The night the blades fell, Kaien learned that screaming did not always make a sound.
Sometimes, it stayed inside—
pressing against the ribs, crushing the heart, until breathing itself felt like a mistake.
This isn't real.
That was Kaien's first thought as fire climbed the walls of the Kurogane compound. Flames moved too slowly, too deliberately, like they knew where to go. Smoke swallowed the moon, turning the sky into something bruised and sick.
This is a dream. I'll wake up.
Kaien stood in the training yard, his feet refusing to move. His hands were wrapped around a wooden practice blade—light, harmless, useless.
Why am I still holding this?
Earlier that morning, his father had corrected his stance right here.
You hesitate before every strike, Lord Kurogane had said gently. That means you still value what stands in front of you.
Now the stone beneath Kaien's feet was wet.
Warm.
He looked down.
Blood had filled the grooves between the tiles, creeping toward his sandals as if it were alive.
That shouldn't be there.
His stomach twisted. His throat tightened. His body refused to obey him.
"Kaien!"
Pain exploded through his arm as someone yanked him backward. An arrow split the air where his head had been a heartbeat earlier, embedding itself into the wall with a violent crack.
Kaien gasped.
Strong arms locked around him.
Raizo.
His brother's breathing was uneven. Too fast. Too sharp.
Raizo's scared.
That realization hit Kaien harder than the arrow ever could.
"We're leaving," Raizo said. "Now."
Leaving?
Leaving where?
Kaien's mouth opened, but his thoughts tangled. Questions stacked on top of each other, crushing his tongue.
Where is Father?
Where is Mother?
Why are there soldiers inside the compound?
The answers came before he could ask.
The doors to the main hall shattered inward.
Imperial soldiers flooded the courtyard—not shouting, not rushing. They moved like this place already belonged to them.
Like the Kurogane Clan was already dead.
And behind them—
No.
Kaien's heart stuttered.
Not him.
Lord Seiren, clan elder, advisor, man who had watched Kaien grow up—
He stepped aside.
Kaien didn't understand why at first.
Then he saw who was being dragged forward.
No no no no—
His father was forced to his knees.
Lord Kurogane's armor was broken, his blades gone, blood running down his face. But his back was straight.
Even now.
Even like this.
Stand up, Kaien begged silently. Please. Just stand up.
His father raised his head.
Their eyes met.
And the world narrowed to that single moment.
Kaien expected anger. Rage. Fear.
Instead, his father smiled.
Soft.
Sad.
Proud.
Why are you smiling?
Why aren't you afraid?
Raizo's grip crushed Kaien's arm. "Don't look," he whispered. "If you look… you'll never forget."
I already won't forget.
An imperial officer stepped forward. "By order of the Empire, the Kurogane Clan is guilty of treason."
Treason?
Kaien almost laughed.
The Kurogane didn't serve thrones. They served balance. Shadows.
Lord Kurogane spoke calmly. "We swore no oath to you."
The officer didn't respond.
He raised his blade.
Someone stop this.
Someone do something.
Kaien's legs wouldn't move.
His hands wouldn't tighten around the blade.
His body betrayed him.
Steel fell.
For a moment, Kaien felt nothing.
Then something inside his chest cracked.
His father collapsed forward. Blood spread across the stone, dark and quiet.
That's it?
That's how he dies?
Kaien tried to scream.
His lungs burned.
No sound came out.
His knees gave way.
Raizo caught him.
"Run," his brother said.
Kaien shook his head violently. "Mother—!"
A scream tore through the smoke.
Kaien turned.
His mother stood alone at the edge of the burning hall, her blade shaking in her hands. Soldiers closed in around her.
She looked at Kaien.
And smiled.
Not bravely.
Not proudly.
Just lovingly.
She shook her head.
Live.
A spear struck her.
Something broke completely inside Kaien.
His scream ripped out of him—ugly, raw, powerless.
It didn't change anything.
Raizo lifted him and ran.
Fire blurred past. Bodies blurred past.
Faces Kaien recognized but could not name without choking.
Remember them, his mind whispered.
This is what weakness looks like.
Arrows chased them into the forest. One struck Raizo.
He didn't stop.
Only when the sounds of pursuit vanished did Raizo collapse.
Kaien fell into the dirt.
The practice blade slipped from his hands.
I didn't fight.
I didn't move.
I didn't save anyone.
"I didn't do anything," Kaien whispered.
Raizo stared at the ground.
"No," he said. "You didn't."
Kaien looked up, stunned.
Raizo met his eyes—red, hollow, grieving.
"And you will remember that," his brother said quietly. "Every time you hold a blade."
Kaien looked at his hands.
Empty.
Useless.
Behind them, the Kurogane compound burned.
And in the silence that followed, Kaien felt something settle deep inside him.
Not rage.
Not strength.
A decision he didn't yet understand.