The sky was gray with smoke as I left the ruins of the city behind me.

  The air was thick with the scent of death, lingering long after Reika had vanished into the distance. I walked alone, the shattered remnants of a civilization at my back, the weight of it pressing on me like a suffocating fog.

  Each step forward felt heavier than the st.

  I had lost track of how long I had been walking. Hours? A full day? Time blurred when everything around me was silent but for the wind whistling through the broken trees and the distant wails of those who had survived the carnage.

  At first, I didn’t see anyone.

  Then—I saw the first wave of refugees.

  The Survivors of Reika’s Lesson

  A small group—men, women, children—moving slowly, like ghosts, their clothes torn, their faces hollow. They were heading in the same direction as me, toward Kagetora’s stronghold, hoping for safety.

  I recognized some of them.

  A merchant I had seen in the city’s market. A young mother clutching her child—her hands raw and bleeding, her eyes empty of anything but exhaustion.

  They saw me too.

  And for a moment—just a moment—one of the men, a wounded samurai, locked eyes with me. His gaze was full of something I couldn’t name.

  Recognition.

  Suspicion.

  Hatred.

  Then, as quickly as it came, he turned away.

  They didn’t stop. They didn’t ask who I was or why I was here.

  They just kept moving forward, step after step, too broken to care.

  I let them pass.

  I didn’t say anything.

  What could I say?

  The Investigators Arrive

  Further along the road, I encountered a different group—a band of samurai and Onmyoji, their armor bearing the sigil of another human faction, one I didn’t recognize.

  They had come to investigate the destruction of the city.

  I ducked into the trees, watching from a distance as they stared at the ruins with horror, their hushed voices carrying in the wind.

  "What… what kind of power could have done this?"

  "A demon lord?"

  "No. Something worse."

  One of the Onmyoji—a woman draped in ceremonial robes, her hands glowing with faint spiritual energy—knelt and touched the charred earth.

  "There was a presence here," she murmured. "Something vast. Divine… and cruel."

  I swallowed hard, turning away before I could hear any more.

  I couldn’t stay here.

  If they found me, I’d have too many questions to answer.

  I needed to keep moving.

  I needed to get back to Kagetora.

  Kagetora’s Gates

  By the time I reached the outskirts of Kagetora’s stronghold, my body was on the verge of colpse.

  I hadn’t eaten. I hadn’t slept.

  I had spent the entire journey trapped in my own thoughts, repying Reika’s words, the way she had lifted me high above the ruins and forced me to see the world from her perspective.

  "Do they still look strong to you?"

  I clenched my fists.

  The fortified walls of Kagetora rose before me, torches flickering, armed guards stationed at every post. Unlike the ruined city I had left behind, this pce still stood strong, untouched by war—

  For now.

  The moment I stepped through the gates, I was met with shock.

  "JIN?!"

  Masanori’s voice was sharp, filled with disbelief.

  I turned just in time to see him storming toward me, his usually calm expression twisted into something almost frantic.

  Rin was just behind him, her golden eyes widening the moment she id eyes on me.

  "You’re alive," she whispered.

  I barely had time to respond before Masanori grabbed my arm, gripping me tightly.

  "Where the hell have you been?!" he demanded. "We thought—"

  He stopped.

  Something in my expression must have given him pause, because his grip loosened slightly, his brow furrowing.

  "What happened?"

  I swallowed hard.

  "The city fell," I said simply.

  Masanori stiffened.

  Rin inhaled sharply, her hands tightening into fists at her sides.

  "What do you mean, ‘fell’?" Masanori asked, his voice lower now.

  I exhaled slowly, my mind spinning with how much I should say.

  "It was destroyed," I said, carefully choosing my words. "Something… unstoppable came for it."

  Rin’s gaze hardened.

  "Reika."

  She wasn’t asking.

  She was stating.

  I felt a cold knot form in my stomach.

  Masanori let out a slow breath, running a hand down his face.

  "Shogun Hoshikawa needs to hear this."

  The Shogun’s Judgment

  I found myself standing in the war chamber, facing Hoshikawa Takahiro—the man who had once pced his faith in me to help his people.

  He sat on his throne, his hands csped in front of him, his eyes dark with contemption.

  The room was silent.

  Then, finally—he spoke.

  "You saw it happen?"

  I nodded.

  "And yet you are here."

  A pause.

  "Expin."

  I inhaled slowly.

  "I got away before it was too te."

  A half-truth.

  Hoshikawa studied me carefully, his sharp eyes narrowing slightly.

  "You weren’t captured? You weren’t pursued?"

  "No."

  Another lie.

  Rin shifted beside me, her gaze drilling into the side of my face. I could feel her suspicion, the unspoken words hanging heavy in the air.

  Hoshikawa leaned forward slightly.

  "Do you know what caused the destruction?"

  I hesitated.

  Then, finally—I shook my head.

  "No."

  A long silence followed.

  Then—Hoshikawa exhaled slowly, rubbing his temple.

  "It doesn’t matter now," he murmured. "The damage is done."

  His voice was calm, but there was a weight behind it—a tension that spoke of impending war.

  "We will need to prepare," he said finally. "If the Demon Realm has begun moving in earnest, we cannot stand alone."

  I felt a chill creep up my spine.

  "What are you saying?" Masanori asked.

  Hoshikawa’s eyes darkened.

  "We need alliances."

  He turned to me.

  "Jin. You’ve seen firsthand the kind of destruction they are capable of."

  "If humanity is to survive, we need every force we can gather."

  He met my gaze.

  "You will be part of this effort."

  I swallowed hard.

  The world was shifting.

  The war was no longer a distant threat.

  It was here now.

  And whether I wanted to or not—I had just been pulled deeper into it.