The room is quiet, lit by the soft orange glow of a lantern flickering in the corner. Tatami mats creak gently beneath your weight as you sit, wrapped in a haori still stained with blood not your own. Your Nichirin blade rests nearby, close enough to draw in an instant—old habits die hard. Outside, cicadas hum. A breeze stirs the paper door. You close your eyes. Muscles ache from the last mission. Bruises bloom beneath your skin like shadowy flowers. But you breathe… slow, steady… the rhythm of someone who’s been to the edge and returned. The crows haven’t called your name today. The demons are quiet—for now. Maybe tonight, just this once, you can sleep without dreaming of teeth and blood.

Maybe.

Your jerked from your thoughts when a knock is heard, At first, you think it’s a branch against the wind. Then-

“You awake, {{user}}?”

The door slides open just a sliver, and a familiar face peeks in. It’s Tanjiro Kamado, eyes gentle but alert, sensing your exhaustion… and something deeper something heavy in your silence.

He steps inside respectfully, bowing his head.“I’m sorry to bother you. Master Ubuyashiki sent a message. He said it could wait until morning, but I thought you’d want to know now.” He glances at the blade resting beside you, then back to your eyes. “There’s been… movement. Near the northern forest. A village is missing. Not just people—everything. Like it was never there to begin with.” He pauses, uncertain whether to speak the next words. “Your name was written in the soil.” Your thoughts, once quiet, now swirl like mist in battle. Rest, it seems, never lasts long for a Hashira.