Chapter 42 Part 1: Awakening

Kazuki stood encased in shadows, silhouetted in a sphere of black mist. His form was barely visible, shrouded in the depths of the abyss within.

Namida cackled, the sound echoing eerily in the tense atmosphere. Blood gushed from her right eye socket as she rose with jerky, zombie-like movements.

The kunoichi inched forward, apprehension etched into their features. Their steps were slow yet determined as they approached Kazuki's shadowy prison.

"Come out, Kazuki." Namida's raspy voice grated against his ears. "Or are you cowering in fear in your little bubble of darkness?"

Kazuki remained mute, unmoving. The shadows undulated around him, wispy tendrils that caressed his skin in a lover's caress.

One of the kunoichi lunged forward, hurling a kunai at the sphere of darkness. The blade glanced off the mist, falling impotently to the ground.

"Your petty tricks won't work," Namida crowed. She twirled her chain-sickle, the chain gleaming as it sliced the air with each rotation.

The kunoichi attacked in unison, throwing shuriken and kunai's at the sphere. Each projectile bounced off, unable to penetrate the veil of shadows.

Kazuki's lips pulled back in a quiet growl, and black horns began to emerge from his forehead, shining like twin onyx spikes.

Within the depths of the shadows, his eyes became bright blue. The inferno raged, burning brighter with each futile attack.

From a distance, Obanai strained against the ropes binding him, eyes shifting anxiously between the kunoichi and Kazuki's shadowy sphere. His heart raced, the conflict within him evident.

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'Kazuki saved my mother from harm,' he reminded himself, trying to reconcile that with his deep-rooted disdain for the man. 'Could someone who protected an elderly woman truly harm another elder like Shokin Kagiri?' His thoughts raced, grappling with his mother's instructions. 'She wanted me to help him. For her sake, I'll give him a chance. But first, I need to escape these bindings.'

A twisted smile played on Namida's lips as she wiped the blood from her wounded eye socket. With deliberate, ritualistic movements, she brought her bloodstained fingers to her mouth and slowly licked the crimson liquid. As she drank the blood, an unnatural light flickered in her remaining eye, and her body trembled with newfound power.

"Behold the price of defiance," she whispered, her voice taking on a sinister edge. The air around her crackled with dark energy, and the kunoichi hesitated, their attacks faltering.

Kazuki remained trapped within the darkness, mute and unable to act. His stormy gaze shifted from the kunoichi to Namida, the fire inside him waging a silent war against the icy tendrils of shadow encasing him.

Obanai clenched his teeth, his mind racing as he watched Namida.

Namida's laughter continued to echo throughout the garden, her one remaining eye gleaming with power.

With each passing moment, she seemed to grow more and more monstrous. She threw back her head and called out to the ancient deity, Susanoo, her voice a guttural invocation that sent shivers down Obanai's spine.

"O Lord Susanoo, deity of storm and seas lend me your strength!"

Namida became enveloped in a dark mist, pulsating and shifting as though sentient, fusing with her very soul. Horns, eerily similar to a demon's, emerged from her forehead, signaling her transformation into a formidable force. Sensing her newfound power, water from the garden converged on her chain sickle, empowering it with a vivid aquatic aura.

"Namida... She's invoked the divine powers of Lord Susanoo." whispered a kunoichi, her eyes widened in alarm. "Look at her chain sickle, that eerie blue glow!"

"Stay focused!" demanded another, her voice shaking despite her best attempts to remain calm. "We have to be ready in case Namida-sama need us!"

Kazuki remained encased within the impenetrable darkness, powerless to act. Obanai could only hope that Kazuki was biding his time, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. 'Kazuki, whatever happens, don't lose yourself.' he thought, his heart pounding in his chest.