Tetsuko didn’t feel the blade beheading her.

But she did feel a great pain afterward, as if her body was being torn apart from the insides

But now she knew what the familiar sensation was.

It was the pain of her soul being ripped from her body and dragged into another world.

But it only lasted a moment.

Then there was nothing. Only her mind drifting.

Where, the blacksmith had no idea.

So this is dying…

Before she could stop herself, she let out a low chuckle.

At least now I remember how it ended.

How many times do I need to die until I can rest?

Or perhaps I’m not allowed to rest.

Tetsuko did remember her last moments in her original world.

She remembered the faces staring at her. She remembered the hate.

I feel no remorse for the way I lived my life, but perhaps that doesn’t mean I can move on. I’m to keep living as a sword, deprived of what gave my life meaning.

The former blacksmith also remembered closing her eyes when she sensing the heavy blade coming down at her neck.

I couldn’t see. But I know.

That was my own blade… Once again, I died by my own blade.

And this time, she remembered it all.

The thought that her life had ended by a sword made by her own hands gave the blacksmith a gruesome relief even she couldn’t explain.

They heard my last request.

Tetsuko tried to remember the sensation of being beheaded, but no matter how much the wanted, she remembered nothing.

She sensed it, but never felt the blade slicing through her beck.

Never felt the pain of being beheaded.

All she remembered was a sort of calm as the crowd before became silent.

No… I couldn’t hear them anymore… And then…

Then there was the pain of having her soul being ripped apart from your body.

Tetsuko tried to check her neck.

But she no longer had one.

No longer had hands.

No longer had a body.

At least it was a painless death. Being apart from your own body can have its advantages, I guess, she thought, looking around.

The darkness around her thickened.

Sighing in her mind, she closed the eyes she didn’t have.

So this is going to another world?

I thought I’d would be like those stories about being spirited away. But I guess reality isn’t like those children tales.

Tetsuko let her mind drift into the nothingness she was.

Wait… Lia?

She thought, but there was no answer.

Right away she knew the other woman was no longer with her.

Guess that’s obvious. She was in my body. When we shared it, we could talk.

But now… Wonder where she is?

Will she remain in that world as a bodiless soul?

Or will she reincarnate?

There or back in her world?

Hope we can see each other again, Tetsuko thought, emptying her mind to rest.

The former blacksmith had no idea how much time had passed.

But before she opened her eyes again, she felt it.

The familiar sensation of having weight.

Tetsuko was back into her other body.

Into that long, thin, one-handed barbarian sword.

And to her surprise, that body felt good.

It felt right. It felt comfortable. It felt perfect for her.

Tetsuko laughed in her mind.

A low laugh at first.

But then she was bursting.

I was really meant to be a sword.

There must be something wrong with me! I can’t believe I’m more comfortable back in this body than my original!

If only I had hands to create swords, I wouldn’t mind being a sword!

A sword that made swords!

As Tetsuko stopped laughing, she felt the same stream of energy circulating inside the metal.

From the tip of the sword to the core of the hilt.

Calm, slow, steady.

Tetsuko closed the eyes she didn’t have anymore and concentrated.

She imagined a bluish and cold fluid and tried to make it move faster inside her.

To her surprise, it worked.

Slowly, the strange energy speed up.

As it gathered speed, she felt the flow getting warmer.

The energy inside her body became redder inside her mind.

Tetsuko tried to make it go so fast it became out of control.

The energy sped up, but it didn’t do anything else.

Fael poured his energy into me. Though it was unconsciously.

It made his attacks heavier. But is there another way to use it?

Could it make me sharper? Could it make me stronger?

But what if I do the opposite?

What if I pour my energy into my wielder?

Could I… control them?

Could I use them as a substitute body?

Could I… make swords again?

But no matter how much she thought, she couldn’t find out. Not by herself.

Guess I’ll learn with time and with a wielder, she thought, letting the energy settle inside her.

The reddish became blue and the warmth became cold.

Then she looked around.

Where are those scavengers siblings?

The trio was no longer around.

Instead of them, Tetsuko found herself in the hands of a strange man she had never seen.

He brought her to another man, one he treated with respect.

Tetsuko noticed the armor hung on the back of the tent.

It was much better than all Tetsuko had seen in this world.

This man can only be a high noble to afford something like that, she thought as the man touched her hilt.

She felt a reaction inside her metal. Her energy reacted to the Noble’s.

Tetsuko didn’t know if he liked it or not.

But as the Noble man swung her, she knew she didn’t like him.

The man whose name she didn’t know, had skill.

That much was plain by the way he moved with a sword in his hands.

But for some reason, the energy inside her stirred to the energy he poured unconsciously into her.

Then she realized.

I’m not a sword to him… Neither a weapon…

I’m a prize… a prize to be prance around…

The idea of her, of a sword, not being used made her boil with rage.

Back in her world, she never made a sword to anyone who wouldn’t use it.

No matter if the client was a lowly foot soldier or a samurai of high birth.

Tetsuko hated the idea of a blade that she poured her soul into being displayed and gathering dust instead of being used.

Swords aren’t decoration! Swords aren’t prizes!

Swords are meant to be used!

To be used and to create a world where swords won’t be necessary anymore!

Tetsuko knew it was contradictory. She knew it was a foolish childhood dream.

Make swords to create an age where swords wouldn’t be needed. But she still believed in that.

I hated the idea of my swords rusting away without ever being used.

Now that’s gonna happen with me!

I won’t let it!

The energy inside her reacted to her feelings right away.

Before it was a pale blue.

But in a few moments, it was an intense blood red.

The man stopped swinging her at the same time.

He stared at the blade with a strange expression. His energy stopped pouring into her.

Without taking his eyes off Tetsuko, he sheathed her.

When did he have it made? The soul inside the sword wondered.

But then she realized it wasn’t made for her. It was too big.

And in complete opposite of her, the sheath was full of detail and golden decorations.

Is this to sheath a blade or to flaunter around a party?

Unsure what the future had stored for her, Tetsuko let her mind rest inside that sheath that was too big for her.