As the night deepened over the Kazuichi Stronghold, a blanket of calm settled over the landscape. Faint stars began to prick through the inky sky, their distant glimmers reflected in the torches lining the stronghold's walls. Shadows played across the fortifications, flickering like silent sentries guarding against the unseen threat that lay beyond the horizon. Kazuichi walked along the eastern wall, each step echoing faintly in the silence, his eyes sharp and reflective as they scanned the dark landscape.
The air was cool, the scent of pine and damp earth wafting up from the forest beyond. It was the kind of quiet that seemed almost sacred, broken only by the occasional rustling of leaves in the breeze. But even in the stillness, Kazuichi felt the weight of the night pressing down, as if the very land was bracing itself for what was to come.
