"Y-you stay away!"
Jigen's eyes bulged. His heel caught on a raised stone brick, and he lurched backward, nearly landing on his ass.
He clutched the black chakra rod in his hand so tightly that his knuckles turned pale.
Cold sweat poured down his slightly aged face, blurring his vision.
He hastily wiped his face with his sleeve. The cuff was stained with the tea he had spilled earlier, and now, mixed with sweat, its sour smell assaulted his nose.
Yoru stayed where he was.
The blue-glowing scalpel in his hand spun deftly between his fingertips, swishing through the air.
The traces of dark red blood left on its blade stood out sharply under the dim red light.
"What's wrong? Weren't you acting tough when you watched me blow up the moon on your monitors?"
Yoru raised an eyebrow, his tone laced with casual mockery.
"Now that I'm here in person, you're too scared to even stand?"
He slipped the scalpel into his coat's inner pocket with a soft click.
"Ōtsutsuki Isshiki, are you going to keep playing dead inside that shabby shell?"
Jigen's body went rigid.
The black diamond-shaped mark on his chin twitched violently twice, as though it were alive.
But that stirring was quickly forced back down.
Deep inside Jigen's mind.
Ōtsutsuki Isshiki huddled in a corner, his soul trembling like a leaf.
His prized eye, with its eight-spoked pattern, was squeezed shut. He didn't dare open it even a crack.
"Shut up, Jigen! You useless fool, don't make a sound!"
Isshiki roared hysterically within the mental space, yet kept his voice extremely low, terrified that Yoru might hear even the slightest noise outside.
"But... Lord Isshiki... he... he really seems to know you're here..."
Jigen stammered a reply in his mind, his voice clearly on the