In the dim early morning light, the sun had not yet risen to dispel the darkness.
Tanjiro said goodbye to Grandpa Saburo, slung his basket over his back, and jogged up the mountain toward home.
For some reason, he felt an urgent need to get back.
Last night, he had dreamt of Kie and Hanako.
Kie, as always, wore a gentle smile. Hanako and his three younger brothers were all beaming at him.
No one else spoke, but Kie's voice, soft as a feather, said to Tanjiro: "Tanjiro… Tanjiro… Mother is taking Hanako and the others to a new world—a place without sorrow or worry."
"Don't be sad, and don't grieve. The thing we want most is for you to live a happy life."
"Goodbye… Tanjiro…"
With that, Kie and the other children turned away, walking into an endless white light.
A wave of sorrow swept over him, and Tanjiro felt like crying.
"Don't go…"
He ran desperately in their direction, reaching out toward the hem of Kie's floating kimono.
But no matter how hard he tried, even when he was out of breath, he couldn't catch up.
He could only watch as they disappeared into the light.
"No, don't go!"
Tanjiro jolted awake from the dream, and upon realizing it had only been a dream, he felt relieved.
He couldn't imagine a life without them.
As the sorrow faded, Tanjiro noticed his cheeks were wet. He touched them, puzzled.
At some point, two streams of tears had silently fallen down his face.
Looking outside through the window, it was still dark, but the snow had eased up—it was safe to travel.
Tanjiro quietly scooped up some snow from the windowsill and wiped his face with it to refresh himself.
Then he gently put on his coat, shouldered his basket, and prepared to leave.
Not wanting to disturb Grandpa Saburo's rest, he planned to slip out quietly. He had left a note, which the old man would find when he woke.
But as he slowly opened the old wooden door, its aged hinges let out a loud creak.
Startled, Tanjiro froze—he was sure he'd woken the old man.
As expected, Saburo woke up and saw Tanjiro ready to leave at the doorway.
The old man yawned and asked, "Heading home already, Tanjiro? It's still dark. Why not wait until sunrise?"
"There are man-eating demons out before the sun comes up, you know."
Tanjiro scratched his head awkwardly. "I don't know why, but I feel really empty inside… I'm worried about my family, so I want to get back quickly."
Saburo nodded understandingly. "I see. Then don't worry about me—go ahead."
"A lot of people don't believe it, but I'm sure of it—there's a strange connection between family members. Even separated by great distances, sometimes you just… feel something."
Hearing this made Tanjiro even more anxious. Had something really happened to Kie and the others? Was that dream a warning?
Saburo sighed, as if recalling something painful.
"Sigh… when my son died in an accident years ago, I started having nightmares several days beforehand. If only I had acted sooner, maybe I could've prevented it."
"Go, Tanjiro. In this life, nothing is more important than family."
Tanjiro nodded quickly. Though he was in a hurry, he gently closed the door behind him on his way out.
Noticing his thoughtfulness, Saburo smiled softly from inside the house. "Such a kind, gentle child… surely fate will be kind to him."
But fate is not kind to good people.
On the contrary, fate delights in driving people into despair, watching them struggle to survive in hopelessness—and never tires of it.
After a while, Tanjiro had jogged halfway up the mountain—he was getting close to home.
Suddenly, his nose twitched slightly. He had picked up a scent.
"Is that… the smell of blood?"
Suppressing the rising unease, Tanjiro quickened his pace, hoping desperately that he was wrong.
Through the swirling snow, he saw a small figure stumbling forward against the wind, running desperately through the white-covered ground.
The smell of blood was getting stronger, almost chokingly so.
Tanjiro didn't want to believe it, but his instincts told him—the scent was coming from his home.
"Nezuko, Hanako… Rokuta… please, let nothing have happened to you…"
Clinging to a sliver of hope, Tanjiro ran, heart pounding.
Until finally, he saw his house—that warm wooden shelter that had always protected them from the cold.
But now, its door was shattered into scattered splinters, and the snow outside was stained faintly with blood…
In his panic, Tanjiro tripped over a rock and fell into the snow.
He ignored the pain and scrambled toward the house on hands and knees.
But what he saw inside… was a scene so horrific, it sliced his world in half like a blade.
"Ah! Ah! Ahhh!"
"Mother! Nezuko! Hanako! Takeo! Shigeru! Rokuta!"
Choking back his tears, Tanjiro checked each of them one by one—none of them were breathing.
He collapsed to his knees, tears pouring uncontrollably down his face. The grief crushed his chest, making it hard to breathe.
Just as he was about to pass out from sorrow, he suddenly saw Nezuko's shoulder twitch ever so slightly.
"Nezuko!"
It was like a light in the darkness—like grabbing onto a lifeline. Tanjiro didn't care about the blood-soaked clothes as he scooped Nezuko into his arms.
"Nezuko! Thank goodness… I'll save you, I promise. Hang in there!"
There was no time to lose. He had almost thought she was dead. She must be gravely wounded, but there was still a chance to save her.
"Mother… everyone… I'm going to save Nezuko first. Please wait for me to return."
Time was of the essence. Tanjiro planned to take Nezuko down the mountain to find a doctor, then come back to properly care for his family's bodies.
At that moment, from the corner of his eye, he noticed a line of writing on the wall. The handwriting was rushed and messy, but he recognized it—it was his brother Kawanishi's.
"Tanjiro, don't fall into despair. You must live. Live on, and wait for me to find you."
So… Kawanishi is still alive? Then why did he abandon everyone?
But Tanjiro had no time to think. Nezuko's life was on the line.
He only wanted to get her to a doctor as quickly as possible.
Casting one last reluctant look at the rest of the bodies, Tanjiro carried Nezuko out the door.
Ignoring his exhaustion, he ran down the mountain like his life depended on it.
But he didn't see—behind him, Nezuko's eyes remained shut, yet her little face was slowly twisting into something monstrous. Blue veins were bulging beneath her pale skin…
(End of Chapter)