurome," she wriggled forward, tears trickling down her face.
"Kurome, why won't you move? Don't you recognize me? It's me, your mother."
Kurome hid his face.
"It's an illusion," he reassured himself.
His mother touched his cheek.
"Are you under one of those illusions?" she asked.
She turned his face to meet hers, but Kurome instinctively covered his eyes to protect her from his illusions.
Her breathing slowed, but her last words echoed throughout Kurome's head.
"Kurome...
"Wake up."
Kurome's heart froze.
"In my illusions, I can see," he muttered.
"But right now, I'm blind.
"That means...
"I'm not dreaming.
"This is my inescapable reality."
Overflowing with every negative emotion, Kurome cradled his mother's body.
Unable to cry because of his eyes, he stared blankly.
Tensai stood before Kurome and his mother.
"Don't worry," Tensai smiled, "you'll join her soon. In the afterlife, your prana will no longer burden you."
He stretched his hand to finish the job, but his fist was stopped by the awakening of Kurome's ririsu prana.
Kurome's black aura engulfed the mountains, and in shock, Tensai looked into Kurome's eyes for the first time.
"Ririsu Prana: Nightmare Realm!"
Tensai appeared in a black world, and Kurome materialized ahead of him.
The nightmare realm is a metaphysical world where Kurome could give his illusions physical form, thereby making them a reality.
For the first time, Kurome's prana pleasured him.
Within this world, Kurome tortured Tensai to his heart's contempt. He reenacted every way the Korosu attempted to execute him.
Tensai's torture went on for days. He died countless times, but Kurome simply resurrected him and continued until he ran out of energy and ririsu prana.
They reappeared within their bodies, and Tensai retained the injuries he sustained within the nightmare realm. He dropped to his knees, the pain rendering him immobile.
Kurome set his mother's body aside and walked toward Tensai, who'd already closed his eyes.
"You think closing your eyes will save you?" Kurome said, his body sluggish from exhaustion.
He punched Tensai repeatedly. Each blow stained his fists with more blood than the last.
Kurome unleashed the latent anger that his mother's love suppressed.
"You all loathed me," Kurome shouted between punches, "For something I couldn't control!
"I'm stuck with this prana for the rest of my life, and I'll use it to make your life hell."
Despite his severely wounded state, Kurome's words graced Tensai with an idea.
"I can change that," Tensai said, gasping for air.
Kurome reluctantly halted his punch.
"What you want more than ever," Tensai said through the pain, "Is to be freed from your prana, right?"
Kurome's frown indicated to Tensai that he was correct.
"Well, you already know what I did to the sicknesses that ravaged the Korosu," Tensai explained, "I can do the same for you.
"I can remedy your eyes and repair your vision. And since your prana manifested within your eyes, with them gone, your prana will be unable to display itself."
"And what's the condition?" Kurome asked, still holding Tensai by the shirt.
"You're not as dumb as you look," Tensai remarked, "There are three artifacts within the dragons' cave. I want them in my hands."
"Very well," Kurome said, "But, first, I'll wound you until I'm satisfied. Since you're the Korosu's tribal chief, you'll pay for their sins."
He released a series of punches. Each one packed more hate than the last. Kurome punched for days, repressing enough to prevent killing but unleashing enough to inflict severe damage.
He struck Tensai until his fists went numb, and when he finished, Tensai was comatose.
After Tensai awoke, he and Kurome officially joined forces.
Utilizing another attribute of Kurome's illusions, which granted him total control of those under his prana, they infiltrated the Shi family.
They influenced Saku with Kurome's prana and trespassed into the dragons' cave using her memories.
Exploiting her body, Kurome and Tensai robbed the deceased dragons of their artifacts. However, the double-edged katana wasn't present in the tomb that harbored the earrings.
They searched the entire cave to no avail but successfully emerged with two out of three artifacts.
Suffering from the aftereffects of Kurome's manipulation attribute, Saku had no clue what happened.
Kurome and Tensai wore the earrings but didn't notice any immediate changes.
However, after years of wearing the earrings, during which Kurome unlocked Tensai's prana, they showed no signs of aging.
They sat on a cliff ledge, gazing into the sunset.
"I get it now," Tensai informed Kurome, "These earrings do as their symbols imply.
"The one with the hourglass negates the effects of time, and the spiral does the same for space."
"Knowing that leaves us with more questions to answer," Kurome replied, "We don't know who created these antiques or the details on the dragons' homeland.
"And most importantly, we're still missing one artifact."
"Yes," Tensai replied, "Ame-no-Ohabari. Don't worry. That blade is tied to the fabric of these lands. It'll eventually make its way back home.
"Besides, we have all the time in the world because these earrings have granted us immortality."
The nightmare realm returned to its original state, and Kurome appeared before Hashira.
"That should have answered your question," Kurome said, "But I'll say it once more.
"My ambitions are simple.
"We live in a world where your prana defines you.
"Those born with power are cursed, and those born weak seek to become accursed.
"I want to free myself from this nightmare known as prana. And to do that, I must keep my end of the bargain with Tensai."
"As I said before," Hashira responded, "you're just a child chasing impossible dreams in an ancient body."
"Save your lectures for someone who cares," Kurome shot back.
"Do you truly believe Tensai can free you from your prana? That's absurd. How could you fall for such an obvious lie."
"Whether Tensai was sincere doesn't matter to me," Kurome clarified, "Just being able to chase that dream is enough for me...
"It gives me a reason to live."
"I see," Hashira noted.
"You're awfully calm for someone who's about to die," Kurome vanished without a trace, leaving Hashira alone in the darkness.
Kurome's voice echoed throughout the void, "At times, being able to see in my illusions makes them feel like an escape from my blind reality. However, that'll never satisfy me. It's just a fake. A mockery of the real thing."
Hashira stayed quiet.
"Well then," Kurome continued, "Let's see what your nightmare is."
Unable to fly or move his body, Hashira suddenly found himself diving downwards, the blue skies and the bare floors below all a blur.
Kurome said, "Let's start with something simple. Blunt force trauma."
The wind whipped his hair back, gushing throughout his body.
Hashira hit the ground with a resounding splat. Only his blood and organs remained as a result of his fall.
"Don't worry. Every time you die, I'll bring you back for more. In this world, I am almighty."
Hashira reappeared on a guillotine, his body chained down with his head at the mercy of the blade.
Hashira felt nothing but the cold touch as the blade sliced clean through his neck.
His decapitated head rolled away, leaving a trail of blood.
Hashira reappeared in the air. His limbs and head were slowly pulled from his body by ropes.
Stones swished through the air, puncturing holes in Hashira's body. Crimson flowed from his wounds in a steady pour.
The ropes pulled his limbs further apart. His arms ripped from his body, and his legs followed after.
One rope remained, pulling his head from the rest of his torso.
Kurome appeared on the floor below Hashira. The rope slowly stripped Hashira's head from his body.
"Goodbye, Hashira-"
Cracks formed on the very fabric of the nightmare realm, causing it to shatter.
Hashira and Kurome returned to their physical bodies, engulfed in flames.
Kurome sprinted out of the inferno, luckily escaping with slight burns.
"I get it," he muttered.
"Just before I caught him in the nightmare realm, he covered himself and the ground in oil. I thought it was a futile attempt, but it was a contingency plan.
"He knew he was caught and engulfed himself in oil, allowing the afternoon sun to ignite them into flames.
"When the physical body undergoes extreme pain, the mind gets distraught, freeing the victim from the nightmare realm. Hashira accurately deduced this weakness and acted on it just before he entered the nightmare realm.
"Impressive, so that's why he was so calm."
Kurome could sense Hashira burning within the flames.
"This means nothing," Kurome barked, "all you're doing is delaying your death. You're just a torso and a head. You're a walking corpse!"
Inside the flames, Hashira took a deep breath. Despite having no limbs, he floated with his ririsu.
"Kurome," he said, "My ancestors failed to rid themselves of your wicked family.
"I'll change that right here. I'll disregard our family's rules and kill you right here so together we can burn in hell with our sins.
"Allow me to show you why I am the pillar that upheld the Shi family for a century."
Hashira assimilated with the flames surrounding him. The fire swirled, consuming everything in its path.
"Such incredible energy," Kurome muttered, "It's like he's becoming one with prana."
The fire took the shape of a serpentine dragon. Its flames spread across the lands as it towered over Kurome.
"Oil Prana: Full body ignition...
"Flame Dragon Mode!"