Asuka's breathing halted for half a moment.
Ever since he had mastered Total Concentration Breathing, that steady rhythm had never stopped, not even when he was unconscious or gravely wounded.
But when Kagaya spoke those words, he still couldn't suppress the shock rising in his heart.
"Lord Kagaya, I'm not sure I understand what you mean."
In that instant, he detached himself from his identity as a member of the Demon Slayer Corps and began seriously considering how to respond to this man who was already at death's door.
How did he know? How could he possibly know?
Kagaya gasped for air, each word seeming to squeeze out of shattered lungs.
"Before you answer my question, I want to tell you something from the past..."
"A thousand years ago... the nightmare of the Ubuyashiki family, and Muzan's past..."
It turned out that as far back as the distant Heian era, the Ubuyashiki family had already existed as nobles.
Kibutsuji Muzan was the curse born within that family.
Even while still in his mother's womb, his heart had stopped beating several times. When he was born, he had neither breath nor pulse and was once believed to be a stillborn child.
That frail condition followed him throughout his childhood. Illness after illness plagued him without end.
Doctors declared that if things continued like this, the child would never live past twenty.
Though the Ubuyashiki family searched everywhere for physicians and spared no effort, they could not change the tragedy of his slow march toward death.
Until one day, a mysterious doctor appeared.
Even now, the Ubuyashiki family themselves could not clearly explain where that doctor had come from.
But they knew one thing.
That man turned Muzan into a man-eating demon.
Whether it was heaven's abandonment or cruel fate, Muzan left the Ubuyashiki family after becoming a demon, yet he left behind a curse that lasted for a thousand years.
From that moment on, every male child born into the Ubuyashiki family would be plagued by illness and struggle to survive.
In order to preserve their bloodline, the Ubuyashiki family followed the advice of a shrine priest and arranged for the men of the family to marry women from priestly families generation after generation.
Only through this did they barely manage to extend the lifespan of their men into their twenties.
"...It sounds unbelievable, doesn't it? Such a baseless explanation."
Kagaya gave a bitter smile, blood sliding from the corner of his mouth.
Beside him, Amane struggled to restrain her grief as she wiped the blood away.
He continued,
"Our family... has lived generation after generation seeking atonement. Searching for that man and severing his head has become the only meaning of our existence."
"A thousand years... is far too long. Long enough for our souls to nearly dry out..."
His tone shifted as he returned the focus to Asuka.
"So, Asuka, when it comes to things like gods and hell, I truly believe in them... you don't need to be nervous."
"Although when I sense you... I cannot feel the presence of a 'human.'"
Kagaya murmured softly, almost as if speaking to himself.
"But it isn't the savage malice of a demon either."
"It feels more like a vast empty wilderness... something so distant that I cannot see the other shore."
"I've been paying attention to you since your very first battle, Asuka. And I'm not talking about when you killed Beninuma and joined the Demon Slayer Corps."
"Back then, I wondered what kind of child could slay a demon using nothing but an ordinary blade."
"After everything that has happened since, and after speaking with your friend, the Fist Hashira, I've more or less confirmed it."
"Asuka... what I want to ask is this."
"Are you a god?"
With Amane's help, he struggled to sit up slightly.
Those pale gray eyes locked onto Asuka, as if trying to pierce through his flesh and see the presence hidden within him, to see the blade that could sever souls.
The question came so suddenly that even Asuka didn't know how to answer.
Light and shadow flickered inside the room.
Under such direct questioning, a sliver of Asuka's spiritual pressure leaked out with his emotions, making the surrounding air heavy.
For someone like Ubuyashiki Kagaya, whose senses had grown extraordinarily sharp as death approached, that small reaction already answered everything.
He did not feel fear under that pressure.
Instead, relief appeared on his face, as though a mystery that had troubled him for years had finally been solved.
"Now that death is near, my senses have already touched the Sanzu River..."
"I only want to hear you tell me one thing."
"Does the soul truly exist in this world?"
"And after people die... is there truly another world?"
Since things had reached this point, Asuka slowly closed his eyes, thinking about how to answer.
"I am not a god."
After a long moment, he opened his eyes and calmly responded.
"If you insist on a name... you can call me a Shinigami."
"Shinigami..."
"That's right. A Shinigami is not a god. We're more like janitors who harvest souls."
"And I only have the potential to become a Shinigami. I'm not some divine being."
Kagaya froze for a moment, then erupted into violent coughing.
Yet between coughs, he began to laugh.
He laughed so hard that tears streamed down his face, mixing with blood and dripping onto his purplish skin in a strangely desolate scene.
"Good... that's wonderful."
Grabbing Amane's sleeve, his voice trembled with laughter.
"So this world really does have gods after all..."
"But there is no heaven," Asuka said honestly, shattering Kagaya's fantasy.
"After death, people become wandering spirits in another world. If they're lucky, they might live a normal life."
"If they're unlucky, their situation may not be much better than yours now."
"It has nothing to do with whether you were a good person or what status you held in life."
He didn't want to lie and claim that the other world was beautiful.
He himself didn't know whether Kagaya would end up in the Rukongai he knew.
He only wanted to advise him to abandon his illusions and start thinking about how he would live in the next world.
To be honest, if not for the miserable blood at the corner of his mouth, Kagaya's smile would have looked quite bright.
He waved his hand casually.
"Knowing that is enough."
"To be honest, asking my family to sacrifice their lives alongside me... I've wronged them."
"I hope that in the world you spoke of, I will still have the chance to repay them."
With Amane's help, he bowed slightly toward Asuka.
"Thank you, Asuka. Thank you for everything you've done for humanity."
"And please keep today's conversation a secret."
"...No, I should be the one thanking you, Lord Kagaya. If not for the Demon Slayer Corps, I might have died on that snowy night long ago."
"Heh... you're different from what Arasaki said about you."
"You've learned how to say polite words now."
Even from that distance, the Master chuckled softly and made a faint patting motion in the air, as though patting Asuka's shoulder.
"I've heard about your past from Arasaki."
"Asuka, everything you've experienced in this world may become precious memories for you."
"You are no longer alone. You've learned human emotions."
"The conviction to protect others and the passion that burns within your heart will be far more powerful than cold, emotionless battles."
"You have already found your breathing."
"And you have found your path."
"You are no longer the stray dog curled up in a winter night, Asuka."
"You are the dignified Storm Hashira."
Kagaya lay back down again.
Compared to before, his breathing had grown calmer, perhaps because the weight in his chest had finally been lifted.
He closed his eyes with satisfaction.
For the first time in the long years of illness and calculation, a truly peaceful smile appeared on his face.
"Farewell, Asuka..."
"If there is another chance, I hope we can meet again in the next world."
Asuka slid the paper door closed and silently left Kagaya's chamber.
Outside the bedroom, the first winter thunder cracked across the sky.
Winter night had arrived.
And the thousand-year game of cat and mouse was finally about to reach its end.
Stepping into the corridor, Asuka looked at the dark clouds rolling across the night sky and muttered to himself,
"Everyone loves playing the self-sacrifice role..."
He touched his palm.
There was a scar there, already scabbed over, as though a blade had once been driven deeply into it.
With a soft sigh, he glanced back at the lifeless Ubuyashiki estate and tightened his grip on Nugata's hilt.
"If my wish is to make his dream come true..."
"Can you do it?"
No voice answered him.
Only the wind rustling through the courtyard.