"A warrior may forget his blade, but a blade never forgets its warrior."
The mountain winds howled.
Rei's grip on Muramasa was steady—too steady. Like his body still remembered the way it should move, even if his mind had tried to forget.
The Veilwalker in front of him—the silver-haired man who had been waiting at the shrine—hadn't moved since stepping back.
His grin hadn't faded, either.
"You haven't lost it," the man mused, eyes gleaming with something unreadable. "Not entirely, anyway."
Rei exhaled through his nose, forcing himself to ignore the way the blade still hummed faintly in his grasp.
It was always like this with Muramasa.
It didn't just respond to him.
It pulled at him.
Like it wanted to be used.
Like it was waiting for him to lose control.
His jaw tightened.
"I didn't come here for a test."
"No," the Veilwalker said smoothly, "but you came here for answers."
He took a step forward. Slow. Calculated.
Rei didn't react, but beside him, Ren's fingers curled around her sword.
The Veilwalker's gaze flickered to her.
"Careful, girl," he said lightly. "No need to be so tense."
Ren raised an eyebrow. "You sure about that?"
His smile widened.
"Absolutely."
Rei didn't trust him.
Didn't trust the way he spoke like he already knew everything.
Didn't trust the way he was looking at Muramasa, rather than him.
And most of all—
He didn't trust the way the sword in his hands felt heavier by the second.
The man clasped his hands behind his back.
"Since it seems we'll be spending some time together, allow me to introduce myself."
His voice was smooth, polite—too polite.
"My name is Kiyoshi."
Rei stared at him.
Waited for something else.
Some explanation.
Some reason why a supposed myth of a warrior faction was standing before him like they had been waiting for years.
But none came.
Kiyoshi simply watched. Expectant. Calm. Unshaken.
Like he knew Rei wasn't the type to waste breath on pointless words.
Finally, Rei exhaled.
"Why are you here?"
Kiyoshi smiled. "To ask you the same thing."
Rei's fingers twitched.
He didn't like this.
Didn't like the way Kiyoshi spoke like they were equals.
Didn't like the way his presence felt too controlled, too practiced—like a man who had spent years weaving words as carefully as a blade.
But most of all—
He didn't like the way Muramasa was reacting to him.
Because deep beneath his skin, deep in the marrow of his bones—Rei could feel the sword recognizing something.
And that meant Kiyoshi was more than he appeared.
Much more.
Kiyoshi stepped closer.
Not enough to be a threat. Not yet.
But enough that Rei could see the subtle inscriptions lining his sleeves.
Runes. Old ones.
The kind that weren't meant for normal warriors.
The kind that bound things.
Rei's stomach twisted.
"Do you even know what you're holding?" Kiyoshi asked lightly.
Rei didn't answer.
Not immediately.
Because the truth was—
He wasn't sure.
Not really.
He had wielded Muramasa for years. Had fought with it, killed with it, survived with it.
But he had never once questioned what it was.
Not until it had been too late.
Not until he had seen what it could do.
And now, standing in the cold mountain air, the whispers in his head quieter but still present, waiting, lurking—
He finally admitted it to himself.
He had never tamed this sword.
He had simply survived it.
And maybe…
Maybe that was never enough.
"You look like a man who's about to ask me something," Kiyoshi mused.
Rei's grip on the sword tightened.
"You seem to know a lot," he said slowly.
Kiyoshi tilted his head. "Do I?"
Rei's crimson eyes locked onto his.
"What is this sword?"
For the first time, Kiyoshi's expression changed.
Just slightly.
Not shock. Not surprise.
Just satisfaction.
Like he had been waiting for Rei to ask that very question.
Ren tensed beside him, picking up on the shift.
But neither of them moved.
Neither of them breathed.
And then—
Kiyoshi smiled.
"The same thing you are, Rei Aozora."
His voice was quiet. Steady.
"A weapon that was never meant to exist."
The words sank into Rei's chest, heavier than the sword in his hands.
He knew Muramasa was not normal.
Had always known.
It was why he had left it behind.
Why he had feared it.
But now, standing before Kiyoshi, standing in front of a man who knew something he didn't—
It felt real.
Like something was about to unravel.
Something he had been trying not to see.
Something about himself.
Ren exhaled sharply. "Okay," she muttered. "I don't like where this is going."
Neither did Rei.
But it was too late.
He had picked up the sword.
And now, the truth was coming for him.
Whether he wanted it or not.