Chapter 13 – Echoes of the Exiled Flame
The Almighty Katana: 全能の刀 (Zennō no Katana)
By Paul Richard
Season 1 Finale
---
The wind was no longer gentle.
It carried voices now—echoes of ancient warriors, the thunder of forgotten battles, and the whispers of awakening swords. The flames from the attack on Iwakura-mura had finally died, but the fire in Kenji's chest had only just begun to burn.
Kaede stood beside him, the golden light of morning dancing in her eyes. The village had been saved… but not freed.
Too many villagers still wandered aimlessly, caught in the blade's memory-warp. And the boy—that boy—stood silently with a glowing rusted sword clenched in both hands.
> "How did he find it?" Kaede whispered.
Kenji knelt beside the child, whose name no one could remember.
The sword pulsed with soft golden energy. Ancient. Familiar.
> "This blade doesn't belong to him," Kenji murmured. "It chose him."
Kaede's expression turned grim. "That makes two awakened blades. Yours… and his."
Kenji stood slowly. "The Council will return."
Kaede shook her head. "No. Something worse is coming."
---
The Seal Reignites
That night, Kenji sat alone on a hill above the village.
He unsheathed Seijintō. The steel gleamed blue in the moonlight, but at its base… the Seal of the Fallen King had changed.
It had opened—fully.
A circular crest now surrounded it: twelve kanji, each representing a blade, each flickering faintly except one… Kenji's.
And next to it, another symbol—the golden flame, the mark of the child's newly awakened sword.
> Two have awakened… ten remain.
Suddenly, visions rushed into his mind.
Twelve warriors.
Twelve swords.
A war lost in time.
One by one, each bearer fell. Betrayed. Slain. Forgotten.
All but one…
A shadowed figure stood at the center of the battlefield. Face hidden. Holding Seijintō.
> "Who… are you?" Kenji gasped.
The figure turned, and the vision shattered.
---
Return to Hoshikawa
Days passed.
Kenji, Kaede, and the boy—whom they now called Yuto—traveled eastward, through the forests of Shinmeikai and over the silent mountains of Kawa-no-Kami.
Their destination: Hoshikawa Village.
Kenji's birthplace.
The home he was exiled from.
The place where his legend began—and might end.
The village had changed.
New guards. New rules. But when Kenji stepped through the gate, people froze. Whispers followed him like shadows.
> "Is that…?"
> "He was exiled."
> "No, he died. I heard Renga killed him."
> "Then why does he have a blade like that?"
Kenji ignored them.
He went straight to the old dojo—the one where Master Renga had once trained him, mocked him, nearly executed him.
Inside, the floorboards still held bloodstains from their final duel.
Yuto sat in the corner, staring at his sword.
Kaede lit incense at the altar.
Kenji walked to the center and drew Seijintō.
> "It's time I stop running."
---
The Visitor
That night, as the stars burned cold and fierce, a visitor arrived at the dojo gates.
Cloaked in grey. Hooded. Silent.
Kenji stood at the door.
> "Council?" he asked.
The man didn't reply.
Instead, he tossed a scroll at Kenji's feet.
A challenge seal.
Kaede read the inscription aloud.
> "The blades remember. Return Seijintō to the fire… or face judgment by trial."
Kenji picked up the scroll and crushed it in his hand.
> "Tell your masters… I don't run anymore."
The man stepped closer. "I am no messenger."
He pulled back his hood.
Kenji's eyes widened.
Master Renga.
Alive.
---
A Master's Return
Renga looked older. Scarred. But very real.
> "You killed me once, Kenji. But you only slew my body, not my will."
Kenji gritted his teeth. "You were a tyrant. I spared Takeshi. I refused to kill for glory. You wanted blood. I chose mercy."
Renga's eyes burned. "And mercy is weakness."
> "Then why are you here?"
Renga pointed to Seijintō. "Because that blade once belonged to me."
Kenji's heart dropped.
Kaede stepped forward. "Impossible. Hiro said it belonged to the Fallen King."
Renga smirked. "And who do you think I was… before the fall?"
---
The Truth Revealed
A storm cracked the sky.
Wind howled through the village.
Kenji staggered back. "No…"
Renga raised his blade—a jagged version of Seijintō, its steel stained red.
> "You were never meant to carry that sword," he growled. "You weren't chosen… you were bait."
Lightning flashed.
And then—Renga attacked.
---
Clash of Fate
Their blades met with an explosion of light and sound. Seijintō hummed in agony. Renga's blade—Shiryōken, the Blade of the Undying—absorbed the strikes like a leech feeding on life.
Kaede shielded Yuto as the dojo walls splintered.
Kenji fought back with all he had, remembering every lesson, every bruise, every moment of pain from the academy.
And then—he stopped blocking.
He let Renga's blade cut into him.
Blood spilled.
But Seijintō sang.
> "You finally understand," Renga sneered. "Power is pain."
But Kenji smiled.
> "No. Power… is sacrifice."
He drove Seijintō through his own wound—into Renga's heart.
The dojo exploded with white fire.
---
Silence
When the smoke cleared…
Renga was gone.
Kenji lay still.
Yuto cried out.
Kaede rushed to his side.
He was alive… barely.
But something had changed.
On Seijintō's hilt, the third seal had begun to glow.
> Three awakened.
---
Suspense Ending (Season 2 Teaser)
Far away… in a fortress above the clouds…
A woman with silver eyes stared at a glowing map of the world.
Twelve blades flickered.
Three now lit.
She turned to a room full of shadowed figures.
> "He's awakened them. Just like the prophecy said."
Another voice replied:
> "Then the Second War of the Hundred cannot be avoided."
The woman unsheathed her blade.
It screamed.
> "Let Kenji Sora run wild for now… but when the final blade awakens…"
> "Bring me his head."
---
#TheAlmightyKatana #Chapter13 #SeasonFinale #EchoesOfTheExiledFlame #KenjiSoraRises #writersofinstagram #writersoffacebook #FacebookReads #BookLovers #StoryTellers #ReadThisNow #BookRecommendation #StoryTime #MustRead #CreativeWriting #AuthorSpotlight #DailyStory #WriteWithPraise #BookPassion #FictionFriday #BookRelease #ChapterByChapter #ShortStoryLove #WordsThatMatter #BookQuoteOfTheDay #ReadersCommunity