As the light dimmed, a forest emerged, soaked in a soft silver-blue glow. Gentle hues of violet, green, and pink wafted in the sky. He surveyed, unable to see his father. Hear his father’s voice.
Am I dead? He sat on his knees in a field of translucent green grass, the intense heat in his chest soothing into a comforting warmth.
The ground pulsed with a translucent white aura beneath him, in sync with his heartbeat. Instead of wind, the hum of energy occupied the space between him and the tree’s canopy.
A faint mist, not of water, but of light, coiled between the glistening trees, emitting a scent of snowmelt and crushed herbs. Sharp, but soothing.
The trees stood impossibly tall, their trunks fading to a brownish hue, with a silver light passing through, almost like a vein. Hues of sapphire, rose, and jade shifted in the breeze, shimmering with light.
The forest was alive, not just living.
His limbs ached, like growing pains, sharp and heavy. His knuckles were damp from the grass beneath him.
InuShin shakily returned to his feet and brushed glowing dust off his hands. With each movement, a vibration shot through his body, not with pain, but with resonance.
Something caught his attention. Movement.
Shapes drifted slowly, silently between the trees. Peaceful. Beasts of pale light and impossible form: wolves, birds, deer, and foxes. Not threatening. Not welcoming either. They paused, watching him.
“Where am I…?”
His voice echoed. Too loud. Like it didn’t belong.
A pack of canines turned their focus on him and approached slowly, elegant and watchful.
InuShin stumbled back, heart pounding in his chest. With heavy breaths, he surveyed the area once more, searching for something familiar. Until they fell upon a tall figure, standing in the distance.
The ghostly animals parted reverently as the towering figure approached, radiating calm power.
“Who… who are you?” He stared, body shivering with fear.
The figure didn’t answer.
His lupine face, weathered by countless seasons, maintained its nobility. His sleek silver fur gleamed faintly under the forest light. His amberish-orange eyes shifted like dusk watching dawn. Broad-shouldered, clothed in bark-woven robes of green and brown.
His steps, quiet and undeniable.
Leather straps hold pouches of bone charms and herb bundles that tinkle like wind chimes. Scar-like runes shimmer across his furred arms and chest, glowing more brightly with every breath.
“Who are you?” he asked again, throat tightening.
“A guide. A guardian. A whisper for the ones who need it,” it replied, its voice a deep rumble, like a distant thunder.
Wait? It spoke to me? How?
The figure knelt before him.
“Am I… dead?” InuShin asked, stepping back.
It stared at him for a long breath.
“You are changed. But not lost. The storm that touched you did not end your path. It revealed it.”
“What’s happening to me?” InuShin’s chest sank, pressure building behind his eyes.
“You are becoming what you were always meant to be.”
“But I don’t want this,” he said, his voice cracking. “I didn’t ask to be chased, or hated, or—different.”
The figure stared, silent, intense amber eyes bore deeply into his.
“And yet difference is your greatest gift. You are not one world. You are two. You are not bound by one blood, but blessed with many.”
“Two worlds?” He asked. “You mean this world? Is my mom from this world? Is she here?” He stared, eyes widening with hope.
“Not from here. But she has been here before. Just like the rest of your other half. And the other races of that realm.”
“My other half? Other races? That realm? What are you talking about?” InuShin swallowed hard, tears surfacing. “Why didn’t anyone tell me? Why did my mother leave? Why is this happening now?”
The figure bowed his head gently, respectfully. “The answers you seek will come in time. But pain is always the first language of awakening.”
“I’m scared.”
“Good,” it rumbled. “The fearless are often foolish. But do not let fear root you in place. Let it sharpen your stride, like a blade forging a path.”
It placed its hand, clawed, strong, and furred, atop InuShin’s head.
“The wild inside you is waking. And it is not something to fear… but something to understand. To know.”
Once the figure made contact, a surge of light and energy, white and hot, rushed into InuShin’s core, burning through his blood. He gasped sharply as he arched his spine, limbs tightening, and a scream erupted from his throat.
The energy intensified, winding through his bones and pulling at his muscles. His joints. His tendons.
A thousand heartbeats rang in his ears, from the canines. The flowers. Trees. The earth itself. The forest was alive. Every rhythm. Weight shift. Every breath. The pulse surrounded him. His chest tightened more.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
InuShin fell to his knees, crying out, as a searing pain filled his head as his normal ears melted into his body and a pair of silver-tufted canid ears emerged through his hair, flickering to the sounds around him. Louder. Echoing.
“I can’t breathe…” He hunched forward and punched the ground, hair falling around him, fading to silver. His fingers ached as his nails extended, forming into claws.
His jaw tightened, closing his eyes as his lengthened canines punctured his inner cheek, the taste of metal flooding his mouth, nauseating him as he swallowed it.
InuShin panted heavily, sweat-slicked and shaking, his chest and shoulders rising with each deep breath. His hearing, sharper, felt the flap of a passing owl, the steps of the lingering canines, and the vibrations of the rustling leaves.
“What… happened?” His voice was hoarse.
“You have fully awakened,” the figure answered gently. “A part that was once dormant, resting, now breathes openly.”
“What am I…?”
“You will have your answers soon.” It straightened up, turned around and walked back into the forest. “For now, it is time for you to return home.”
“Return home? How?”
The figure didn’t look back. No answer. It continued walking forward, deep into the forest, vanishing within the silver-blue mist.
“How do I return home?!” he shouted again.
A familiar voice echoed from the forest, hoarse, causing a tremor to cut through the air. Not from the forest, but beneath it.
“Shin–!” The voice was distant, but enough to crack the dream.
His canid ear twitched, instinct sharp.
“Dad?” InuShin slowly pushed himself off the damp grass, wiping his hands dry, and searched the forest for him.
Mystical animals returned to the forest, merging with the trees.
The forest flickered, light growing too bright. A howl rose, not from the spectral lights, but from something human.
InuShin turned to the sound, heart pounding. The glow of the strange realm blurred and darkened around the edges, the silver-blue light bleeding into orange and smoke.
“Run, Shin! RUN!”
Suddenly, the ground vanished.
Falling, wind ripping past his ears, and gasping.
InuShin jolted up, seeing the inside of his home again, but not as he left. Empty.
Distant, but loud. InuShin heard the angry villagers outside. Pushed himself off the floor, body heavy, aching. With slow steps, he approached the entryway and pushed the bamboo curtain out of the way.
His father stood there, between him and the villagers.
“He’s just a boy!” his father shouted, tantō in hand, unsheathed. “He’s scared–just as scared as you are…”
A man stepped forward, eyes wide in horror, pointing towards him. “His hair is completely silver, and those ears! That’s not a human child!”
“You’re hiding a demon,” another yelled. “If you won’t cast him out, we will!”
Lightning crackled above them, the simmering storm breaking open, erupting.
A streak of orange and yellow caught his eyes, mixed with the scent of scorched wood. A torch soared through the air and slammed against the building. His home. The small fire grew rapidly.
His heart dropped, panic setting in as he watched smoke erupt from the fire.
A gasp.
“It’s true…”
“He’s cursed!”
“Get him away from the village! Away from the children!”
Shrill screams filled the air, forcing InuShin to cover his canid ears, pressing them down to his head, attempting to muffle the sounds.
The crackling fire grew louder, sparks fluttering in the air. His stomach churned and his gaze found his father’s and something inside him shattered. His father’s eyes shimmered with sorrow. Fear. But most importantly, love.
“Run, Shin,” he said, voice hoarse. “This place is not safe for you anymore. Live. I’ll be waiting.”
InuShin froze, legs unable to move.
“No! I–Father, come with me!” His voice was raw, cracking, tears streaming down his face. “I won’t leave you–!”
A crash spit the sky, a beam collapsed behind him. Flames engulfed his home, a typhoon swirling in the distance.
“Now!” his father shouted. “Take one of the swords. GO!”
His eyes stung, from smoke and tears. He turned around, dashed into the house, and grabbed one of the sheathed blades, the smallest one.
“If you want my son, you’ll have to go through me,” his father said.
InuShin bolted out the house and ran towards the forest.
Rain slapped against his skin, sharp and heavy. The scent of wet soil and burnt wood filled his lungs with every breath. Behind him his father’s voice and the villagers vanished from the erupting thunder.
He pushed forward, fighting the urge to look back. His heartbeat, his breath, his steps through the ferns and underbrush smothered his ears. Too loud, too sharp.
InuShin spotted a boulder next to a pond. As he approached it, his body grew heavy and he collapsed beside it.
“What have I done…? Why did I leave him…?”
He stared at the tantō in his hand, tightening his grip.
“I should’ve stayed.”
His father’s words echoed: Live. I’ll be waiting.
Doubt filled him.
“What if that was a goodbye? What if I never see him again?”
He pressed his empty fist against the soft ground and attempted to push himself up, but couldn’t. “I can’t do it.” He sobbed. “Even if I wanted to, I don’t have the strength to go back.”
Thunderclapped from above the forest, heavy rain falling between the canopy and crashing down onto him.
Soft footsteps approached him. Slow. Steady.
InuShin shifted his head, eyes widening.
An old woman dressed in a kimono with a grid-like pattern of purple and white stood a short distance away. Long gray hair, tied in an intricate braid, kept dry from her floral patterned parasol. Her eyes, vibrant and gentle, like emeralds.
Purple? What is someone of her status doing out here? Those eyes. I’ve never seen anything like them before.
“Poor child,” her voice was warm, comforting. Her words were laced with a thick accent, nothing like he'd ever heard before. “All those senses, blooming at once. Your kind always hears the forest too soon.”
Clutching the tantō, InuShin tried to push himself away. “Who…who are you?”
“Someone who knew you be here,” she replied. “Someone who’s been waiting.” She stepped forward, slow and deliberate.
“Why… are you here?” His voice cracked.
The woman crouched to his level. “To take your away from this place. To where your roots remember. You were never meant to stay in this realm.”
Hesitant, shaking.
“My father… he’s still back there. I can’t just leave…”
“You already did,” she spoke gently. “And he already knew you would.”
Her words stung, as if stabbing his heart.
She outstretched her wrinkled, frail-looking hand.
“Come, child. This realm is done with you. But your story has only just begun.”
InuShin stared, breathing heavily before reaching out.
As their skin touched, a swirl of violet smoke rose from the earth, enveloping them. The sweet scent of strange wildflowers wafted over him, calming his nerves. A gentle chime, low and melodic, broke him from the harsh echo of the crackling fire and falling rain.
