The night did not scream when it arrived.

  It crept in quietly, carried on cold wind and the scent of iron, slipping through the trees like a living thing that already knew where to strike.

  The Kocho household slept.

  Three sisters lay beneath one roof — fragile peace wrapped in thin walls — unaware that the world beyond had already chosen them.

  Kanae woke first.

  Not to sound, but to absence.

  The insects outside had gone silent.

  Her hand reached instinctively for the small blade beneath her futon, heart tightening as she sat up. Years later, she would remember that moment clearly — how the air felt heavier, how even breathing seemed to hesitate.

  “Kanae…?” a small voice murmured beside her.

  The youngest stirred.

  Kanae turned, offering a soft smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Go back to sleep,” she whispered. “It’s nothing.”

  It was everything.

  The door exploded inward.

  Wood shattered. Blood sprayed the walls before Kanae could even stand.

  The demon moved too fast — a blur of claws and hunger — laughter dripping from its mouth as it tore through the room. Kanae shoved the youngest sister back with all her strength, turning just in time to block the strike meant to kill her.

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  Pain burned across her arm.

  Shinobu screamed.

  The house descended into chaos — splintering wood, overturned furniture, the sound of tearing flesh and frantic footsteps. Kanae fought with desperation, not skill, shielding her sisters with her body while dragging them toward the back of the house.

  “Run!” she shouted. “Shinobu, take her and run!”

  Shinobu’s hands shook as she grabbed the youngest, her vision blurred with tears. “But—!”

  “NOW!”

  They ran.

  Moonlight cut through the forest in broken shards as branches whipped against their skin. Behind them, the demon laughed again — closer now — its footsteps pounding like thunder.

  The youngest sister tripped.

  Shinobu spun back instinctively, grip loosening for just a heartbeat—

  And the world broke.

  The demon crashed between them, the ground splitting as its claws slammed down. Shinobu was thrown aside, pain tearing through her ribs as she hit a tree. Kanae screamed her name—

  And then came silence.

  Not death.

  Not peace.

  Just… absence.

  The forest burned with moonlight and blood. Shinobu struggled upright, sobbing, eyes searching desperately.

  “Kanae…? Where— where is she?!”

  Kanae staggered toward them, face pale, eyes wide with horror. The youngest sister was gone.

  No body.

  No blood.

  No sound.

  Only crushed earth and shattered leaves where she had stood moments before.

  They searched until dawn.

  They screamed her name until their voices broke.

  They found nothing.

  When the sun finally rose, it revealed only devastation — and two sisters clinging to each other, shattered by a loss they could not understand.

  Kanae knelt in the dirt, hands trembling.

  “I couldn’t protect her,” she whispered. “I couldn’t—”

  Shinobu buried her face into Kanae’s haori, sobbing so hard she could barely breathe.

  They never saw the shadow watching from afar.

  They never felt the presence that had intervened — not out of mercy, nor malice, but interest.

  Far beyond the battlefield, beyond demons and humans alike, something ancient observed the child it had taken.

  Alive.

  Unbroken.

  Chosen.

  And as the sun rose over the ruined house of butterflies, fate quietly split into two paths —

  One drenched in grief.

  The other in power yet to awaken.