A voice thundered across the great hall.
"WHO ARE YOU TO JUDGE?!"
The words shook the air itself. Every head turned toward the man whose presence crushed all others—
Rui Yamazaki.
The King had arrived.
The Sword of Three Nations had come to judge.
Each step he took toward his royal chair seemed to make the earth tremble. Nobles quivered, commoners lowered their heads. Even breathing felt impossible—the weight of his presence robbed them of air.
When the King sat, silence swallowed the hall whole. No one knew why their bodies trembled so violently… only that they were forced to.
Then his voice came, deep and unyielding.
"I, Rui Yamazaki… have made an oath. To God, you think? No. My oath is to my people. That I will do justice—rich or poor, royal or commoner. It does not matter."
A noble dared to speak. His voice shook.
"B-but uncle, he was—"
Rui's gaze burned through him.
"Uncle? You will never address me so. I am your King—nothing less."
The noble collapsed to his knees.
"Y-yes… my King."
Rui turned to the commoner.
"We begin with you. Speak. What is your grievance?"
The man stammered.
"M-my lord… he killed a man."
Rui's tone sharpened.
"Killed him? Was he your brother? Your kin? Why does this matter to you?"
The noble tried to interject again.
"Because he only wants money and—"
"SILENCE."
The King's roar tore through the chamber like thunder.
The noble froze where he stood, trembling.
Rui's attention returned to the man.
"Your name."
"H-Hamilton Joshua, sire."
"Joshua." Rui's voice pressed like iron. "Answer me. Do you seek gold? Revenge? Or something else?"
Joshua lowered his head, trembling, but forced the words out.
"N-no, sire. He was a man… flesh and blood like me. I don't know what justice truly is. But I know you believe in it. I'm no good man—not even close. But I… I wish for justice to exist. That's all."
The King's eyes narrowed.
"Good. Now, let the accused speak."
The noble straightened, smug.
"My name is Hiro. Hiro Yamazaki. Everyone in this court knows it."
The hall stirred at the name. Rui's stare sharpened.
"Then, Hiro… why did you kill him?"
Hiro smirked.
"I didn't mean to kill him. Only to punish him."
"For what?"
"For stepping on my shoes. While being… ugly."
The hall froze. Rui's voice was ice.
"Did he apologize?"
Hiro scoffed.
"He did. But I didn't believe him. And why should I explain myself? You can't touch me. My father is minister to King Hosha of Doer. Even raising your voice could bring you trouble, uncle. Don't forget—you're just my mother's brother. Don't make her cry."
The silence was deafening. Rui rose from his throne, his cloak trailing like a shadow of night.
"The case," he said slowly, "is closed."
Gasps rippled through the hall. Rui drew his sword and walked forward, his eyes fixed on the trembling commoner. The air thickened, suffocating, as if even the world itself dared not move.
Lightning flickered in his blade. His voice dropped, deep and merciless.
"You were right, Hiro. He is wrong."
Nobles exhaled in relief. The commoner bowed his head, resigned.
Steel rang. The sword flashed.
A head rolled across the marble floor.
The hall erupted in screams. Royals wailed. Commoners froze in disbelief.
It was Hiro Yamazaki's body that collapsed.
Blood spread across the stone like spilled ink.
Rui turned, his voice a storm that shattered the silence.
> "You were right… they are at fault.
For not questioning. For not asking why. For just taking the hits.
But now they are aware."
The King looked at the commoner—blood dripping from his cheek, a cold smile tugging at his lips.
> "And I told you before… I don't give a damn who you are.
Hiro… you were right. My sister will cry, for sure.
And your bloody father, whom you worship so highly—wasn't even a Yamazaki. He was nothing. Just a commoner—the kind you despise so much—until he married my sister.
I gave you the Yamazaki name because I thought you'd realize how precious it is.
…Ooh well.
Guards. Clean this dirty blood."
The hall fell into stunned silence.
---
"...My lord." The minister finally spoke, his face pale. "Perhaps… you should have spoken with him instead."
"Spoken?" Rui's eyes flared. "What the hell do you think I was doing? I gave him a chance. I weighed his words. And I found him guilty, plain and clear. What should I have done? Sit still? Do nothing? Just because he's my nephew?"
The minister faltered. "N-no, of course not! Forgive me, my lord. But… he was not only your nephew. He was his son. You know how cunning that man is. He never cared for his boy, nor his wife. But this… this gives him the perfect excuse. To twist it. To use it against you. Against this nation."
Rui's gaze hardened. His eyes glowed with a resolve that silenced even fear itself.
"You shouldn't worry. As long as I live—" his voice echoed like steel "—you, and this nation, are safe."
---
The flashback faded.
Hakari blinked, still reeling from everything he'd seen.
"So you're saying… you're the son of King Rui Yamazaki. The Rui Yamazaki… the legendary King?"
Kage met his eyes, calm but heavy.
"Yes. That's right. And that shadow you saw… was just my childhood friend."
Hakari laughed weakly, half in disbelief.
"Totally normal… sure. But it still doesn't explain why he was here."
Kage's gaze darkened.
"He left before Velvet's civil war. I never knew where he went. But I have questions too. Why here? Why was he waiting for me? And most of all…"
His fists clenched.
"…what exactly is it that I'm supposed to do?"
The desert air grew colder, though no sun had yet set.
It was as if the world itself had stopped breathing, watching, waiting.
Unseen threads began to weave themselves around Hakari and Kage, threads older than kings, older than nations. What appeared as coincidence was not coincidence at all—it was the call of something vast, something buried deep in the roots of this broken world.
A forgotten truth stirred in the shadows, and with it, the faintest tremor of fate.
Their meeting here was not chance. The questions Kage asked, the doubts gnawing at Hakari's chest—these were not merely their burdens to carry.
They were the beginning of a storm.
The path ahead was shrouded, lined with whispers of blood and betrayal, of ancient codes and unyielding wills.
Each step forward would carve their names into history—or erase them from it.
And so, without knowing it, the two had already taken the first step into a story that would consume not just their lives, but the very balance of the world itself.