The court of shadows was not a place for men, but for serpents. Marble floors gleamed under golden lanterns, while officials whispered in silk robes, their words dripping poison.
Kaito strode through the corridors disguised as a foreign scholar, Mei Lin at his side, guiding him past guards with forged seals. Yet beneath the disguise, his rage boiled.
In the council chamber, he found it. Adrian's name — written in ink on a decree — marked for "silencing." The seal bore the crest of a powerful noble family. But the signature below froze Kaito's blood.
It was Takeshi's clan.
Betrayal cut deeper than any blade. He staggered, his hand clenching the scroll until it burned in dragonfire.
When Takeshi confronted him later, the truth unraveled — his clan had feared Adrian's discoveries, terrified that the secrets he carried about dragons and dynasties would topple their power. They had ordered his death.
"You knew?" Kaito's voice cracked, torn between fury and despair.
Takeshi fell to his knees. "I swore to protect you. I never swore to protect their sins. But if you must kill me to honor him… then do it."
The silence between them was heavier than steel. And Kaito realized vengeance was no longer faceless — it wore the features of those closest to him.