Arc Title: "Threads of Vengeance" (Chapters 31 – 40)
The world was quiet.
Rain fell upon the floating cemetery of Eternal Lights, where holographic lanterns drifted gently between the trees, illuminating the mist with hues of blue and silver. Cherry blossoms, preserved even through endless centuries, fell slowly through the air — as if the heavens themselves wept for the dead.
Kyuroto Mitsuyo walked the path of glass and shadow. His coat whispered against the wind, his footsteps echoing softly across the tranquil expanse. Each step was precise, measured — as though he feared to disturb the silence that cradled his parents' memory.
He stopped before two gravestones.
> Mitsuyo Renzou – The Phantom Strategist
Amane Kyoko – The Light Beneath the Shadow
Their names glowed faintly under the rain, etched not in stone, but in pure memory-data — projected from the archives of the Mitsuyo Clan.
For a long time, Kyuroto said nothing.
Only the rain spoke for him.
A soft breath escaped his lips. His hand trembled slightly as he brushed away a blossom that had landed upon his mother's name.
> "Father… Mother…"
His voice was quiet, almost too fragile for the vastness of the floating city around him.
> "Another war has ended. The Triad has fallen. Humanity stands… for now."
He lowered his gaze, the reflection of the holographic lanterns glimmering in his eyes.
> "But I've realized something. Every victory brings me further from you both. Every peace I create… feels emptier than the last."
He knelt upon the wet marble, his long hair darkened by rain. His composure faltered — for the first time in what felt like millennia. The strategist, the whisper of infinity, allowed himself to simply feel.
Tears fell — quietly, without sound — disappearing into the rain before they could reach the earth.
> "I thought if I stayed strong enough… if I became perfect enough… maybe I'd stop feeling pain."
"But that's impossible, isn't it? You raised me to understand that even shadows need light."
The wind stirred, carrying faint echoes of laughter — a memory of days long past. His mother's smile, his father's calm hand on his shoulder before a strategy meeting. The family that existed before destiny devoured them.
He closed his eyes. The world grew still.
Then, with deliberate slowness, he inhaled.
When he exhaled, the trembling stopped. His tears ceased. The calm, the silence — returned.
> "Enough." His tone hardened, disciplined once more. "Grief is not weakness. But I cannot let it control me."
His right hand glowed faintly as energy rippled through the air — subtle waves of outerversal resonance. The rain bent slightly around him, suspended by invisible threads of control.
He stood. Straightened his coat. Raised his head.
> "I will control my emotions," he said softly. "But I will never forgive what was done to you."
The petals danced around him — red and white twisting into a spiral of light.
The rain shimmered, as though time itself bowed to his resolve.
> "To the ones who turned their blades upon my family…" His eyes blazed with cold blue fire.
"I will find you. I will erase your shadows from all realities."
The vow carried weight — not just sound, but command. The cemetery shivered; reality itself acknowledged his promise.
Then, with the calm of a man who had once mastered infinity, Kyuroto turned away.
Each step he took echoed like a quiet thunderclap, marking the beginning of something long suppressed — the awakening of vengeance.
Behind him, the holographic lanterns dimmed, leaving only two untouched cherry blossoms resting side by side — one red, one white.
> For love. For loss. For balance.
The rain continued to fall.
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