The Crimson Moon Rises

 Dawn came not with light, but with blood.Haruto woke to find the sky the wrong color—deep crimson, as if the sun had been replaced by a wound in the heavens. The air tasted of copper and flowers, and every breath made his lungs burn."What is this?" he gasped, stumbling to the cave entrance.Kiku was already there, her new human body rigid with tension. "A Crimson Moon. My siblings are attempting something I've never seen before—they're trying to manifest mother's power directly from the essence you carry. Creating a sympathetic connection through celestial manipulation.""In language we can understand?" Shinjiro was at her side, sword drawn, scanning the blood-red landscape."They're turning the world into the seal chamber," Ayame said, her voice strained. "Making reality itself mirror the prison that held me. In that space, the demon essence will be more vulnerable, easier to extract by force."The priest was chanting protective prayers, but his voice was weak, uncertain. The transfer of essence had left all three of them diminished, and now they faced an attack while at their weakest point."How long do we have?" Haruto asked."Until the moon reaches its apex. Maybe an hour." Kiku pointed to where the crimson orb hung low on the horizon, slowly climbing. "When it's directly overhead, the sympathetic connection will be complete. Then my siblings can simply reach into you and tear the essence out. It will kill you, but they don't care.""So we stop them before then." Shinjiro's grip on his sword tightened. "Where are they?""Everywhere." Kiku gestured to the landscape around them. In the crimson light, shadows moved differently—twisting, coiling, forming shapes that hurt to look at directly. "They've merged themselves with the ritual. Become part of the Crimson Moon's manifestation. You can't fight them individually because they're no longer individuals.""Then how do we stop them?""By breaking the ritual. Disrupting the sympathetic connection." Ayame stepped forward, her eyes flickering red again. "The ritual requires three focal points—places where the demon queen's influence touched the world most strongly during her four hundred years of imprisonment. One will be Kagura-no-Sato, where the seal was centered. Another will be—" She paused, concentrating. "The valley where I first made my bargain with the demons. Where I underwent the initial transformation.""And the third?" Haruto asked."Here. These mountains. This is where they finally caught me, where the fifty maidens and thousand warriors brought me to battle four hundred years ago." Ayame's voice was distant, remembering. "My blood soaked into this stone. My essence became part of the mountain itself. That's why the Lilim drove you here—they needed you at this specific location to complete the triangle.""So we're standing on a focal point." The priest looked down at the stone beneath his feet with new horror. "We're exactly where they want us.""Yes. But that's also their weakness." Kiku's eyes glowed faintly—not with ember light like the Lilim, but with something softer, almost golden. "A three-point ritual is stable but inflexible. Break one point, and the entire structure collapses. We just need to disrupt this location's connection to the other two.""How?""Mother's blood soaked into the stone four hundred years ago. We need to... overwrite it. Replace that old connection with something new." Kiku looked at Haruto. "You carry her essence now. If you're willing to bleed for this mountain, to mark it with your blood instead of hers, it might be enough to break the focal point.""Just bleeding? That seems too simple.""Not just bleeding. Bleeding willingly while holding the demon essence in conscious awareness. Letting your blood and the essence mix, infusing the stone with your combined signature rather than hers alone." Kiku's expression was grave. "It will hurt. The demon essence doesn't want to be exposed like that. It will fight you.""Everything fights me." Haruto drew the guardian's sword. The blade's blue fire was barely a flicker now, exhausted from constant use. But the edge was still sharp. "Tell me what to do.""Cut deep. Arm, leg, wherever you can bleed substantially without dying. And while you bleed, don't contain the essence—let it flow with your blood. Spread it into the mountain, mark this place as yours rather than hers.""That's insane," Shinjiro said. "The essence is barely controlled as it is. Letting it loose—""Is the only way." Ayame knelt beside Haruto, placing her hand over his heart where the essence pulsed. "I'll guide you. I've done this before—marked territory with blood and power. I can help you maintain enough control that you don't lose yourself."The crimson moon was climbing higher. They had minutes, not hours.Haruto sat cross-legged on the stone at the cave entrance—the exact spot where Ayame said the battle had ended four hundred years ago. He could feel it now, the residue of ancient violence, the echo of the demon queen's final stand before the seal claimed her.He raised the guardian's sword to his left forearm."Wait," Kiku said. She knelt before him, her small hands gentle as she took his free hand. "You're going to want to scream. Going to want to stop the bleeding, to contain the essence, to make it stop. Don't. I'll be here, anchoring you. Reminding you why you're doing this.""Why am I doing this?""Because you're stubborn enough to believe suffering can have meaning. That pain can be transformed into protection." She smiled—a child's smile, innocent and knowing at once. "That's the part of mother I come from. The part that believed sacrifice could save people. Hold onto that."Haruto nodded. Then he cut.The blade parted flesh cleanly, deeply. Blood welled up immediately, running down his arm, dripping onto the stone. And with it came the demon essence, drawn by the blood, eager to escape its prison.The pain was extraordinary.Not just physical—that was manageable, expected—but spiritual. The demon essence poured out of him like poison lancing from a wound, and as it flowed, it took pieces of him with it. Memories. Emotions. Parts of his identity that had become entangled with the demon over the past weeks.He saw his master dying, but now he felt what the demon felt—satisfaction at the death, pleasure at the suffering.He saw Tsukiko dissolving into light, but through the demon's eyes it was just another soul consumed, another meal devoured.He saw himself as the demon saw him—weak, temporary, a meat-puppet dancing to strings he couldn't see."No," he gasped. "That's not—I'm not—""Focus," Ayame's voice cut through the chaos. "Separate yourself from what you're seeing. Those are the demon's memories, not yours. You're Haruto. Guardian. The one who chose mercy over duty."But the essence kept flowing, and with it came more visions:Kenji, his ancestor, standing over Yuki's dying bodyThe choice that doomed generationsLove twisted into curseThe guardian's mark burning into bloodline after bloodlineEvery descendant paying for Kenji's weakness"Is that what I am?" Haruto asked, his voice distant. "Just another link in a chain of failure? Another guardian too weak to do what's necessary?""No," Kiku squeezed his hand. "You're the one strong enough to break the chain. To prove that love and duty don't have to be enemies. That's why you're here. That's why you can do this."The blood was pooling on the stone now, spreading in patterns that looked almost intentional. And as it spread, Haruto felt the mountain respond. Felt the ancient echo of Ayame's blood being overwritten by his own. Felt the focal point shifting, changing, becoming tied to him rather than the demon queen.The crimson moon pulsed, its light flickering."It's working!" Shinjiro called out. "The sky is changing—the red is fading!"But it wasn't fading fast enough. The moon was nearly at its apex, and Haruto could feel the Crimson Lilim pressing in, trying to complete their ritual before he could break it. They were furious, desperate, pouring all their power into maintaining the connection."I need more," Haruto said through gritted teeth. "The essence isn't flowing fast enough. The ritual—""Will drain you completely if you give more," Ayame warned. "You'll die.""Then I die. Better than letting them win.""NO!" Kiku's voice was fierce, her small hands gripping his with surprising strength. "I didn't become real just to watch you sacrifice yourself! There has to be another way!""There is," a new voice said.They all turned to see the Shinigami Wraith standing at the edge of their camp. Its red-slash eyes were fixed on Haruto, on the blood pouring from his arm, on the demon essence mixing with it on the stone.THE HARVEST, it spoke directly into their minds. THIS WAS ALWAYS THE HARVEST. NOT YOUR DEATH, BUT YOUR CHOICE. WILL YOU GIVE EVERYTHING TO STOP THE RITUAL? OR WILL YOU PRESERVE YOURSELF AND DAMN OTHERS?"Another test," Haruto said bitterly. "Everything is always a test."LIFE IS TEST. DEATH IS ANSWER. The Wraith moved closer. BUT DEATH NEED NOT BE PERMANENT. I CAN HELP YOU. CAN ACCELERATE THE ESSENCE'S FLOW WITHOUT KILLING YOU. BUT THE PRICE IS STEEP."What price?"A PIECE OF YOUR SOUL. A FRAGMENT OF WHO YOU ARE. I WILL TAKE IT AS PAYMENT, ADD IT TO MY COLLECTION. YOU WILL SURVIVE, BUT DIMINISHED. LESS THAN YOU WERE."What does that mean?"YOU WILL FORGET SOMETHING PRECIOUS. A MEMORY, A PERSON, A FEELING. I CANNOT SAY WHICH—THE HARVEST CHOOSES WHAT IS OWED. BUT YOU WILL LOSE SOMETHING THAT DEFINES YOU.Haruto looked at his companions. At Ayame, who had already lost so much. At Shinjiro, who had died once and been brought back diminished. At the priest, who had sacrificed his granddaughter to duty. At Kiku, newly real and terrified.They'd all paid prices. All lost things that mattered.Why should he be any different?"Do it," he said.ARE YOU CERTAIN? THERE IS NO UNDOING THIS. WHAT I TAKE STAYS TAKEN."I'm certain."The Wraith reached out with one skeletal hand and touched Haruto's chest. Its fingers passed through skin and bone and found something deeper—the core of who he was, the essence of his identity.And it pulled.The sensation was indescribable. Like having a tooth extracted from his soul. Like losing a limb he hadn't known he possessed. Something fundamental was torn away, leaving a gap, an absence that echoed through his entire being.But with that absence came release.The demon essence poured out of him in a flood, mixing with his blood, saturating the stone beneath him. The mountain drank it in, absorbed it, made it part of its structure. And as it did, the connection to the other two focal points shattered.The crimson moon flickered once, twice, then dissolved like smoke. The blood-red sky faded back to normal dawn colors—pink and gold and soft blue. The oppressive weight lifted, and suddenly they could breathe again.The Crimson Lilim manifested in the clearing, their forms unstable, flickering. They were screaming—sounds of rage and despair mixed together."YOU BROKE IT!" the lead Lilim shrieked. "RUINED MONTHS OF PREPARATION! DESTROYED OUR BEST CHANCE AT REUNIFICATION!""And I'd do it again," Haruto said, though his voice was weak. The blood loss was catching up to him, making the world swim."YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!" The Lilim raised her hands, and crimson fire began to gather. "IF WE CAN'T HAVE THE ESSENCE PEACEFULLY, WE'LL TEAR IT FROM YOUR DYING CORPSES!"But before she could attack, Kiku stepped forward.The child-demon was glowing now—not with ember light but with something purer. The essence she'd been given was fully integrated, and she wielded it with precision the others lacked."No," Kiku said simply. "You won't."Light exploded from her small form, washing over the other Lilim. Where it touched, they destabilized further, their forms breaking apart like smoke in wind."TRAITOR!" the lead Lilim spat. "YOU TOOK MOTHER'S ESSENCE FOR YOURSELF! YOU'RE NO BETTER THAN THESE HUMANS!""I'm exactly like these humans. That's the point." Kiku's voice was calm, certain. "You were born from mother's rage and hunger and pain. But I was born from her love. And love protects."The light intensified, and the Lilim fled—melting into shadows, retreating back to wherever they lurked between attacks. Within moments, the clearing was empty except for the group and the Wraith.Kiku turned to Haruto, and her glow faded. "Are you—""I'm fine," he lied. He felt wrong, incomplete. Something precious was missing, but he couldn't remember what. Couldn't even remember that he should remember. There was just... absence. "We stopped the ritual. That's what matters."The Wraith studied him with those red-slash eyes, and for a moment, Haruto thought he saw something like approval in its posture.THE HARVEST IS COLLECTED. THE DEBT IS PAID. FOR NOW. The creature began to fade. BUT REMEMBER—DEATH IS PATIENT. WHAT IS OWED WILL EVENTUALLY COME DUE. ALL OF IT.Then it was gone, leaving only the smell of flowers and decay.Ayame quickly bound Haruto's arm, stopping the bleeding. "That was incredibly stupid," she said, but her voice was gentle. "And incredibly brave.""What did I lose?" Haruto asked. "The Wraith took something, but I can't remember what.""That's how it works," Shinjiro said quietly. "You can't remember what you've forgotten. None of us can tell you because the absence isn't visible to others—only felt by you as a gap, a wrongness.""Will it come back?""No. What the Wraith takes stays taken. That's the price of dealing with death itself."Haruto tried to explore the absence, to understand what was missing, but it was like trying to see the back of his own head. He knew something was gone, but he couldn't grasp what."We should move," the priest said. "The Lilim will regroup. And the Serpent will return in two days for the next trial. We need to find shelter, recover our strength."They gathered their supplies and left the cave, descending from the Dead Peaks toward lower, more hospitable elevations. As they walked, Haruto felt the demon essence stirring in his chest—quieter now, more subdued. The bloodletting had reduced it further, made it even more manageable.But it was still there. Still whispering. Still waiting.Five trials remained.The Lilim were wounded but not defeated.And somewhere in his soul, a piece of himself was gone, taken by death as payment for survival.The sun rose fully, painting the mountains in warm light.It should have felt hopeful.Instead, it just felt like countdown.Days until the next trial.Hours until the next attack.Moments until the next price came due.The harvest was never finished.It only paused between collections.And they were all just crops waiting to be reaped.