1 Prolog

...This story is simply fiction. When you found similarities in names, times, locations, or events, it is mere coincidence. Thank you....

[Japan, late 17th Century]

A man dressed in a tosei gusoku* without a headgear stood staring at the orange light that was almost immersed in time. The reddish-orange light reflected irregularly over the choppy surface of the sea. The breeze blows softly, blowing an unpleasant odor, disturbing the nose. However, the man did not seem to be disturbed at all. His stern face showed no emotion at all even though the fishy scent stroked his sense of smell and the corpses scrambled wherever his eyes led.

"... Masanobu?"

He was approached by a long-bearded man with a bow in his right hand. The bow suddenly slipped from his grasp and fell to the rocky ground as if his fingers were no longer strong enough to bear its weight. He then walked slowly toward Masanobu with his trembling gaze. Although he looked surprised, the long-bearded man said nothing.

"It's over," Masanobu said as he stared blankly at the lifeless bodies that were lying on the beach and being washed away by the waves. "At least for now."

Masanobu lowered his head deeply, while beside him came a low sob that was so heart-wrenching. The cool breeze swirled gently above the two, as if to relieve a little tension in the atmosphere between them.

"Kyosuke ... Ryuu ... Ami ... I can't even recognize their faces among all the corpses I've met," said the man next to Masanobu. He sobbed again without a word, then looked up and revealed his tearful eyes. "What about your children? Tomie? Did they manage to leave?"

Masanobu was silent for a long time, making his friend feel guilty for asking such a sensitive matter. But apparently, the emotions in Masanobu have disappeared with his zest for life. He answered his friend's question with a shake of his head and a flat voice. "I don't know."

The two men sat next to each other on a barren hill while watching the moments as the sun passed towards its chamber. The sea surface which was still choppy before, now seems so calm, like a huge transparent glass. Fallen tree trunks were scattered around the beach, some of which were dragged by the waves are now floating quietly in the middle of the sea. Another area of hill that was more overgrown with trees still seemed to ignite the flames and smoke billowing into the sky. The cracks of the ground gaped wide on various sides of the ground, as if a huge earthquake had enlivened the atmosphere and swallowed the greedy humans walking on its surface.

"Go, Touma," said Masanobu. The man beside Masanobu was sputtering, staring at his friend with widened eyes. "Go to south. If you're lucky, you'll meet my troops. Tell them you are my best friend, then I'm sure they'll let you join in their entourage."

Masanobu returned Touma's incredulous look with a solemn look. However, Touma shook his head. Over the years he befriended Masanobu, he memorized all his actions. He clearly knew the meaning behind Masanobu's words. Touma shook his head roughly.

"They won't bother if someone doesn't bother their family," Masanobu added, not caring at all about Touma's disapproval of his advice to tell him to go to south. "And you, instead of bothering them, you help them and treated them like your own family."

Masanobu stood up, pointing his forefinger at the corpses lying on the shore, and then a burst of fire burned them simultaneously. Touma looked at his friend with a pair of eyes and his mouth wide open.

"I swear, it's not that we are the masterminds behind all this. Not me. Not my family. Not my clan. Not Higami."

Touma also stood up, clutching Masanobu's shoulder, who seemed to have lost his strength. "Don't talk as if you're going to die! I'll go, as long as you come with me!"

"There's no point for me to go."

Touma began to get emotional. He raised his right hand and made a strong wind gust towards Masanobu. However, the sweep of the wind was still less fast with the reflexes of Masanobu's body, which had already dodged to the side so that the wind was misdirected and hit the rocks.

Before Touma could read his movements, Masanobu approached his best friend, pushed him to the ground and make him landed on the beach, near a pile of burnt corpses. Touma looked up, then exclaimed asking Masanobu to come down and go together with him. But Masanobu just kept silent and waving his hands, telling him to leave. Touma who still did not leave, was then thrown fireballs by Masanobu, which Touma knew his friend was not intended to scare or hurt him but to burn the corpses and force him away, leaving Masanobu alone.

When Touma had left the beach far enough, he tried to look back and looked at Masanobu who was seen walking towards the end of the hill. Just below it, the beach that was originally littered with corpses has now turned into a sea of fire. Masanobu lowered his head, while Touma screamed loudly, shouting the name of his best friend who in the end chose to plunge into the sea of fire he made.

"Masanobu ...." Touma lamented as he passed to south. "I will never forget you. I'll always believe you. I never blamed you, your family, your clan, or even Higami."

.

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[Japan, modern era at 21st Century]

A girl with long dark brown hair standing beside the dining table. While her mother was washing dishes, she stared resentfully at a portion of food that was still intact untouched belonging to her family member who always got up late. Not wanting to let her annoyance pile up, she stomped towards the second floor and began to knock violently on the still tightly closed bedroom door just beside her own room.

"Ken!!! Wake up!!! Until when do you want to sleep?! It's already Monday and the summer break are over! Get up and eat immediately!"

There was absolutely no sign of life behind the door of that room. The girl was getting more and more upset and tried to get inside. But when she held the steel doorknob, she immediately retracted her hand fastly because she felt that she was holding a hot burning iron. She was curious. She stared at the doorknob for a while, then decided to ignore it and wake up the owner of the room again.

"Noisy," said the room owner who blatantly showed the condition of just waking up. He yawned widely, scratched his head, then looked at his older sister with his eyes half open. "What?"

"'What'?! It's already eight o'clock! If you don't get ready soon, you'll be late for school! Your food will also be cold if you don't go downstairs soon."

The sixteen-year-old boy widened his eyes and immediately ran into his room to put on his school uniform. He didn't even notice his sister's departure and hurriedly grabbed the bag and immediately went downstairs. Meanwhile, his mother who had finished washing the dishes approached him.

"Ken, next time don't go to bed too late when the summer break is over," said his mother and putting the lunch box in his bag. Ken who noticed that, while putting on the shoelace knot, nodded briefly and passed as fast as lightning.