The summons came not as a request, but as a command. Two stone-faced enforcers of the Plum Blossom clan appeared at Rael's chamber door. He was to present himself at the main training ground immediately.
Rael—the consciousness of Saturu—felt the familiar cold knot of anticipation in his gut. This was not a summons to a family meal. The training ground was a place of judgment. He strapped the Blossom Sword, the standard-issue blade of his clan, to his hip. Its familiar weight felt inadequate against the storm he knew was coming.
When he arrived, the entire clan was gathered. Lord Kaito stood on the raised viewing platform, his children Kaon and Kaya flanking him. In the center stood five figures in grey armor - the Northblades. Their leader, Nozashi, stood with an aura that made the very air feel heavy.
"Rael," Lord Kaito's voice boomed with false solemnity. "These warriors are the Northblades. They sense a corruption within these walls. All evidence points to you."
Nozashi's flint-like eyes assessed Rael. "The energy you carry is a blight. You will submit to our judgment."
Rael's hand rested on the Blossom Sword's hilt. "The only blight here stands on that platform. You hunt a shadow while ignoring the rotting tree."
"Then you confirm your guilt."
Nozashi drew his sword - a massive slab of dark iron that seemed to suck the light from the air. Rael drew the Blossom Sword, its polished steel a symbol of the clan that now betrayed him. The battle began with terrible, mounting pressure.
Nozashi advanced like a landslide. Each swing carried earth-shattering force. Rael flowed around the powerful strikes, the Blossom Sword moving with the graceful, defensive forms of the Plum Blossom style. But every parry sent jarring shocks up his arms, the clan's elegant sword straining against overwhelming power. He was fighting a mountain with a blossom.
Just as the pressure was about to crush him, Saturu's instincts took over. He activated a technique from a forgotten life: Iron Strikes, evading a devastating blow to counter with his Heavenly Authority: Clear Wing Master Strike. The brilliant lance of energy sent Nozashi flying backward.
Seeing his plan unravel, Lord Kaito acted. He secretly crushed a cursed doll. On the field, Nozashi's eyes glazed over as corrupted power erupted from him, healing his wounds and amplifying his strength. He stood, now surrounded by a poisonous gas that severed all five senses.
Trapped in the sensory void, Rael was completely disoriented. The chapter ends with Rael blind, deaf, and isolated, the Blossom Sword feeling fragile in his hand, facing an empowered Nozashi he can neither see nor hear.
Trapped in the sensory-depriving gas, Rael fought blind. He could feel the vibrations in the ground as Nozashi advanced, each step making the earth tremble. Using centuries of battle instinct, he dodged by sensing air pressure changes, but it wasn't enough. A glancing blow from the massive sword sent him stumbling, the Blossom Sword chipping from the impact.
He knew he couldn't win like this. Gathering his will, he leaped back from the invisible threat and raised his free hand to the sky.
"Heavenly Authority: Rain of Spears!"
The air tore open above the training ground. Dozens of lances of solidified blue light formed, aimed at Nozashi.
Nozashi looked up, unmoved. "Divine Authority: Mountain's Weight."
An invisible, crushing force flattened the space around him. The Rain of Spears shattered into harmless dust. The backlash was a physical blow to Rael. His control, already strained from fighting blind, shattered completely.
And then, the Blossom Sword shattered with it.
The clan's signature blade, unable to withstand the chaotic surge of his runaway power, exploded in his hand. The shock of it—the sound, the feel of his last tangible connection to the clan breaking—was the final trigger.
Uncontrolled power erupted from him in a wild, expanding dome of blue chaos. It wasn't a technique; it was a seizure of energy, vaporizing the sand around him and cracking the stone foundations. The clan members screamed and fled.
Nozashi's eyes narrowed. He planted his feet, his own authority flaring brighter. The Mountain's Weight pressed down, not to attack Rael, but to contain the explosion, to crush the maelstrom back into the boy.
For a moment, the two forces warred—a wild star against an unbreakable prison. Rael screamed, the agony of the internal conflict tearing through him. The blue light around him flickered violently and then imploded.
In the deafening silence, Nozashi moved. His sword, carrying the weight of a peak, swung in a brutal, flat arc.
It connected with Rael's chest.
The sound was sickening. Rael was launched backward, crashing into the far wall and slumping to the ground, utterly still.
Nozashi stood over him. "The corruption has been purged." He sheathed his sword and marched away.
As the clan looked on, Lord Kaito allowed a cold smile. His servants gathered Rael's broken form and carried him away. The Blossom Sword lay in pieces on the scarred earth, a fitting symbol of the bond it once represented, now utterly destroyed.