Beginning of The End Times

A certain crow cawed it's song once more, another mission upon the several the lower ranks have failed to complete. Kyojuro Rengoku, The Flame Pillar among the 9 Hashira, stood at his post, hearing what his crow had to say today, a smile plastered onto his face.

Kyojuro is a young adult of tall stature. His hair is bright yellow with red streaks littered around, emphasizing the vivid colour of his hair. His eyebrows were thick and black forked. Gold was the colour that his eyes were. Such a bright and fiery glow which expressed the fire that resides within him. Passion as wild as his hair, and motivation as blazing as the golden tint in his eyes. His outfit consists of the regular Demon Slayer uniform along with a white-yellow gradient pattern and red flame-like ridges at the ends.

Saying his goodbyes, he ventured off on his own path to where his mission would lead him, The Asakusa District in Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Vibrant city lights shone and stood tall, citizens roaming the streets with blissful smiles and energetic auras. Train carts ran across the tracks, people dropped off and picked up constantly in a steady rhythm of organisation. Restaurants were fully packed, waiters giving out orders and collecting checks like the lottery had been won by the entire world; quite a busy night to say the least. Shooting stars shot across the night sky, tinted a vibrant copper red from the hue of the once pure-white object in the sky, almost like metallic wind chimes dancing in the autumn breeze.

With his Nichirin blade hidden, Rengoku continued forward on where the supposed demon was meant to be, presuming that it would be displayed by now since the moon was out, specifically the blood moon. This kind of moon was a rare occurrence, of course, people would be outside at this time: the red gaze glazing the sidewalks. Despite its beauty and glory, it also meant a sense of, ending. Not yet had it been discovered of what it truly meant but by predications from the stargazers above, it meant the phrase, 'Beginning of the end times'

As the crow instructed, The Flame Pillar was led to what appeared to be a supermarket, an odd choice of location for a demon of all beings. Opening the door with his usual confident but positive look, his eyes scanned the location with wonder. Nobody was injured nor concerned in any way. Was the demon in hiding? This fact made him slightly anxious but he didn't let his guard down, his expression remaining the same the entire way. Exploring the market, he occasionally greeted the passing shoppers, acting like he was just another part of the crowd. Nothing seemed off though; once again, strange.

Silence.

His footing stood still, his eyes narrowing to the corners as he head turned at a ninety-degree angle to see what he couldn't believe. Not showing any signs of a change in his posture nor facials, he furrowed his eyebrows at a specific figure, a recognisable voice of one he had previously lost.

"Alright, thank you very much, see you next time."

The figure's voice was a distorted but dead sound, seeming to be full of a sinister sense that could send a chill down one's spine. It could be heard like a low ringing voice, whispering into a person's ear: creepy. Along with that, it seemed to have a flat tone, not really clear to those with bad hearing. Though, it had this flick of kindness drugged inside, something modulated but passionate. It can be referred to as silvery though people would need to be close to that soft voice to hear it. Their hair was brushed specifically to cover the left side of their forehead, a black face mask covering their mouth.

They wore a basic turtle neck, black t-shirt reaching to their lower shoulders, down at their hands being fingerless gloves, tinted the same coloured. Suited on top of the shirt was a sleeveless, plain, midnight blue jacket, a smooth texture brushed against it. They also wore baggy, smokey grey pants, reaching to their ankles only to be covered up to their knees by tall, lace-up inky leather boots, detailed with ruby redlining. Finally, they wore a matching fedora on their head which complemented the boots but also hid the true colour and shape of their locks.

Whilst they left, Rengoku immediately got the presence that this was the demon he had been sent to decapitated, pursuing their tracks. Immediately as the demon reached the gravel pavement, they had noticed that they were being stalked, hastily speed walking over to the nearby alley, planning to make their escape. Additionally, the Flame Pillar was not far behind, hand ready to grip his sword when he was out of public view, ending up in the entrance to the dark alley.

Footsteps silent, he gradually approached the demon, considering it to be a higher rank since many Tsunchinoe kept losing their lives to one being.

Dead end.

It found himself at the end of the alley, nearly banging into the back brick wall. Keeping their posture straight, groceries in hand, they merely tilted their head in the direction of the coming Hashira, soundless. Taking his sword out, he kept it to the side of his body, facing outwards in the direction of the creature before him. His head hung high, proud that he would do justice to those who lost their lives to one demon, prepared to end it right there and then.

"First Form: Unknowing Fire."

He recalled in his mind, an attack that allowed him to charge at extreme speeds, decapitating the opponent in one or numerous slashes made out of flames, high in temperatures. Using this, he attempted to decapitate the demon, but then, there was silence.

The embers of the attack burned out.

Eyes widened slightly, the sword was edged into the wall, stuck. What had just happened? Once standing before him was a demon that caused numerous death, now was just dust. This was not from his attack surely, no demon dies that fast nor leaves dust. Crouching down to investigate the strange substance, he picked it up in his palm, his finger stroking it to try to get a feel of what it was.

Unknown.

This was not an ordinary kind of dust, nothing like he had ever since. Even so, he wasn't one who knew these kinds of things but he definitely could put together that this had some kind of meaning to it. Clearly.

Lurked on the rooftop, the demon stood up to a casual posture, lifting up the rim of his fedora. Simple enough. A red glow shone from his pupils, unclear of what they looked like. While the breeze brushed against his single earring, he had a devious look, more like a young adult.

"..Has your heart kept burning, Rengoku-san..?"