“I already told you, Yoichi. Ildriss is not a Nekage name,” Ryutaro insisted.

Struck by that statement, linking the gatekeeper’s speech to Enatsu’s story, Yoichi trembled with emotion. Suddenly, he thought back to the feeling of intense burning he felt every time he summoned Kenji.

​​

“What do you mean? I’m… I’m not quite clear on that, supreme Ryutaro…” he stammered, as if he wanted to realize that that conversation was real. The gatekeeper continued to gawp at him.

“What do you feel when you fight alongside Kenji? Do you think your Nekage is the same as the other demons? Didn’t you wonder why, despite its low level, it manages to empower your body that way?” Ryutaro inquired, still standing before the mirror of water.

Everyone always thought Kenji’s powers were above average, come to think of it. I’ve never met any other Nekage, so I’ve never had any other basis for comparison. But what is he implying? What does Gonshiro have to do with Kenji? Nah, I’m sure I’m misinterpreting his speech. Yoichi pondered, paying close attention to the guardian’s words.

“Summon it.”

“What?”

“Summon Kenji. Here, in front of me, ” the gatekeeper repeated.

“Um… I don’t think that’s a good idea, Ryutaro. I still can’t control his summoning phase and I’d risk breaking everything. This room is so tidy and…”

“Yoichi. I just gave you an order. Show some discipline,” Ryutaro commanded, showing his stricter side.

Yoichi nodded and stepped back, moving away from the stone sink. Making sure there were no particularly fragile objects in his immediate vicinity, he clenched his fists and shut his eyes.

“Ildriss!” he yelled, starting the summoning phase: a red air current enveloped him from the bottom to the top, channelling itself first towards his chest, then towards the floor.

The wind released during the process blew forcefully along the walls, extinguishing all three incense matches and shaking the armour, which oscillated over its wooden support. Even the water contained between the smooth stone walls of the sink waved slightly.

Taking shape on the black wooden floor, the red air materialized Kenji, who awoke from its sleep, screaking. Distending its lizard tail and feline limbs, the Nekage stretched out, looking around and focusing its attention on Ryutaro.

As Kenji realized he was in the same room as the Dojo’s guardian, he snapped at it tamer and stood in front of him as if he wanted to protect him. “Screek! Screek!” he growled, showing its teeth to the gatekeeper.

“Umpf… no, Kenji… you can rest easy. The supreme Ryutaro will not hurt us; he is not an enemy,” Yoichi murmured, resting his hands on the ground and standing up. Noticing that the young tamer was clutching his chest in his hands, Ryutaro realized that the evocation of his Oracle caused him pain in that spot.

“Does it hurt?” he asked, not minding the Nekage’s provocations. Kenji’s red eyes were still pointed at him, and its high tail let its aggression against him shine through.

“It depends… sometimes I feel a simple discomfort, other times a real burning. It’s like my body temperature is going up dramatically, but only when I’m summoning Kenji,” Yoichi explained, trying to focus on breathing.

“Everything matches… everything is exactly in its place”, Ryutaro eerily commented. Suddenly, the old gatekeeper turned to the room’s door and lowered himself towards a small wooden shelf.

On a rectangular shelf located a few inches from the floor, near the mat on which he was meditating, there was a stack of dusty books. In a hurry, the gatekeeper grabbed a particularly heavy one.

Holding the thick tome in his hands, Ryutarò approached Yoichi again. The young tamer stood still waiting for the guardian’s words, but he waited a few more seconds than expected. “Kenji is not a Nekage, boy,” he affirmed.

With his long fingers, he grabbed a silk lace that popped up from the pages of the tome, acting as a bookmark. Moving with surgical precision, he used it to reach the desired page, treating that object like an invaluable heirloom.

The cover was made of red leather, and on it, there was no title or inscription.

Before Yoichi could respond to that statement, Ryutaro showed him something. “Behold, here,” he said, opening the book in the direction of his interlocutor.

On the right page, a text written in an ancient and incomprehensible language. On the left, a clear and colorful image portrayed a huge winged beast spitting flames from its mouth.

Eyes red as the hellfire, black wings like the rest of its body. The long black tail was covered with triangular scales that ended in a sword-sharp blade. Under the divine body of that draconic demon, paws similar to those of a panther traced the motions of its flight.

Yoichi, enchanted by that image, focused his attention on the face of the painted dragon. The long white, sharp teeth, small nostrils, black horns and predominant colours looked remarkably familiar.

Ryutaro turned the page of the book, showing Yoichi the previous one. Other hand-painted images in the same style depicted the evolutionary stages of dragons of different colours and sizes: one white dragon with golden wings, another green with a scrunched face, another one wingless, equipped with six long legs.

“Supreme Ryutaro, why are you showing me this? How can Kenji be a…”

“Dragon?” Ryutaro interrupted, closing the book and releasing a cloud of dust. “If I told you I know every answer, I’d be a vile liar. I don’t know how it’s possible, but even though your Oracle looks a lot like a Nekage, its above-average appearance and powers give evidence to its true identity.”

Yoichi was paralyzed, believing that that wise monk was actually just an old charlatan. According to Yoichi, although his behaviour was calm and his words were precise and pungent, Ryutaro was not telling the truth.

“Dragons became extinct thousands of years ago, supreme Ryutaro. It’s true, Kenji is stronger than average, but it’s also true that I’ve never faced another Nekage before. When Enatsu first saw it, he thought it was a beautiful specimen, nothing more. If it was so different, everyone might have noticed that, don’t you think?” Yoichi affirmed with conviction, trying to reason with his interlocutor.