Far from the Kiyotaka estate, the sound of war had already become part of everyday life.
The eastern frontier stretched across thousands of kilometers, separating the territories of the allied races from the Demon Lands beyond.
It wasn’t a simple border.
There were mountains, forests, rivers, ancient ruins, fortified cities, and countless smaller settlements scattered throughout the region.
For generations, these lands had changed hands between different races, kingdoms, clans, and armies.
Humans lived there.
Foxfolk lived there.
Elves, dwarves, beastfolk, dragons, and many other races had settlements throughout the continent.
They didn’t all agree with one another.
Some had old rivalries.
Some competed for territory.
Others had completely different cultures and beliefs.
But when the demons crossed the frontier, those differences became less important.
The war had forced them into an uneasy alliance.
The demons were not simply another kingdom competing for land.
Their forces had been expanding for years.
Nobody knew exactly why.
Some believed the Demon Emperor wanted territory.
Others believed the demons were searching for something buried beneath the eastern lands.
There were even stories claiming that the demons were following the commands of something far older than their current ruler.
Most people dismissed those stories.
The soldiers on the frontier didn’t.
They had seen enough to know that something unusual was happening.
And now, Asano Kiyotaka was one of those soldiers.
A massive fortress stood at the center of the eastern defensive line.
Its walls were covered in defensive formations that glowed faintly with Elyra.
Thousands of soldiers occupied the fortress.
Some were human.
Others belonged to beastfolk clans.
Elven archers stood along the walls.
Dwarven engineers worked beneath the fortress, maintaining weapons and defensive mechanisms.
Foxfolk warriors occupied one of the central barracks.
The sight would have been almost impossible to imagine during peacetime.
Different races that normally kept their distance were now eating in the same halls, guarding the same walls, and fighting the same enemy.
Asano stood near the command chamber, looking over a massive map.
Several generals surrounded him.
“The western defense has stabilized,” one commander reported.
“And the northern route?”
“Still under pressure.”
Another commander placed a marker on the map.
“The demons have increased their activity here.”
Asano frowned.
“How many?”
“At least twenty thousand confirmed.”
The room became quiet.
Twenty thousand.
That was not a raid.
It was an army.
Another commander spoke.
“And that’s only what our scouts have confirmed.”
Asano studied the map.
The demon forces weren’t attacking randomly.
That was the part that bothered him.
Their movements had a pattern.
They were pushing toward specific regions.
Not cities.
Not military bases.
Something else.
“Why are they concentrating here?” Asano asked.
Nobody immediately answered.
An elven commander finally spoke.
“We believe they’re searching for something.”
Asano looked at her.
“What?”
“We don’t know.”
She placed another marker on the map.
“These regions contain ruins dating back thousands of years. Some of them predate the current kingdoms.”
A dwarven commander frowned.
“Most of those ruins are worthless.”
The elf shook her head.
“Some are.”
She pointed toward another location.
“But not all.”
Asano’s expression became serious.
“What do you think they’re looking for?”
The elf looked at the map.
“An artifact.”
“Which one?”
“We don’t know its name.”
A pause followed.
“But ancient records refer to something called the Aether Core.”
Asano’s eyes narrowed.
He had heard that name before.
Not recently.
Not from a military report.
From an old historical record.
The Aether Core was supposedly an ancient source of enormous power.
Some scholars believed it was nothing more than a myth.
Others believed it was a relic capable of manipulating Elyra on a massive scale.
The truth had never been proven.
Asano looked at the map again. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
“If the demons are actually searching for it…”
“They may not stop until they find it,” the elf finished.
Back at the Kiyotaka estate, Nagisa knew almost none of this.
She was sitting in the garden.
Her aunt Seraphine was reading nearby while the five cubs played around her.
Nagisa had become accustomed to her parents being away.
She still missed them.
But she had learned not to spend every waking moment worrying.
Seraphine had done an excellent job keeping the children occupied.
She trained with them.
She helped them study.
She cooked for them.
She even allowed them to accompany her around the estate when she had work to do.
Nagisa liked her aunt.
A lot.
Seraphine was calm in a way that reminded her of her father, but she was far more playful.
Unfortunately, she also possessed one extremely irritating habit.
She knew when Nagisa was hiding something.
“You’re thinking too much again.”
Nagisa looked up from her book.
“I wasn’t.”
Seraphine smiled.
“You were.”
“How do you know?”
“Your ears.”
Nagisa’s ears immediately flattened.
“My ears don’t do anything.”
“They do everything.”
Sato laughed from nearby.
“They move when she’s angry.”
Nagisa turned toward him.
“They do not.”
“They do.”
Hirata joined in.
“They definitely do.”
Ren nodded.
Airi giggled.
Nagisa looked around at her siblings.
“All of you are traitors.”
Seraphine laughed.
The peaceful moment continued until a messenger arrived at the estate.
He carried the insignia of the eastern military.
Seraphine stood immediately.
Nagisa noticed the change in her expression.
“Is something wrong?”
“Maybe.”
The messenger handed her a letter.
Seraphine opened it.
Her eyes moved across the page.
She became silent.
Nagisa stood.
“What happened?”
Seraphine folded the letter.
“Nothing that you need to worry about.”
Nagisa frowned.
She didn’t believe her.
“What did it say?”
“Your father is safe.”
Nagisa relaxed slightly.
“And Mother?”
“Safe as well.”
That was enough for now.
Nagisa sat back down.
But she couldn’t stop thinking about the letter.
The war had been going on for months.
She understood that the demons were dangerous.
She knew her parents were fighting alongside other races.
But she had never really understood why.
She only knew that there was a frontier somewhere far away where soldiers fought.
Now she wanted to know more.
That evening, Seraphine gathered the children around the fireplace.
Nagisa sat beside her siblings.
“Can you tell us about the war?”
Seraphine looked at her.
“Who told you about it?”
“Nobody.”
“You’ve been asking questions.”
“Yes.”
Seraphine smiled.
“All right.”
She leaned back.
“The world is much larger than the territory you’ve seen.”
Nagisa listened carefully.
“There are several major continents, countless islands, and territories that have never been properly explored. Different races developed their own kingdoms and civilizations across them.”
She pointed toward a large map hanging on the wall.
“Humans have some of the largest kingdoms. The elves control vast forest territories. Dwarves built cities beneath the mountains. Beastfolk occupy several regions, and your own fox clans belong to a much larger alliance.”
Nagisa’s eyes widened.
“How many races are there?”
“Nobody knows.”
“There are too many.”
Nagisa smiled.
That answer fascinated her.
Seraphine continued.
“Some races live peacefully with one another. Others don’t. There have been wars between kingdoms for centuries.”
Nagisa looked toward the map.
“And the demons?”
Seraphine’s expression became more serious.
“The demons occupy territories far to the east. Their society is different from ours, and they have their own kingdoms, clans, and powerful bloodlines.”
“Are all demons evil?”
Seraphine paused.
“No.”
Nagisa looked surprised.
“No?”
“Not every demon is a monster.”
“Then why are they fighting us?”
“Because governments and armies aren’t the same thing as individuals.”
Seraphine looked at all five children.
“Never assume that an entire race thinks the same way.”
Nagisa remembered that.
The world wasn’t divided into simple categories of good and evil.
There were people.
Kingdoms.
Clans.
Cultures.
Ambitions.
Fear.
Greed.
Ideals.
And sometimes those things collided.
“The current war began because the demon forces crossed several borders and attacked allied territories.”
“Why?”
“That’s still unclear.”
Nagisa frowned.
“Is that what Father is fighting?”
“Yes.”
“With humans?”
“Humans, elves, dwarves, beastfolk, foxfolk, and several other allied races.”
Nagisa imagined it.
An army made up of countless different peoples standing together against the demons.
The thought was strangely impressive.
Seraphine looked at her.
“Your father isn’t fighting alone.”
Nagisa nodded.
That made her feel slightly better.
Still, she couldn’t stop thinking about him.
She hoped he was safe.
That night, Nagisa stood outside beneath the stars.
She looked toward the eastern horizon.
Somewhere beyond those distant lands, her parents were fighting.
She couldn’t see them.
She couldn’t help them.
Not yet.
Nagisa looked down at her paws.
She was still six.
Her Awakening was three years away.
For now, all she could do was grow.
Learn.
Train.
And wait.
She didn’t know that the war she had just learned about would eventually become connected to events far beyond the eastern frontier.
She didn’t know that the world contained secrets older than its kingdoms.
She didn’t know that the demons were only one piece of a much larger story.
And she certainly didn’t know that someone was watching her.
Far above the mortal world, beyond the limits of ordinary perception, a woman sat comfortably within the Celestial Realm.
Bai Yuexian rested her cheek against one hand.
Before her floated a shimmering image of Nagisa standing beneath the night sky.
The goddess had been watching for some time.
She had seen the reincarnation.
She had watched Nagisa grow.
She had watched her struggle to accept her new identity.
She had watched her laugh with her siblings.
She had watched her make her first friend.
And now she was watching her learn about the world.
Bai Yuexian’s lips curled into a smile.
“So the little fox is finally starting to understand what kind of world she was born into.”
Her eyes shifted toward the distant battlefield.
Then back to Nagisa.
There was amusement in her expression.
But beneath it was something deeper.
Interest.
“Now this is getting interesting.”
The image slowly faded.
Bai Yuexian leaned back in her seat.
She smiled.
“I wonder how long it will take you to notice.”
She didn’t explain what she meant.
And somewhere deep within Nagisa’s soul, something that had been silent since her reincarnation seemed to stir for the briefest moment.
Then it went quiet again.