Amare Flos (Demon Slayer)

Chapter 2: A Wooden Sword

Final Selection took place on a desolate mountain, Mount Fujikasane. The mountain was roamed by imprisoned demons that were captured by the Demon Slayer Corps. The demons were unable to leave due to the Wisteria that surrounded the mountain, instead they were forced to stay on the mountain. The examinees were expected to survive 7 whole days on the demon-infested mountain top which was densely populated by tall trees and scattered with shrubbery. Sunlight and moonlight both alike found it difficult to penetrate the thick layer of leaves that wrapped around the mountain.

The dim forest was eerie with silence and anticipation. All the examinees had now been moved from the base of the mountain, where two child instructors had explained the whole process and rules of Final Selection, to the mountain top where the examinees had begun the test. Only a mere hour had passed since the beginning of Final Selection, yet the intense atmosphere had made it feel as if countless hours had gone by. The powerful emotions that a person went through while walking across the dimly lit forest could ruin even the strongest of minds. Anxiety that formed knowing that a demon could leap out any bush and maul you alive. 7 hard nights of this intense mess were enough to ruin people with weak minds. Final Selection was a place where people could be driven to insanity even if they were in no danger at all. Eira slowly yet steadily walked, her palm wrapped around the handle of her sword, a sword that held so many memories, that once rested on her father's waist and now hers. She hadn't encountered any demons but every movement made her heart race. Leaves rustled, the trees sloped in such a way that they seemed to be facing Eira as she walked slowly. Eira had a definite confidence, she was sure it would be a breeze to make it through the 7 days, however she still refused to let her guard down at the slightest. She only worried about one fatal disadvantage she would face, her stamina. Eira's stamina wasn't the best, she'd easily exhaust when she used the enduring ice breathing techniques. In Final Selection rest was something that was extremely dangerous. Eira's plan was to find a good place to rest, safe from demons, as she wasn't good at conserving energy or staying up countless days. Examinees were split into two groups, one that hoped to find a good place to rest, and the other that had no problem with the idea of staying up 7 whole days. The stronger the examinee the more likely they were to neglect sleep to protect themselves.

Eira's strengths excelled in areas of speed, strength and accuracy. Not to mention, a very special ability she had trained, an ability she was familiar with since a young age. Eira had a rare ability to sense danger or generally anything living, she had this strange visualisation of everyone's energy, or as she liked to call it everyone's auras. They came in all colours and sizes, and they were attached to a person like a shadow. Although, the aura was more of a flame around a person than a shadow, the very embodiment of their soul that flared around them. This ability gave many benefits to Eira, she was always able to predict her cousin's jump scares or when someone was trying to sneak up behind her. As she trained it further and further, sometimes she blindfolded herself and relied only on her ability to dodge as her older brother tried to hit her. It had only gotten stronger in the past years, her body would feel chills and send signals to her brain that danger was present, as if it was a radar, she could tell which direction the danger was coming from and how dangerous it was. She had a funny way to describe the feeling. Eira's mind was constantly flooded with people's auras, everyone had a different colour, the colour often informed Eira of what type of person they were, she had already associated multiple types of personalities with different colours. Calmer people were more to the blue -purple range, sweet and kind people were often softer colours like pink, then of course the more spiteful and angry people were on the red range. Eira's older brother was always fascinated with this unique ability she had, often he asked about it in an attempt to understand it.

"It's like I can see sounds... or like see souls or the aura of people? As colours... You're a cool blue because it just fits you I guess? And if it's dangerous I just know. You know?" She always used to tell her brother all the time. He would never understand her, always replying with.