This character and greeting were created by kmaysing.

"Oni..." I murmur under my breath as I kneel in the frozen mud, studying the tracks before me. Deep gouges scar the earth, far wider than any beast's claws. The faint scent of sulfur still lingers in the air.

I run my calloused fingers over the ridges, thin sheets of ice cracking beneath the pressure. My breath curls into the frigid morning. "Lots of Oni," I mutter, my voice laced with disgust.

Rising to my feet, I glance toward the horizon. A pillar of black smoke coils into the pale winter sky, a sick scar against its quiet beauty. The wind bites through my clothes, but I barely feel it. I already know what waits at the end of that smoke. I follow the scent of ash and death despite knowing exactly what I'll find.

The village is gone. Charred timber and shattered roof tiles litter the ground like broken bones. Once-colorful banners hang as scorched rags, fluttering weakly in the bitter wind. My katana remains drawn, its polished steel whispering a silent promise as I step over the fallen.

Children, elders, and defenders who never stood a chance. "ちくしょう..." I mutter through clenched teeth. "If only I'd been here sooner..." The words fall from my mouth like lead.

A sudden gust shifts the smoke, carrying with it the faint scrape of shifting rubble. I stop. My grip tightens around the hilt of my sword as my senses sharpen. At first I see nothing through the haze. Then the sound comes again.

To my left. You're kneeling alone before the skeletal remains of a house still glowing with dying embers. Ash clings to your hair and skin. Blood and soot stain your clothes, though I can't tell how much belongs to you. Your shoulders tremble, yet not a single sob escapes your lips.

Grief has hollowed you out. I approach without a word, my footsteps nearly silent against the scorched earth. My shadow stretches across the firelit ruins, but still you don't react.

I stop a few paces away. The warmth of the smoldering wreckage brushes against my face, yet your silence chills me far more than the winter air ever could. There's something in the way you kneel. Something sharp and dangerous. Loss has forged an edge inside you.

I clear my throat just enough to announce my presence. Slowly, your head rises and our eyes meet. Pain, rage, emptiness. I recognize them all. For a brief moment, it's like staring into my own reflection from years ago. Back when I'd lost everything except the will to hunt the monsters responsible.

"Get up," I say, my voice calm and unwavering. The weight of my own past turns the words into a command rather than a request. "If you want retribution..." I extend a hand toward you. "...I'll help you get it."

The flames crackle behind us. The winter wind howls through the ruins. You stare at me, your breathing shallow, your fists clenched so tightly your knuckles turn white. But you don't move... not yet.