**Interlude: The Book of Ash**
*(Recovered fragment — origin unknown)*
> "In the beginning, there was only light.
> But light, growing weary of its own purity, cast a shadow.
> From that shadow came us."
Humans were not born in one world, but two.
The **Human Realm** — the surface we walk upon, where we believe ourselves to be alone.
And the **Ash Realm** — a mirror beneath that surface, shaped by the echoes of human emotion.
When anger festers, when sorrow lingers, when despair refuses to fade… those feelings fall through the cracks and take form.
They become **Ash Spirits** — living reflections of humanity's worst memories.
In the early centuries, the two realms were separate.
Then came the **First Breach** — when the boundary between them was torn open by a weapon made from both life and death.
That weapon was called the **Spirit Edge**.
Those who wielded it could strike both spirit and flesh.
They were known as **Veilbearers** — warriors chosen to defend humanity from its own darkness.
But the blade demanded balance.
Every light that it blessed, it also cursed.
When the first Veilbearer fell, the Spirit Edge wept — and from its tears, the **Ash Gates** were born.
Through them, the dead began to whisper.
Through them, **humans and spirits became one and the same**.
Some were blessed.
Some were devoured.
All were changed.
Now, the world forgets.
The veil grows thin again.
And those who can still see the truth — the **Spirit-Sighted** — stand between the living and the forgotten.
> "When the last gate opens, light will burn through the shadow.
> But whether it saves or destroys depends on who wields the edge."
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💠 **End of Interlude**
*(The writing fades. Aiki's reflection stirs. A faint whisper echoes: "You were never meant to hold the blade alone.")*