The day progressed like any other in its infancy, until Ren reached the meditation chamber. He felt a certain excitement sitting on the floor in the room filled with thick smoke, right in front of the old lady. After all, he was almost certain that he got very close to finding out what happened to the ghost, turning him into a homicidal monster. As soon as he closed his eyes, the vision came.
He was inside a dark, but rather shallow cave. He could see the entrance, basking in bright light, and the Hearteater who had just got inside, holding the black manual in his hands. He appeared to be fully healed. His hair was slightly longer, and he had a few months' worth of beard. This was quite intriguing in itself. A lot of time had passed, but the weather outside seemed to be largely the same – in the middle of spring. This raised questions in his mind about the seasons in this new world since he himself hadn't experienced any, despite spending quite a while in Hikarimura.
The ghost went all the way to the very end of the cave, where some rocks lay in a thin layer of dirt, probably carried in by the wind during the hotter and drier periods of time. He moved a few to the side, then began burying the book. This was another surprise for Ren, as he never expected the situation to develop in such a way, but he watched it until the manual disappeared under a layer of soil and rocks, arranged quite naturally.
The Hearteater then left the cave, heading along the river, and the destination appeared to be the village. Ren followed for quite a moment before the vision disappeared. He awoke in the meditation room, which caused the old saishu to raise her eyebrows in an unspoken question.
He shook his head, raising her curiosity even more, and then closed his eyes to try again.
‘Hunger! Feeeeed meeeee,’ the voice of the ghost immediately jolted him back to reality.
‘Fuck,’ was Ren's first thought as he realized that there wouldn't be any meditation if he didn’t feed the Hearteater.
"He is hungry…," he spoke aloud, opening his eyes again. "The ghost wants to eat."
"Then let’s feed him," the old lady sighed, getting to her feet.
They didn't talk beyond that. Instead, they got outside as quickly as possible, only to go straight to the part of the temple where the animals were kept. Just like before, the old saishu asked the saiin responsible for taking care of the livestock to get Ren a heart. Another goat was sacrificed, and soon the bloody organ was delivered to him. He felt a bit disturbed by the view, but not as heavily as before when the thoughts, that he would have to eat the heart, haunted his mind.
Upon receiving the innard, he pulled his Maken. The razor wire didn’t come out, entangling his hand, which was a clear indicator that the ghost was keeping his part of the deal. Then Ren pressed the heart against the blade, and the whole weapon morphed, bending until it created a toothy maw made of steel. It then devoured the organ, filling the air with nasty sounds, and returned to its previous form.
‘You got what you wanted,’ Ren pointed out to the Hearteater.
‘Moooooore! I neeeeed moooooore!’ was the response of the ghost.
His howling voice was quite surprising, which showed on Ren’s face as a shiver ran down his spine. The keen eyes of the old saishu noticed, and she gave him a curious look.
"He wants more,” the candidate informed her.
"I gave you all we could. I can’t spare more livestock for this. The temple can’t afford that,” she said.
The saiin who was still around confirmed that with a nod, which both of them noticed. The look the old lady gave the shinshoku was enough for her to return to her duties instead of eavesdropping.
"I suggest you be careful about feeding the Hearteater,” she added after they were alone. “I’ve never seen a Maken capable of consuming anything, so I can’t say what effect it has, but it would be wise to assume that it strengthens him in some way, and that might work against you if you are not careful,” she pointed out.
"If I don’t feed him, he won’t cooperate.”
"Yes, I’m aware, but that doesn’t mean you should be reckless about this. Give him only as much as he absolutely needs. Then keep him on a leash. A strong ghost is only useful if it works with or for you. If you have to fight against him, it’s better if he stays weak.”
"Then what should I do? Starve him and demand cooperation again?” Ren asked with a hint of worry in his voice.
"Feed him once more, but only if he promises to cooperate. If he doesn’t, starve him until he cooperates,” she said. “But you will have to hunt your own prey for this. There are plenty of monsters and animals in the mountains. You shouldn’t have problems catching something with your skills. You are a candidate, after all.”
"Yes...” he agreed, but in his mind, he was not so confident about his own strength. After all, if not for the Hearteater’s help, he would have lost his fight to Takashi. He didn’t feel weak by any means, just well aware that most of his power was thanks to the ghost, and tapping into that strength had its risks.
‘Hey, asshole! I’ll feed you. I’ll feed you a good heart, but you have to cooperate with me. No funny business, ok?’ He thought.
The ghost did not respond, which led Ren to sigh deeply. The old lady heard it and put her hand on his back, as she was not able to reach his shoulder.
"Let’s eat. Food will give you strength… But first, wash your hands from all that blood,” she said before beginning to walk back inside the main building of the temple.
He followed her, splitting away to wash, then headed straight to the cafeteria.
Most of the shinshoku were already inside. Eating and enjoying the daylight filling the whole room, pouring through the open windows, which also provided a gentle breeze of fresh air. He spotted Sora and Reiko, with an empty space next to them, kept as if they were trying to lure him in. He decided to indulge them.
"Hi,” he said shortly, smiling.
"Hi,” both greeted him.
They gave him very similar looks, their eyes sparkling with happiness just because he decided to accompany them. The younger girl quickly got embarrassed, so her eyes dived to the food, while the older saiin showed no such emotions at all. She was bold. Bold to the point of grabbing Ren’s leg under the table. It surprised him, but he hid it well.
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"I’ll be going to hunt something in the vicinity of the temple. Any advice on where to go?" He asked, turning his attention to Reiko and glaring at her intently.
A smirk emerged on her lips.
"I’ll show you," she said with a playful tone.
He chuckled awkwardly in response.
"T-thank you," he squeezed out.
She didn’t need to do much more; her beauty was intimidating enough. She had this raw sex appeal, which could easily disarm even the toughest men. If not for her position as shinshoku, she probably would have been harassed multiple times. That’s how in-your-face beautiful she was.
It gave him the urge to just take her right there, on the table, but he was able to keep it at bay to the point it surprised even himself.
‘Is it the meditation? My will definitely feels stronger… Or I’m simply delusional?’ he asked himself, switching his focus to the food. He filled his belly in a matter of moments.
Reiko was slower, but she gave up on finishing her portion when she saw him getting up.
"You can finish; I’ll wait," Ren said, noticing what she did.
"I’m done," she assured him.
Then they left the cafeteria, escorted by Sora’s gaze. She appeared to be a bit jealous that they were leaving and she had to stay with all the work that awaited her after the meal, but her usual determination returned.
Guided by Reiko, Ren quickly left the walls of the temple, emerging in the wilderness surrounding it. Rocks and sparse vegetation were everywhere around them, but the shinshoku appeared to know the vicinity very well, as without any hesitation, she kept leading him further.
They soon entered a path that was circling further around the wall, at the base of which the temple was built.
"There is more open space if we go around. There is even a small forest there, and plenty of animals. But we shouldn’t go too far. I don’t want to risk encountering any of the apes," she informed.
"Lead the way. I’ll be in your care," Ren responded.
So she did just that, and around two hours of marching later, they reached the sparse forest that slowly climbed up the steep side of another part of the massive mountain.
Just a couple of steps in, and they both froze, pointing forward at a mountain goat that had just emerged from the bushes. It appeared not to notice them. They needed a moment to register that pointing was not necessary. Then Ren, without a word, began to slowly close the distance. He pulled the sword out as well, at first slightly worried that the wire would appear, but the Hearteater was cooperating, so he held the Maken with no harm.
Moving very slowly, using the trees to hide behind, he was able to close the distance somewhat. Then, out of the blue, a massive shape burst from the canopy above and fell right on the goat. A blue-haired mountain ape snatched the animal and snapped its head like a twig, only to rip its stomach open. The wailing of the poor creature filled the forest, but only briefly.
The ape was huge, but still much smaller than the one that Ren had fought before. This one appeared to be much younger, so the muscles and the frame were not as well developed. It also showed in the fur, which was much paler, almost white.
Reiko glanced at Ren before she bolted away, trying her best to be as silent as she possibly could, but the creature noticed, and it dropped the carcass of the dead goat.
‘Oh no!' a thought flashed in Ren’s mind.
He saw the ape charging forward, and without thinking, jumped to block its path. He swung his weapon as hard as he could in a single motion.
‘Hungerrrrr!’ The Hearteater howled, and a powerful shockwave unleashed from the katana, blasting the creature in the face.
It was so mighty that the beast was pushed away, its fur cut deeply, so a lot of blood appeared. Some even sprayed in the air, but it was not enough to bring the ape down. It roared loudly as it somehow regained its footing. Ren didn’t give it any room, though; he swung his sword again, and an even stronger wave burst out of the blade, followed by the next one, and the next one as he kept swinging. Each tore the flesh of the creature, cutting deeper, and drawing more blood, until it collapsed on its rear, only to fall completely dead on its back.
The ghost, despite not voicing his agreement, cooperated.
Ren, panting heavily, barely able to keep himself afoot, glanced over his shoulder and saw Reiko standing there between the trees. She had seen everything and was shivering slightly.
"A-are you f-fine?" He squeezed out between the breaths.
"Y-yes... I... I panicked...," she confessed, with regret painted all over her face.
"I know... But I handled it," he said, and then his gaze returned to the carcass.
He approached it, stumbling forward, using trees to find some support, which made him take short breaks in his walk, but he eventually reached the corpse.
The whole front of the creature was exposed meat, with a bit of fur mixed in. The blood was everywhere, and in places, he could even see the exposed bones. He raised his weapon, not sure how to proceed with the extraction of the heart, but then he simply got even closer and brought the Maken right to the ape's chest.
It morphed into its toothy maw form, then lunged straight at the place where the heart should be. The steel teeth tore the flesh and bones, sinking into the organ, which was devoured in seconds, and then the weapon returned to its normal form.
At least that’s how it appeared to be at first, but Ren’s keen eyes noticed that the teeth became slightly longer. As soon as he grabbed the handle, he felt a surge of power going from the katana through his arm and spilling through his entire chest area, until it became completely his. With this feeling, the exhaustion vanished as well.
He stood there in shock for a moment, until Reiko’s voice brought him back to reality.
"A-are you alright?" she asked, coming a few steps closer.
"Yes," he responded immediately. "Let's go back to the temple."
On their way back, she tried to apologize once again.
Ren stopped then, and looked at her, before kissing her passionately. This rendered her silent. With a blush on her cheeks, she followed him on their way back.
When they returned, it was too late for another meditation session, so after a quick clean-up, they went to the cafeteria, where dinner was already waiting. Everybody was eating, including Sora and the old saishu.
Ren opted to join her, as he wished to tell her what happened. There was an empty spot beside her, so he took it, but the old woman paid minimal attention to him, so after waiting a bit, he began telling her what he experienced after the sword consumed the heart.
"The stronger your weapon, the stronger you are. It's a truth for every Maken, and that is why every warrior of Noroi wants as powerful of a ghost as they can get," she replied. "But that doesn't mean you should be reckless about feeding yours. I mean both hunting the risky prey as the mountain apes and feeding him too much. If the ape was fully grown, you would be in trouble," she pointed out.
Her words made him curious about how much she actually knew about the swords and the local monsters. However, he preferred to avoid the second topic, as he didn’t enjoy the scolding.
"You seem to know a lot about Makens," he pointed out.
"If you have questions, then ask."
"Have you... Have you ever seen a warrior from a different clan holding a Maken?"
"Holding or using? Because that is a big difference. Not for any Noroi, as our warriors would never let anybody hold their precious Makens, but relatively speaking…"
"What if somebody stole a Maken from somebody else? Or if they stole a Jujin and trapped a ghost inside?"
"No shinshoku would tell an outsider how to trap a ghost within the blade. In my entire life, I never heard about somebody stealing a Maken. Jujins, yes, but never a Maken... Besides, there is a difference between holding one and using one. As I said."
"What's the difference? I... I don't know much about that."
She raised an eyebrow but, despite her reaction proceeded to explain: "The one to trap a ghost in a blade forms a pact with them. It's a strange bond that neither the warrior nor the spirit understands. They have to grow into it. This is why your particularly... rowdy companion is not able to take control as he pleases. He needs to look for an opportunity, and the more time you spend with the weapon, the harder it will become. This means that even if I were to take the sword from you, I would not be able to use it," she explained.
"I've met this warrior. He used shinryoku and had multiple jujins. I think that some of them were even Makens, but among those, there was one he could use... His body transformed with that weapon," Ren confessed, thinking about the Twelfth.
"It's the first time I've heard about something like that... If you saw it, then it must be somehow possible, but… Are you absolutely sure he wasn't of the clan? There were few among us who learned how to use shinrioku. But if he indeed was an outsider," she shook her head, "I can't tell you how he did it."
With those words, she left the table.
At that point, only a few people remained in the cafeteria, so Ren focused on the food, cleaning the remaining dishes, and then retired for the night.