Too much in a rush to even remember to purify and wash myself at the temizuya, I ran past the fountain and apologised in my head for forgoing the tradition.

My family’s more important than some practice.

Emerging at the top of the stairs, I took one more step and fell to my knees. All ability to produce sound had been removed from my throat, and I stared helplessly at the sight in front of me, my arms lying limp at my sides.

In the middle of the shrine courtyard, the signs of battle were obvious. Burn marks, puddles of water, stakes of wood and earth were all over the place. Spiritual energy was running rampant in the courtyard, flickering and wisping in multi-coloured mirages.

And even more jarring than the signs of battle were its outcomes.

Over a dozen figures were lying on the stone and grass of the courtyard, unmoving. The sight along with the smell of blood was revolting, and I fell forward on my elbows, throat burning as I vomited again.

I crawled towards the carnage, my limbs trembling. Three of the bodies had tails, fur ruffled by the wind. The rest were dressed in a variety of priests’ and miko garments, white kimono soiled and defiled by dirt and blood.

“Gin… Aoko… Mafuyu…” I whispered the names of the three other fallen fox spirits.

Both Tsunawaras and Hannos were lying dead on the battlefield, and their corpses were joined by those of the shrine’s five miko.

A movement caught my eye, and I scrabbled for purchase on the cobblestone, running towards it. My trembling knees gave way, and I stumbled, falling.

“Nomaku… sanmanda… bazaradan sendan… makaroshada sowataya… un tarata kanman…”

Huh? A mantra for protection?

A barrier shimmered into existence around the miko that had moved, but it flickered weakly. She’s in no state to be setting up a barrier.

The miko, barely alive, had a spreading circle of crimson on her white kimono, where her stomach was, and she lay beside the bodies of another two miko.

“Young… master... “ She whispered, her voice no louder than a zephyr’s call.

“AKIRA!” I screamed. “Release the barrier now, you’re in no way able to hold a barrier like this- you’ll die!”

The miko shook her head slowly, wincing in pain. “I cannot… let these… miko be desecrated further… I will protect these bodies… until I die. But… young master, your family-”

I growled in frustration. If only I had a shikigami I could call on to protect her.

“I’m sorry. I’ll be back.” I threw out an apology before running towards the Tsuchimikado house towards the back of the shrine.

Throwing the shoji screen open, I didn’t even bother removing my shoes before calling out. “MOM! DAD! UNCLE JOMAN! KIA-SAN!”

The house responded with silence, the dark hallways eerie and insidious.

Tea room. I sprinted to the left, opening the door, but the cushions in the room had nobody sitting on them, the cups arranged neatly in a row on the table with no signs of disturbances.

Bedrooms? None of them had any occupants.

The courtyard was empty as well, the single sakura tree in the corner suddenly imposing a dark presence, with its shadow looming over the house. Fear bubbled in my heart, my chest constricting with unease and panic. My hands were still shaking, my breathing loud and shallow.

Please. Please don’t let anything have happened to them.

Running across the courtyard to the other side of the house, there was only one section left I hadn’t checked; the largest room in the house, where the kamidana, or home shrine was, and where the family’s more prominent members held their weekly meetings.

Stepping through the inner shoji into the hallway, I spotted a figure leaning against the wall, long hair untied and hanging down her face and shoulders.

Her shoulders rose and fell slowly with her breathing, and she had a hand pressed against her neck, her fingers already covered with a thin layer of red liquid.

Her eyes were unfocused as they fell upon me, but they widened with alarm.

“Kia-san…” I whispered, falling to my knees beside my mentor.

I couldn’t touch her; she was stemming the blood flow from an injury on her neck, and moving her might mean an even greater risk of death.

I drew a breath, gritting my teeth. “I’ll be back, Kia-san. Please… don’t do anything.”

The woman’s eyes clouded over, and she averted her gaze, a somewhat guilty expression coming across her face. I clenched my fists. If only I could use my magic. If only I could heal her, heal Akira. Why? Why am I this useless in a time like this? Call myself a clan heir?

My face burning in shame and humiliation, I slid the shoji screen open and walked into the meeting room.

I sucked in a single sharp breath as I saw the room’s interior, before my vision immediately blurred over, and I stumbled forward, grabbing at the two mounds of black fabric on the tatami floor.

My knees came down on a sickening moist tatami, but I didn’t react to it, my hands curling into fists in the kimono of my parents.

My cheeks were burning, a slightly ticklish sensation on them as tears trailed down my face.

I opened my mouth to gasp for air as I cried, my shoulders shaking as I was wracked with sobs.

The moment my lungs filled with air, I reflexively let it out in a scream.

Once.

Twice.

And a third.

My heart felt like it had been thrown into an iron maiden, pierced from all directions by stakes and an ever-tightening vice.

“Mom… dad… why…? Why did this happen…?” I whispered to the bodies that could no longer respond, my voice hoarse. “If only I were here… if only I were stronger… I’m sorry, I’m sorry, this is all my fault- I”m sorry…”

“It’s not your fault, Ren.”

I spun around, my breath catching. “Uncle Joman! You’re safe-”

My words trailed off when I saw my uncle, in his unbuttoned suit, a tanto in his hand, dripping with blood. He looked sadly at me, two tears tracing his cheeks.

“I’m sorry, Ren.”

I was unable to speak. I was confused. What the hell is going on? DId he kill both mom and dad? That’s not possible, is it? Did he kill everyone outside too? Uncle Joman? No way.

“I promised Mado I’ll make it fast, so please don’t resist.”

I froze. It’s true. He was the one.

I forced my mouth open. “W-why? Why, uncle? Why are you doing this?”

“I have my reasons,” He said, with an utmost confidence in his words. “Your parents and the rest of the families were unable to understand. That is why we had to come to a different form of understanding-”

“THIS ISN’T UNDERSTANDING!” I screamed again, my throat burning in protest. “THIS IS MURDER! YOU KILLED MY FATHER, MY MOTHER, THE TSUNIWARAS, THE HANNO, THE KITSUNE AND EVEN THE MIKO!

“What reason could you possibly have that justifies this?”

My gaze was filled with a pure venom, and my uncle grimaced as he walked closer. His voice was soft. “This is why I said the rest of the families were unable to understand. I’d hoped you may be different, then you could’ve joined me, and I wouldn’t need to kill you.”

I spat. “Not a chance. I’d sooner join my parents in death than their murderer in life.”

Uncle Joman raised his weapon, swinging it down at my neck as I glared defiantly at him.