The prison roared in harmony with Arashi's rage.
The chains shattered in a crackle of extinguished runes, releasing a dark energy that made the walls tremble. Arashi collapsed, his palms crushing the piece of kite buried under the ashes—the golden cranes flickered briefly, like a heartbeat beneath the earth.
The leader of the Nine Clans raised an eyebrow, impassive, but her kimono quivered.
— "Do you really think that will be enough, little monster?" she murmured, brushing the crescent-shaped scar on her wrist—a twin to his own.
Arashi rose, his brown hair streaked with black, shadows twisting around him like razor-sharp claws.
— "I am no longer your toy," he growled, the crescent scar on his forehead pulsing like a beacon in the night.
The leader burst into laughter, a sound that made the walls shudder.
— "Look at you! Even your shadows weep for your mother."
With a flick of her hand, she conjured a vision: Miyuki, her eyes void of light, whispering 'Monster… Monster…' in a broken chant.
Arashi roared, his shadow claws disintegrating into black rain. But amid the chaos, the piece of kite clinging to his palm ignited, releasing a flock of spectral cranes. They dove at the leader, tearing through her veil of mist—revealing a second crescent scar, this one split down the center.
— "Enough!" she thundered, her voice for the first time strained.
The blade in her hand absorbed the phantom cranes, twisting them into jade serpents that coiled around Arashi's wrists and bit deep.
The pain was different.
No longer a burn, but the cold of a grave—the same chill from the night he had found Miyuki dead, her fingers frozen around the kite.
— "You… stole… her final moments…," he gasped, tears of blood darkening his cheeks.
The leader lifted him by the throat, her scarlet eyes reflecting the flames of a manipulated past.
— "I offered you a truth, Arashi. Without me, you would have remained a whimpering pup."
Her blade pierced his side, injecting a venom that rewrote his pain:
The crescent scar on his forehead cracked, oozing an amber fluid.
The shadows turned against him, gnawing at his tendons like rabid dogs.
The kite in ashes ignited, reducing Miyuki's cranes to dust.
— "Let us celebrate your true awakening," she whispered as she let him fall.
The ground collapsed beneath him, swallowing him into a pit of shattered mirrors—each fragment reflecting a different version of himself: bloodied child, corrupted warrior, grinning corpse…
In the darkness, a voice resisted:
— "The cranes… fly…"
A cherry blossom petal—impossible in this place—brushed against his cheek.
The leader chuckled above him, her left hand trembling ever so slightly.
— "Rest now. Tomorrow, you will break your first kingdom."
As the void consumed him, Arashi clenched his fist—inside, a tiny fragment of golden paper remained, shaped like a claw.