SAI SHINU
A week passed. Strange how quickly time bends when you finally taste calm again.
The days in the village moved slower than the ones inside the gates, yet they carried their own weight. I spent most of them in quiet thought, watching the people live their lives, trying to stitch myself into their rhythm.
One of those days, I met Yosuke's mother. A kind woman—gentle but with eyes sharp enough to see through me in an instant. She welcomed me with warmth, but it was the way she looked at the kid that made me pause. Her face softened, as if she'd found something long missing. She asked if she could spend time with her, and for once, I didn't hesitate. The kid laughed more in that house than I'd seen in a long time. Maybe… she needed that. Maybe I did too.
Yosuke seemed lighter after that. Like some invisible burden had loosened around his chest. Watching him speak with his mother reminded me of things I'd lost—and things I still had to protect.
Meanwhile, Taro had been pushing himself harder than anyone. Every morning and night, I'd see flashes of light cut through the air, glass shards scattering across the training grounds. Shields forming, breaking, reforming. Reflections stepping forward, mimicking his movements. His control was growing sharper every day, but there was something else too—a focus, a drive. The glyph didn't just give him strength. It gave him purpose.
The rest of us carried on. Namae had taken to helping around the village when she wasn't training her elemental control. Jiro disappeared often into the forest, returning only when the sun dipped low, his expression unreadable. Yuri… she stayed close. Quiet, but always there, as though her presence alone was enough to remind me I wasn't alone.
I kept thinking about the gates. About the trials. About the reflections we'd faced. The glass glyph, the illusions, the weight of choices. It all tied into something bigger, something waiting at the end of this road.
But in that week, for the first time in a long while, there was peace. A fragile peace, maybe—but one worth holding onto.
Until…
TARO KOI
The glass around me shimmered, bending to my will, sharp edges hovering like obedient spirits waiting for command. Sweat slid down my temple, but I felt stronger than yesterday, faster than the day before. Every day I was growing more familiar with this power. Glass wasn't just brittle—it was alive.
I was just about to release the shards when the sound of running feet broke my concentration. I turned, narrowing my eyes, and saw a man stumbling toward me, chest heaving as if he had been running for hours. His clothes—dusty, worn—were unmistakably from Sora Village.
He stopped a few paces from me, bent over, hands on his knees, gasping for air. Then he raised his head, and his gaze locked on me.
"You… you are Taro of Yasu Village?"
I lowered the glass shards until they melted into the dirt. "I am. Speak. Why are you here?"
His throat bobbed as he swallowed, and the unease in his eyes told me I wouldn't like what was coming.
"I've been sent… with a message. An ultimatum from Sora Village."
My shoulders tensed. I already knew the word "ultimatum" meant blood. "Say it."
His lips trembled as he spoke, but the words were clear:
"Sora Village and Yoshi Village have formed an alliance. In three days, they will march against Yasu Village."
My jaw locked tight. "Three days?"
He nodded, voice lowering into a shaky whisper. "But… there is a condition. If Yasu hands over one man to us, the attack will not happen."
The world seemed to still in that moment. My heart thudded, once, twice, harder than it should. I already knew the name before it left his mouth.
The man looked at me, fear swimming in his eyes. "They want Sai Shinu."
The glass shards at my feet quivered. My fingers twitched, and for a second, I imagined impaling this cowardly messenger right where he stood. Instead, I exhaled through my nose, forcing the shards to dissolve into nothingness.
"…And if we refuse?" My voice was cold, too calm for the storm tearing inside me.
"They'll burn Yasu to the ground."
The silence that followed was suffocating. I felt the weight of responsibility pressing on my shoulders—the village, the people, Sai himself.
They want him… but handing him over is no different from slaughtering us with our own hands.
I clenched my fist until I felt my nails cut into my palm.
This wasn't just a threat. It was a test. And no matter the choice, blood was waiting.