The sound of horses' hooves broke the silence of dawn.
Birds scattered among the branches. Leaves trembled.
And the old stone bell, hanging from the arch at the entrance to the Jinhai mansion, resonated again after many years.
An imperial messenger descended with solemnity.
He wore red and gold. The seal of the Council of Ancestors hung from his belt.
Before him, Lady Wuyin bowed her head.
"What does the Imperial Sun seek in a house that no longer shines?"
The emissary unfolded the scroll with a bow marked by centuries of tradition.
"By order of Emperor Jin Long and the High Council:
An Omega has been chosen from among the noble houses to present himself before the Dragon Court.
May the stars guide his path."
Wuyin lowered her gaze. Her fingers trembled for an instant.
"Who has been named?"
The emissary raised his voice firmly.
"Jinhai Suwei, direct descendant of the white crane lineage."
The air stood still.
Suwei, who had been watching from the wooden corridor, stepped forward, serene... but with his heart drumming in his chest.
"It is I."
The emissary looked at him with a hint of surprise.
He hadn't expected that young man to have such a firm voice, nor that gaze of ice and fire at the same time.
"You have seven days to present yourself at the Palace of Eternal Flames."
He left the sealed scroll and withdrew with the same precision with which he had arrived.
In the main hall, the scroll lay on the ancestral table.
Suwei read it silently for the third time. The golden ink shimmered under the lamplight.
Wuyin spoke without raising her eyes.
"Centuries ago, House Jinhai provided consorts. And some... gave their lives.
But you, Suwei... you are not just another one."
"I was not raised to serve," he said calmly. "But neither to reject my destiny."
The old woman looked at him then. Her eyes moistened, but not a tear fell.
"The palace is not like the lake. There, reflections are knives."
Suwei nodded.
He knew he could not escape the dragon's vision, nor the fire that had been growing inside him since that day in the sanctuary.
That night, in his room, Suwei held a small crane reliquary in his hands.
He had inherited it from his father before his disappearance.
He opened it. Inside, a withered petal of a moon flower... still fragrant.
He closed it delicately.
"Father... mother...
I don't know if this is punishment or rebirth. But I will walk that path."
In the shadows of the garden, a figure watched from a distance.
A silent guardian.
An envoy from the palace... or perhaps someone else.
He only whispered, in a deep voice:
So it begins.