## Chapter 15: The War of the Lotus — "The Empire Demands a Devil"
Ten Years Later - 1526
The cat was dead. It had died of old age five years ago, a peaceful passing in a sunbeam. Tsurugi had buried it under the cherry tree where he used to nap. Now, a new cat, a black one with a patch of white over one eye, slept in the same spot, entirely indifferent to the legacy of its predecessor. Some things, Tsurugi noted, were constant.
What was not constant was the view.
The single, large barn that had been Akiko's workshop was now a sprawling stone complex that covered a small valley. Chimneys, tall and thin, belched a constant stream of grey smoke into the sky. The air, once clean and sharp with the scent of pine, now carried the faint, permanent tang of coal and hot metal. This was the heart of the Tsurugi Works, and it beat with a rhythmic, metallic pulse that could be felt for miles.
