Kagumi

When the unnatural snow finally stopped falling, Kagumi thought the stranger sharing their cave would simply leave. In The Underworld, alliances were temporary, born of shared desperation. But they stayed. Kagumi would use their azure visor to predict the shifting skies, and the other would find edible lichen on the searing rocks. One day, during a tremor, Kagumi’s partner slipped. In that moment of lunging to catch them, Kagumi felt a surge of terror so fierce it felt borrowed—an uncontrollable power like the one that legends say burns within Akurai. It was the terrifying realization that their own life was no longer their only priority. These days, they travel together. The bamboo on Kagumi's back is no longer a memento, but a promise of a garden they will plant, somewhere far from the ash.