Kai's Inner World - Sword Spirit?!

Within the Dreamland,

In the sewers under the city, Kai crawled on his hands and legs.

He was nothing but skin and bones. Gone was the luster and the childish shyness on his face.

Everything about him screamed of death. For how many days had he not eaten something? He didn't know it himself.

Only his eyes were alive.

Kai grabbed his stomach and rolled over, clenching it hard to bear the pain of hunger.

The surrounding darkness was getting darker in his eyes, the filthy smell becoming sweeter.

Was dying so bad? He would just need to close his eyes, and it would be over. Yes. Perhaps he wouldn't feel so cold then.

Kai's eyes drooped, his breath misting, vanishing at last.

… live…

The eyes shot open.

A fuming breath entered his lungs as he feasted on the promise of revenge.

He must not die.

Not today.

…

Kai saw them coming, beastly phantoms surrounding their figures like blankets. "Red…" he hissed, his voice low. "Teach me… teach me… to live…"

The crowd pounced on him, wielding weapons and powers of a hundred different kinds.

And Kai… slithered.

…

"… live… I… must… live…" Kai chewed the rats, gnawing on their bones. "… I… must… kill…"

"He… He… He killed them all?!" voices echoed.

"This… This demon!" they gasped.

Kai paused. He lifted his face, his eyes gleaming like a beast as he counted their numbers.

The piece of tasty flesh dropped out of his fingers. He plunged his hands into the filthy blood lake around him and took out the first weapons they touched.

The two sabers in his hands reeked of death as he stood up.

"Keke…" Kai's lips twisted. He slithered towards them, one step after another.

Nothing about his appearance looked humane anymore.

"Kekeke…" the low psychotic laugh sent a shiver running down their spines.

Kai lifted his hands, an unseen phantom of a giant red serpent appearing behind him.

"He's gone mad… Kill him!"

"Kill!"

"Attack from all sides!"

Heads flew, eyes got stabbed, and flesh was torn off their bodies like lambs getting butchered.

Wounds were exchanged, but lives were only taken, seized by the Blood Demon.

…

The 16-year-old Kai took in all the faces judging him for the crimes he had committed and the crimes he had been framed for.

Anger and resentment coursed through his very veins, replacing the blood if there was some left.

His entire body ached, the wounds felt stabbing into his bones, and he could feel the blood draining out of his body with every passing second.

Only the armor was keeping him airborne.

But for how long? Kai bitterly thought.

…

A storm is coming…

…

Another hiss resounded in the ears of listeners and then they saw Kai slithering among the pikes effortlessly.

It was like a snake was slithering among the thorns but not worrying about their sharpness at all.

They had heard of it, and a selected few had even seen it on screen. But the live motion of Kai's movements had surpassed all imaginations.

"It was true," one said.

"One with Beast," another exclaimed.

…

"Some men are destined to rise, stepping on the ashes of the dead. You are not even a man, Demon," Brock said.

Kai looked into the dark eyes and smirked.

For the first time, he saw panic written on Brock's face.

His left hand twisted, and a snake-like mouth opened up where his fingers were. The snake devoured the Essence Bead in one gulp.

"YOU FOOL!" Brock roared.

"Haha… Boom…" Kai said, with a huge smile on his face.

The storm must have gone away, for Kai heard nothing. Before the darkness took over him, his eyes were just looking at the panic on Brock's disintegrating face.

And oh, he so loved the sight of that panic.

…

And then the dream repeated itself…

Over and Over and Over…

Again and Again…

And Again…

Again!

*

*

Outside,

A tower of flesh sprouted from the inn, like a mound, and at the top of his flesh mound was Kai, his entire figure surrounded by flesh up to his neck.

Sheets of rain fell on Kai's face, fusing with the tears streaming down his chin, and when the thunder cracked, lighting up the darkness, one could see the faintest hint of unbearable sadness and longing on his face.

From the same flesh mound, a pillar-sized tentacle branched off.

The end of the tentacle squirmed and became Enmu's head. He had already been making Kai dream joyous dreams and then nightmares. So the moment his eyes landed on Kai's expression, Enmu blushed sadistically.

"To be able to die while dreaming... just how lucky are you?" he said, smiling. "I must say, I like to show a nightmare after I show someone a delightful dream. I love to see the contortions of a human face! To gaze upon someone struggling with their grief and suffering — so much fun!"

At the same time, another Enmu appeared in Kai's dreams.

This Enmu was the dream projection of the actual demon outside but could roam freely in the Dream World, unlike the person to whom the dream belonged.

Enmu had appeared inside a sewage system, making him frown.

Now that he was inside a dream, he didn't wait anymore, his cautious nature urging him to finish the task as soon as possible.

Every dream realm had limits and boundaries.

In no time, Enmu found himself facing an unseen wall, beyond which he couldn't go, no matter how much he tried.

Now Enmu took out an awl made of his bones. Only this could tear this dream boundary, letting him enter the dreamer's Inner World.

Enmu stabbed the bone awl into the formless and unseen wall and then tore open a person-sized gash before stepping in.

The stupendous sight of Kai's Inner World shocked even this sadistic demon instantly.

…

It was a vast world, with no perceivable end.

To the farthest point Enmu's eyes could see, he saw that a thin layer of blood had covered the ground, making it look like a blood ocean.

However, when he looked down, he saw that this blood only reached his ankles.

Enmu lifted his head and marveled at the sky now. It was plain, extremely plain. Gray, cloudless, and dull. Nothing impressive, just telling an archaic tale of immense sadness, pain, and anger.

Yet, it was the silence of the world that astounded Enmu the most.

It was too quiet even for the Inner Worlds.

Enmu walked forward, the bone awl in his hands flailing menacingly. Suddenly, he noticed two odd things.

First, no matter how heavy or fast he walked, the blood sheet under his feet didn't ripple at all, and no sound came out that one could expect from walking onto a water-like substance.

He kicked the blood, sending several globules of blood flying far. Yet, when they fell on the blood sheet, they melted into it making no ripple or sound either.

The second was the hole in the sky.

Enmu squinted his eyes at it. It was too far away, but he could tell it was a hole.

Perhaps the spiritual core was near that hole? He thought.

The more time he would spend here, the greater the chances of the Hashira bringing annoying variables into the equation.

So Enmu ran into the blood field, making headway toward the tiny hole in the sky.

The nearer he got to the hole, the bigger it became.

Only when he was several hundred feet away from the hole did Enmu stop.

Not because he had found the Spiritual Core, but he found something else. Something that even made the demon take a step back.

A giant waterfall of blood was coming out of the spherical hole in the sky, falling into the blood field below without causing ripples or sound. No. It was better to call this a Bloodfall.

And standing between Enmu's comparatively tiny figure and the immensely tall bloodfall was a gray pillar, around a hundred feet high and only a meter in diameter.

Enmu took another step back.

Someone was there, on the top of the pillar, standing tall and looking far towards the distant ends of the Inner World, or perhaps towards the end of times.

It was a very lean figure, over 6 ft tall, and black. Its hands were taller than the supposed proportions, and its fingers were long as well, with claws at their ends. All black.

There was no face, either. No mouth. No nose and eyes. Just plain blackness, ancient and alone.

The only color it had other than black was yellow, and that too belonged to the figure's knee-length hair.

There was no wind in this Inner World. Yet, those long, yellow hair were flailing left and right, giving the impression of a banner amid the storm.

How is this possible?! Enmu thought, shocked. A demon having a Sword Spirit, and that too without the Nichirin Swords? This is absurd! Who is this demon?!

The only reason he hadn't entered Hashira's Inner World was that the prospect of fighting with a Sword Spirit made him uneasy.

No. He must return. Now.

Enmu spun at the spot, ready to make another run to the gash opened on the dream's boundary wall.

However, the moment he turned around, he found the same black figure standing in front of him.

Thump!

Enmu's heart gave away, and he fell backward, the bone awl drowning in the shallow blood ocean.

He looked over his shoulder and saw that the top of the pillar was now empty.

 Enmu had heard of the Sword Spirits having much greater freedom within the Inner World. But this?

This was absurd, even for him.

The tall black figure had no eyes. Yet Enmu could tell that it was looking at him. Suddenly, the black figure lifted his hand and pointed at the hole in the sky.

Enmu gaped at this motion. Is it telling me that this hole is the Spiritual Core? He thought. How can a hole be a Spiritual Core?

Spiritual Cores were the essence of a Soul, the Spirit.

Even demons had it, much less needed to be said about the humans.

Yet the truth was in front of his eyes.

"Haha!" Enmu suddenly laughed, regaining his courage and sadistic personality. "So you are an empty shell. A shell formed out of obsessions and regrets. Huh! Take me to the Spiritual Core. I command you."

The faceless figure nodded.

Enmu grinned, picked up the fallen bone awl, and pushed himself to his feet. Then they started to walk towards the gray pillar.

Suddenly, Enmu looked down and saw that the figure's steps were creating ripples into the blood ocean.

However, he pushed the uneasiness caused by this founding to the back of his mind.

Then, under the shocked gaze of Enmu, the tall, black figure put its left hand over his right shoulder, and in the next moment, they vanished.

They both appeared high in the sky, hovering midair in front of the hole.

It didn't shock Enmu. Now that he knew this figure was nothing to be afraid of, he had regained his composure.

The hole wasn't overly big, either. Just several meters in size, big enough for two or three people to enter together. And the bloodfall coming out of it was unimpressive as well.

Ah! Such bliss, to kill someone! Enmu screamed in his mind, preparing to tear the hole apart with the bone awl.

Silence.

Only now did Enmu notice that he had lost command over his body.

He couldn't even close his eyes, much less move his limbs.

Kekekeke!!!

The eeriest and most hideous cackling Enmu had ever heard echoed throughout the entire Inner World.

Yet, somehow he knew the origin of this laugh was this figure, clutching his shoulder with its long, black fingers.

Kekekekekekeke!!!

The demonic cackle intensified, and Enmu found himself gliding towards the hole. His heart was thumping wildly, but he couldn't move or even speak.

And then the most horrific sight presented itself to the demon, which even the king of the demons couldn't have made him see. This sight brought such fear with it that Enmu pissed himself, his pupil trembling maddeningly.

There was something inside the hole. Something more alive than both him and the black figure.

Something vile, foul, and repulsive.

Evil incarnate!!!

…

Outside, in the real world, an even grandeur scene was taking place, but much easier to comprehend.

Flesh after flesh kept oozing out of the inn in large globules.

And then with a bang, Enmu exploded, disintegrating into the grayest particles of ash.

The Lower Rank One demon died, his hideous screams failing to penetrate the realms of dreams it had so lusted after.

The only word that could remotely attempt to describe this series of events was — Bizarre.

Yet, even this word failed to catch the essence of it, forcing the audience to just watch in silence…

… and move on.

**************

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