Inheritance of Shadows [Hugo Vlad x Fem!OC]

Chapter 12: Sweet misery in disguise

Yukari now knelt in silence, legs tucked beneath her, seated on a cushion in the middle of the room. The air had grown still, almost reverent. In front of her, a small circle of incense burned softly, trails of smoke curling upward like ghostly ribbons. Their scent was grounding—earthy, bittersweet.

Across from her, Izanami stood barefoot upon the mat, sleeves rolled past her forearms, movements graceful yet measured. Her fingers moved in practiced rhythm, drawing symbols into the air with unseen energy, the flick of her wrist guiding the faint shimmer of power that trailed in her wake.

A ritual was underway.

Not one of summoning—but of descent.

Yurina and Kael watched the scene unfold in tense silence. Kael couldn't remember a time when a session had felt this intense. For the first time, he noticed Izanami visibly unsettled. Worried for Yukari.

"You are about to face a mind that is unraveling," Izanami said, voice calm yet firm. "To enter such a place, your soul must be tempered. Anchored. Or else you will lose yourself inside him."

Yukari nodded, not speaking. Her hands rested atop her thighs, clenched just enough to reveal the tension still running through her.

"You will be tested," Izanami continued, her palm hovering over the incense as the smoke coiled around her skin. "This simulation—this dream-state—is no illusion. It draws from real emotion, memory, pain. Do not underestimate it. While it may resemble his, it is shaped from the minds of those who trained before you, my previous servants."

The flame of the incense flickered.

Yukari closed her eyes, heart still heavy from her earlier resolve. But now, it found focus.

She wasn't just doing this for him.

She was going to find him.

And bring him back.

Izanami stepped closer. She knelt behind Yukari, drawing a final sigil into the air—a looping stroke that shimmered faintly before vanishing. Then she circled around her. With both hands, she pressed her fingers gently against Yukari's temples.

The smoke thickened, curling inward like a breath being held.

"Let go," Izanami whispered. "But do not forget who you are."

A sudden pulse of energy rippled through the room.

Yukari's body tensed—then jolted once, her back arching faintly before she collapsed to the side, hitting the hard woodened floor that echoed the chamber.

Then nothing.

She didn't move.

Didn't speak.

Didn't breathe in the way one would expect.

Her soul had crossed.

Yurina's eyes widened. "She's gone under... just like that?"

"No," Izanami said quietly, rising to her feet, "not just like that. She chose to fall."

Kael stepped forward, wary. "How long does she have?"

"As long as her will allows."

The room felt colder now. The incense burned lower. The symbols in the air had vanished—but the weight of them lingered.

Yukari's body remained still, fragile in its silence.

Her spirit... was no longer with them.

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