Chapter 1.2: Shadow in the Wall

The wind shifted that night, carrying with it the smell of rain and smoke. Outside, the slums were restless. Dogs barked at shadows, drunken voices rose and fell. From the far — off wall of the Golden City, bells tolled the midnight hour.

Itsuki lay awake on his straw bed, listening. Kaito’s steady breathing came from the pallet beside him. The sound should have been reassuring, but tonight it deepened the weight pressing on his chest.

Sleep claimed him slowly, like a tide he could not fight. And then the dreams came.

Fire. Always fire.

It rose like mountains, swallowing the horizon. The sky itself split apart, painted red with flames that roared as if alive.

Through the inferno marched gods. Their voices were thunder, their steps tore the ground, their power reshaped the world with every breath.

And there — at the center, he saw himself.

Or someone that wore his face.

The figure stood clad in burning armor, runes glowing across his body, a curved blade of fire clutched in his hand. His eyes were pits of molten red, merciless and eternal. Each swing of his weapon carved valleys into the land. Demons, mortals, gods fell before the flame.

Her shadow reached him first; the hand followed later.

Itsuki reached out. His fingers trembled as they touched the fiery figure. In that instant, his hand blazed — skin cracking open to reveal veins of light. As though molten metal flowed beneath his flesh. Pain surged, searing, absolute.

Burn… protect… destroy…

The words were not spoken but etched into his soul. Voices, countless and ancient, chanting within his skull. He screamed.

Itsuki jolted awake with a strangled cry. His chest heaved as he clawed at the sheets, sweat soaking through. The room was dark, yet a faint glow pulsed at the corner of his vision.

He looked down.

For a heartbeat, faint crimson lines crawled across his forearm — patterns like ancient runes. They pulsed once, twice, before fading into nothing, leaving bare skin.

“No…” He whispered, voice shaking. “What… what was that? ”

The floor creaked. The door opened softly, and Sayaka stepped in, holding a small lamp. Her ears twitched at the sound of his ragged breathing.

“Itsuki? ” She asked gently.

He nodded.

He turned, guilt and fear warring in his eyes. “It was the dream again. ”

Sayaka set the lamp down and crossed the room. She sat on the edge of his bed, brushing damp hair from his forehead as she had when he was a child. Her hands were calloused from years of work, but her touch was gentle, steadying.

“Tell me, ” she said.

He hesitated. He wanted to. Yet every time he spoke of the flames, of the figure that bore his face, the words felt heavier, as if speaking them made them real.

“It’s always the same, ” he muttered at last. “Fire everywhere. I see… me, but not me. Covered in light, runes, holding a sword. Everything burns. ” His voice cracked. “And it feels… right. Like it’s supposed to happen. That terrifies me most. ”

Sayaka’s eyes softened, though shadows flickered in their depths. She pulled him into her arms, holding him against her chest. “Dreams can be cruel, ” she whispered. “But dreams are not destiny. ”

“It feels real, ” he said again, muffled against her shoulder.

She stroked his hair, choosing her words with care. “Then let reality remind you of what’s true. You are Itsuki. My son. My stubborn, reckless boy who works too hard and gives away every coin I try to hide from him. ”

That drew a shaky laugh from him, though his body trembled.

Her smile was sad, unseen in the dark. “The world may see many things in you. But I see that. And until the day I die, that’s who you will be. ”

Itsuki exhaled, letting the tension ease, though unease coiled in his chest.

From the other side of the room, Kaito’s sleepy voice cut through the silence.

“Oi… quit crying like a baby, Itsuki. If you burn the world down in your dreams, make sure you leave me some women, yeah? ”

Sayaka stifled a laugh, swatting the air toward him. “Go back to sleep, fool. ”

Kaito rolled over, muttering, “I’m serious… don’t hog them all. ”

Itsuki groaned, burying his face in his pillow, heat rising to his cheeks despite himself. “He’s impossible. ”

Sayaka chuckled softly. “He’s your brother. ”

For a while, the three of them remained there in the dark — the mother watching over her sons, the elder brother snoring again. The younger wrestling with dreams he could not understand.

Outside, the night wind carried a faint warmth, like the lingering breath of a fire long extinguished.