Bitter wind and snow howled across the roof of the speeding train.
The roar of steel mingled with the fury of the wind, forming a frenzied symphony.
On this swaying stage, Uesugi Sasuke and Lower Rank One, Enmu, stood facing each other.
"I never imagined anyone could break free of my dream through sheer will."
Enmu's voice held a sickly elegance. He extended his tongue and licked his pale lips.
"And by hurting yourself, no less. What an interesting human."
He seemed fascinated by Sasuke, like an artist admiring a masterpiece he was about to finish.
"Could you tell me your name? I want to remember you, to remember that despairing yet blissful expression when you fall into an eternal dream."
Sasuke did not answer.
He simply watched the demon before him in silence, his gaze like someone looking at a dead thing.
"Not talking? That's all right."
A twisted smile appeared on Enmu's face.
"In a moment, you'll tell me everything in your dreams."
As soon as he finished speaking, he slowly raised his left hand.
On the back of his hand, a tightly closed mouth suddenly opened, issuing an eerie whisper.
"Whisper, sleep..."
At the same time, a bloodshot eye opened on the back of Enmu's hand.
The eye had no pupil, only rings of swirling patterns that radiated a dizzying hypnotic power.
Blood Demon Art: Forced Sleep!
This was the ability Enmu took the greatest pride in.
No matter how powerful an enemy was, the instant they met its gaze, they would be dragged into a beautiful dream from which they could not wake.
He watched Sasuke with absolute confidence, waiting for the moment he fell.
Yet Sasuke remained where he stood, utterly motionless.
Even his gaze had not changed in the slightest. He was still just