The ground still trembled long after the Beast Tide had passed. Akihiro stumbled through the shattered wasteland, Cai Lin clinging weakly to his back. Her breath was shallow, her aura flickering faintly.
At last, he spotted a jagged cleft in the cliffs — a cave, half-hidden behind shards of broken stone. With one final push, he ducked inside, the roar of beasts muffled by the dark.
He set her down gently against the wall. Her skin was pale, her eyes heavy, yet even in weakness her presence filled the space like a storm barely contained.
"You carried me," she whispered, her lips curving faintly. "Even queens need a protector, it seems."
Akihiro said nothing, but his chest tightened at the sight of her fragility. For so long she had seemed untouchable, bending the Mirror World itself with a flick of her hand. Now she looked… human.
Cai Lin sat cross-legged, closing her eyes. Her breathing slowed, steady, her aura glowing faintly violet-gold as she began to circulate energy through her body.
Akihiro watched in silence. The rhythm of her breathing, the way she pulled energy inward, the faint hum of power around her — it drew him in.
Almost unconsciously, he mirrored her posture, his breaths falling into the same rhythm. Slowly, warmth stirred in his chest. The air around him seemed to thrum, faint streams of energy brushing against his skin like invisible currents.
Cai Lin opened her eyes, her smile faint but proud.
"Yes… just by watching. You've taken your first step, Akihiro Tsukihara."
For the first time, Akihiro felt it too — the beginning of something vast, something ancient. His journey had started.
Far away, in radiant halls bathed in starlight.
Sola knelt before the council of the Hoshikawa Clan. Her father, the clan leader, sat at the head, his gaze stern, golden robes flowing like sunlight. Elders lined the chamber, their eyes sharp and knowing.
"Cai Lin lives," Sola said, her voice steady though her hands clenched against her knees. "I saw her with my own eyes. And with her… was a boy. Akihiro Tsukihara."
Whispers spread across the chamber. The name struck like thunder. The Tsukihara Clan — thought long extinct.
Her father's brow furrowed. "If the last Tsukihara has fallen into her grasp, the balance of clans will shatter."
An elder leaned forward, voice low and grim. "The Mirror Queen has already corrupted him."
Sola lowered her head. "He did not look like her prisoner. He stayed close to her… too close."
Her father's voice rumbled like distant thunder. "Then we watch. And we wait. But do not interfere until I command it."
Sola's golden eyes flickered, unease burning in her chest.
Meanwhile, lightning cracked over a vast palace of stone and storm.
The Raiden Clan's stronghold blazed with energy. In its grand hall, Yueqin and Ayame stood before Lei Yan, the Thunder Emperor, Yueqin's husband and Ayame's uncle. His golden hair shimmered faintly, eyes crackling with lightning.
Yueqin's voice was steady, though her hands trembled at her sides. "Cai Lin has him. Akihiro has been taken into the Mirror World."
Lei Yan's aura flared, the room vibrating with storm energy. "So the Queen of Mirrors dares reveal herself once more…"
He turned to his generals, voice sharp. "Organize a search mission. I want her aura tracked across every corner of this world. If Akihiro still breathes, we will find him."
Ayame stepped forward, her fists clenched. "Then I'll go too. He's my brother."
Lei Yan's gaze softened for a heartbeat, then hardened again. "Very well. But remember — Cai Lin is no ordinary foe. Even weakened, she is deadly."
Yueqin's eyes lingered on Ayame, pride and fear battling in her chest.
Back in the cave.
Akihiro sat cross-legged beside Cai Lin, his breaths steady, energy flickering faintly around him. She leaned against the wall, her head tilting slightly, eyes glowing in the dim light.
"You've begun," she whispered. "Your bloodline has awakened. Stay with me, Akihiro… and together, we will climb higher than Saint, higher than Void itself."
Outside, the roar of the Beast Tide echoed faintly in the distance.
Far above, lightning split the sky over the Raiden Clan's armies.
And in the star-lit halls of the Hoshikawa, Sola clenched her fists, her heart pulled in two directions.
The threads of fate had been woven. And soon, they would tighten.