Chapter 1: The Glittering Trap (1525)

But honestly, we don’t care. We are just kids, running through the tall pampas grass like absolute maniacs, trying to outrun our own shadows.

"Wait up, slowpokes!" Yoshi yells.

He is way ahead of us, as usual. His long black hair is sticking to his forehead with sweat, and his kimono is hiked up to his knees so he can run faster. Even back then, before the magic and the madness, Yoshi acts like he owns the place. He has this swagger, this impossible confidence that makes you want to follow him just to see what happens next.

"Stop running so fast! My sandals are going to break!" Inoe shouts back.

She is huffing, clutching the side of her floral kimono with one hand and holding onto her hair with the other. Her hair is a mess of black, orange, and white strands whipping in the wind. She hates getting dirty, which is unfortunate because we are currently sprinting through a muddy field.

I, Haruka, am just trying to keep up without tripping over my own feet. I am the smallest of the group, and my legs are burning. Muji is running right beside me, looking grumpy because he hates the heat. He keeps swatting at dragonflies like they are personal enemies. And Kenuji is bringing up the rear, scanning the forest line nervously like he expects a demon or a bandit to jump out. Classic Kenuji. He was born worrying.

"There is a cave up there!" Yoshi points to a dark, jagged opening in the cliff face ahead. "I bet it is cooler inside".

We skid to a halt at the entrance. It looks spooky, honestly. The cave mouth is shaped like a giant, screaming mouth, framed by mossy rocks and twisted roots that look like veins. But the air drifting out of it is ice cold. It hits our sweaty faces, and it feels like heaven.

"We shouldn't go in there", Kenuji says, adjusting his glasses. Well, he doesn't actually have glasses yet-glass lenses are rare and expensive in 1525-but he makes the motion of pushing up invisible spectacles on his nose. It is a habit he has always had, even before he needed them. "The Elder says the mountain spirit gets angry if we disturb his sleep. He says people who go into the mountain don't come back the same".

"The Elder says eating watermelon seeds makes a melon grow in your stomach", Muji scoffs. He kicks a stone into the darkness. Clack, clack, clack. The sound echoes deep into the earth. "I am going in. I am melting out here. If a spirit wants to fight me, I will punch it".

"You cannot punch a spirit, Muji", Inoe points out, fanning herself with her hand. "But I agree with the entering part. My makeup is running, and I refuse to look like a melted candle".

Muji marches in, chest puffed out. Yoshi follows immediately, laughing and slapping Muji on the back. Inoe looks at Kenuji, shrugs elegantly, and grabs my hand.

"Come on, Haruka", she says, her grip warm and reassuring. "Don't be scared. Yoshi will protect us. Or at least, he will make enough noise to scare anything away".

We step inside.

The temperature drops instantly. It is drastic, like stepping from a sauna into a snowstorm. The air smells like wet stone, moss, and something else-something metallic and old. We walk deeper, the square of sunlight from the entrance fading behind us until we are stumbling in the dark.

"Ouch! Yoshi, stop stepping on me!" Muji growls.

"I can't see anything! It is not my fault your feet are huge!" Yoshi shoots back.

"Shh!" Kenuji hisses. "Do you hear that?"

We freeze. Silence falls over the group.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

And beneath the dripping water, a low, vibrating hum. It sounds like a giant cat purring, but deeper. It vibrates in the soles of my sandals.

"Maybe we should go back", I whisper, squeezing Inoe's hand.

"No way", Yoshi says. "We are explorers. Explorers don't turn back. Look, there is a light ahead".

He is right. Far ahead, down a sloping tunnel, there is a faint blue glow. It pulses like a heartbeat.

We move toward it. The tunnel widens. The rough stone walls smooth out, becoming polished like marble.

Suddenly, the cave opens up. And I mean opens up.

We all stop dead in our tracks. Our mouths hang open.

We are standing on a ledge overlooking a massive cavern. The ceiling is so high it is lost in shadow, but the space is lit by thousands of glowing crystals growing from the walls. They cast a soft, dreamlike blue light over everything.

But the real wonder is in the center.

In the center of this massive cathedral of rock is a pond. But it isn't water. It is... light. Liquid light. It glows with a soft, swirling blue-white luminescence that lights up the stalactites hanging above like crystal chandeliers. It looks like someone melted the moon and poured it into a hole in the ground.

And at the bottom of the pool?

"Is that... gold?" Yoshi’s eyes go wide. The reflection of the pool dances in his pupils.

It is. Piles of gold coins. Diamonds the size of fists. Rubies that look like bleeding hearts. Emeralds, sapphires, pearls. It is a treasure hoard that would make the Shogun jealous, but it is submerged in this glowing, swirling liquid.

"We are rich", Inoe whispers, her voice echoing in the vast space. "We could buy the whole village. We could buy the castle. I could buy a kimono made of silk imported from China".

"Forget buying the village", Yoshi grins. He is already untying his obi sash. He strips off his outer robe, revealing his white undergarments. "I am taking a bath. That water looks amazing".

"Yoshi, wait!" Kenuji warns, stepping forward. "We don't know what that liquid is. It could be acid. It could be poison. It could be..."

Yoshi ignores him. He runs to the edge of the ledge and jumps.

He cannonballs into the glowing pool.

SPLASH!

Droplets of light scatter everywhere, hanging in the air like fireflies before fading. Yoshi surfaces, shaking his wet hair like a dog.

"Guys!" Yoshi yells, treading water. "It is not cold! It feels... tingly! Like thousands of tiny bubbles popping against your skin! Come on! It feels incredible!"

He scoops up a handful of the liquid and throws it at Muji. The liquid hits Muji's chest and bursts into sparkles.

"Okay, that looks fun", Muji admits. He tosses his sandals aside and dives in. A perfect arc.

Inoe looks at the water, then at her sweaty skin. "Well, if they are doing it..." She slips in gracefully from the edge, shivering as the liquid light touches her ankles.

Kenuji sighs, defeated. "If I stay here alone, something will probably eat me". He wades in carefully, keeping his head above the surface.

I jump in last. I squeeze my eyes shut and plug my nose.

The moment I hit the water, the sensation is electric. It doesn't feel wet. It feels like power. Pure, raw energy soaking into my pores. It feels like drinking hot tea on a cold day, but for my entire body. We are laughing, splashing each other with liquid light, diving down to touch the diamonds that feel warm and vibrating against our fingertips.

For a moment, we are just kids playing in a magical pool. We forget the heat. We forget the poverty of the village. We forget everything.

Then, the water stops moving.

It happens instantly. The ripples freeze. The surface becomes as smooth as glass.

We freeze too.

A low hum starts from the bottom of the pool, vibrating through our bones. It gets louder. Louder. Until my teeth ache.

The water begins to spin. Slowly at first, then faster. A vortex is forming in the center of the pool, right above the pile of gold.

"Guys?" I squeak. The current tugs at my legs.

"Get out! Get out now!" Kenuji screams, scrambling for the rocky edge. His fingers scrabble against the slippery stone.

But the current is too strong. It grabs our ankles. It feels like hands-hundreds of invisible, watery hands pulling us down.

"Help!" Inoe cries, slipping under the surface. Her colorful hair fans out in the glowing water.

"Inoe!" Muji lunges for her, grabbing her wrist, but the momentum drags him down too.

I look at Yoshi. He is fighting it, swimming with all his strength against the flow, his face twisted in panic. But the glowing water swallows him whole. Then Kenuji. Then me.

I take a deep breath before I go under.

The world turns into blinding white light.

We are drowning, but we are not dying. We can breathe. The liquid fills my lungs, but it doesn't choke me. It tastes like ozone and starlight. We are sinking, tumbling over each other in the vortex, but we are floating.

And then, a voice.

It isn't loud, but it echoes inside my skull, bypassing my ears entirely. It is a voice that sounds like ancient stone grinding together, overlaid with the softest velvet.

"You possess the spirits of warriors, yet the hearts of children. The balance of the world is shifting. The darkness is rising. I require guardians".

A giant pair of golden eyes opens in the void. They are massive, vertical-slit pupils staring right into my soul. A cat. A goddess.

"Five souls. Five pillars. You have trespassed in my domain, and for that, there is a price. But you have also shown bravery, and for that, there is a gift".

The voice swirls around us.

"You will sleep for a century. You will wake when the world needs you. You will walk as humans, but hunt as beasts. You are mine now".

Pain shoots through my body. It is a searing, transformative fire. My bones shift and crack, rearranging themselves. My skin burns as fur pushes through the pores. My ears stretch. My tailbone extends.

I want to scream, but my human voice is gone. Only a meow comes out-a terrified, high-pitched kitten cry.

I look at my hands. They are fusing, turning into paws with sharp, white claws. I look at Yoshi. He is dissolving into black smoke, reforming as a small black cat. Inoe is becoming a calico. Muji is turning orange. Kenuji is fading into grey.

We are shrinking. The treasure at the bottom of the pool fades away. The cave fades away.

We drift into the darkness, the diamonds and gold forgotten. The year 1525 fades away, becoming a distant dream.

The long sleep begins.

And as I close my heavy, feline eyes, I have one last thought: Yoshi is never allowed to lead the way again.