Ascend The Multiverse|多元宇宙を昇る [Kny x Black!Reader x Countryhumans] {ON HIATUS}

ATM's Two Year Anniversary

(I clearly have a problem 💀)

Ladies and gentlemen, non-binary and all, I cannot believe it. It has been officially two years since I began writing this book. For it being my first book, I didn't expect to get this far. Moreover, I've built a strong audience who give me boundless support for my work and ideas, even though I am lacking in some aspects.

Nevertheless, I don't wish to take much of your time with dragged out thank yous which I can't even describe using words anymore. So instead, I'm going to deliver a three-in-one special to celebrate. As requested from my readers in a now deleted birthday chapter, I've chosen to challenge myself and bring their ideas to life in my own authentic way.

Are the specials canon to the main story? One of them is. Though I have peppered some foreshadowing across all of them so keep an eye out.

With all that said, sit back, relax, and enjoy.

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Special #1: Yoriichi's Predicament

(Requested by kitty rose heart. Enjoy!)

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The sun relies on no one.

Without its light, everyone perishes. That much can be said to be true. But what of a person who was destined to harness the power of the sun, blessed by some invisible deities to have abilities that surpassed human comprehension? What of him who, once a beacon of hope, faced rejection for being too bright? Too different? Too...odd?

A lover by will, a warrior by force. A family man in mind trapped in a killer's body. A brother's love, shattered by jealousy and envy for a power he never once wished for. What of the sun's puppet, whose rays unconditionally scorched down everything in his path, including those who were dear to him?

Why was he the one doomed to receive such a gift if he couldn't use it to save everyone? Why couldn't he complete the mission he bestowed upon himself to rid the world of evil? Why did his brother succumb to envy and choose the cruel lord in the name of self-doubt and insecurity? Why, why, and more whys. Yet, no response came forth. Any response would be futile anyway.

Tsugikuni Yoriichi, a wandering man on the lonely earth, was now a lonely ghost heading towards the abundant afterlife.

His death, like the final years of his life, had been miserable. Meeting his corrupted brother for the first time since his betrayal of the Demon Slayer Corps made his heart stutter. The inconsolable, anguished emotion in his chest bubbled up and made the man cry out in pity. For a second, he had hoped to reach into any remaining good left. Perhaps an embrace, even if it would kill him.

But this was Uppermoon One, and his envy and hatred for the sun's blessed were as potent as they had been for over 60 years since they last met.

The hollow sound of a katana unsheathing, the unaffiliated demon slayer made the first move. Brother or not, he had to get the job done and spare the world from a terrible evil. A blow to the demon's neck would be his first and, ultimately, final attack.

Yoriichi had never known the feeling of danger; his unique abilities made him immune to that fear of death, but he knew instantly his body was about to die. Old age, the one death that was envied among warriors who rarely got old in their profession. Now, he was about to experience that so-called peaceful death. In the presence of a brother who despised him.