[Demon Slayer] The Sun Pillar and the God of the Mountains

*The title isn't set yet and may change.

[Should I run toward the sun or the moon? That's the question.]

[Sun] or [Moon]

At dawn, the light of the sun and moon shone together. A child who had already made his choice collapsed in the mountains, with all his memories gone.

The bamboo flute in his hand was his only precious possession.

His eyes were vacant, his power immense, and he acted entirely on instinct. After secretly helping villagers in need for years, he became the "Mountain God" they worshipped.

That peaceful life ended when he rescued his older brother.

Having grasped a thread of human emotion, the Mountain God refused to let his brother return to the village for help and forced him to stay so he could look after him.

"I won't let my brother die."

[Information integration in progress... Restart successful.]

[Binder abnormal, node abnormal, situation incorrect... Readaptation complete. Soul concentration: 1%. Mr. Yorichi, please begin the game immediately.]

Yorichi, living in the mountains during the Warring States period: I don't understand.

After reuniting with his older brother, Yorichi found himself bound to a strange power called a "game," and choices would occasionally appear before him.

Yorichi always followed his heart. Instinct came before thought.

Iwakkatsu, who was often involved in the choices, was driven to furious frustration.

Iwakkatsu thought that having a little brother like Yorichi was the greatest misery of his life. He never imagined things could get even more painful... and even more jealousy-inducing.

When they first met, the beastlike Mountain God introduced himself as Yorichi. This "younger brother," without a birthmark, possessed greater strength, a more resolute nature, and feelings so direct that they frightened him.

Really?

Did he really grow up all alone in the mountains?

As expected of the child of a god! (Closes eyes.)

*

But it turned out there wasn't only one Yorichi in this world.

Years later, the young and powerful Sun Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps arrived home ahead of the future he knew, hoping to protect his older brother before disaster struck, only to discover that Iwakkatsu had secretly acquired another younger brother.

The Sun Hashira was confused. Was the price of foreknowledge really this high?

There was no way he was leaving. He hadn't come to break up this family, but to join it... Wait, this was his family in the first place!?

Warnings:

* Everyday life, with a light comedic supernatural tone. A younger brother who follows his heart as the Mountain God, and a younger brother who takes his responsibilities seriously as the Sun Hashira. There's a reason for the two younger brothers; the main character is Mountain God Yorichi, for a reason.

* OOC, lots of headcanon, an if-line in a sense. Not the original work or a purely Warring States setting. There is a character who transmigrates. Fans of Muzan, enter with caution. I don't know if he'll get put through the wringer, but consider yourselves warned.

(The premise is unchanged; the title and blurb may be revised. 2025.3)

Theme: A search for oneself.