The wind whispered through the cliffside, ruffling the folds of Seiya's robes as he sat alone beside the ancient tree. The sun was dipping low, painting the sky in muted gold.
A wooden box rested in his lap old, simple, and slightly weathered. Seirou had handed it to him without a word and now stood a few paces away, his gaze tilted toward the sky, toward the drifting clouds.
Seiya looked at him once no expression, no question then slowly lowered his eyes to the box.
He inhaled deeply and lifted the lid.
Inside were a few carefully wrapped objects: an old silk handkerchief, A folded fan with faded silk patterns. A broken arrow, its shaft splintered but still stained at the tip. A wind-wheeler, it's paper edges frayed, a tiny, dried flower with a crimson thread wrapped around its stem… and there, nestled at the bottom, a delicate swan-shaped hairpin, cast in worn gold. Its wings curled in mid-flight, still catching the light despite the years.
Seiya's breath hitched. His fingers trembled as he reached for it, cradling it like glass. The tears came before he could stop them, blurring the edges of the world.
His voice cracked, soft as a whisper,
"Why didn't you show me this before…?" He turned slightly toward Seirou. "You had these all along?"
For a long moment, Seirou didn't answer. Then he finally stepped forward, his eyes still on the sky until he lowered them to his brother. He sat beside him with a quiet grace.
"You looked happy when you forgot," Seirou said softly. "And I… never saw your eyes fill like this again, not since that night. Not for years."
His hand reached out, hesitating, fingers brushing toward Seiya's cheek as if to wipe the tears away. But Seiya pulled back.
His voice was sharper now, trembling beneath the pain.
"That's not an excuse." His grip tightened on the pin. "She wore this every day. You remember that, right? She loved it. She used to say it made her feel… free." He looked down again. "And you kept it hidden? Like they meant nothing?"
Seirou's expression faltered. His voice came quietly, but without hesitation. "I hid it… because I knew they meant everything."
Seiya let out a shaky breath, his fingers curling tighter around the pin. "Liar..." His voice trembled half anger, half grief. "You never liked sharing things with me. You wanted to keep all of this… these memories for yourself, didn't you?" He looked up, eyes wet. "Tell me the truth.You were planning to keep them hidden forever, weren't you? If I hadn't remembered anything… you wouldn't have said a word."
Seirou met his gaze, silent for a long moment, then sighed softly like he had expected this.
"I thought I was protecting you."
"From what?" Seiya barked. "From knowing we weren't just abandoned? From realizing we were loved?"
His voice cracked again, but this time it held a bitterness he couldn't swallow.
"I don't even remember her face anymore. I try and I can't. Just… light. Screams. The smell of fire." He stared at the pin. "How could I forget her? Forget them?"
Silence pressed between them. Heavy. Guilt-ridden.
Then Seirou's voice came, quiet but laced with something sharp like an old wound reopening.
"Because the day you forgot… was the only day I ever saw you sleep without crying."
Seiya's shoulders shook, whether from fury or sorrow he didn't even know. The swan pin glinted in his hand like a fragment of a life lost to time. His voice cracked when he spoke again.
"Why… why did all of it happen?"
Seirou didn't answer, his gaze flickering toward the horizon.
"He used to say we were everything to him," Seiya whispered, almost like a child recalling a bedtime lie. "You, me, Mother. The clan. He said he'd protect us. That we were sacred. Chosen."
His grip tightened on the pin. "Then why did he do it?" His voice broke. "Why did he slaughter them all?"
The words hung heavy in the air—accusation, disbelief, desperation.
Seiya looked at Seirou, eyes searching, voice shaking. "I remember now… on that day you were tense, on edge. You kept telling him not to go. You knew something. Didn't you?"
Seirou leaned back slowly, resting against the stone behind them. His eyes drifted shut. And for a moment… he looked… Tired. Haunted.
"The sky wasn't supposed to be red that morning," he murmured. "And the crows… they circled too early."
FLASHBACK — YEARS AGO, EDGE OF THE PALE GORGE
Laughter echoed through the wind-carved cliffs as the children raced along the stony ridge. The sun dipped behind the craggy peaks, casting golden streaks over the gorge below.
Seirou ran ahead, a bright red wind-wheeler spinning in his hand as he darted between rocks and tufts of wild grass.
"Try and catch me now!" he shouted.
Suddenly, with a sharp thwip, an arrow sliced through the air and impaled the wind-wheeler mid-spin. The paper blades fluttered, collapsing in an awkward spiral.
Seirou froze. His eyes narrowed. "You little—!"
He spun around, scanning the boulders. "Get out here, Little Snakehead! I'll pin you to the cliff with that same arrow!"
From behind a rock, Seiya popped up, grinning and twirling another arrow between his fingers.
"And you call yourself a prodigy, Owl Prince?" he called back. "How dare you threaten your elder!"
Seirou scoffed and launched the broken shaft back at him. "Elder in your dreams!"
He hurled the broken shaft back at him with all the righteous fury of a wronged prince.
Only for it to spiral awkwardly through the air and land with a dull thud, barely making it halfway.
Seiya raised an eyebrow and clapped slowly. "Truly majestic. I almost felt the breeze from that… legendary throw."
The other kids burst into laughter.
"Ten steps behind and still acting highborn!" one shouted, siding with Seirou.
"Nah, I'm with Seiya—at least he knows how to shoot straight!" another chimed in, crossing their arms with a huff.
A small girl with pigtails waved her hands. "Enough! Obviously, Seirou will be the next clan head. He has the Divine Eye nearly a lakh of them! He can see through everyone!"
One of Seiya's supporters scoffed. "Oh, really, Lanyue? And what's the point of a lakh eyes when he couldn't even see that arrow coming at his wind wheeler?"
More laughter followed.
Seiya smirked and stepped forward. He placed his foot squarely on the wind wheeler the same one that had barely escaped the arrow and struck a pose. "Exactly! If your so-called 'all-seeing prodigy' couldn't dodge a simple shot, maybe it's time he learns a thing or two from me."
He turned to Seirou with mock seriousness. "Don't worry. I offer private lessons. First rule—know where your toy is at all times."
Seirou narrowed his eyes. "It wasn't a toy, it was a tactical instrument."
"Tactical my foot," Seiya grinned. "Lesson two—don't call it tactical if you cry when someone breaks it."
"I didn't cry!"
"Sure," Seiya said, patting his shoulder. "And you'll be clan head right after you beg me to be your master. I'll even accept the offer. I'm very generous."
"Oh please," Seirou scoffed. "You? Master? You trip on flat ground."
Another little boy piped up through his laughter, "At least he doesn't cry when his mama's not around! He's a grown-up now—unlike you, Owl Prince!"
The laughter echoed for a beat until Seiya shot the boy a sharp look.
Instantly, the boy went quiet, shrinking back.
"Seiya will be clan leader," someone insisted, pointing proudly. "He's already better with a bow than most elders!"
"Well, Seirou's got prophecy blood!" the girl snapped. "He's the one who's chosen. Just wait—his eyes will awaken, and then no one will stop him."
"They've already awakened," Seirou muttered, crossing his arms.
"Then maybe one of those million eyes should've seen this insult coming," Seiya teased, lifting the wind wheeler off the ground and tossing it lightly into Seirou's arms.
Seirou caught it, scowling. "I'll remember this."
"And I'll remind you when I'm clan head," Seiya winked.
Their banter was cut short as a sudden gust of wind tore through the cliff's edge. The skies darkened—not with clouds, but with a flurry of black wings.
Crows.
Dozens of them.
Hundreds.
They poured over the gorge like a living shadow, shrieking, spiraling. Hundreds of them swirling in formation like a storm. Their caws rang like warnings.
Seirou stumbled.
His hand flew to his eyes.
Then—
Pain.
His knees buckled as a choked gasp ripped from his throat. The wind wheeler slipped from his fingers, clattering uselessly against the ground.
Seiya blinked, then burst out laughing. "Hah? What happened now—scared just by seeing a few crows?" He crossed his arms smugly. "Weren't you acting all high and mighty a moment ago?"
A few of the other children laughed along, their voices light, careless.
"Seirou…?" Seiya's laughter faltered. "Are you alright?"
The answer never came.
The sky darkened as the crows exploded into frantic motion. Their cries rose into a deafening shriek—then cut off one by one. Some dropped mid-air, striking the ground with sickening thuds. Others landed screaming, blood bubbling from their beaks as they convulsed, wings scraping helplessly against the dirt.
The children froze. Then someone screamed. Panic erupted. The laughter shattered as children stumbled backward, tripping over one another, terror spreading faster than sound. Crying, shouting no one knew where to run.
At the center of it all, Seirou clutched his head as if something inside was tearing him apart, his breathing breaking into jagged gasps. Then he screamed. It was a sound far more horrifying than the cries of dying crows.
"Seirou!" Seiya shouted, rushing toward him as the others recoiled in terror.
Seirou clutched his face, trembling violently, eyes squeezed shut. In his mind, shapes and colors bled together, memories that didn't belong, voices that whispered truths he didn't understand.
Then—
Stillness.
His eyes flew open.
Seirou staggered back, his eyes wide and unblinking.
"Seirou!"
"I'm going home," he whispered then bolted.
"Wha—Hey! Wait!"
Without a word, without a look back, he bolted down the narrow trail from the cliff's edge.
"Wait!" Seiya chased after him, voice cracking. "Was it a trick to fool us?! Are you possessed?! What did you see?! Seirou! Answer me! What's happening here!"
He chased him across the ridge, voice carried by the wind.
"I'm not letting you run off alone! It's dangerous! WHAT DID YOU SEE?!"
But Seirou didn't stop. And for the first time, Seiya felt something ripple in his chest.
A fear that something terrible had just begun.
"I'm going home!" came the distant shout.