A Darkened Heart

In a hazy, ethereal space, a young boy about six or seven years old stood alone. He had snow-white hair, fox-like ears, and striking crimson eyes, clad only in a thin kimono. His gaze wandered aimlessly, his handsome, delicate face etched with panic.

Suddenly, wisps of black smoke materialized around him, coalescing into small figures roughly his age. Boys and girls alike appeared as pitch-black silhouettes, their features indistinguishable. They crowded around the white-haired child, pointing fingers and whispering among themselves.

"Look... that kid has weird ears!"

"Yeah, it's terrifying. His hair is white, and those ears... they look like a fox's!"

"How can a person have fox ears? He must be a yokai! He's a monster!"

"Waaah... so scary! There's a yokai in the village! Father! Mother! Help, there's a monster!"

Waves of panic and loathing washed over the boy. He looked at the children his own age with a desperate, longing gaze, but was met only with coldness and fear. He stood frozen, not knowing what to do.

"No, I'm not a monster... I won't hurt you. I'm just..." The boy reached out, trying to bridge the gap, but his plea was answered by a stone that struck his face with a sharp sting, followed by a torrent of merciless abuse.

"Get out of our village, you filthy monster!"

"Look! It's a yokai cub! Since he's just a brat, we can probably take him!"

"He has fox ears on his head—I wonder if he has a tail back there? Let's rip his clothes off and see!"

From the dark shadows of the crowd, voices filled with anger and cruelty erupted. The piercing words cut deep into the boy's heart. Faced with this wave of unmasked malice, he tried to defend himself, but the words wouldn't come. As the hatred solidified into action, the black silhouettes lunged toward him.

Terrified, the boy shoved his way through a gap in the surrounding malice and bolted. He ran blindly, his small feet pounding the ground in a frantic escape. After a long time, he finally managed to lose the pursuing shadows. Exhausted, he doubled over with his hands on his knees, gasping for breath through his sobs.

"Huff... why...? I didn't do anything... I just... I just wanted to be with everyone..."

As the boy struggled to catch his breath, new illusory figures flickered into existence around him. These were no longer human children, but grotesque, snarling yokai.

"Ooh... a little fox? No, wait... such a heavy human scent. Is it a human?"

"Heh heh, who cares what it is? This human brat wandered into the demon realm without any coaxing. Talk about a free meal~"

"Sss... what a handsome little thing. I bet you taste as good as you look..."

"Running around the demon realm is dangerous, little one. Not that you'll have to worry about that for much longer, haha!"

The various hideous yokai stared with eyes wide with greed, their maws filled with jagged fangs hanging open. They made no attempt to hide their hunger for the boy. Looking at the dark silhouettes of these monsters, the boy's eyes filled with terror.

"Help... help me..."

The boy fled in a panic once more, and the swarm of dark yokai followed close behind, pouncing toward their prey. These demonic shadows were significantly faster than the human children from before; the boy couldn't shake them, and the distance between them closed rapidly.

As he ran, an unspeakable sorrow filled his heart. "Huff... huff... Why...? Why?! Am I not a yokai?! Why won't you accept me either!"

As if triggered by a sudden outburst, the boy suddenly spun around and screamed at the pouncing yokai. In that instant, his body transformed. He grew taller, his child-like frame maturing into that of a teenager. His hair remained white, but the fox ears vanished. His simple clothes shifted into the robes of an Onmyo-sei from the Onmyoryo.

The youth flicked several talismans from his hand. They streaked toward the dark yokai, shattering them upon impact and scattering them into wisps of distorted black smoke.

The smoke drifted in the air for a moment before quickly reforming. Now, they took the shape of human silhouettes roughly his age, dressed in the same Onmyo-sei robes. They gathered in small groups, pointing at the youth and whispering maliciously.

"Did you hear? Lord Tadayuki actually took a hanyo as a disciple. How could a half-demon even set foot inside the Onmyoryo?"

"How is that guy first in everything again? Hmph... he must be using some secret demonic trick to cheat. How could a hanyo master Onmyojutsu?"

"The title of 'Genius of Onmyodo' shouldn't belong to a half-breed! We need to sign a joint protest to Lord Tadayuki! The Onmyoryo belongs to the children of the noble clans. We can't let a hanyo infiltrate our ranks..."

Though the shadows spoke in low voices, the youth heard every word. He maintained a cold, stoic expression, trying to ignore them, but his white-knuckled fists betrayed the turmoil within his heart.

"Enough!!"

Finally unable to bear it, the youth's fingernails lengthened into sharp claws. He blurred across the space, appearing before the gossiping shadows and shredding them with a single swipe. The silhouettes dissolved back into black smoke, swirling around the panting youth, before slowly coalescing into a massive, pitch-black snake that coiled around him. It opened its mouth, emitting a sinister, eerie voice.

"Despite everything you've endured, you still chose the so-called 'righteous path' of the world. Heh heh... Abe no Seimei, you truly are interesting... But once darkness is carved into the heart, it does not vanish so easily. Especially when your darkness is so vast..."

The great snake whispered as it drew closer to the dazed youth, its body coiling tighter and tighter around him.

"You've buried this darkness in the deepest depths of your soul. But don't you know? Doing so only makes it ferment... just like this..."

With a final whisper, the black snake unhinged its horrific jaws and lunged at the youth's terrified face.

Night in Heian-kyo. In a courtyard at the end of Tsuchimikado Avenue, slightly removed from the city's bustle, Seimei jolted awake at a stone table. He was dressed in a thin yukata, staring blankly at the crescent moon hanging high in the sky, his hand pressed firmly against his furrowed brow.

"I should have been... asleep inside. How did I end up here? And that dream... Ugh... I can't quite remember it..."

Bracing himself against the stone table, Seimei stood up wearily and walked through the overgrown courtyard. He stopped before a pond and looked down, catching his reflection in the moonlight.

The water reflected a mature man in his mid-twenties. The long white hair and handsome features remained, but the boyishness of his youth had long since faded, replaced by a steady, valiant aura. Under the weight of years, the Seimei of today was no longer the youth of the past.