At the Broken Plaza – The Punctured Mercenary Camp
A commander burst through a canvas flap, interrupting a dice game.
"Stop throwing bones. Second Moon's finished."
"What?" a mercenary spat out his drink.
"All of them. Agabah. Maldan. Dead. Slain in their own courtyard."
"Who attacked? The Curved Blade? The Five Ladies?"
"No. Just one man."
Silence took over. Until someone muttered:
"…The one from Jade Basin?"
The commander gave a grim nod.
"Kazel."
Dice no longer rolled that night.
At the Armory Grounds – The Shield and Spear Headquarters
Black-armored warriors stood gathered in a courtyard, a blazing brazier between them. A scout dropped from horseback, his uniform soaked in sweat.
He panted, "Sect Slayer… he did it…"
"What did who?" one barked.
"Kazel. Alone. Second Moon… nothing left but corpses and smoke."
A silence deeper than steel filled the night.
At the Heavenless Bow Compound
A crow landed just outside the archer's sanctum. It carried a ribbon—blood-red.
The keeper paled.
Inside, Elder Juni unrolled the letter with steady hands. Her gaze turned grim.
"I confirmed it," she announced. "Kazel has killed Maldan and razed the Second Moon. I saw it with my own eyes."
A hushed wave passed through the hall of bow-wielders.
And in the Slums of the Fang…
Even the rats knew.
Street kids huddled under broken stalls whispered with wide eyes.
"Did you hear? The tyrant's back."
"He's not a tyrant. He's a hero."
"No way. They said he fought twenty men alone."
"Twenty? I heard he killed fifty with a single halberd swing!"
"The Second Moon is gone," an old beggar croaked, pulling his coat tighter. "And the world's about to change."
Inside the Duskwind Inn
The lamplight swayed gently inside the parlor chamber, casting long golden streaks across velvet curtains. Music played faintly from the floor below, but up here, a heavy silence reigned.
Madam Yi, elegant as ever in her embroidered robe, stood with hands folded before the low table. She didn't sit—not when Yasha was present.
Yasha leaned near the window, chewing absentmindedly on her petal as her sharp eyes scanned the city roofs, still slick from the earlier rain.
"Second Moon has fallen," she finally said.
Madam Yi's breath hitched. "Are you certain, mistress?"
"I saw it. With my own eyes." Yasha's tone was flat, but her gaze glittered like a blade drawn halfway.
"Maldan?" Madam Yi dared to ask.
"His head rolled to his son's feet. Kazel did it, albeit not with his own blade"
Madam Yi bowed her head low. "Then the world just shifted."
Yasha turned to face her fully. "Prepare for change, Yi. I won't be staying in the Fang."
"Mistress…?"
"I'll be heading north. To call on my sisters," she said. "The Five Ladies must know what kind of fire has just been lit. We must not be late to the war that follows."
Madam Yi dropped to one knee. "Understood, Lady Yasha. I will maintain the network in your absence."
Yasha smiled faintly. "Good. Keep your ears sharp and your mouth sharper."
Curved Blade Sect
The crimson of night dyed the rice-paper walls in deep black as Nobu and Saya stepped past the threshold of the inner compound. Despite the stillness, the courtyard brimmed with silent eyes. Disciples paused mid-swing in kata practice. Elders halted their walks.
Nobu's return was not casual—it was an omen.
"Master Nobu..." one of the senior elders stepped forward, bowing stiffly. "You… you return early from observation. What did you witness?"
Saya clenched her fists, but kept quiet.
Nobu's face remained calm. "The Second Moon Sect… has fallen."
A murmur rippled across the courtyard.
"Fallen?" whispered another disciple. "But by whose hand—?"
"Kazel." Nobu's voice cut clean, like steel unsheathing. "He has declared himself through blood. Maldan is dead. Agabah, dead. Elders, disciples, broken."
Gasps echoed from every side. Even the boldest of the senior disciples instinctively gripped the hilts of their swords.
"He stood alone?" asked an elder, voice trembling.
Nobu gave a slow nod. "He stood alone… and he conquered."
The courtyard fell into stunned silence.
Then Nobu turned, stepping away from the crowd, his direction clear: toward the sacred hallway. Saya watched him go, then bowed and stepped aside. She knew what room he was approaching.
Beyond the final hallway was a door unlike any other—smooth, blackened oak lacquered in silver leaf. No handle. No hinges. No sound ever came from beyond it. Only presence.
Not even elders stepped near.
But Nobu knelt, back straight, his sheathed sword resting before him.
He lowered his head until it touched the ground.
And then, with unwavering breath, he spoke:
"Grandmaster… this disciple returns with news.""The Second Moon Sect… is no more.""By the halberd of Kazel, their gates were shattered. Maldan is dead. Agabah fell. The elders are slain.""The Sect Slayer lived up to his name, despite his tender age."
A hush followed.
No reply. No sound. No breath.
But Nobu did not rise. He remained kneeling, reverent and silent. Behind the door, something ancient stirred. Like a blade unsheathed in another realm, not with sound—but with feeling.
It passed like a windless pressure. Not seen. Not heard. Only known.
And just like that—it was gone.
Nobu exhaled slowly. Then stood, turned, and walked away.
The door had never opened.And the Grandmaster had said nothing.
But something had awakened.
---
Kazel was sleeping, his body leaning over the halberd that had cleaved through elders and disciples alike. The weapon stood embedded in the cracked paving stones like a monument. The wind caressed his messy hair, teasing strands across his face, and flitted through the ragged remnants of his robe.
He looked peaceful—no, young. Barely a man, a teenager brushing into his twenties. Despite the bloodshed, the ruin, the corpses already buried or burned—he slept in the courtyard like a boy in a field.
No one dared disturb him. Not even the wind.Not even the wild spirit beasts that lurked at the edge of the hills, drawn by the scent of battle but deterred by something deeper. Something colder.
"A hero in time of chaos, a tyrant in time of peace."
The voice whispered again in his mind. Familiar. Distant.Kazel's eyes fluttered open as the morning sun kissed his lids. He slowly exhaled.
(Manipulating water, fire, wind… spirit beast integration...)(This world has so much to offer.)(That means… my rebirth here, my reincarnation… might not be a random joke from the heavens. It has something to do with this world.)
His fingers gripped the halberd's shaft. He rose without haste, calm, deliberate.
"But it looks like," he muttered with a dry smile, "I have a guest."
At the gates of the ruined Second Moon Sect, a skinny man in a loose, expensive yellow robe sat atop a sweating horse. His jaw had unhinged in disbelief.
He blinked several times. Rubbed his eyes. Slapped the horse's neck to see if he was dreaming. But the ruins remained.
His gaze swept the broken walls, the scorch marks, the shattered tiles, the absence of guards—and the young man standing alone in the center like a statue of war.
"Kh... KH... what the heck happened here?!"His voice echoed through the broken bones of the Second Moon.