As soon as Ren woke up, he had Hayashi Hiroshi on his mind. For a brief moment, he considered giving up on training to visit the doctor instead, but in the end, he resigned, realizing that he needed to improve his swordsmanship to fight the Hearteater. Moreover, skipping training could raise questions from Satoru that Ren didn't want to answer. So, he went to the dojo and trained diligently.

Hinata was absent. The whole place appeared as if she had never been there. Even her scent had vanished, which had a profound impact on Ren. Unbeknownst to him, he had hoped that she would regain her senses.

After a tiring training session and a bath, they both returned home and had a meal. As soon as the food was gone, Ren left, heading to the doctor. The closer he got, the more worried he became.

‘What if he says it's too dangerous? What if he refuses to help?’ These questions repeated in his mind. After all, the whole idea was undeniably crazy. Perhaps even more so than Ren understood, given his limited understanding of this new world, having spent only a short time in it. It hadn't even been a full month since he awoke in this new body, although it was quite close to that period.

The only comforting thought in this situation was that he didn't seem to lose his way this time. He had already noticed a few familiar landmarks, assuring him that he would soon reach his destination. Not long after spotting the strange house in the distance, the door opened, and the doctor appeared.

"Come on in. I was waiting for you," he informed, waving at Ren.

Without uttering a word, Ren entered, going straight into the salon, where they both sat down, just as they had yesterday. The first moments were awkward and silent, but then the doctor sighed heavily.

"Look… Let's make this clear. I think this idea is beyond stupid. There were young geniuses in your clan who lost their lives trying to capture that ghost. You aren't as strong as they were. It would probably take a young prodigy from the Tachibana clan, one who also got his hands on a first-grade Jujin, to even have a chance, and that is impossible in the first place. But the fact that you already went behind Satoru's back and faced that blue-haired mountain ape makes me believe that you will go behind my back if I say no… So, I will help you. But let's make this clear… I'm helping you survive because you have no chance of capturing the Hearteater. This man was one of the most notorious killers this city has ever seen. He was a first-grade swordmaster, and he didn’t care about honor or fairness. He killed anybody who tried to stop him. Twelve of the best warriors couldn't simply take him down. Many had to sacrifice their lives to stop that monster..." The doctor paused, only to let out a deep sigh.

Ren was already smiling, happy with what he heard, which prompted Hiroshi to shake his head with disapproval.

"This needs to be planned meticulously, with a clear focus on you escaping at the first sign something goes wrong. Even if you have a vague feeling that you can't make it, you escape. You have to promise me that."

"I don’t intend to die. I only want to try, so I promise. The very moment I feel that something is not going according to the plan, I'm out. I'll escape," Ren assured.

"Good. Now here is what I can help you with… Hayashi clan has this medicine. Originally, I prepared it as a gift in case you ever decided to go to the Realm of Gods. I wanted you to have it and use it if you ever found yourself in a situation where the odds were against you, so you could save yourself. But since you're planning to do what you're planning to do, I guess this situation has come earlier than anticipated, so..." He sighed again. "So it seems I should give you this now."

"What medicine is it?" Ren asked, his curiosity piqued.

"It's called 'Senkō no Kusuri' or a Pill of a Thousand Paths. Have you learned about Shinryoku yet?" the doctor inquired.

"Yes," Ren replied.

"Good. So I won't have to explain that part. The pill releases a lot of shinryoku within your body, which temporarily strengthens you. It increases your speed, and strength, enhances your senses… Basically, makes a monster out of a human. With this medicine and your Jujin, you would be able to even deal with the blue-haired mountain ape, and I don't mean a poisoned one. I mean one that is in pristine condition. But will that be enough for the Hearteater? I'm not so sure."

"But it's a step in the right direction, isn't it? Changing the subject a bit… I keep hearing those words in what seems to be a different language. Even the chants I've learned are in this language…"

Ren was reasonably certain that this language was Japanese, from his old world, but he wasn't absolutely certain, as he'd only heard it a few times in his life.

Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

"It's an ancient language of the first people who founded Hikarimura and the clans. There is a tale from the past that says the gods brought those people to fill these lands, but I don't know it well, nor do I believe it's true," Hiroshi explained.

"Then why do we now use a different language?"

"The language we use is often called 'the common language.' Apparently, back in ancient times, most people could use it. It was native to others who founded different cities, and since most could use it, it took over other languages. But that's not important now. I didn't finish telling you everything about the pill, so please don't change the subject, because there is plenty of important knowledge you need to learn before I give you the pill," the doctor's eyebrows furrowed, showing his frustration.

"I'm sorry," Ren smiled awkwardly, scratching the back of his head.

"The Senkō no Kusuri will give you a lot of strength, but only temporarily. You have to keep that in mind because as soon as the energy runs out, you will be paralyzed. Your muscles won't listen to your brain, and the pain you will experience will be horrible, so you will be extremely vulnerable. Thus, if you fail, you must run away before this happens. Otherwise, you won't be able to. You will just collapse in a state where you will need emergency help. This is why you need to keep this timing in your mind after you use the pill."

"I will," he assured.

"I will come with you. You will need my help after the effect of the pill runs out, but I doubt I can help you in the fight itself. I can take care of myself, but I'm more of a scientist than a warrior, so my skills are not only rusty but also not on par with the Hearteater. And I also don't want to die," Hiroshi added.

"Thank you for this… So… Where is the pill?" Ren smiled awkwardly once more.

"I won't give it to you now. I'm scared you will go and try to capture the ghost before you are ready. The pill won't be enough by itself. I think we should also acquire the help of a saiin. It will cost a lot, but I can cover the price… You, of course, will have to pay that back."

"I think I know one that could help us," Ren's eyes flashed with new energy. "She seems to like silver very much."

"Good. Then let's go tomorrow. I know you train with Satoru in the morning, after breakfast, so we have to wait until you are done with your training. I don't want him to find out what a foolish thing we are trying to do. I'm scared he would try to help, and knowing him, he would end up sacrificing his life for you, that old fool. That's why you are going to visit the temple later, after your training. I'll wait there for you."

"Yes, sure… I can do that," Ren agreed, nodding.

"Then we have a plan," the doctor extended a hand, which the younger man shook.

They both stood up, and Hiroshi escorted his guest to the exit. From there, Ren headed straight home. A smile graced his lips, as things seemed to be on the right path.

Upon his return, he practiced a bit with his Jujin in the confinement of his room and later stepped out to eat dinner. When he entered the dining room, both Ayako and Satoru were already there, and the tasty dishes decorated the room. He bowed slightly to greet them before joining them to eat.

"Why are you still carrying that empty saya with you?" The old man asked as he was grabbing his chopsticks. "Why don't you leave it in your room?"

A bit surprised by the question, Ren looked at the two sayas behind his obi. One with his Jujin, and the other empty. "I'm not sure," he confessed, looking back at Satoru. "I was thinking about putting it away, but… I guess it's like a token of good luck. I won with the ape with this sword, and although I lost it, I still have this saya."

The old man let out a chuckle. "I didn't expect you to be superstitious, but if it makes you feel lucky, then by all means, keep it. Maybe you should look for another sword to carry with you in it?"

"Maybe after I become a candidate I'll buy one. Or maybe I can someday recover the old one from the Tachibana clan."

"They might not be too eager to return it to you after what you did. They feel insulted. I'm certain of it," he clearly found it funny, as another chuckle left his mouth.

After that, the conversation went silent, only for Ayako to start asking about his walk. Ren recognized that, on behalf of the old man, she was trying to find out what he was doing behind Satoru's back, so he didn't fall for it at all.

With a full belly, he returned to his room and practiced a bit more. Then finally decided to go to sleep, since the next day was supposed to be quite busy. But suddenly, the door slid open, and Satoru appeared in the gap. He was holding a katana in his hand.

"Good thing you're not asleep yet," he said.

"I was about to lie down," Ren informed.

"Here, take this." The old man entered the room, holding the weapon in his extended hand, the handle directed towards Ren. "You can switch the sayas, so you won't be carrying an empty one anymore, and you can keep your token of good luck with you."

"T-thank you… I'll repay you for it when I become a candidate," he said, taking the katana, but the words felt awkward, as he had already promised the same thing to Hiroshi not too long before.

"No need. This is an old sword my son used briefly, but it never suited him, so he put it away. Maybe you can put it to good use."

"That's… I'm not sure if I can accept this gift," his gaze shifted to the weapon, only to return to Satoru. "It's a family heirloom…"

"No. It would be if my son were dead, but he is alive," the old man's face immediately transformed, showing the state of his mind. It was a mixture of seriousness and anger. "Besides, I have many other objects he left with us before he went on his journey."

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean for this to come out this way. You are right," he forced himself to smile. "I'll happily accept this gift."

Satoru nodded, then left immediately. It was obvious that Ren's words had hurt him a lot, and he wanted to get away as soon as possible.

When the door slid closed, Ren pulled the weapon out of the saya and examined it briefly. It didn't look out of the ordinary, but it was well-kept, polished, and even oiled, so it slid nicely into his old saya.

Now two swords were gracing his waist, a symbol of the old and the new, of his past and his present.