Saturu sank to the bottom of the water as darkness consumed him. As consciousness slipped away, a voice echoed inside him ancient, resonant, absolute.
A vow unbroken.
A will unyielding.
The scene shifted.
He found himself lying on a Japanese-style mattress, vision swimming in blurred shapes and muted colors, as if reality itself were still deciding whether to let him return. Voices drifted around him distant, heavy, and worried.
His body is damaged beyond repair.
Another voice followed, younger and feminine, desperate.
There must be a way to save him… right?
The first voice answered with clinical certainty.
His wounds are still fresh. I can heal any damage done to the body… but I can't fix his core.
Brother… just hang on… you can't die. I haven't kept the promise to protect you.
A vow unbroken.
A will unyielding.
The echo hooked into his mind, dragging him upward.
Saturu jolted awake, gasping for air, heart pounding, sweat clinging to his skin. Disoriented, he struggled to separate the dream from the memory. His hands trembled as he held his face, breathing through the piercing headache.
"These memories again… Who was that person?"
Moonlight fell across the room. He stared at it for a long moment.
"I must find out what happened."
The sky transitioned from night to daylight. Saturu pulled on the top of his kimono, glancing at his arm as it trembled. He brushed the feeling aside, stepped out of the sanctuary, and leapt to the roof to scan the area.
Outside, Kayon sat on a huge rock overlooking the distant view of the sanctuary. Cherry blossom trees surrounded the landscape, birds drifting lazily through the air. Kayon opened his packed lunch—ramen vibrant with color.
"I finally get a chance to eat this in peace."
He bowed his head slightly. "I humbly receive."
"That training puts a strain on the body," he muttered to himself.
A flash of memory crossed his thoughts, the face of an old friend overlapping with Saturu's.
"Hmmm… what if—"
"Kayon." Saturu's rough voice cut through the quiet. "How did you find me?"
Saturu added flatly, "Not that hard to miss this spot."
Kayon groaned. "Ohhh… damn. I knew I should've hid somewhere."
"If you think I'm here for your old nutritious lunch? Forget it," Saturu answered.
"I'm not that old…"
"The math doesn't say so."
Kayon sighed. "Anyway, what brings you here?"
"I came to ask you to tell me what happened that day."
Kayon exhaled, realizing it was time. He took a cup, filled it with water, and handed it to Saturu as the sanctuary sky shifted from clear to cloudy.
"It seems some of your memories have resurfaced. I didn't think it would be this soon."
Saturu drank. "It's a bit dull… and sour."
Kayon's expression tightened.
"I expected it to be sooner."
He began.
"It began on the day of the red moon, when those cursed with a direct line to Saturu were branded as cursed children. But that was a term used to hide the truth about the sacrifices to the goddess."
He continued with calm severity.
"You're not the only one who was integrated into the sacrificial rituals. Those blessed with Heavenly Authority share the same fate. Most do not survive. But for you… it is different."
Kayon studied him.
"When I look at you, I see something different. Every living creature contains spiritual energy in colors blue, red, white for newborns. But yours is abnormal and violent. Something has been stripped from you."
He gestured lightly.
"And the hole in your spiritual body explains the failure of your mana expansion. I don't know how this happened. That's for you to discover."
"But the other factor," Kayon said, "is the use of Seraph-blight venom."
Saturu stiffened.
"Impossible. That poison went extinct long ago."
"So you say. Yet I found it in your body."
"What…!? No one has ever seen or touched that venom. The only monster that possessed it is—"
He halted.
"The Grand Oni… but it vanished along with the venom. How did it reach human hands? Unless it was resurrected… but even that doesn't explain how it ended up in my body."
His anger rose sharply, veins tightening across his face as he gritted his teeth until blood touched his lips. His aura spiked violently.
"What are they trying to achieve…? If the Vermillion Clan is proof of those betrayers' manipulation, then they must go along with them."
He remembered Lumina's warning.
I fear something is going to happen, and it will be tied to our failures. If that time comes, Saturu… seek out the truth.
Saturu's expression hardened.
"Kaito didn't just try to kill me. He tried to erase me."
"Judging by your reaction, you don't remember," Kayon said. "Kaito knew he couldn't defeat you directly, so he used Seraph-blight venom to disrupt your mana flow. It killed you. The whereabouts of this venom remain unknown."
Saturu's voice dropped to a growl. "Do you know who was behind it?"
"Unfortunately, no. He assumed their hatred of aberrant power would blind them. He was nearly right."
Saturu clenched his fist until blood dripped. His expression hollowed.
"What are you trying to achieve…?"
His eyes burned red.
"They turned me into a monster. Then a monster I will become."
A voice echoed again
Brother… just hang on…
A girl's voice. His breathing slowed.
"Who was that woman?" Saturu demanded. "The one who was with you."
"Your sister," Kayon replied. "Lysera."
The name struck him. Lysera—laughing eyes, shared secrets, a hand in the dark.
"Man…" Saturu muttered. "This reincarnation stuff is messing with my head."
Kayon paused. "Was it just me… or did you say 'reincarnation'?"
He didn't push it.
"What do you intend to do now?"
"What I have to do. Seek the truth. Restore myself."
Kayon continued bluntly.
"If you push your power further, consequences will follow. Your power cannot be contained. And your vessel your soul is missing a fragment."
The world tilted for Saturu. A soul wasn't supposed to break. Yet he felt the emptiness within him.
"I see…"
"But there is an alternative to balance the authority you're carrying. Normal weapons can't handle it. That's why they keep breaking."
"Are there other Divine Blades?" Saturu asked.
"None easily found. Most are lost. But I can direct you to a place where you can acquire one."
Kayon's tone remained even.
"You must go to Skull Mountain during a waxing crescent moon."
"The Mountain of Fallen Swordmasters," Saturu murmured.
"Correct. A place of judgment. Many seek a Divine Blade. Most die there."
He set his tools aside.
"If you don't make it in time, you'll be trapped. The Vermillion guards will be watching the roads."
"Thank you, Kayon. I don't know how to repay you."
"You don't need to. I'm just doing a favor for an old friend."
Saturu saw a brief memory of his younger self saying the same words.
Kayon walked away.
"By the way, good luck on your journey."
Silence followed.
The path ahead was vast and merciless.
Saturu would walk it alone hunting the missing pieces of his own soul.