His ears tinnitus-ridden and bleeding, Kakashi struggled to his feet, disoriented and numb. Three seconds had passed between the explosion and the bang, like thunder rumbling after lightning.

  The extent of the damage before his eyes left him speechless. All along the length of the training ground and into the forest in the distance, the green of the grass had given way to an ashen grey. Everything was burnt, the ground cracked, the nearest trees gone, the forest behind them a gaping wound still glowing red

  Kakashi approached Tsukinoko with a fearful step, and his fear was justified by her charred shoulder, the flesh raw down to her shoulder blades. The protruding white of the bones dazzled his vision. The long, slender fingers that had once tended her wounds were now mere relics dangling in the

  His wounds were not bleeding, as the burns had coagulated the blood. Kakashi raised his eyes to hers, praying to catch a glimpse of light, but Tsukinoko's gaze was as extinguished as the forest before them

  A golden glow suddenly gleams under her skin, before disappearing under her tank top and resuming its place on her belly. The adrenalin left Tsukinoko's body and she collapsed. Kakashi let the seconds tick by helplessly, Tsukinoko's head resting on his lap and held firmly in his trembling hands. His fingertips pressed to the hollow of her neck, he counted the feverish beats of her heart

  In the emergency ward of Hanamaru hospital, Haruo and the Colony General were trying to sum up the situation.

  - A flash of light appeared behind the Monument and dazzled the whole village, followed by an unusual thunderclap," explains the general. But there's not a cloud in the sky. You said she'd been training all day, but with her remaining chakra she couldn't have done that much damage. Are you sure she did this?

  - You can tell, can't you?" mumbles Kakashi with his head down.

  - Good," concludes the Chef. You're dismissed. Kakashi will draw up a report on the incident and you will validate it," he orders the General.

  The latter disappeared and Haruo cogitated in silence outside the operating room doors. Night had fallen and the hospital was finally breathing in the slow night that soothed the caregivers after the day's agitation. Kakashi exclaimed beside him, perplexed.

  - Chief? So what's the problem? Her sabers help her concentrate... If she's only trained with them since the beginning, she's unconsciously got used to using only the right amount of chakra to contain it in her sabers without going any further, isn't that it? It's a technique she's been trying to perfect, and I think she's gotten in over her head.

  - More or less," he says, raising his head.

  - What do you mean by that? Tsukinoko has a lot of chakra, compared to the reserves of an average soldier. Did you... underestimate her reserves?

  The Chief nods negatively, one arm behind his back.

  - Tsukinoko has a gift for perception, and for sensing the energy around her. Unfortunately, she doesn't realize it.

  Just as he was about to resume, a doctor came out of the operating room, with a frazzled stride.

  - Her condition is finally stable," he breathes with relief. She has third-degree burns over more than a third of her body, and it's going to take a long time to heal. As for her arm, we tried stem cell cultures, derived from her DNA. As you asked, the procedure has been classified as confidential, as has this accident. If the results are positive, it could greatly advance our research! The transplant is underway as we speak. We'll keep her asleep while her flesh regenerates, and under observation afterwards.

  The Chief thanked the doctors, then invited Kakashi to leave with him. The hospital corridors were deserted and Kakashi stared at the tiled floor beneath his feet, hands in his pockets.

  - You said all this was the result of a technique she'd just perfected, how can you be so sure? Nothing about this incident seems to have come to fruition, given her condition and objectives.

  - I heard her mutter something just before the explosion. I don't know if it was the name of the technique, or what she felt.

  - And what did she say?

  - Shinigami no Hikari .

  The Chief is astonished, then smiles, approving of this promising start to the technique. As they leave the hospital, he authoritatively addresses his agent, entrusting him with an informal mission.

  - Hanamaru now has the opportunity to develop a powerful military weapon. If the radius of impact is that large, one try should be enough, given the devastation this technique causes. Kakashi, I know you can guess where Tsukinoko's gift comes from. I can't tell you more at the moment. I'm counting on you.

  Tsukinoko's arm had miraculously healed in a few days, thanks to her Guardian, under the astonished eye of the doctors. Kakashi had come to escort her home from hospital, but remained on the terrace as she greeted him.

  - I'm sorry about the last time, but I've made a mess of things," she laughs nervously. That'll teach me to go for it, won't it?" she smiles.

  - No matter. We're leaving tomorrow morning, for the mountains to the north. I'll supervise your training there.

  - Training? For what?" she asks, raising an eyebrow.

  - Shinigami no Hikari.

  - But... Why?" she panics.

  - Chief's orders. He demands that you perfect your technique. Step aside.

  Tsukinoko stared at the ground, deathly afraid of repeating the experience. She gritted her teeth and lifted her head to keep a straight face in front of her boss, but the latter suddenly had a puzzled look on his face after her firm instructions.

  - I'm relieved you're feeling better," he murmurs. We'll meet at dawn at the foot of your tree.

  - Okay!" she exclaims, clenching her bandaged fist with determination.

  The glass door closed and she collapsed, her face in her hands. Terrorized, she held back her sobs in the half-light of her apartment.

  Her memories were hazy, but the intensity of the incident was clear in her mind.

  Her old demons were rising to the surface, and try as she might to drown them, they knew how to swim. Ever since the tragic night, this inexhaustible energy had become stranger and stranger. Ever more oppressive, nestling deep in her bowels, growling like a dragon.

  Arriving in the evening at the end of the remote mountain trails north of the Land of the Sun, Kakashi ordered the camp to be set up on the plateaus between the peaks.

  A doctor was on the trip, which didn't reassure Tsukinoko. In the mountains, the rocks were bare and the vegetation suffered in summer from this arid environment, even if the air was breathable and the temperature mild during the day.

  All three of them bundled up in their sleeping bags, beneath the Milky Way that shone freely over the mountains, Tsukinoko couldn't sleep, anxious. The cold froze her cheeks, and just as she was about to rub them to warm them, she realized that her tears had spilled again. With the back of her hand, she dried her sorrows and extricated herself from her bag to stretch her legs without making a sound.

  Thanks to the absence of the moon, the stars subtly illuminated the surroundings. Installed on a rock above the camp, her feet in the void, meditation was her inner escape

  Shinigami no Hikari, this power was perhaps the source of her strength. If she had such abilities, she might as well put them to good use, to protect the village. Even if her father were to turn over in his grave at her choices, Tsukinoko would not change her mind. Down below, the two were envied, able to sleep without having such a heavy secret to carry.

  But Kakashi wasn't asleep either, and watched her with one eye, arms behind her head.

  The next day, the two agents and the doctor had drawn up the training schedule. Tsukinoko was warming up, fear in her belly. Her chakra emanated around her for a moment, purplish then white once charged with Lightning. Sucked into the palm of her hand, it gradually condensed.

  The ball swelled faster than it could grow, while inexhaustible energy swirled around it, spontaneously drawn back in. From head to toe, she felt like she was burning from the inside out. Her hand was tingling.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  Eyes still closed to concentrate, only Kakashi's voice stopped him after a few seconds. The ball was more imposing than the previous time, but less concentrated, of uncertain shape, and lightning rained down in all directions. Tsukinoko lost her concentration and found herself thrown backwards as the energy exploded again.

  On a smaller scale, the stony plateau wipes away the damage caused by Tsukinoko's failure. The doctor rushes to her aid, spending several hours meticulously treating each of the wounds on her body as soon as they appear.

  The old bandage on her arm had evaporated, leaving it burnt once again. In the afternoon, Tsukinoko finally opened her eyes in the fog.

  Kakashi, sitting next to her, was staring at her, lost in thought. He helped her sit up, but she wrapped her arms around her knees to rest her head on them and hide her failure, clenching her teeth without saying a word.

  - If you're hesitant and scared, you won't make it," he says calmly. I think I understand why you let yourself be overwhelmed. You're the sensory type, aren't you?

  She barely nods, weeping silently in his arms, but he continues. Finally, he ceases his interrogation to call a falcon messenger provided to deliver news, then returns to Tsukinoko and empties the contents of a pouch at her feet.

  The floor is covered with scrolls and books. He consults one for a few minutes, then exclaims again.

  - Do you usually meditate with your aura?

  - Huh?" she wonders. What for?

  - When you've recovered, you'll try. We'll change our approach," he reflects, turning the pages. I hope it'll be less damaging. For your sake.

  - How?

  Restless, he starts reading several books at once. Disturbed by his sudden energy, Tsukinoko lay down to rest on her own. Awakened at dinner by the doctor helping her eat, Kakashi behind her was still immersed in his research.

  With a curious eye, she observes and fiddles with his documents, but the pain in her fingers prevents her from helping him any longer.

  - What are you doing, Boss?" she asks after a moment.

  With a sudden gesture, he raised his head and his wide eyes surprised her. His brain in turmoil, he spoke in a sharper tone than usual.

  - Er... Are you okay?

  - That's not your chakra you feel swirling around you," he cries, holding up an open book to his nose. It's natural energy, which you confuse and concentrate into thinking it's your chakra," he shakes his head, tapping the page with his finger. It's extremely hard to manipulate and I can see why you're able to do it! It's incredible that you can tap into it without realizing it... Take a look!

  He drops the book in the air to look around for something, and she barely catches the book.

  - What's that? Nat-energy

  - What you were handling was different from your chakra, I can't see it!" he exclaimed, unrolling a parchment. At least I think so, but it wasn't your chakra. But if it was, that would explain everything... Here!

  He stuck the parchment in front of her nose but she lowered her hand, grimacing as he looked at her impatiently.

  - What's that?

  - Can't you see what it is?

  - No...? she hesitates, shrugging her shoulder.

  She waited for an explanation, but he took the book from her hand, turned a few pages and then gave it back to her. The chapter was entitled "Arts of the Guardians" and she quickly read the few pages, but then stopped.

  - So? That's not the point. I don't know. Does it? Boss!" she shouts, while he is busy elsewhere.

  - I'm sure it is. There's only one way to find out.

  - How?

  - By meditating, as the of the Guardian Temple do.

  - The what of what?" she grimaces.

  He stares at her ignorance and exclaims in a condescending tone.

  - Didn't you learn anything at the Academy?

  - As if I'd ever been there you idiot!

  He remained silent and she pouted, remembering that they were on a mission and he was her boss. She couldn't tell if he was upset behind his mask that covered half his face, and so sketched a big smile with soft eyes to make up for it, just in case.

  He raises his eyebrows, then plunges back into his book, but she puts her hand on it to get his attention.

  - So, can you explain?

  The chakra is made up of physical energy, produced by the body, and spiritual energy, acquired through experience and training. The principle behind Demonic Guardians is to add natural energy, present everywhere in the environment, to the user's chakra. This new chakra enables human users to enter a second state, when possessed by a Guardian.

  Tsukinoko gradually realized that Kakashi was probably right, but still hesitated, as she had never heard of him or told anyone about his brand.

  In the evening, she fell asleep more easily, relieved. Nothing was wrong with her, even if this technique was rare and complicated, and her boss's enthusiasm for unravelling the situation and his presence reassured her

  The next morning was devoted to meditation in preparation for what was to come. Sitting cross-legged opposite each other, the doctor sheltered behind a rock, Kakashi gave the instructions. Tsukinoko would have to meditate until she felt the natural energy around her.

  - And you're going to stay there?

  - Yes, to force you to stay focused if you don't want us both to end up burnt to a crisp.

  She raises an eyebrow, doubting he'd dare take so many risks, and stealthily throws a pebble at him to check if he's a clone. But he stops the projectile with his book, right in front of her head, and looks at her with big eyes.

  - Oops... she giggles sheepishly.

  She immediately began to meditate to avoid a remark, then emanated her aura once stable. An hour passed and this energy began to communicate peacefully with her. It was everywhere. In the air, in the ground, in the rocks, in the plants, in the sky and beyond. Tsukinoko spent several hours motionless, fascinated, trying to stay focused.

  The coolness of the night swept over her face after a moment and she slowly opened her eyes again. Kakashi had lit torches and was reading quietly in the dark night, still at his post, while the doctor slept in front of the fire. He raised his head and closed his book, looking at her from head to toe. Before she can ask what time it is, he approaches her and pulls her eyebrows up, then fiddles with her skull. She abruptly pushes him away.

  - What's wrong with you, you pervert?" she grimaces.

  - Don't talk. I was just checking on something.

  She stared at him in disgust. Surprised by her discovery, she went off to relax around the fire. Never before had she felt this way, despite all the times she'd meditated.

  But how to explain that this energy was only now manifesting itself, even though it was cursed and controlled by the Guardians. Tsukinoko had probably tapped into the natural energy around her without realizing it beforehand, getting tangled up trying to draw on her strength without concentrating

  As she changed her bandages, one by one she discovered her wounds had healed to the point where no trace of injury was visible. Even some of her old scars had disappeared. She met Kakashi's bewildered gaze at her miraculous recovery and shrugged. After dinner, her supervisor was still in his corner. She took the opportunity to go into his personal space, after more than a year at his side in the secret service

  - Why are you so quiet? Tell me about yourself!

  - What for?

  - Well for... she yawns. Getting to know each other.

  - What do you want to know?

  - I don't know, what did you do before the Colonie? What do you like, what do you do with your free time, all that...

  - I like a lot of things, and I keep busy in my spare time," he shrugs.

  She grimaces at his slimy reply, then yawns again at the crows right in front of him, wrapped up to the neck in her blanket.

  - Eh?

  - What now?" he sighs. Aren't you tired?

  She takes offense at his remark but yawns again before replying, finger in the air.

  - Go to bed," he sighs. You need your rest.

  She grumbled under her breath and couldn't tell if he was really annoyed, as she thought she could make out a grin under his mask thanks to the shadows created by the campfire.

  - Are you smiling now?

  - Why do you ask?

  - You- no nothing," she sighs helplessly as she stands up. Good night, Boss.

  - I've already told you not to call me that," he says, diving back into his book.

  - We're on a mission, aren't we? We're not supposed to say our names.

  - Not really, it's not a mission for the Colony, even if our presence here is a secret.

  - Well then?" she grimaces. It's a mission, because otherwise I've already seen more comfortable vacations

  - Shut up and go to sleep, Tsukinoko.

  She sticks out her tongue at him before snatching a double ration of food before going to sleep

  The next morning, Tsukinoko wakes up first with the light of dawn and heats up some tea. She decides to make the sun salutation in preparation for another day of meditation.

  Without making a sound, she climbed out of the way into the rocks and did several sequences facing the sun, then balanced herself on one foot, in the tree position. Her breathing was slow, and her mind soothed in the silence overlooking the deserted surroundings.

  Her aura emanated slowly, and she let herself be enveloped by the natural energy. Full of calm serenity, she gradually absorbed the energy, taking advantage of this opportunity.

  She blindly followed her instincts, which whispered to her what to do, like a wise old man who lived in her head and guided her. Her energies in harmony, she felt as if she were floating on air. Finally in perfect balance, she gently opened her eyes, maintaining her state, and rediscovered the world through a different set of eyes. The chakras of Kakashi and the doctor, more perceptible than ever, were just below her. A third, even more powerful, accompanied them, and she immediately recognized the Chief. With a light leap, she landed right in front of them, brutally shattering the ground beneath her feet. All four were confused, but she realized that all three men were staring at her.

  - How do you feel?" Haruo finally asks, mouth agape.

  - It's okay... she hesitates. What's the matter, Jījī?

  - You... You're possessed, aren't you? He hesitates.

  The doctor feverishly hands her a mirror. Tsukinoko nearly fell over as she discovered her appearance. Her eyelids were covered with a golden mark right down to her eyebrows, her dark purple eyes with their pupils completely dilated, and finally her skin was scattered with grayish scales all over her body.

  Her shrill cry echoes between the peaks, filled with dread. She throws the mirror in disgust, and it slams into a rock. Overcome by a strength she no longer seemed to control, she stumbled before them.

  - Jījī?!

  - Everything's fine Tsukinoko, it seems to have stabilized at last," he said softly, trying to channel her.

  - At last?

  - You had long, golden eyebrows the first day it exploded, then dragon horns after your first meditation. Black!" shouts an overexcited Kakashi.

  - But...

  Maybe it was just a dream, she must have dozed off while meditating. She pinched her arm, but the pain was still there. A thousand questions raced through her mind, but all she could manage was to stammer out an appalling grimace.

  - It's been a week since you were perched up there," exclaimed Kakashi phlegmatically. We hesitated to come and get you, then I told the Chief after the fifth day, but-

  - Huh?!

  She let herself fall on her ass. Neither hunger, thirst nor fatigue had bothered her in her efforts. Which, by the way, she still didn't feel.

  - But don't I look like a dragon?!

  - A little," smiles Le Chef.

  - What is it then...?

  - I'd have thought it had something to do with Janguru, but it doesn't look like it... It looks more like the two-eyed Guardian, from the look of your scales.

  She sat down again, cogitating at full speed. Increasingly terrified, the sight of her flaking skin makes her even more anxious. She frantically rubs her arms, until they bleed, to remove them before she's unmasked. Suffocating, panic overwhelms her.

  The Chief approaches to reassure her, but no sooner does he place his hand on her arm than she shoves him away. His still untamed strength hurls him against the mountain, like a gnat being swatted away by the back of the hand that shatters against the glass.

  - Jījī... she murmured frightened.

  The possession wears off and Tsukinoko suffers the blow, drained of all her strength, and loses consciousness.

  The Light of the God of Death