The great hall of the Plum Blossom estate was steeped in a silence so profound it felt like the calm before a storm. Lord Kaito sat upon his dais, his presence a dark sun around which the room's gravity seemed to warp. Kaon stood at his father's side, a scowl carved into his features like stone. The absence of Rael's mother was palpable - she hadn't been seen in the estate since her sudden departure to distant lands months ago, leaving her son to face the wolves alone.
A servant trembled as he announced, "Lord Kaito... you have a visitor."
"Let them in," Kaito commanded, his voice echoing with barely restrained power.
The doors opened to reveal Rael. He did not carry himself like a disgraced son returning in shame, but with the calm, lethal grace of a predator assessing its territory. The air grew heavy around him, charged with an energy that made the hair on arms stand up.
So the rumors are true, Lord Kaito thought, his mind racing behind a mask of cold control. Not only did he survive, but his spiritual energy has multiplied. What has that elven sorcerer wrought?
Kaon's thoughts were less disciplined. His bones were shattered! There's no healing art that can restore a body from the brink of death!
"So," Lord Kaito's voice cut through the tension, "what brings you here?"
Saturu knelt, the gesture one of formality rather than submission. "I have come to bid farewell as I proceed on my own path."
"Is that all?" Kaito's eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. "You are aware there is a penalty for ignoring my summons. And it must be paid."
"If I may speak," Saturu replied, his voice unnervingly even, "how is an injured man, presumed dead by his own clan, expected to answer a summons? The penalty does not apply to the deceased."
A muscle twitched in Kaito's jaw. "You may leave."
Saturu stood. "Farewell." He took three measured steps toward the door, then paused as if recalling a trivial matter. "Oh, I nearly forgot." He reached into his robes and produced the broken pieces of the Blossom Sword, tossing them onto the polished floor with a discordant clatter. "Here. You may have this back."
Kaon took a furious step forward. "How dare you—!" He froze at his father's sharp gesture.
Lord Kaito said nothing, but his knuckles turned white as he gripped the arms of his chair, the ancient wood splintering under his crushing grip, his pupils contracting to pinpricks of pure rage.
Saturu walked away without looking back, a faint, knowing smile gracing his lips as he vanished from the hall in an instant.
---
In a secluded courtyard where plum blossoms drifted on the breeze, a young woman named lin tended to a gnarled old tree with reverent hands.
"He's alive," she whispered to the branches, a genuine smile touching her lips for the first time in months. But the expression quickly faded into guilt. "I wish I could have done something..." she murmured, her grip tightening on a blossom-laden branch. "His mother gone, and now he's alone in this snake pit."
"There was nothing you could have done," a voice said from behind her. "Any attempt would have only worsened your situation."
Rae spun around, heart hammering against her ribs. "But it's still my fault!"
"Still blaming yourself?" Saturu asked, leaning casually against the tree's massive trunk, taking a bite from a gleaming red apple.
Lin stared, utterly shocked. "You! How—?"
"Come to think of it," he continued, ignoring her sputtering, "why do you always commune with this particular tree?"
"Ahhh...!" she cried out, swatting him on the arm in a flustered panic.
"Aww, that's unfortunate," he chuckled, rubbing his arm. "That was the last decent apple in the estate."
"Why are you here?" she asked, her voice small and thick with shame.
"The truth?" He met her gaze squarely. "I came for you."
Tears welled in Lin's eyes, shimmering like morning dew on the petals of the plum blossoms surrounding them. Each drop carried the weight of months of guilt and self-recrimination. "Why?" she whispered, the word cracking with emotion. "I was the one who led you straight into their trap. I gave them your schedule, told them where you'd be alone..." Her voice broke completely now, tears tracing silver paths down her cheeks. "I handed you to them like a lamb to slaughter. After everything, after all your kindness... Why aren't you furious with me? Why don't you hate me?"
Saturu watched her not with judgment, but with the ancient understanding of a warrior who had seen every shade of human weakness and strength. The apple in his hand seemed forgotten as he studied the raw honesty of her pain.
"I know what they did," he said, his voice dropping to something intimate and profound. "I know my brother came to you in the dead of night, showed you the documents that proved your family's debts could be erased with a single signature. I know he promised your younger sister a place in the celestial academy if you simply... shared information."
Lin's breath hitched, her eyes widening in shock. "How could you—"
"I've walked these halls in silence for weeks," Saturu continued gently. "I've heard the whispers, seen the documents, uncovered the web they wove around you. You never led me to slaughter, Lin. You were given crumbs of truth wrapped in lies, never suspecting they meant to end my life. How could you? You believed you were helping your family while gently steering me toward what you thought was minor discipline."
He took a step closer, his presence not threatening but... anchoring. "And the cruelest cut? They never intended to honor their promises. The documents were forged, the academy placement a fantasy. Once you had served your purpose, you were just another loose end to be trimmed."
Lin's legs finally gave way, but Saturu was there, his hand firm on her elbow, supporting her as she sank to the stone bench beneath the plum tree. The full horror of her situation washed over her—not just that she'd been used, but how completely she'd been deceived, how expertly she'd been manipulated into becoming the instrument of her own potential destruction.
"The anger you expect from me," Saturu said, kneeling to meet her downcast eyes, "is misplaced. It belongs to the architects of this deception, not their unwitting tool. You were a star navigator given false charts, blaming yourself when the ship struck rocks placed by others."
He rose, and in that movement, she saw the ghost of the general he had been—not in threat, but in protection. "The question isn't why I don't hate you," he said, his voice gaining strength. "The question is whether you'll help me ensure no one else suffers this manipulation. Whether you'll turn the knowledge they forced upon you into a weapon for truth instead of deception."
Lin looked at him, really looked, and saw beyond the youth to the ancient soul within. The tears still fell, but now they carried a different weight—not just guilt, but the first stirrings of purpose. She took his hand and stood, her own resolve crystallizing. "I will... Master Rael."
"No," he said, a genuine smile finally reaching his eyes. "Call me Saturu from now on. That's what allies do."
"Saturu? Why that name?"
"All in good time," he said. "For now, just hold tight." In one fluid motion, he swept her into his arms and with a powerful leap, they were on the roof, moving with impossible speed.
Shouts erupted from below. "Halt! Apprehend them!" Guards swarmed onto the rooftops, blades gleaming in the twilight.
Saturu didn't break stride. He simply tightened his grip around a wide-eyed lin, and with a shimmer of displaced air, they vanished, leaving behind nothing but bewildered guards and the fading echo of Lin's startled gasp.