( chapter unfolds: 3 " Story ")
"I... there is a matter I must inquire about," Sai asked the man softly.
The Steward, who had been measuring his healing compounds, set them down and turned to face Sai.
"What is it?" he inquired.
Sai hesitated, unsure how to breach the subject, yet he managed to articulate his query: "Who, truly, are the Sapahan? Why does such a division exist beyond the venerable Samurai?"
A faint smile touched the man's countenance upon hearing the doubt in the boy's voice. He placed the bowls aside and came to sit near him.
"It is not merely a title, Sai. It is a curse," the Steward pronounced.
Sai was visibly struck. "A curse?"
"Ah yeh, a curse."
"But did the Master not speak of it as an honor, not a malediction?"
"They speak many things. But the Sapahan is a curse a curse that bears the weight of a great, terrible duty. They were forged to face the darkness that those who fight only in the light can never perceive. That is the truth of the Sapahan." Sai stared back, his eyes wide in astonishment.
"Created to face the darkness… what does that truly signify?" Sai looked on, uncomprehending.
"The Sapahan were forged to confront the peril that lurks in the shadows they are the destroyers of those who feast upon souls from the gloom, hiding themselves in the blackest night."
"Feast upon souls...?"
Sai had only heard such terrible things in the campfire tales of Jinso's grandfather, stories he had dismissed as utter falsehoods. Now, hearing the Steward affirm them, he struggled to contain his belief.
"The devourers of souls...?" Sai repeated, his eyes wide.
"Aye, the devourers of souls, called the Zek."
"Zek?!"
"The name for those who consume the spirit. To sustain themselves, the Zek swallow the souls of common men."
"But why must they act so?"
"The cause lies with a cursed spirit named Shapta. All Zek are but his thralls—lost souls whose spirits were stolen, leaving them to wander, carrying another's spirit in its place."
"Then this Shapta..."
"Hmph. It is much the same. If Shapta is to move forward, he requires a new soul, and the Zek are those who aid him in that endless harvest."
Sai sat stunned, processing the chilling lore
**
"Then who is this Shapta?"
The Steward paused, reflecting for a moment.
Meanwhile, Izuma found himself unable to reveal all he knew to Haru, nor was the time yet granted to them. But here, the Steward chose instead to illustrate the truth with a tale for Sai:
"Long ago, this land faced a great descent into peril. The enemy was so cruel that the Samurai, bound by honor and tradition, could not withstand them. They fought Shapta and his slaves, the Zek. Being only mortal men, the Samurai could not halt them; even their spirits were claimed. When defeat was certain, a few courageous humans emerged. They turned back Shapta; before their blades, Zek and Shapta were repelled and vanished."
"How could they accomplish such a feat?" Sai asked, bewildered.
"That is the... Nobaya!"
Before the Steward could answer, Master Daisho's sharp voice sounded outside the chamber. The Steward, whose name was Nobaya, rose and departed quickly. Moments later, he returned, coming straight to Sai's cot.
"Sai, rest here until your leg heals. I must depart on an urgent matter now."
"But you did not finish the tale," Sai insisted.
"Sai, what good is it to know everything at once? Patience is the first virtue of a Sapahan. Rest now."
He left abruptly. Sai was left to ponder the unsettling mystery: why the Zek and Shapta, who conquered the mighty, battle-hardened Samurai, fell before the Sapahan. He whispered to himself, "What special power resides only in their blades?" ....