A second chance

Cruelties blessing: part 1

Heavy panting could be heard as a figure made their way forward, stumbling as they did so through the bloodstained home. Seeing the front door, the unknown person took a shaky step forward crossing the threshold. A pale, bloodstained hand grasping on to the splintered remains of the door frame for support. Blood seeped out from their middle and from various wounds on their body.

The figure revealed themselves to be a pale-skinned man with blood covering the left half of his face from his brow to his jaw. Black hair was now matted with blood and sweat, the tips seemingly drenched in the red liquid.

Gritting his teeth against the pain, the man's remaining dark blue eye was clouded over with shock as he gripped the hilt of his broken katana for dear life.

'How? How did I survive?!' The man thought hysterically, forcing himself to take a few more steps forward towards a figure lying in a pool of crimson-red blood, a stark contrast to the snow around them. 'Even though I arrived half a day early...it wasn't enough! I'm still the only one who survived... I survived an encounter with him!'

He collapsed to his knees beside the motionless figure, revealed to be a woman, her chest and back gushing with a never-ending torrent of blood. Vaguely, the man realized that even in death, the woman clutched onto her infant with lifeless, cold hands.

Bringing a hand to his mouth, he coughed up a hand full of blood. Wiping his bloodstained hand on the snow he examined the infant in the dead woman's arms. His visible dark blue eye widened in shock as his body shook with pain. There staring back at him was a breathing infant, his red eyes filled with life.

'...is this infant the reason I survived?'

He reached out and scooped up the strangely quiet, but still alive human infant swaddled in a bloodstained blanket, dropping the remains of his broken katana onto the snow.

The man then stood and picked up the handle of his katana with his remaining hand. The splintered wood still embedded in his flesh. His remaining vision swam as he stumbled forward a few steps before collapsing onto his left side, gasping for air. His body twitched and thrashed as he held the infant boy close to his chest. Hoping his remaining body heat would allow the child to live a while yet. With his other hand, he clutched his katana hilt, as if it held the remaining shreds of his humanity alongside the infant in his arms.

For the swordsman, it did.

Allowing himself to gaze upwards at the sky one final time, he could just make out a black bird amidst the white snowflakes as they seemingly danced and swirled around the creature. His blood began to pool around his body as he allowed himself one final thought. 'Don't worry, Tanjiro...' He coughed up another mouthful of blood. 'I won't give in to my desires! I'll make sure he pays for everything he's done! Starting by learning the legacy he tried to destroy and protecting you.'  Tanjiro, the infant boy, looked up at him with wide, innocent eyes.

"... I vow it upon my name..." The man rasped before unconsciousness, and the demonic blood flowing through his veins claimed him.

The storm increased its speed as the swordsman held the infant close. A pool of crimson-red blood surrounded the pair as the winter storm continued its onslaught upon the land, uncaring of the lives that remained in the once joyous home.

Half a day earlier

On the outskirts of the village of Shin seikatsu

A figure walked towards the base of a mountain village. The path was well used, meaning a good few travelers came this way. The snow beneath their sandals could be heard through the silence of the path. Currently, no travelers appear to have passed by recently. However, they could not have survived for as long as they did simply by sheer luck.