The embers of the dying fire crackled softly, casting faint shadows over the rugged cliffs. Raiyo remained seated where he had fought Reiko, the chill of the night air settling over his skin. His heartbeat had finally slowed, yet his mind remained restless.
The Kageren had tested him and now, they had marked him.
"Next time, there will be no test. Only death."
Reiko's words echoed like a curse, intertwining with something far older,whispers of a past he could barely remember.
Keal Shingen.
His father.
The man who had abandoned him.
The man who now wielded Shintei no Kiba, one of the Three Final Blades.
Raiyo exhaled slowly. His fingers twitched, aching to grip the hilt of his katana, yet he refrained. The weight of that name was heavier than any sword.
"If he abandoned me, why does he still haunt me?"
The night wind howled through the cliffs, and for a moment, Raiyo could almost hear a voice—low and commanding, filled with an authority that had once been absolute.
"A blind child is a weak child. There is no place for weakness in my clan."
His father's words. Cold. Unyielding. Final.
His chest tightened. That moment—the moment Keal had turned away, leaving him to die—had burned itself into his soul.
And yet, even after all these years, the past refused to stay buried.
His fingers finally closed around the hilt of his blade.
"If the past won't stay buried… then I will carve my way through it."
For that, he needed answers.
And only one person could give them to him.
His gaze shifted toward the mouth of the cave, where Master Ojiro Tenma sat, her crimson eyes glowing faintly in the dim firelight.
Tonight, he would demand the truth.
The scent of damp earth filled the cave, mingling with the remnants of burning wood. Ojiro Tenma sat before the fire, legs crossed, her presence calm but commanding.
She had not spoken since Raiyo had returned.
As if she had sensed what had transpired before he even arrived.
Her white hair, loosely tied back, framed her sharp, ageless features. Though her body bore the marks of countless battles, her gaze remained unwavering, betraying none of her thoughts.
Yet as Raiyo stood before her, gripping his katana tightly, he felt the air between them shift—as if she had been expecting this moment.
"You met one of them, didn't you?"
she said, voice low.
Raiyo's jaw clenched.
"A Kageren assassin. Reiko Kazen."
Ojiro nodded, as if the name was no surprise.
"And what did she tell you?"
"That they are watching me."
Raiyo narrowed his gaze.
"That I am walking toward something inevitable."
He exhaled sharply.
"That if I continue… they will try to kill me."
Ojiro was silent for a long moment, then let out a slow sigh.
"They will not try," she said. "They will kill you."
Her words were like steel, firm and undeniable.
Raiyo tightened his grip on his katana. "Then tell me why."
The flames flickered. The shadows danced.
Ojiro reached to the side, gripping the hilt of her own katana—a weapon older than any Raiyo had ever seen, its blade wrapped in ceremonial silk, untouched by time.
"The Kageren do not hunt warriors," she said. "They hunt forces of destruction."
She met his gaze.
"They do not fear you, Raiyo. They fear what you are becoming."
A cold silence filled the cave.
Raiyo's fingers curled into a fist.
"What am I becoming?"
For the first time, Ojiro hesitated.
Then, slowly, she unsheathed her sword.
Not completely—just enough for Raiyo to glimpse the black steel beneath.
His breath caught in his throat.
This was no ordinary blade.
This was a cursed weapon.
A katana forged from something beyond this world.
"A long time ago," Ojiro said, "before you were born, there was a man. A swordsman whose name was spoken in whispers, feared by lords and kings alike."
She lifted the blade slightly, and for a brief moment, Raiyo swore he could hear something—a distant voice, a whisper beyond the veil of the world.
"This man wielded something ancient," she continued. "A sword that was said to be a fragment of Vexis itself. A blade that did not just cut flesh, but severed fate."
Raiyo's heart pounded. "The Three Final Blades…"
Ojiro nodded.
"Yes. And this swordsman…" She paused. "He was your ancestor."
The words struck like a hammer.
Raiyo staggered back.
His mind raced.
His blood. His very existence—was tied to the blades that could reshape the world?
Ojiro studied him, gauging his reaction. "That is why the Kageren watch you. That is why they fear you."
She sheathed her blade fully, her expression grave.
"Because whether you wish it or not, Raiyo… you are fated to follow the path of the Blind Vex Lord."
The Blind Vex Lord.
The name that had haunted him.
The name that was meant to be his.
The air in the cave felt heavy, as if reality itself was shifting. The fire flickered, casting long shadows across the stone walls.
Raiyo clenched his fists, his mind a storm of emotions.
A cursed bloodline. A hidden history. A fate he never asked for.
He exhaled slowly.
If this was true… if he truly carried the burden of his ancestors…
Then there was only one path forward.
He would find the Three Final Blades.
And he would forge his own destiny—no matter the cost.