Tanjiro Kamado will never forget the day his life changed forever. It was shortly after an exhausting battle with two Moon demons—a brother and sister whose power nearly killed him. He had only just begun to recover, his body still aching from his wounds, his mind filled with thoughts of Nezuko and his duty to the Demon Slayer Corps. The last day of his rest at the Butterfly Manor was quiet, filled with the scent of herbal decoctions and the warm sun streaming through the windows. Zenitsu and Inosuke were on missions, and Nezuko was peacefully napping in her box. Tanjiro sat on the porch, breathing in the fresh air and trying to organize his thoughts.
It was then that he heard a sound that could not be mistaken for anything else — the light flapping of wings, but with a strange vibration. He looked up and saw a crow, black as coal, with eyes shining with an unnatural blue light. The bird landed on the porch railing, holding a rolled-up sheet of paper tied with a thin blue ribbon in its beak. Tanjiro froze. His keen sense of smell picked up something strange — not the smell of a demon, not human, but something... out of place... something that shouldn't exist.
"Who are you?" Tanjiro asked quietly, his hand instinctively reaching for the hilt of his katana, but the katana was not there, which upset him.
The crow, in turn, tilted its head as if studying him and carefully placed the scroll on the railing. Tanjiro cautiously picked it up. He unrolled the scroll, and his eyes scanned the lines engraved in very beautiful and neat handwriting:
Tanjiro Kamado, Demon Slayer, bearer of the Breath of Water.
Your skills, determination, and ability to maintain a balance between duty and compassion have been recognized by the Council of Balance. Based on an analysis of your actions in local reality, you are invited to become a Level Ω-1 Field Agent.
Your task: neutralize anomalies that threaten the stability of the multiverse. This scroll activates the synchronization contract. The process is irreversible within your reality. By confirming your participation, you agree to operate in worlds where the laws of physics and morality may differ from those you are accustomed to.
A response is required within 1 hour. To activate, touch the Ω symbol. To decline, burn the scroll — this action will result in the recursive deletion of your memory of the offer.
— Council of Equilibrium
"Everything must remain in balance."
Tanjiro reread the text, his eyebrows furrowed. He didn't know what a "multiverse" or "anomalies" were, and the content of the letter itself was strange. He sat on the porch, holding the scroll in his hands, trying to make sense of what he had read. His mind, accustomed to clear tasks—protecting people and fighting demons—was now confronted with concepts he couldn't understand.
Particularly strange was the mention of some "Council of Balance." He had never heard of such an organization and did not understand who they were or how they could be watching his actions. It all felt both intriguing and frightening at the same time.
Tanjiro took a deep breath and squeezed the scroll slightly. His fingers trembled, but his eyes burned with determination: despite the uncertainty, his sense of duty and desire to help prevented him from turning away.
"If this is a chance to help..." he said quietly to himself, "I must accept it."
The crow sitting nearby cawed softly, as if supporting his decision. Tanjiro carefully handed the scroll to the bird, and the crow, holding it in its beak, set fire to the tip of the paper. The sheet burst into a soft blue flame and disappeared, leaving behind a faint glow. Tanjiro involuntarily held his breath as he watched this beautiful sight. And for him, the blue fire was associated with the beginning of his new path.
Two weeks had passed since Tanjiro Kamado became a Field Agent of the Council of Equilibrium. These days were filled with unusual trials that combined theory and practice. He learned to track anomalies, work with new technologies, interact with the Council's systems — all with the help of a crow that became his constant companion and mediator in his training.
As he later discovered, to those around him, this crow looked like a completely ordinary bird. It was as if some invisible veil hid the creature's true nature, masking its unusual abilities and all the strangeness that accompanied Tanjiro. This, Tanjiro admitted to himself, was very convenient: he did not have to come up with explanations for incomprehensible events and amazing manifestations of raven magic. He could calmly focus on his training and his new role without being distracted by unnecessary questions and suspicions. He continued to train in order to recover and spent his days at the Butterfly Manor.
His new role demanded more of him than he could have imagined: observing, analyzing, and making decisions in conditions where the usual laws of physics and logic did not always apply. Each practice, each task opened up new horizons for him and forced him to rethink his usual understanding of reality, forcing him to look at the world differently.
One evening, while Tanjiro was resting on his bed, he read a book of rules and references provided to him by the Council. And, of course, even this seemingly simple book was not without its oddities. The pages seemed to be alive — as soon as he asked a question or requested clarification, the letters began to rearrange themselves, forming new text. It seemed as if the book itself could hear and respond.
And the number of pages, as he soon realized, was endless. No matter how many pages he turned, the book remained the same thickness — thin, almost weightless. Sometimes Tanjiro caught himself thinking that in the context of the Council of Equilibrium, even ordinary things took on a completely insane yet orderly character. It was as if reality itself, connected with the Council, obeyed different laws — ones that combined chaos and structure in perfect balance. Everything here seemed impossible, but at the same time made sense.
Tanjiro wondered more than once: was this book the creation of technology or magic? Or perhaps something in between, something that destroyed the line between science and wonder? In any case, he felt that the Council of Balance was on a level that his world could not even imagine.
He carefully turned another page. The symbols on it flickered, as if wondering whether to reveal the next secret to him. At that moment, the air in the room trembled slightly — a slight movement, barely perceptible, but familiar.
Tanjiro looked up. A raven was already sitting by the window — his companion, its black feathers shimmering with blue reflections of light. In its beak, it held a new letter, tied with silver thread. Tanjiro put the book down and slowly got up. Over the past few weeks, he had grown accustomed to his companion's unexpected visits, but each time he felt a slight excitement — letters from the Council never brought anything random.
The raven cawed softly and handed him the scroll. Tanjiro carefully took the letter, feeling the thin thread wrapped around it tremble slightly, as if reacting to his touch.
He unrolled the scroll, and lines appeared before his eyes — as if someone were writing them right now with an invisible pen made of light:
Tanjiro Kamado, Field Agent Level Ω-1.
The Council hereby notifies you that, based on the results of preliminary adaptation and practical tests, you have been assigned a supervisor for Sector 47-B.
Supervisor's name: Sheldon Cooper.
His analytical mind will guide your actions to increase efficiency.
Your task is to establish initial contact, agree on a method of interaction, and begin joint operations.
The attached data contains information about your supervisor. Please review it. To communicate, use the adapted method of message transmission: write a letter on paper, give it to the adapted communication receiver — the Crow, and it will deliver the message.
Your next practice will begin after you establish contact with your supervisor. There is no time limit, but we recommend establishing contact as soon as possible for greater efficiency.
— Council of Equilibrium.
Tanjiro stared silently at the text for a few seconds. Curator... He had been wondering when he would be assigned a curator. From the references, he learned that curators supervise the agents assigned to them. They guide, coordinate, and in some cases are even responsible for their lives during operations. A curator is the link between an agent and the Council, someone who helps them navigate the endless and sometimes insane laws of other worlds and does many other things that make an agent's life a little easier in impossible circumstances. They supply agents with food, equipment, instructions, and sometimes even technologies that the agents themselves do not fully understand. Curators were also responsible for ensuring that agents did not upset the balance or interfere too much in the course of events, and, if necessary, they could "cover their tracks" — erase the consequences of anomalies that none of the locals should know about.
Now that moment had come.
Tanjiro felt a slight excitement. On the one hand, he felt relief: finally, there would be someone nearby who understood all these complex systems and terms, which he, being a simple guy, did not understand very well. On the other hand, he felt uneasy. After all, he was going to be working under the guidance of a person he knew nothing about, from a world where, in his opinion, people, or perhaps not people at all, had a different way of thinking and different views. He had read about this in a reference book. But he quickly reassured himself, thinking that such an all-powerful organization responsible for the order of many worlds would not allow someone incompetent or difficult to coordinate with to become a curator.
He thoughtfully ran his finger over the lines of the letter.
"Sheldon Cooper..." he repeated quietly, tasting the name.
Then he remembered that the message was accompanied by information about the curator. His gaze fell on the scroll attached to Karasu's leg with a thin silver ribbon bearing the Council's seal — intersecting lines forming a sign of balance. Tanjiro carefully untied the ribbon, feeling it tremble slightly under his fingers, as if it were alive. He unrolled the scroll and began to read the text written in the same elegant, almost supernatural handwriting:
Curator's details: Dr. Sheldon Cooper.
Status: Doctor of Science, Master of Science. Specialist in string theory and quantum mechanics.
Characteristics: Possesses outstanding intelligence, tends to strictly adhere to schedules and protocols. Analytical mind, sarcastic, prefers structured processes. No field operations experience.
Special features: Demands clarity in communication. Convinced of his intellectual superiority. Prefers vanilla ice cream with a precise ratio of syrup to nuts (3:1).
Role: Coordinates agent actions, provides analytical support, develops strategies for neutralizing anomalies.
Recommendations for the agent: Be patient. Maintain clarity in reports. Avoid improvisation without approval.
Tanjiro reread the text, his eyebrows raising slightly. Quantum mechanics and string theory were still a mystery to him, but the mention of ice cream made him smile. He imagined this scientist sitting at a table in his world, nitpicking the proportions of syrup as if it were the most important task in the world. It made Sheldon seem a little more... human. But the phrase "convinced of his intellectual superiority" made Tanjirō think. He was used to working with people who trusted each other, like in the Demon Slayer Corps. Would he be able to find common ground with someone who, judging by the description, thought so highly of himself?
"Well, if he's really that smart," Tanjirō muttered, looking at the crow, "he'll be able to explain everything so that I understand. And I'll do everything I can to be useful."
Tanjiro placed the letter on his lap, staring thoughtfully into space.
"I hope we can get along," he said aloud, more to himself than anyone else.
The crow cawed as if in agreement, and Tanjiro felt a surge of determination. He took out a clean sheet of paper, ink, and a brush. The Council had adapted the communication process to his world—primitive, but very familiar. Focusing, he began to carefully write the characters, trying to make the message clear and respectful:
Dr. Sheldon Cooper,
My name is Tanjiro Kamado. I am a Demon Slayer and your Field Agent. Thank you for being my mentor. I am ready to work with you to protect the balance of the worlds. Please tell me how we will begin and what steps I need to take for our first mission. I will do everything in my power to complete the task.
Sincerely, Tanjiro Kamado
Tanjiro rolled up the sheet of paper and handed it to the bird. The raven took the letter in its beak, its blue eyes flashing brighter, as if activating an invisible mechanism. Then the letter clamped in its beak burst into blue flames. The ashes did not fall to the ground—they dissolved into the air, carrying the message to another world. Tanjiro watched the spectacle, feeling his heart beat faster. The blue fire reminded him of the day he first accepted the Council's invitation, and now he associated it with a new stage — the beginning of his work with the curator.
Meanwhile, somewhere in another world, Dr. Sheldon Cooper fainted from shock and disbelief before he even had a chance to open the letter.
Tanjiro looked at the stars twinkling above the forest. He was ready for new challenges and to find common ground with this strange scientist who would become his guide in the vast expanses of the multiverse.