In a dark basement, somewhere in the Kage Clan, a group of around twenty individuals gathered for a specific cause.
“Fellow clansmen and women, I thank you for coming at such a late hour!” Hideyoshi stood in the middle and welcomed everyone. “We are gathering here today for the simple reason that the Shadow Queen, our monarch, has ignored our pleas!”
“Yeah! What’s up with that?!”
“We’ve been constantly voicing our complaints!”
“I’ve even had three audiences in the last week alone, I had barely met her before!”
The crowd quickly began to talk amongst each other, not leaving any room for any order.
“Simmer down, please!” Hideyoshi quickly clapped his hands, demanding their attention again.
“...”
“We have a decision to make here!” He bellowed, “Do we let this charade keep going, or do we stand up for ourselves and do something about it?!”
“Hideyoshi, you can’t be talking about…”
“That’s right! A revolution!”
He announced, causing everyone to gasp in surprise.
“The Shadow Queen, our protector, has welcomed a cursed Hyking into the clan! She’s putting us all in danger without considering our wellbeing! Are we going to stand by and let more misfortune befall us?!”
He shouted, confident that no one outside this basement would be able to hear them.
The crowd quickly lost their order again and fell into chaos.
“A revolution? That’s crazy isn’t it?”
“Y-yeah… but on the other hand, we might die…”
“We only need to stir up enough trouble so the Queen takes action!”
“That’s right, everyone!” Hideyoshi managed to weasel his way back into control, “We are not looking to overthrow or kill anyone! We simply wish to show those in power how serious we really are, and how dangerous this threat really is!”
“...”
The crowd hesitated. And Hideyoshi noticed.
His plans were far more sinister than he wanted to admit to them. In the end, this crowd, they were simply a means to an end.
“Everyone, please! Think on it! You don’t have to decide now, remember where this threat is staying, the neighbors around it, your loved ones that will come into contact with it!”
He stopped, giving them time to imagine it all.
“We cannot afford to dawdle for long! We’ll meet again soon to decide!”
And with that, Hideyoshi quickly ended his meeting, keeping it direct and to the point.
He worried that some might get scared and run to tell the Queen, but he had taken measures to prevent that from happening.
Just like some other measures he was about to check on as he came home.
“So, how are things looking?” Hideyoshi asked his grandson, “Will it work?”
“Yes, grandfather. Everything is going according to plan.” The boy in front of him replied with a bow.
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“Very well.”
He paused, looking down at the sinister grin forming on his grandson’s face.
“Good job, Kojiro.”
Kek, kekeke, I’ll show you!
Kojiro snickered inwardly as he traced the now visible mark over his right eyebrow.
Beneath his light brown bangs, his blood-red eyes shone brightly in contrast with the blackness around them.
The Kage Clan was on the verge of a looming turning point.
**👑**
Back in the incense-filled room as an aromatic smell of different spices and herbs overtook the surroundings, forcing a relaxing atmosphere.
“What? You want to know about the emblem that appeared in front of my forehead?”
“Yes, I’ve seen it before, but I don’t know how it works…”
Just after the Sword Purifying Ceremony and the recalling of Munisai’s past, Lawkey had made sure to ask about something that was lingering on his mind.
He had manifested some kind of emerald emblem in front of his forehead after the tri-colored butterfly merged with his soul during the Undying Elder confrontation. However, he had no idea what it was or how to do it again. The only thing he did know was the feeling it gave him, and the much stronger shadow output it allowed him.
He had ignored it at the time, with the need to survive first and all, but he had recently remembered that Munisai manifested a blue-ish black emblem in front of his forehead during the fight with Kerberos. It even looked like it was bigger, stretching to the side of his head too.
“Hmmm, I’m of the mind that it is still a little early for you to know about this.” Munisai stroked his chin while thinking out loud.
“...” Lawkey paused for a moment, and chose his next words carefully for once, “I want to get stronger. I will follow the teachings, but I want to know about this. Even when you tell me we can’t start training, I will train by myself to improve and get to that point.”
Hearing that, the Sword Saint gave it a little more thought and decided to just tell him.
Perhaps the information will help him stay motivated during the less physically active Principles.
By Principles, Munisai had meant the Shadow Sword Style Principles that he had yet to tell Lawkey about as well. That, however, was for another time.
“Alright, kid. I’ll tell you what that was, so listen closely now.” Munisai slowly moved the tray with the different cleaning material to the side, and made space in front of him.
Seeing that, Lawkey straightened his back and fixed his posture. He waited for his new mentor to start his explanation.
“Signs are something some of us are born with. They manifest at an early age and allow us enough time to master our control over them before we reach our adolescent years.”
“...” The boy stayed silent and tried to understand some of the unfamiliar words based on context. He had been doing this ever since he came into this room.
“These abilities were called Signs for the simple fact that our ancestors believed they had been bestowed upon them from a higher life form like the Undying Elders. They believed the Signs were, as the word suggests, signs to not only believe and follow the higher life forms, but to similarly use these bestowments to guide us on our paths through life.”
While explaining, Munisai picked up some ash from below the new incense stick, and began to draw simple and easy to understand lines on the floor between him and his new student.
“With time, talented users were able to evolve these Signs into more stronger and effective stages. In our Kage Clan, we are only aware of two such Sign Stages, but I’m of the mind that there has to be more to it than that.”
“Mhm!” Lawkey stayed silent, but without realizing it, his head had started to vigorously bump up and down with starry eyes.
The sight of him made Munisai chuckle inwardly for a second before continuing.
“The first Sign Stage is called ‘Pathbreak’. While still extremely difficult, it is technically possible for any Sign user to achieve under the right circumstances.”
“Oh? What circumstances?” Lawkey asked, unable to contain his excitement.
“There aren’t clear instructions for this, it differs for each person. However, based on my experience and the name, I believe it is quite heavily reliant on one’s state of mind. Only when you are able to break free of your predetermined path can you reach this stage.”
“Hmmm… I see. And that’s the first one?”
“Yes, this is the emblem you saw in front of my forehead during the fight with Kerberos.” Munisai drew a number one and a slight emblem to represent this first stage. “Its size, shape, and sometimes even color, could on occasion give away someone's Sign, and even their level of mastery over it.”
“Okay, what about that second one then?”
“...”
Munisai stopped drawing for a moment, realizing he was still planning to say more, but he forced himself to move on for now.
“The Second Sign Stage is a more complicated and very rare achievement. From what I know, most of those who achieve this stage are known to be monarchs of some kind.”
“Monarchs? Like Kings and Queens again? Does this mean that Shadow Queen lady has reached this stage?” Lawkey asked with a raised eyebrow.
“No, I don’t believe she has just yet.” The Sword Saint smiled softly, “We don’t have much information on how to reach it and it differs even more than Pathbreak does.”
“Hah…” The boy let out a long sigh of exasperation.
Seeing that, Munisai tried to at least give him something.
“What we do know is that there are still many unique individuals who were able to reach this stage despite not being monarchs. That might be related to a hidden element we are not aware of yet.”
“...”
“The name of this Second Sign Stage is ‘Ascension’.” Munisai finished by drawing a corresponding crown to represent this second stage.
Lawkey looked at the ash drawings and tried to commit them to memory.
If I’m going to get stronger, I need to at least reach Pathbreak again…
Once I have that, I can aim for the next stage somehow.
Watching his student already deep in thought, Munisai decided to give him time and end the meeting for the day.
“Alright, kid. That’s enough for today, you did good. Let’s have dinner and retire for the night.” Munisai grabbed his crutch from beside him and began to make his way up. “We’ll start fresh again tomorrow.”
“... Sounds good.”
Lawkey complied, but he knew there was no way he would be sleeping any time soon.
I need to start training right away!
“Oh, one more thing.”
“?”
Lawkey suddenly turned to his mentor who still seemed to have something to say after all.
“You are not to use your blade until you have mastered all of the Shadow Sword Style Stances. You will be leaving it in this room.”
“What?!”
He had thought that his luck had somehow turned for the better a little.
However, his curse seemed to always be waiting with a new curveball.
Seriously? First no pancakes, and now I can't carry my sword…
Give me a break…
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image [https://i.imgur.com/KQmIY8F.png]