The Descendant (A Retelling and love story of Demon Slayer)

Prologue

Heavy was the air that hung unmoving high upon the tallest mountain in Japan. Petrified, as if even a single breeze brushing past the leaves on its massive trees would bring about the end of the lives of all those around it. The darkness of the night had begun to give way to the first early morning rays of light, cresting just over the other mountains in the area. Normally, sunlight was seen as a blessing. The warmth from its rays would wash over all who stood beneath it, like an enveloping embrace of a lover, snuffing out all shadows of doubt in an instant. A blessing, however... This time, it was not.

Droplets of crimson red painted the typically well-maintained cobblestone path of a large cliffside estate. Broken stones and impact marks littered what was normally a peaceful garden, shattering that image of peace with one swift glance. All sounds of the normal forest and mountain life that would typically fill the air were gone, replaced with a deafening silence that dared not be broken. The attendants that would typically be doing the busy work of keeping the estate clean were nowhere to be seen. As if begging for death by the offender, that silence was shattered mercilessly. The sound of steel clattering to the rough stone below was almost as deafening as the previous silence. The culprit, an obsidian black katana; once whole, now in pieces scattered along the cliff face.

A pained grunt, overshadowed by heaving breaths so deep one would assume its source would surely pass out. A rough pair of shoes skid across the ground, staggering slightly as their owner collapsed to a knee, only barely saving themself from tumbling over the edge.

Blood dripped to the ground through tightly clamped fingers, holding the wound it came from desperately, as though doing so would staunch the never-ending flow. A growl left the throat of the injured.

"Just who the hell are you, demon!? What did you do with my brother!?" The voice of a young woman, strained with pain through grit teeth. The deep wound that she held together with one hand stretched across her left shoulder and down her back, rendering her left side useless. Her forehead was slick with sweat from both exertion and exhaustion, chestnut brown hair sticking to her skin in strands. Eyes the color of rose quartz fixed forward on the opponent that was exiting the destroyed side of a traditional Japanese house. Laughter, dark and menacing filled the silence, bringing down an ominous feeling of overwhelming dread on the land. It made the young woman's heart clench in a fear she had never once before felt in her life. Cherry red eyes pierced the gaze of the young woman and froze her body in a paralyzed state. She couldn't help but remember their more pinkish hue; much like her own, only a day prior. The light from the rising sun washed over the brown/red hair of a man, only a few years her superior as he slowly sauntered his way out into the open. A large grin was spread on his face as he basked in the sunlight that felt so warm on his skin. A warmth that he had not felt in over a millennium. Ignoring her question, he laughed and sighed heavenly.

"How long has it been... Finally, to be able to walk in the sun again... I am finally perfect!" His laughter was carried on the wind past her and over the cliffside to the raging rapids that flowed below.

"HEY! WHAT DID YOU DO WITH MY BROTHER, ANSWER ME!?" Her desperate shout garnered his attention; demanded it even... So he gave her the answer she begged for.

"I've absorbed him."

The day had started relatively normal enough for Akari. She had woken up that morning exhausted like normal; sleep never seemed to come easy to her. Often she would blame it on her busy lifestyle. She had eaten breakfast in the company of Hanabi-San; the head caretaker of her family's estate. A kind woman that had raised her since her parents passed ten years prior. She had bowed respectfully to her older brother as he passed by while she was leaving for school; glaring at his back as he ignored her presence completely once again. It had been a normal day, just like any other...