The Silver World shimmered in silence, calm but waiting—like the breath before a storm. Michel stood near the library's highest tower, overlooking the place he had built with so much care. The knowledge gathered, the architecture of wisdom crafted, and the scrolls of every art he could collect—all of it, ready.
He exhaled deeply. The moment had come.
In the real world, it's been almost two weeks, much longer in the silver world... a weight almost unbearable for little Hinata to bear, a weight that became hers alone when the bond was broken, and that's why she's unconscious in this place.
A quarter of his soul was already exhausted due to the bond and the events that forced him to use his own soul to transfer stability into little Hinata, now a quarter will be invested in providing that stability to his little granddaughter, sustaining the silver world until she herself can sustain it without his help.
He accepts that he has to sacrifice and does it without hesitation, with a clear plan in mind.
The essence he poured into this act was not brute force, but purpose to forge a sentient shell of himself within her soul. A soul guardian. A mentor eternal. Within it is the core of his soul, including the parasite that now accompanies him forever sealed in a world that is his antithesis, forever asleep.
From the silver mist coalesced a figure of an old man—shrouded in robes woven from threads of silver light, calm-eyed and poised, this is Michel's new form, now over him, half of his soul now rests, condensed in a silver sphere awaiting its carefully planned destiny.
Michel turned to Hinata's resting soul, reaching into her essence gently.
"Wake up," he whispered.
The Silver World pulsed.
Hinata stirred, then opened her eyes.
She looked around—slowly, unsure—until her gaze found him. Her voice cracked with recognition and disbelief.
"Grandfather…?"
Michel smiled, warm and bittersweet.
"Yes, little one."
Hinata ran to him, tears welling, wrapping herself around him with a strength born of memory and spirit.
"You came back," she murmured.
"I never left. But it's time you learned what has happened… and what must now happen."
<<<< o >>>>
They sat beneath a silver-blooming tree as Michel spoke:
"During your duel, when your bloodline awakened, something broke. You broke the curse of Shikashi. And with that, we are no longer bound the way we once were. But… there was a price. The clan seal was triggered. Your chakra system was damaged beyond repair. You live now through your spirit alone."
Hinata looked down at her hands. "I remember… the pain. The fire in my veins."
Michel nodded. "I gave a quarter of my soul to awaken you, to free you from the weight that the Silver World had on you, to give yourself time to grow, the cost is that I will remain permanently tied here. A librarian. A second master of everything in this world. If anything ever threatens you within, I will protect you at all costs, and if you ever are in need of advice or a shoulder to cry on, please remember your old grandfather."
Hinata looked to the shimmering tower behind them. "All of that… is for me?"
Michel placed a hand on her shoulder. "It always was."
She clenched her fists. "But why now? Why are you doing this?"
Michel's voice softened.
"Because I'm running out of time."
Hinata's eyes widened.
Michel continued. "Takama's soul is fractured—half of it lost to the same poison that nearly killed you. If I do nothing, he will die today. And if I do nothing after that, I will follow within weeks. But if I give the half of me that remains… I can heal him."
"You can't!" Hinata burst, standing. "You've always been here! Since I was little… since before I could remember!"
Michel reached up and gently touched her face. "You will not be alone. Takama has offered to protect you. To be the presence I can no longer be. He will be the strength that holds you steady in the real world. And in here I will remain, as I have always done."
Tears rolled down Hinata's cheeks. "But you are my family. Why do you have to sacrifice so much for me?"
He nodded. "And always will be. But you carry half of my soul already. You are my legacy. And now you will have to walk with your own feet in the real word."
She swallowed, trembling.
"Your chakra is sealed. You'll have to learn to use spirit instead. You are now what I would call a grey soul—an awakened one. With training, I believe you can attain what I once had: the Breath of the World. You can become a silver soul… and perhaps one day, surpass even that."
<<<< o >>>>
Michel stood once more, his robes rustling as if caught in a wind only the soul could feel.
He turned toward a door that shimmered into existence.
"Now I must do what remains."
Hinata watched in silence.
Within the heart of the Silver World, Michel stood before the once-again summoned, fractured soul of Takama.
The samurai's presence flickered like a candle nearly spent—faint, unstable, but clinging to something deeper than instinct. A will to protect.
Michel knelt beside him. "Your time is short," he said, softly. "But I would not let your light be extinguished. You offered to take my place… and now, I will honor that."
Takama's fading voice replied, "Are you certain?"
Michel nodded. "This is not simply to save your life. This is to become something more. I took all I could from half of my soul to not overwhelm you, what remains are some of my experiences in this world, they may affect you but they shouldn't change who you are."
A ripple of silver surrounded them both as Michel raised his hand and summoned the remaining half of his soul. It surged forth—not like a fire, but like moonlight drawn from deep within the stillness of a mountain lake.
He pressed it forward.
Takama gasped.
The moment their souls touched, a storm of memory, purpose, pain, and love surged between them. Michel saw Takama's past—his daughter, lost too soon; his duels, his meditations, his loneliness.
Takama saw Michel's teachings, Hinata's silent tears, the threads of sacrifice woven through decades of strength and gentleness.
But neither was erased.
Instead, they wove together.
One spirit, two hearts.
Takama's soul stopped flickering. His form steadied. A silver thread, now embedded into the very core of his being, pulsed like a second heartbeat.
"I will not guide your steps," Michel said. "But I will be here in this silver world… should you ever need me."
Takama opened his eyes.
He stood. Stronger. Taller. The light in his gaze steadier than before—but deeper, as if carrying the weight of another life.
He turned toward the heart of the Silver World, where Hinata's essence pulsed like a soft flame.
She had not seen the fusion, but felt it. A warmth she could not explain.
From her place in the spiritual garden, she looked to the sky and whispered, "Grandfather…?"
No voice replied.
But she smiled. Because something told her she wasn't wrong.
He was still here.
<<<< o >>>>
Back in the physical world, Takama stirred.
He sat upright.
The room, quiet. Kuro raised her head, ears perking.
From beside Hinata's bed, the silver-eyed samurai looked toward her unconscious form.
"She still sleeps," he murmured.
But he could feel it—her soul stronger, clearer, and rising.
And within his chest, Michel's final whisper:
"Protect her well. As I have."
Takama bowed.
"I swear it, by my blade, my honor, and the soul entrusted to me."