The gates of Mugentsu rose like a mirage—an enormous crescent-shaped archway adorned with paper lanterns that never flickered, cherry blossoms that never wilted, and an ever-present mist that shimmered with dormant mana.
Kazuki blinked.
"Whoa… it's like a ninja town met a fireworks festival and had a baby."
Hiraya flapped gracefully overhead, her wings slicing the mist like a blade. "Stay alert. This city's aura is… tangled."
Kazuki nodded, then looked around. Smile was bouncing alongside him, leaving puddles of absurdity in his wake—at one point, a duck appeared out of thin air and exploded into glitter. No one commented on it. It was Smile. That was normal.
Tsuki, the white-furred wolf with moon-pale eyes, padded silently ahead, his ears twitching toward distant sounds only he could hear. Sawa slithered calmly along Kazuki's shoulder, tongue flicking every so often as if tasting the air for tension.
And tension?
Yeah. Mugentsu had a buffet of that.
The City of Masks
Inside the city, every citizen wore a mask—some elegant and porcelain, others tribal and fierce, and a few downright creepy. An old man in a tanuki mask bowed at Kazuki as he passed. A small girl wearing a fox mask handed him a dango skewer and whispered, "Don't let your shadow speak for you."
He froze.
"Cool city. Horrifying locals," Kazuki muttered.
Sawa hissed lightly. "Don't eat the dango."
Too late. Kazuki had already taken a bite.
Guild of the Veilblades
At the heart of the city stood a tower made of lacquered blackwood and glass. Symbols glowed across its walls—sigils for illusion, shadow, and concealment. The Veilblades Guild was known for only accepting the most cunning and secretive adventurers.
Naturally, Kazuki blundered straight through the front door.
"Yo! Any quests that require total idiocy and accidental heroism?" he grinned.
Silence.
Then a paper shuriken embedded itself in the wood next to his head. He blinked.
"Ooh. Paper cuts just got upgraded."
A masked woman descended from the ceiling—her mask a swirling spiral, her robes covered in glittering runes.
"You're not subtle," she said.
Kazuki gave her a thumbs-up. "Neither was the explosion I caused by sneezing last week. You get used to it."
Her eye twitched. "You're the Kazuki, aren't you?"
He nodded. Smile jiggled threateningly in affirmation.
Meanwhile: Aurelia and the Whispering Seed
Far from Kazuki's chaos, Aurelia stood in a sun-drenched bamboo grove, sword planted in the soil, eyes closed. A quiet whisper stirred her thoughts.
"Do you seek balance… or do you seek validation?"
She opened her eyes. Before her, nestled in a bed of moss, was a tiny creature—a plant sprout, half-bloomed, with eyes that shimmered like dew. Its mana signature pulsed with something… ancient.
Aurelia crouched.
"Are you what I'm meant to protect?" she asked softly.
The sprout didn't respond—but she felt a warmth in her chest, like a promise made in silence.
Back to Kazuki: The Forbidden Mission
The masked guildmistress slid a sealed scroll toward Kazuki.
"This is a Level Crimson quest. Top secret. Dangerous. We planned to assign it to our best ninja."
Kazuki grinned. "And you're giving it to me because…?"
"Because they all said no."
"Sounds like my kind of gig!"
She sighed. "There is a spirit haunting the shrine in the cliffs above Mugentsu. A being made of fog and memories. It's corrupting mana in the city."
Kazuki blinked. "Let me guess… no one's ever returned?"
"Correct."
"Cool cool cool," he said, visibly sweating. "But hey, I've got four busted companions, a slime who might be a god, and plot armor thicker than dragonhide. Let's go!"
Smile jiggled happily.
Sawa raised his tail in silent readiness.
Tsuki growled—low and ominous.
And above them, Hiraya screamed through the mist like a blade of wind.