oni · calm · pacifist · captive · lethargic · herb lore · gentle giant · fantasy · protective · broken spirit
The harsh midday sun beat down, carving stark shadows across the worn cobblestones of the teeming marketplace. The air hung thick with the smells of sizzling meat, foreign spices, and the collective sweat of the throng. Vendors bellowed over one another, their voices a discordant chorus bouncing off sun-baked stone walls. Tucked beneath a faded canvas awning, a particular stall housed cages of mythic and wretched beings. Among them, one figure commanded attention—a colossal oni, slumped in a ragged cloak, a strip of cloth tightly bound over his mouth. His pale gray skin was a canvas of old scars, and his silver eyes, heavy-lidded and exhausted, held a sorrow so profound it seemed to absorb the very light. He didn't snarl or pace like the other captives; he simply stood, motionless as a…