"Mother, why can't you just take your own life."
A counter tuner voice echoed through the dirty alley, cluttered with human and beast corpses. A pair of mother and son sat on opposite sides of the alley, their backs against the wall.
The son's lifeless expression remained fixed on the silver hammer in his hand, its surface reflecting the eerie pink moon hanging high in between the two ancient Japanese buildings, adorned with paper lanterns.
The mother, wore a pained smile on her heart-shaped face:
"Lucy, my son, I'm sorry for treating you the way I did. You know I didn't mean to. No matter how hard I try, I couldn't fight the monster your father left in me."
She gazed at the group of samurai corpses on the ground and sighed:
"We tried to ask for help from the Tama Artists, but look at what happened. I killed them, Lucy! I killed them!"
Her words made tears stream down Lucy's face as they landed on his silver hammer:
"Mother... I won't do it! Why can't we just find this 'father' of mine, and force him to save you? You said I have a twin sister, right? Why not ask her to put in a good word for us?"
Akane stood up, her kimono soaked in samurai blood from head to toe. She looked up at the empty night sky:
"Lucy, I've committed the greatest sin – killing Tama Artists. If you don't kill me, the people after me will kill you too, without reason."
"The world is like that, my son. Everyone is a friend and an enemy at the same time. Am I not the best example of that?"
Lucy turned to look at his mother, his eyes brimming with tears. Akane's facial expressions were hidden by her long red hair, but he could see tears streaming down her face.
"Mother... can I just stay with you for one more day?"
Akane began to sob uncontrollably. To her, Lucy was still just a baby, despite being 18 and abnormally tall. She wished for him to grow up and find happiness, perhaps with the girl he secretly liked, not the wicked girl he had slept with a couple of months ago
However, she could only wish, after all her life had been a series of unfulfilled wishes. Born into a family of Tama Artists, she never awakened as one and was banished from the inner city. On the outskirts of Kurenai City, she wished to find love but instead met a monster who sexually assaulted her for a year, leaving her pregnant.
After giving birth, the man disappeared, leaving only the name Lucien for the child. Akane wished to be a loving mother, but the kyuketsuki left in her by that monster of a man took over her body, forcing her to feed on human flesh.
Her son survived only because Akane's will fought to stop the kyuketsuki from killing him, resulting in him getting physically abused. Now, she feared she couldn't control the monster within her.
"Lucy, you've been asking for the same thing for the past month, and look where it's led us. I've killed over a thousand people, and you've become the child of a monster!"
"I don't care about that!" Lucy roared with all his strength. "I just want to be with you! Who cares about what anyone thinks?"
Akane sighed at his words, then walked over to him. "You've always been like that, Lucy. When other children called you a ghost due to your pale skin, you didn't care. When they called you a jade monkey because of your red hair and ember eyes, you didn't care. When your cousins laughed at you for being illiterate, you didn't care. I like that about you."
Akane showed a small smile, then gently wiped the tears from Lucy's face with the back of her thumb. Lucy's tears erupted again. However, their moment was short-lived, as Akane's expression suddenly twisted into a gruesome grin.
"I like everything about you, Lucy, except that ugly face of yours. Why does it have to look just like his? Tell me why you must resemble that bastard who ruined my life?!"
Lucy's eyes widened in terror as Akane's grip on his neck tightened. He tried to use his frail hands to release her grip, but her long red fingernails dug deeper into his skin.
'It can't be… just when did mother lose control?'
"Just now," Akane hissed like she had read his thoughts. "She won't be able to take over this body again, and I'll finally be free!"
She made a wicked laughter echoed through the ancient Japanese buildings. However, her joy made her oblivious to the silver hammer in Lucy's hand.
With a surge of adrenaline, Lucy brought the hammer down on Akane's head. Bang! Bang!
He struck her repeatedly until she fell to the ground. Lucy continued to hit her, ensuring she was dead. When he finally stopped, his expression crumbled, and he hugged his mother's bloodied body.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."
Before he could mourn her further, a samurai clad in black steel armor approached the alley, accompanied by a group of male eighteen-year-olds.
The samurai's scowl deepened at the sight of Lucy and the vile woman Akane Katsuragi.
"Normally, we should give you a round of applause for killing that horrible woman, but thinking about it, that was the right thing to do. Mortals like you should learn to solve your own problems instead of relying on us Tama Artists."
The samurai took a deep breath before yelling, "What I mean is, get over here this instant!"
Lucy felt enraged, but he swallowed his anger and tears, and stood up, with his silver hammer in hand. Without glancing at his mother, he walked over to the samurai.
'Mother, I am sorry... It looks like fate has denied you a proper burial.'
The samurai raised an eyebrow at Lucy's unusual composure.
"What's your name, kid?"
"Lucien."
"Lucien?"
Lucy nodded in response. Lucien, the name his father left him, meant "bright light." However, he never cared about the meaning, as he couldn't read or write, let alone understand a non-Japanese name like Lucien.
The samurai looked at him in awe. "You seem to be the only child who does understands the situation. Your name is too difficult to keep track of. I'll call you Lucy of the Silver Hammer."
"Yes, sir," Lucy replied nonchalantly, showing no emotion.
....
Tama: Sacred jewels or beads that contain spiritual power and can be used for healing, protection, or divination.