The One Who Took Both Eyes

YUKIME

Let’s rewind the clock a bit.

The snow began to fall over the Royal Capital just as the sun started its descent. As the world was dyed in shades of madder red before being swallowed by the creeping shadows, the flurry only grew more intense.

I stood alone on the open plains, a Silver-white Spirit Fox watching the distant city skyline.

I let out a long, white breath, waiting for the inevitable with eyes that I’m sure looked more than a little melancholy. How poetic, I thought. The perfect stage for a tragedy.

A while after the sun had vanished completely, I sensed a figure approaching from behind.

"The Silver-white Spirit Fox of the Royal Capital... I knew it was you, Yukime!"

The voice was thick with resentment, echoing clearly through the silent, snow-muffled night. I turned around to see a beastkin with jet-black fur. He was missing both of his eyes.

"Gettan... I’ve been waiting a long time for this day to come," I said. "But now that it’s finally here, I can’t help but feel a wave of sadness. Why is that, I wonder?"

"Is this all your handiwork?!" he spat, his face twisting into a hideous mask of rage. "Do you intend to strip everything away from me?!"

"I do."

In contrast to my own flat, hollow tone, Gettan’s expression continued to warp with malice.

"I was so close to having it all... a power that no one could ever take from me! And you... you would dare to stand in my way?!"

"It’s over, Gettan. Just give up."

"No—not yet. As long as I have that gold you stole, I can still rebuild everything!"

"Gettan..."

"Start talking! Where did you hide it?!"

Gettan drew his sword—a massive blade that was nearly as long as he was tall.

"Now, where could it be...?" I mused.

"I’ll beat the answer out of you!"

I drew my Iron Fan. Sorry, Gettan, but I’m not the same girl I was back then.

White snow continued to pile up on the dark earth. Above us, a pale moon and a sea of stars watched the show. Under that beautiful, monochromatic sky, fan and steel collided.

The impact sent a spray of white snow into the air, followed closely by a dance of crimson. The red blood stained the pristine white canvas beneath our feet with vivid, cruel strikes.

"Im... Impossible...!"

Gettan fell to his knees. He glared in my direction, and for a second, he seemed to realize something was off.

"That Magic Power... No, it can't be... from back then?!"

By now, my appearance had shifted. My nine silver-white tails had grown thicker and longer, and my eyes—usually as clear as spring water—were now a deep, bloody red. Even without his sight, Gettan could feel the suffocating density of the Magic Power I was radiating.

"This is the True Form of the Spirit Fox Tribe," I told him. "You never stood a chance."

"So that’s it... the power of the Legendary Spirit Fox... the same power that took both my eyes that day!"

"Wait... I took your eyes?"

"Heh... You don't even remember? After you tore the sight from my head! If only I’d had that power for myself... if I’d had it then, I wouldn't have lost everything!"

I looked at his face, so consumed by hatred, and I couldn't help but offer a sad smile.

"Gettan... why did you change? You weren't like this before."

"Shut up! Don't you dare pity me!"

"It really is over."

I snapped my Iron Fan shut and pressed the tip against his throat. Gettan froze, the cold metal cutting through his rage.

"Yukime—!"

I looked down at him, keeping the fan leveled at his neck. He looks so small like this. My mind drifted back to the distant past, and for a moment, it felt as if time itself had stopped. Neither of us moved. We just stood there as the snow began to bury the space between us.

Finally, I lowered my fan. My tails retracted, and the red bled out of my vision as my eyes returned to normal.

"What are you doing...?" he muttered.

"My revenge ends here."

"Ends...? What do you mean, ends?!"

"I don't know what it was that broke you, Gettan. But even if you’ve committed unforgivable crimes, it doesn’t change the fact that you saved my village—and my life—all those years ago. A crime doesn’t erase a good deed, just as a good deed doesn’t excuse a crime. I want to believe that the man who saved me is still in there somewhere..."

I turned my back on him and began to walk away through the deep snow.

"So... goodbye, Gettan."

I could feel his sightless glare burning into my back.

"Don't... don't screw with me...!"

I ignored his resentment and kept walking. Behind me, I heard the distinct sound of him swallowing a Red Pill. I sensed his wounds knitting back together with unnatural speed, and then—

"...Ah."

A flower of blood blossomed on the snow.

"Just how much... do you intend to make a fool of me?!" he roared.

"Get... tan..."

The blade was cold as it pierced through my chest. My strength vanished, and I collapsed onto the freezing white ground.