"What did I do wrong to deserve this?"
Is this how I spent my last day? I wish I had known my mother's face… spent time with my family… I wasted my life for nothing.
Saturu looked down. All he could do was watch. In the end, dreams just die.
A royal guard pulled him forward by the chain around his neck and legs. The blood of the victims executed earlier that day stained the ground, dripping in his path.
At last, he was the final one to be executed.
Saturu was held captive, accused of killing a member of the royal family.
Every gaze fixed on him, the tension sharp enough to cut. The Vermillion Council stood in a rigid semi-circle, their expressions carved from stone as if disgusted by the sight.
"Saturu, do you admit your crime?"
The words echoed through the arena like a hammer striking cold iron.
Saturu lifted his head, meeting their stares without flinching.
"What crime?" His voice was steady, controlled. "I have not done anything to harm the Empress."
An elder stepped forward, robes dragging softly against the marble floor.
"You refuse to confess," he said, eyes narrowing. "You still deny killing the Empress."
A quiet tremor rippled through the chamber.
Saturu felt his jaw lock. His pulse quickened, but his face remained composed.
For a moment, he could only stand there, stunned that his own clan, his own council, would push the accusation this far, twisting grief into a weapon.
He swallowed, the disbelief tightening in his chest. "I… I…"
The words barely escaped him. Not because he lacked an answer, but because the betrayal was so complete it left him momentarily breathless.
His hands curled at his sides, slow and controlled, not from fear but from rising, quiet anger.
The council watched him, waiting for a collapse, a confession, anything that would justify the judgment they were ready to deliver.
But Saturu did not break.
He drew in a slow breath, lifting his chin, eyes sharp with resolve. "I have nothing to confess."
"If you don't confess your sins, we have no other choice but to bring our witness."
The witness came forward. Saturu's eyes widened.
One of his trusted companions—a brother of the Vermillion Knight rank—approached. He was a sharp-edged, stern-faced man with long blond hair.
This person was Nozashi.
He spoke, saying that he saw Saturu with the Empress. After that, Saturu fled, his sword dripping with blood. He went to check on the Empress, but she was not responding. All he saw was blood. Her face was pale and white.
Saturu murmured in disbelief. It can't be… I can't…
He realized that all the evidence pointed to him, and his own brother had testified against him.
The clan head pronounced judgment. "The Vermillion Council, under the order of the Southern Arizona Empire, now finds you guilty for the murder of the royal family. For that, you shall be executed."
Nozashi observed coldly, a sinister smile on his face.
Why does the person he most trusted and looked up to as a brother harbor such malice toward him?
A black-haired man approached with a tight topknot, dressed in a double-breasted red coat with red trim. He grabbed Saturu's hair harshly, speaking into his face with an aggressive tone.
"You are a monster that should not have been born."
He then slammed Saturu's head to the floor and walked away with a sinister smile.
Saturu rose, his face bleeding as he recognized the person.
This was Kaito, his former trainer.
The loud crowd roared as they screamed: "GUILTY! KILL HIM! EXECUTE HIM! OFF WITH HIS HEAD!"
They placed his head on the beheading stand. The executioner prepared to cut off his head, raising an axe, its sharp edge glinting.
Saturu's eyes shifted from normal to crimson red, then burned bright. He broke the chain on one hand, ran, and grabbed a sword from a nearby guard. With a swing, he made a clean slash, cutting off the executioner's hand.
The executioner's axe clattered to the ground alongside the severed hand. Blood sprayed out as the man screamed in pain.
"GAHHH!!"
Saturu stood in a defensive position, one hand still bound by chains.
"You have brought nothing but misfortune to us all," Kaito said, his voice devoid of warmth. "I am afraid I must take measures."
"What are you saying?" Saturu demanded.
"Don't you know your mother died because of the curse you carry every where you step death follows?" Kaito's voice was cold.
Saturu stared in shock. "What are you talking about?"
Kaito's statement struck him like lightning. He knew about my mother all along, and he never said a word. To reveal it now… It could not be the truth. It had to be a lie crafted to shatter his will.
"She died in front of you," Kaito stated.
"Tell me why!" Saturu roared.
Nozashi stepped forward, his aura making the air feel heavy.
"I am deeply sorry, Saturu," Lord Kaito's voice boomed. "But all evidence points to you."
Nozashi's flint-like eyes assessed him. "My father died because of you. Now, submit to our judgment."
Nozashi drew his sword—a massive slab of dark iron that seemed to suck the light from the air.
Saturu broke the shackles from his other hand.
"You're sorry?" His voice thundered with rage.
His aura erupted from his body, the ground cracking beneath him as he charged toward Kaito. The chains shattered as he moved, snatching up the fallen sword.
"GYAAAA!"
***
Why couldn't I use my mana defense enhancement?
With his remaining half-opened right eye, he looked at the approaching Nozashi.
Kaito seized the moment of vulnerability. He threw two spears of condensed energy.
VWOOOSH!
One blasted Saturu's arm off. The other pierced through his leg. Blood sprayed into the air.
"GAH!!" Saturu's cry was cut short by the agony.
Nozashi had followed the trail and now stood tall in front of Saturu.
"Now to finish you off…" Nozashi's voice was a strained, pained rumble.
He looked down at Saturu in his weakened state. A fierce yellow aura erupted from him. The ground beneath them cracked.
"Foolish bastard," Saturu spat, breaking his body free from the hold of the condensed energy spears.
He drew his damaged sword from the ground with his right hand. The blade emitted a dark blue energy.
"He still has this much power left?"
Nozashi was pulled aback by the extraordinary energy Saturu was releasing in his state.
Saturu swung his sword, carrying the full power of a knight—no longer a Vermillion, but something else entirely—releasing a catastrophic, wide-range vertical slash.
It wasn't a technique. It was a seizure of energy. A wild, expanding dome of blue chaos vaporized the sand around him and cracked the stone foundations of the arena.
Nozashi's eyes narrowed. He remembered a shadowy figure's instruction.
"Use the technique 'Seven Stars of Soul Piercing' only when his energy erupts."
He planted his feet. I hope this works.
His aura—dark yellow mixed with purple
glowed brighter than Saturu's slash. He activated the technique. Dark purple energy swirled to his hand, the mixed aura condensing into his sword.
He blurred through Saturu's wide-range vertical slash.
Nozashi's sword glowed dark yellow as he struck a piercing blow through Saturu's chest. A blast of dark energy erupted, swallowing Saturu's blue light.
The blade penetrated his chest and exited out of his back.
"Uwaaahk..!?"
***
Saturu jolted awake, gasping for air, his heart pounding against his ribs.
Sweat clung to his skin. Disoriented, he struggled to separate the dream from the memory. His hands trembled as he held his face, breathing through a piercing headache.
"These memories again… Who was that person?"
Moonlight fell across the room. He stared at it for a long moment.
"I must find out what happened."
***
Night gave way to daylight.
Saturu adjusted the collar of his kimono and glanced into the mirror, meeting his own reflection.
"I still can't believe how young I am… I don't have a scar on my face....hmm i do miss my long hair… It doesn't matter. I'll just start growing it again."
He brushed the feeling aside, stepped out of the sanctuary, and leaped to the roof to scan the area.
Outside, Kayon sat on a huge rock overlooking the distant view. Green trees surrounded the landscape, and birds drifted lazily through the air.
Kayon opened his packed lunch—a vibrant bowl of ramen.
"I finally get a chance to eat this in peace." He bowed his head slightly.
"I humbly receive." He took a bite. "That training puts a strain on the body," he muttered to himself.
A flash of memory crossed his thoughts—the face of an old friend overlapping with Saturu's. They looked almost identical, but one was older, one younger. He sighed.
"Kayon." Saturu's rough voice cut through the quiet. "How did you find me?" He added flatly, "Not that hard to spot this place."
Kayon groaned. "Ohhh… damn. I knew I should've hid somewhere."
"If you think I'm here for your old, nutritious lunch? Forget it," Saturu answered.
"I'm not that old…"
"The years don't lie."
"No, you're just too young."
Kayon sighed. "Anyway, what brings you here?"
"I came to ask you what happened that day."
Kayon exhaled, realizing it was time. He took a cup, filled it with green tea, and handed it to Saturu. Outside, the sanctuary sky shifted from clear to cloudy.
"It seems some of your memories have resurfaced. I didn't think it would be this soon."
Saturu took the cup and took a small sip. "Ah! It's bitter!" He stared at the tea, then gulped it down in one go.
***
Nozashi stepped into a darkened chamber, the door closing behind him with a muted thud.
The room was vast, its stone walls carved with faint sigils that pulsed weakly in the low light. A single hanging crystal cast long, distorted shadows across the floor.
From within those shadows, a woman's voice called out. Calm and measured.
She stood just beyond the reach of the light, her form partially obscured. "You have arrived." The figure spoke with a voice that seemed both female and male.
"As always." Nozashi bowed his head.
"If I may ask, what is this summons about?"
"I am having a certain problem that you failed to take care of."
"What?"
"Did you know that the knight you failed to kill a month ago is still alive?"
"Impossible!"
Nozashi's mind raced. He realized why he hadn't gained more power—because Saturu was still alive. His second thought was: who saved him?
"I will give you a chance to redeem yourself. I don't have another cursed item, but it shouldn't be any trouble for you. Of course, I will give you more power. Do you accept my proposal?"
"I accept."
The woman who had summoned Nozashi dissolved into dark blue smoke and vanished into thin air.
Nozashi clenched his fist so hard it began to bleed, a vein throbbing on his temple.
"You still refuse to die, my so-called half-brother."