One-Shot: Sisters

Outer Gate Number: 3345, Thousand Eyes Headquarters

The dim afternoon light filtered through the paper panels of the room. A soft jasmine scent floated in the air, mingling with the gentle steam of the tea resting between two figures seated across from one another.

Shiroyasha, clad in her usual white kimono and playful expression, wore a sly smile as she observed the man before her: a yokai with a fearsome reputation, yet now appearing calm, almost mundane.

"As relaxed as ever," she murmured as she sipped her tea. "Why don't you tell me about that eye patch again?"

Sengo—or more accurately, the Demon Lord King Oni—remained silent for a few seconds. The black patch covering his left eye seemed to absorb the surrounding light, as if shielding a secret too dangerous for the world.

"That again?" he scoffed, turning the cup with his right hand. "You already know where it comes from."

"I just want to make sure you're not ignoring the consequences. Especially with her," Shiroyasha said softly, her eyes lowering to the report notebook bearing a single name: "Alicia."

Sengo fell silent, then nodded gravely.

"That eye… it shouldn't exist. It doesn't belong to the natural order of Little Garden. I stole it… from Chronos, the god of time."

Shiroyasha narrowed her eyes, intrigued.

"And yet, your two eldest daughters also have one. Shiro and Kurumi were born with their own."

"Yes… but that's another story," Sengo replied in a subdued voice. "They were created by themselves. On the same day I performed a sacrificial ritual that ended the lives of innocents."

"The ritual that branded you an enemy of the world," whispered Shiroyasha, her tone now devoid of playfulness.

"Exactly. One hundred thousand human lives. All offered in sacrifice… all to alter the laws of life creation. Kurumi was the only one meant to be born with a physical body through that process. But Shiro… Shiro is another story. A separate identity, an incomplete split from Kurumi. Like the moon reflected on a lake."

"So Shiro is like a living shadow?"

"A shadow with a will of her own. Born from the same essence… yet split into two opposing wills."

The silence stretched for several seconds. Then Shiroyasha got to the heart of the matter:

"And Alicia?"

"She… doesn't have a Clock Eye of her own. Because by nature, that Eye cannot be born purely. Not even the gods of time possess it."

"Then why did you say she could manifest it?"

Sengo looked away. For the first time in centuries, he showed doubt.

"Because if she wants it badly enough, if she truly needs it… she can take mine."

Shiroyasha pressed her lips together.

"And what would happen to you if she did?"

"I'd die slowly. The Clock Eye is part of my soul. If she rips it from me and uses it, it'll corrupt my life flow, shatter me from within. But I wouldn't stop her. Her hybrid nature… her cursed bloodline of vampire and oni… would make her compatible."

"An heir without limits…"

"An heir who could kill me," Sengo finished, with a bitter smile.

Shiroyasha remained silent, gazing at the empty cup in her hands.

"Will you tell her the truth?"

"When the time comes. If the world chooses to hunt her like it did me… then she'll have to choose. And when that day comes, I want it to be her decision—not mine."

They sat in silence. Outside, distant bells marked the hour shift at Gate #3345.

═ ═ ═══ • ═══ ═ ═ •

Alicia dangled her feet while sitting on the cushion, watching her two sisters before her with curiosity. The three of them looked alike: girls no older than ten, with bright eyes and playful expressions… at least on the surface.

Shiro, with white hair tied in two perfectly symmetrical pigtails, sipped from her orange juice. Kurumi, sporting long black twin tails and her usual teasing demeanor, was helping herself to a second bowl of rice, twirling her chopsticks between her fingers.

Both wore a white eye patch covering their left eye—identical in shape and placement—concealing something that evoked fear even among the Gods.

Alicia observed them closely, frowning slightly.

"Can I ask you something?" she said, curious.

Kurumi raised an eyebrow, amused.

"One of those deep questions again?"

"Maybe," Alicia replied with a shy smile. "It's just… I always see you both hiding your Clock Eye. Just like Dad… Why do you hide it?"

Shiro slowly set her cup down. Kurumi placed her chopsticks aside.

"Well," Shiro answered bluntly. "It's better if people don't see them. It brings trouble."

"But… how did you get something like that?" Alicia asked, more intrigued now. "Were you born with it?"

Kurumi stretched lazily.

"Sort of," she replied, playing with her spoon. "We were born from an anomaly. We shouldn't exist the way we do."

Alicia tilted her head.

"Anomaly?"

Shiro explained, her tone calm and direct:

"Dad performed a ritual. A forbidden one. He used thousands of humans as sacrifice to create life unnaturally. But something went wrong… or maybe it went too well. The energy split. Kurumi was born… and so was I. Two souls, one shared essence."

Kurumi smiled wistfully.

"And the eyes… they just appeared. A reflection of that mistake. Of that… sin."

Alicia's eyes widened in surprise.

"So… they weren't a gift?"

"No," Shiro said firmly. "They were the manifestation of a stolen power. An aberration. Beautiful, yes… but cursed."

Kurumi spun her cup between her fingers.

"That's why we cover our eyes in peaceful places like this. We don't want to cause a stir. They'd remember vividly the hell we caused."

Alicia looked down, fidgeting with the hem of her kimono.

"So… if I ever get one too… would that mean…?"

"No, little one," Kurumi interrupted with a soft, protective smile. "You're different. You were born of love, not sacrifice. Your eye doesn't exist… because it shouldn't. But if you ever take one, it'll be by choice. A choice only you can make."

Shiro nodded, more serious than usual.

"And that choice would carry a price. A very high one."

Silence fell for a moment. The breeze gently stirred the window curtains, and the sunlight seemed to dance across the table.

Alicia looked up, smiling slightly.

"Then… I don't want it yet. I like being like this. With you two."

Kurumi laughed sweetly.

"There'll be time enough to become a global threat. But not today, little sis."

Shiro simply sighed.

"Dad would faint if he saw how calm you're being."

And the three of them let out a soft laugh, sharing that rare moment of peace… like simple sisters, without titles, powers, or burdens.

Just girls. At least, for now.

Extra: Return Point

[Future]

Flames.

Ruins consumed by fire.

The sky dyed in blood-red as thunder roared like heavenly beasts.

And amidst the chaos…

A white-haired girl with crimson eyes, covered in minor wounds and ash, trembled.

Her arms desperately cradled the still body of a woman with curly golden hair, still warm… still recent…

Leticia Draculea. Her mother.

"No…" Alicia whispered. "Mom… you can't leave me… please…"

The air reeked of smoke, blood… and shattered magic.

The Demon Lord of Death and Destruction—the entity her mother had faced to protect others—still floated in the distance. It hadn't vanished. Leticia's victory wasn't complete. It had merely been… a sacrifice.

"It can't end like this!" Alicia shouted through clenched teeth. "I won't accept it!"

Her body began to glow.

Her left eye, hidden beneath her white hair, lifted with a gust of wind.

A silver Clock Eye burst forth violently.

It wasn't hers. She had taken it.

The hands spun out of control, warping space around her.

"I'll bring you back…"

"I'll save you, Mom."

With a broken heart, Alicia activated the power of stolen time…

...and the world tore apart.

[Return to the Past – Minutes before the tragedy]

Leticia was preparing to leave. Her serene expression masked the resolve of someone who had saved countless lives.

A golden and elegant figure walking with determination toward her death.

But she never took that final step.

"Mom!" a voice cried out, trembling.

Leticia turned just in time to see Alicia running, desperate.

She hugged her tightly, clinging as if her existence depended on that moment.

"Alicia… what's wrong?"

"Don't go… please don't go!" she begged. "There's another way. You don't have to face it alone!"

Leticia closed her eyes for a moment, sorrowful.

"My daughter… if I don't, others will die."

"Then let's find another way! Something… anything that doesn't end with you dead!"

A new presence appeared.

A man with a calm face, white hair, black and red horns, one red eye, the other hidden behind a black patch. He wore a dark blue kimono, sober and elegant, topped with an oversized black haori worn like a cape, adorned on the back with a single white-stitched kanji: 悪, meaning "Evil."

Sengo. The Demon Lord King Oni.

"Leticia…"

She looked at him silently. She nodded, as if knowing he needed space.

Sengo knelt before Alicia, observing her with calm eyes. His gaze dropped to her left eye…

...now glowing with a faint silver light.

"You used my power."

Alicia couldn't hold back the tears.

"It was all I had! A power that could change everything! I didn't want… I didn't want to live in a world without Mom!"

Sengo bowed his head. A heavy silence fell between them.

"I understand," he whispered at last. "The desire to save someone can break any law."

"Then… will you let me stop her?"

"No," he said softly. "It's not your duty to stop her… it's mine."

Alicia looked at him, confused.

"But… you said I shouldn't change the natural flow…"

"And I still believe that. But even a Demon Lord has things he cannot ignore."

Sengo stood, looking at Leticia in the distance. Then he turned back to his daughter.

"Listen well, Alicia. You are my daughter. You carry the blood of an Oni and a Pureblood Vampire. Your existence is already an anomaly… so your will is stronger than fate."

He gently stroked her head.

"This time… fate will be what you choose to protect."

Alicia was left speechless.

Leticia approached. Her confused gaze and intuition told her something strange had happened.

Sengo looked at her, and for the first time in a thousand years, smiled sincerely.

"Leave it to me, Leticia."

She hesitated. Not out of weakness, but love.

"Are you sure?"

"I won't let you die this time."

And so, fate's flow was broken.

Not out of evil or ambition—but for the love of a daughter… and the decision of a man condemned to bear an eternal curse.