I. The Faceless Watcher
On the rusted rooftops of Tairoku , while the city slept amidst ashes and muffled screams, someone was watching Akihiko from high above. He wasn't breathing normally. He wasn't blinking. And on his back was the same Yovaren symbol tattooed... but inverted .
This wasn't an ally.
Nor an enemy. It was a physical echo of a bloodline erased by the Tree.
His name was Ashen .
He wasn't registered with any Mafia database. He had no past, no affiliation. Just one purpose:
"Wait for the Wounded.
And when he remembers... confirm if he is worthy."
II. Akihiko and the tremors of memory
The Wounded Man hadn't slept in days. The mark kept throbbing, but this time it wasn't pain.
It was calling .
As if something, or someone, was claiming space in his mind .
When he finally fell asleep, he did so with a clear image:
A field.
A kneeling child. A dry tree with roots buried in corpses.
And a voice:
"He still remembers his name.
And you, Akihiko… do you remember who you were before you were Wounded?"
He woke up sweating. Outside, a wingless crow was cawing. A sign.
Ikari approached cautiously.
—Another vision?
Akihiko nodded.
—This time... it didn't come from the Tree.
It came from another survivor.
III. The silent confrontation
That night, Akihiko went out alone to the abandoned market in the ninth ward. The fog was thick, and the lanterns hung like bodies strangled by roots.
There, among the destroyed stalls, Ashen was waiting for him.
He was tall, covered in a mourning cloak, his face hidden behind a gray bone mask.
He didn't speak. He didn't wave.
He just extended his right hand, revealing a mark just like his own , but with the spiral closed, not broken .
Akihiko looked up.
- Who are you?
The answer didn't come from the voice.
It came from the root that emerged between them, breaking through the concrete.
The root curled , forming a word:
"Yovaren."
Ashen finally spoke, his voice hollow:
—You broke the silence.
And I… am what the Tree couldn't quite erase.
IV. Dialogue between the fragments
The conversation was brief. Dense.
Every word Ashen spoke seemed to drag with it centuries of repression, memories turned to ash by the Tree's judgment.
" Why did you survive?" Akihiko asked.
—Because the Tree had doubts .
- Doubts?
—Not from us. From himself. When he tried to erase us, something went wrong. Not a single name disappeared.
—Yours ?
Ashen denied.
—My sister 's .
Akihiko felt his chest burn.
A brief vision. A girl at the foot of a dead tree. The same one from his last dream.
—Is she alive?
Ashen remained silent.
—She... is part of the root you awakened. And if she returns, she will bring with her the deepest error of the Tree.
Akihiko approached.
—Do you want to protect her?
Ashen raised his face.
" I want to know if you will be able to see her... and not be afraid."
And it vanished into the mist, leaving behind a single fallen leaf.
It was white.
But when I touched it, it turned black.
V. Shadow Reaction
Far away, in the catacombs of the Blind Valley, Varek felt a tremor in his back.
The bone of the Fourth Shard cracked slightly.
One of his priests whispered:
—What 's going on?
Varek replied, looking towards a tree that grew upside down:
—Someone... survived the trial.
And now he's a witness.
—Should we act?
—Not yet.
When the Yovaren return, the first thing they'll seek is revenge.
And I... want to see her burn.
VI. Naomi Kurobane and the Ash Prediction
In her private parlor, Naomi analyzed maps of ancient massacres sealed by decree. Among them, she found something strange:
An area marked "Total Oblivion: Convicted without registration."
Next to it, the name of the perpetrator:
Renjiro Kurobane.
She went to confront her father.
—Were you the one who executed the Yovaren clan?
Renjirō did not deny.
—I was the executioner, yes.
But not by proxy… but by order of the Tree.
Naomi came closer.
—What if the Tree was wrong?
—Then the Wounded One will bring the consequences.
Renjirō sat down.
—And if that happens… I want him to see me standing. Not hiding.
VII. The tree remembers again
Somewhere between city and ruin, an old root broke through a wall.
Behind the wall, a human figure slept, enclosed in a cocoon of black sap.
His eyes opened.
A girl.
White hair. Pale skin. Silent eyes.
She didn't say anything.
But the Tree listened to her.
And in every corner of the world, the survivors' tattoos burned at the same time.
END OF CHAPTER 84