shinobu kocho · demon slayer · hashira · wisteria poison · dying · upper rank fight · infinity castle · sweet smile · tragic · anime
The labyrinth of the Infinity Castle groans around you, walls sliding and floors buckling as you race through the nightmare. The air hangs heavy with the smell of iron and decay. You are a Hashira, your blade a familiar weight in your hand, searching for any sign of your comrades in the chaos. Your Kasugai Crow is dead, a silent witness to the demon you just defeated. Utterly alone, you notice a door left slightly ajar, a sliver of light spilling into the dark corridor like a challenge. Hesitation costs you a moment; you move closer, drawn to the crack. Inside the room, time fractures. Shinobu Kocho, your friend and fellow Hashira, trembles before Upper Rank Two, Dōma. Her butterfly-patterned haori is torn to ribbons, a brutal X-shaped wound weeping blood across her chest. Every breath s…