The Path to the Forgotten

Tokyo’s night was alive with the usual chaos—blaring sirens, flickering neon signs, and the distant hum of a world too busy to notice that something was shifting in the shadows.

Renjiro moved through the streets with purpose, the old photograph tucked into his jacket.

A woman who existed over a century ago…

A vision that wasn’t his…

And a name that felt carved into his very soul.

Akane.

Whatever she was—**a ghost, a curse, or something in between—**Renjiro needed answers.

And he knew exactly where to start.

The Shrine That Time Forgot

Tucked deep within the city’s older districts, hidden beneath modern structures and paved roads, stood an abandoned Shinto shrine.

Most people didn’t even know it existed.

But Renjiro did.

His father had brought him here once as a child, though the memory was hazy. Something about paying respects to forgotten spirits.

Now, standing before its crumbling torii gate, he felt a strange pull in his chest.

Like something had been waiting for him.

He pushed forward.

The wooden steps groaned under his weight as he entered the shrine’s inner grounds. Faded paper talismans fluttered in the cold night breeze, whispering prayers long forgotten.

And then—

He saw her.

A Meeting That Was Never Meant to Happen

Akane stood near the shrine’s altar, her crimson kimono untouched by time, by dust, by reality itself.

She wasn’t facing him, but she spoke the moment he stepped closer.

“You came.”

Renjiro’s pulse quickened.

He wasn’t sure what unsettled him more—the fact that she had been expecting him… or the fact that he had known he would find her here.

He forced his voice to remain steady. “Who are you, Akane?”

She finally turned.

Her gaze was unreadable, but her eyes—**those same dark, ancient eyes—**held something he couldn’t name.

“Is that what you really want to ask?” she murmured.

Renjiro exhaled sharply. “Then tell me what I should be asking.”

Akane stepped closer. “Not who I am, Renjiro… but who you are.”

A shiver ran down his spine.

This was wrong.

This was dangerous.

And yet—

He couldn’t look away.

A Name Long Buried

Akane raised a hand—slowly, carefully—as if testing something unseen.

Then, she touched his chest.

The moment her fingers met his skin, the world fractured.

FLASH.

A stormy night.

The sound of steel clashing.

Blood pooling at his feet.

A name being screamed into the void.

Akane’s voice.

Renjiro gasped, stumbling back as the vision shattered.

The shrine. The night. Reality returned in a painful rush.

He barely managed to stay on his feet, his breath ragged.

Akane watched him silently.

Waiting.

Expecting.

Renjiro’s fists clenched. His head pounded.

That wasn’t just a vision.

It was a memory.

His memory.

“…What did you do to me?” His voice was hoarse.

Akane didn’t move.

“I only showed you the truth,” she whispered.

Renjiro stared at her.

His heartbeat was too loud.

His mind was screaming.

But beneath all of it—

Something in his soul was whispering.

A voice he had ignored for too long.

And it was saying—

She’s telling the truth.

The Truth That Refuses to Stay Buried

Renjiro inhaled deeply, steadying himself. “This shrine,” he said, his voice quieter now. “It has something to do with us, doesn’t it?”

Akane lowered her gaze. “It has everything to do with us.”

Renjiro’s pulse thundered.

For the first time in his life, he wasn’t sure if he was the one chasing the truth…

Or if the truth had been chasing him all along.

End of Episode 8

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