The Imperial Palace of Tsukiyomi slept beneath a sky of restless clouds. Lanterns flickered like dying stars across the white courtyards, and the midnight rain fell softly on tiled roofs carved with dragons. Deep within the Hall of Heavenly Silence, the Emperor dreamed of blood and light.
He stood in a sea of petals — crimson, not pink. They drifted around him like snow, and above him towered a woman cloaked in silver fire. Her eyes shone with pain and fury, her voice echoing like a prayer and a curse at once.
> "You forgot your vow, Raiden. Even gods bleed when mortals turn away."
The Emperor reached for her hand, but the dream shattered.
He woke with a gasp, his silk robes clinging to his skin, his breath short and burning.
The storm outside had not ceased since nightfall. Thunder rolled across the capital, shaking the carved screens of his chamber. Emperor Raiden no Mikado, ruler of the Tsukiyomi Empire, pressed a trembling hand to his heart. The same heat that had haunted his dreams for months now flared beneath his ribs — a wound that had never existed, yet felt older than his soul.
"Summon the Seers," he commanded, his voice steady despite his trembling fingers.
Within minutes, the great bronze doors opened, and five monks entered, their robes heavy with incense smoke. They knelt in a crescent before him, heads bowed low. The eldest among them, Seer Kairin, raised his eyes — blind and milky, yet seeing far more than mortals should.
"You dreamed again, my Emperor," the old seer murmured. "The same woman."
Raiden nodded once. "This time, she spoke my name."
The chamber darkened as the seers began their chant — low, rhythmic, ancient. The air shimmered, and a golden mist rose from the floor, swirling into symbols that danced like fireflies. In the center of their circle, an image took form: the mountain shrine of Kurogane, struck by a column of divine light.
Kairin's lips tightened. "It has begun," he whispered. "The seal of the Goddess of the Emperor is broken."
Raiden's eyes widened. "You mean… Tsukihara?"
The seer bowed his head. "The very same. The goddess who once bound heaven and earth to your bloodline. The one who fell in the War of the Moons. The goddess you were destined to rule beside — and to betray."
The words cut like a blade. Raiden rose, his robes sweeping across the marble floor. "That is myth. My ancestors' sins, not mine."
Kairin's blind eyes glowed faintly. "Blood remembers, my lord. And destiny is not so easily forgotten. When she returns, so too will the Celestial Conflict. The gods will stir once more."
The Emperor turned toward the balcony, watching the lightning flash across the distant mountains. For a heartbeat, he saw it — the faint glow of divine light cresting the horizon, rising from the north like a second sun.
"She's awake," Raiden murmured.
---
Beyond the palace, the storm grew wilder. In the shadowed courtyards, monks whispered prayers to forgotten gods, and the royal guards tightened their grips on their spears. Somewhere within the palace library, a young priestess of the imperial court knelt before an ancient scroll — one sealed in crimson wax.
She broke it open. Inside, a prophecy written in gold ink:
> "When the Moon bleeds and the Emperor dreams, the Goddess shall awaken in mortal flesh.
One shall rise to rule heaven, the other to destroy it."
The priestess looked up, her eyes trembling with fear. "So it begins," she whispered.
---
Meanwhile, far in the mountain ruins of Kurogane Shrine, Amaya awoke to silence. The dawn light broke through the mist, painting her skin with silver warmth. Around her, the shrine lay in ruin — the altar shattered, the sacred trees split by lightning. Yet in her chest, that golden warmth still pulsed like a heartbeat not her own.
She rose slowly, her once-black hair now glinting with silver threads. The old monk Haru lay unconscious nearby, breathing shallow but alive. Amaya knelt beside him, shaking his shoulder.
"Elder Haru," she whispered. "What happened?"
His eyes opened halfway, dazed. "You… called her name," he murmured. "And she answered."
Before she could speak, a rustle echoed from the forest edge. Shadows moved among the trees — tall, human-shaped, but their eyes glowed red.