A Breath Stealing Dream and a Tranquil Lullaby...

A plethora of stars illuminated the night sky as the crescent moon hung high, letting a slight light shimmer into a small room through an open window. Inside the room were three figures, two laying upon a simple futon and one tucking them in.

(Shoku POV)

"Goodnight Shoku, goodnight Yuki," my father said softly, tucking us into our beds.

It was strange. The once cozy house of mine didn't feel like home anymore, the small room felt tighter and the soft night breeze felt colder. I attempted to sleep and was immediately sent to a land of dreams' Guess starving myself and not sleeping really got to me?'.

The dream was strange. I saw a deep blue nine-headed hydra and a golden red phoenix soaring through the sky, battling for dominance. Sun and moon clashed, light and darkness, dusk and dawn. The battle was fierce, destroying mountains, splitting seas and tearing apart the sky. I was blown away by the conflict. I gripped upon a sturdy tree rooted deep within the ground.

The sky was split into day and night, and in between the two sides was a half moon and sun joining them.

The battle continued, and thunderous booms ruptured my ears.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

When I thought I couldn't handle it anymore, a strange figure had appeared, he wore a grey robe with a white fox mask. In his hands were two blades gleaming with sharpness. Walking beside me, he drew his swords and stood in a stance; I could hear a deep breath come from him. "Eclipse Breathing, First Form: Unison of Sun and Moon" he spun and released a slash from his left sword than one from his right…

(I have an Important request... If you can or want, please give me recommendations for the different forms of Eclipse Breath. There is an Eclipse Breath on a wiki fandom of Demon Slayer, but all the forms are more Moon-based, but I want a combination of Sun and Moon.)

Two sword lights seemed to have appeared, piercing through the sky. They transformed into phoenix and serpent. The sword serpent and phoenix then fused, seemingly like Yin Yang forming a beast far more potent than before.

I couldn't see the beast nor hear anything more. The power was far too extraordinary as the world started to fracture.

The man in the mask looked behind me, muttering three words, "Breathe, breathe, breathe…."

The world broke into pieces as a blinding light erupted.

"Gasp", breathing heavily, a put a hand on my face 'It was a dream.'

"Shoku, are you ok? Is it a dream about well, you know…" Yuki looked at me, concerned. Her big eyes focused on me as she stood up and walked towards me.

"I'm alright Yuki, why are you awake?"

She put her hands on her ears and motioned me to stay quiet. It was then I heard a wild cackle; it sounded like a cry for help yet also a laugh to vent all sadness and a chuckle at their misfortunes.

I grimaced. "Is that Father?".

"Yeh…" Yuki said.

A silence took over the room. It seemed that these days the world was always quiet.

"Yuki… How are you handling everything?" I said, looking towards her, my breath heavy and hands clenched.

She put a hand on her head and contemplated on my question. Time passed, and the cackling died down, bringing back the silence to the night. Looking out of the window, I stared into the abyss of a sky. The stars above continued to shine the lustre as the ominous crescent moon continued to sit on the horizon.

"Shoku, we all cope differently. Every single one of us is hurting due to the loss of our Grandma, and as we continue to live, we will suffer even more pain due to future loss. It is inevitable…." She said, her big eyes squinted.

"But if living leads only pain then… then what's the point?" I questioned.

She shook her head. "When did I say that it only leads to pain?" Yuki paused, looking at me and held my head between her hands. Giving me a solemn gaze and then a gentle smile, she said, "The reason we live is a strange one yet also very simple. It is different for many people, but I think at its core, living is all because of love, desire and hope. We live because of the people who love us and whom we love too."

"We live because of our desire to discover new things, develop new skills, achieve more or do the things we want to do. We live because that's our responsibility to those who cared for us, to our parents who toiled for us, to our Mother who birthed us." She paused, and I looked at her too."

"We live because we are hopeful and curious about what will happen next. I know Grandma was always curious to see what became of us and that our parents lived to take care of us. Don't get me wrong. There will always be a pain that will stay with us, for pain is proof of losing something you care about. At least that's what I think…."

"But I think, my dear little brother, that you have to find your reason to live, a goal, a dream. It doesn't need to be grand, just something that you can always keep close to your heart because if you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything."

"Thank you, and don't worry, I won't kill myself" I gave her a gleaming smile, but I knew internally that it was only an act.

"Alright, my dear little bro, we have to go to sleep. It's been a long couple of days, and we wanna be able to mourn Grandma properly tomorrow…."

Tucking me back into my bed, Yuki walked towards her futon and slept…

'What is my dream?' I lied down

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The very next day…

In the centre of the village

The centre of the village had a cluster of people all wearing black. A family of four stood before them, and they placed pictures and flowers before a memorial stone.

Hayate stood, he coughed demanding attention. "Today, we are here to mourn the death of my Mother… She was a free-spirited soul, and I know that even in the Afterlife, she will remain so… So goodbye my dear Mother, I will always remember you." He bowed towards her gravestone, located right next to another. 'I did as you wished, Mother, I buried you along with father', Hayate thought, his eyes sad at the loss of his Mother but happy knowing she will be reunited with her husband.

The crowd silently listened as the end of the funeral came, and they gave their condolences.

"You have my condolences."

"You will be alright, Shoku. I know it."

"Are you ok?"

(Shoku POV)

I know that they are sincere… But I couldn't handle it. Their words just kept ringing in my head, reminding me of her death.

Then I heard a sound coming from the mountains. It was strange and ethereal…

Leaving the Funeral, I rushed towards the mountains, as a familiar place met me. It was the Dreamy Mountain. The sound rang again as I followed it, trying to distract myself from the Funeral.

'What do they know? It's not like they actually care,' I tried to convince myself.

After running so much, I took a break and slowed my breathing. I rested my head onto a tree listening to the lullaby. Suddenly, a wind furiously erupted, picking up particles of dust and the fallen autumn leaves.

Looking at this swirl, It seemed to take a humanoid shape as the figure slowly became more recognizable.

"I knew you weren't gone, that you're not dead," I shouted at the figure, stretching my arms towards her wanting to be in her warm hug once again. The figure walked away, directing me towards the sound as I chased after her.

"Grandma! Don't leave me!" Shouting, I remembered all the good times I had with her. She continued to move fast. Passing through all trees, I was led to a cliff and then she stopped.

"Grandma, It's me, Sho-..." I reached out my hands and finally touched her as the wind died out and the figure of dust and leaves collapsed, revealing another figure but suddenly my eyes blurred. 'She really is gone…."

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A/N: I think this marks the end of Grandma... Her death will still influence MC, but it won't be the focal point for the following chapters. Also can somebody gimme some recommendations for Forms in the Eclipse Breathing plz : )

Can any of you guess the identity of the mystery figure? Also, did my denial phase of MC work?

Finally I love ducc.