Two days later, Minami Kyoto woke beneath a clear autumn sky.
The city was still wounded.
The western gate remained broken, surrounded by workers, soldiers, and piles of shattered stone. Homes near the outer district had been damaged during the battle, and several streets were still marked by blackened walls, frozen earth, and bloodstains beneath the snow.
But Minami Kyoto was alive.
Carpenters repaired roofs. Masons rebuilt walls. Soldiers cleared the roads while civilians carried food and water through the recovering districts. Temple halls remained filled with wounded men, grieving families, and people who had lost everything during Urakami's invasion.
The city mourned.
But it also prepared.
That day, Princess Kaguya was arriving.
Her presence carried immense importance.
