There was nothing but silence after the explosion.
Not a whisper. Not a breath. Just a smoldering emptiness where Isshin had stood. The shock was so complete that no one reacted—not at first. Rune simply stared ahead, mouth slightly agape beneath the paper bag he always wore, the wet spots showing where tears seeped through. Karin collapsed to her knees, unable to hold back the sobs she'd been fighting since the flash of light had enveloped their friend.
He was gone.
Gone before the journey could even start. They had hardly savored the initial steps of adventure, and already the universe had taken the sun from their sky. What was meant to be an ascent through cultivation had become a harsh reminder: fate didn't wait for anyone's plans.
Nothing was left of Isshin but a shred of cloth—the last remnant of his robes—burnt and waving in the backdraft.
The sect grieved. Outer disciples. Inner disciples. Even elders, who had hardly known the boy, bowed their heads in reverence. A tomb was excavated in the center of the sect grounds, where the sky could mourn over it in peace. Karin remained close to it for days. Rain came. Then sunshine. Then rain again. But she did not stray far. Rune, too, hung around in his own fashion—standing wordlessly at a distance. The two of them spoke little, because what was there to be said?
Rune visited her on the fourth morning.
"I'm going," he replied succinctly.
Karin didn't respond at first. Then, softly, "Where?"
"I have a task I must fulfill. Something I've been waiting a long while for. I cannot discuss it. not yet."
She looked at him, her eyes sunken and red. "I can go back home. I don't know if I want to… but there is nowhere else left right now."
Rune nodded. That was all that was needed.
He left with the sunrise.
Karin remained—until she heard a soft voice behind her.
"Princess… it's time to return."
Karin didn't even turn. "What's left to return to?"
The voice belonged to a woman cloaked in black, only her eyes visible. Her Qi was suffocating, restrained but undeniable—True Soul Realm, peak stage, just a breath away from breaking into the Monarch Realm.
Karin's fists were tight. "You were watching. Why didn't you save him?"
I apologize," the bodyguard replied, bowing her head. "I didn't expect him to use Final Flow. That technique is only usable for immortals. For him to possess it… no one could've expected it.".
Karin's shoulders shook. "I don't care about prophecies."
The woman said nothing more. She knelt beside Karin and simply waited.
Eventually, Karin stood.
They journeyed together, back to the empire that she had left behind—back to her true life.
Princess of the Heavenly Demon Empire.
News of her coming back swept through the sect like wildfire, yet something was. wrong. Muffled whispers behind closed doors. An unnerving calm in the air. Karin could sense it.
As disciples bowed in respect, she headed straight for Gale—the chief advisor of the sect, and her father's closest friend. An old man with silver hair and thin glasses, Gale remained unmoved in his study, scanning scrolls.
I want to see my father," said Karin.
Gale slowly looked up. "I cannot allow that."
"Why not?"
He shut himself in your mother's room. I am not able to break the seal he placed.
Karin blinked. "What? Why? He left a message for me. He said. 'Only she can open it. She has to see what she was never supposed to see.'
Karin's nails dug into her palms.
Her mother, a woman from the righteous Murim Alliance, had betrayed her people to be with the Heavenly Demon. She'd passed away when Karin was eight, her Qi tainted by forces unknown. For her father to imprison himself in that room now?
Karin marched to the room, disregarding Gale's warnings. She banged on the door.
"Open the door, Dad! Say something!"
Nothing.
The bodyguard tried to pull her back, but Karin pushed her away, ready to break the seal open herself—until finally her strength gave out. She collapsed in tears.
Then the guardian approached Gale once more. "She's not doing well. I tried to calm her."
"Let her rest," Gale replied. "Then send her to speak with me."
However, when the guardian came back to Karin's room, she had vanished.
Far distant, beneath the scorching dunes of the South Desert Kingdom, Rune alighted from a carriage. He paid the two gold coin toll at the gates and passed into the city, his eyes scouring the sandy streets with reserved intent. Sand swirled through the alleys, whispering by cracked windows and faded market stalls.
He located a cheap tavern and took a seat at a poorly lit table in the corner. As he sipped his tea, he overheard a group of men imbibing at the table next to him.
I heard the Death King's plotting something huge. Wants to eradicate the Virtuous Murim Alliance," one of them slurred.
"Shut your damn mouth!" another snarled. "You want to get us all killed?"
Rune's eyes narrowed behind the bag-mask. He leaned back in his chair, absorbing every word.
Another man added, "Rumor says he's struggling with internal rebellion. If he solves that, though… he'll strike."
Rune remained silent, the gears in his mind turning. So much chaos in the world—and yet, all of it now felt personal. He had lost a friend. A brother. Now, he had a mission.
A storm was gathering. And he would be ready.