Chapter 29: In the Eye of the Storms, Snow Blossom

  A quiet, comfortable silence fell between the two runaways. They scanned the very jail cell they are trapped in the reality of their situation slowly dawning on them. The bars of their cell were thick, with gaps so small not even a child could squeeze through. The same went for the small window high up on the wall. And there was nothing in the cell that could be used as a lockpick.

  "Okay, sorry to ruin the mood," Raito said, breaking the silence, his earlier confidence deflating slightly. "But how exactly are we going to get away?"

  Yukari tilted her head, a confused look on her face. "I don't know," she admitted. "I thought you had a plan."

  "Me?" Raito's voice rose with a note of incredulous disbelief. "You're the veteran here!"

  "What do you mean, 'veteran'?" Yukari's own voice rose to meet his, a flicker of her old, teasing anger returning. "Are you saying I'm old?" She pinched his cheek, hard.

  "Ow, ow, ow!" Raito yelped, trying to pull away. "I'm saying, you're a veteran at breaking out of prison, right?"

  "What made you think of that?" she asked, finally letting go. "Jinlun was my first prison breakout. And that was only successful because I stole the keys."

  Their bickering grew louder, their voices echoing in the small, concrete cell. So loud, in fact, that a guard outside, who had been trying his best to ignore them, finally had enough.

  Bang, bang, bang.

  The sound of a heavy fist on the metal door startled them into silence. "Hey! What is going on in there?" the guard asked, his voice a low, irritated growl from beyond the bars.

  "This idiot called me old, Mr. Guard!" Yukari shouted back, her voice full of a mock-indignation.

  "I was just stating facts!" Raito denied, his voice just as loud.

  The sound of a key turning in the lock, followed by the heavy creak of the steel door opening, made them both freeze. Yukari and Raito quickly acted as if they were still bound, hiding their hands behind their backs.

  "Stop bickering," the guard said, his voice full of a weary exasperation as he stepped into the cell. "You two are going to give me a headache."

  "It's not my fault, she started it," Raito said.

  "No, it was you who started it," she denied.

  "Hey! Stop it!" the guard yelled, stepping closer to the bars that separated their cell from the main corridor.

  "She started it!" Raito insisted, his voice getting louder.

  "He started it!" Yukari shot back, her own voice rising.

  "Stop, stop!" the guard yelled, finally opening the bar door. "That's it! I'm having you two separated!"

  As he stepped into the cell, Raito and Yukari exchanged a quick, almost imperceptible nod. In perfect sync, they tackled the guard, their combined weight sending him crashing into the concrete wall. The sudden impact knocked him unconscious.

  "That... that actually worked," Raito said, his voice a mixture of shock and disbelief.

  "I know," Yukari replied, a triumphant grin on her face. She looked at him, her silver eyes glinting in the dim light. "But... I still can't believe you called me old. A girl's age is a taboo subject, you know."

  "Then what should I call you?" he teased, his own grin matching hers. "My wife?"

  A deep blush spread across Yukari's cheeks. She quickly knelt down to check the guard's belongings, hiding her embarrassment. "Idiot... we're not married yet," she muttered. "Fiancée... that's the word. Yes... fiancée, for now."

  Raito's expression softened, his earlier teasing replaced by a quiet, heartfelt seriousness. "Right. Fiancée." He knelt down beside her. "Let's promise to get out of here alive, okay?"

  She looked at him, her own expression softening in return. "Yes," she whispered. "I promise. And then... then I want a very grand and intimate wedding."

  "You're going to make me poor again," he sighed dramatically.

  "Here," Yukari said, tossing him the guard's longsword. Raito fumbled, barely catching it, holding it awkwardly with both hands like a club.

  "What am I supposed to do with this?" he asked, still holding the weapon wrong.

  "I don't know," she replied, picking up the guard's shortsword and testing its weight, her grip firm and familiar. "Whack someone in the head."

  With their weapons in hand, they moved quietly to the steel door the guard had come from. Yukari peeked her head out, her silver eyes scanning the darkness. The corridor was empty, a long, dark hallway lit only by a few, flickering lanterns that cast long, dancing shadows on the cold, stone walls.

  "Where are we, anyway?" Raito asked, his voice a low whisper.

  "Who knows," Yukari whispered back. "Just hope it's not far from Biyuu."

  They moved, hugging the walls, their senses on high alert for any sign of another guard, another ambush. The corridors were long and winding, a maze of identical stone and flickering light. Every corner they turned revealed another, identical hallway. The air was cold and damp, the silence broken only by the drip, drip, drip of water from somewhere in the darkness. It was a place of endless dread, a labyrinth designed to break the spirit, to make one feel as though they were walking in circles forever. The faint, metallic smell of old blood clung to the air, a reminder that they were not the first to be trapped in this place, and perhaps not the last.

  "Where are we going?" Yukari asked, stopping midway down yet another identical hallway, her voice a frustrated whisper.

  "Not this again," Raito sighed. "We really need to find a navigation school or something." He looked down one dark path, then the other. "Let's just... walk."

  Yukari nodded, and they continued their blind trek through the oppressive silence, hoping that whatever luck they had left would be enough to guide them to an exit.

  They turned another corner, and then another. The endless, repeating pattern of the corridors was beginning to wear on them, the initial adrenaline of their escape fading into a quiet, gnawing despair.

  And then they heard it.

  A quiet murmur, faint and distant, but undeniably human.

  "Hear that?" Yukari asked, her voice a sharp whisper.

  "Are those... are those people talking?" Raito asked, his own voice a mix of hope and fear.

  "We must be close to the exit," Yukari said, a flicker of her old confidence returning.

  "Wait," Raito said, grabbing her arm, his expression serious. "How do we know those people aren't enemies?"

  Yukari paused, the cold reality of their situation settling back over her. "We'll just have to find out, I guess," she said, her voice quiet but firm as she readied her shortsword once more.

  They moved toward the sound, their steps slow and cautious. The murmurs grew louder, turning into shouts, then cheers, then the unmistakable roar of a large, rowdy crowd. Ahead of them, a heavy steel door, different from the others, blocked their path, a sliver of bright, festive light peeking from underneath.

  The two exchanged a look and nodded, steeling their resolve to fight whatever lay beyond the door. Together, they pushed.

  As the door swung open, what awaited them was not a phalanx of guards or a new, deadlier trap, but a scene of pure, unadulterated chaos that left them both momentarily confused. They were in a vast, open courtyard, the dark, ornate walls of a massive castle looming over them. And the courtyard was filled with Takayama's soldiers. Not standing guard, but partying.

  They were drinking, eating roasted meat from massive skewers, and laughing, their voices a boisterous, festive roar. The air was thick with the smell of alcohol and roasted boar.

  Yukari and Raito quickly hid behind the door again, their hearts pounding.

  "Those are soldiers, right?" Raito whispered, his voice a mixture of shock and confusion.

  "Yes," Yukari whispered back, peeking through the crack in the door. "And from Takayama's clan. Look at the insignia on their banners." She scanned the architecture, the high, dark-wood walls, the serpent motifs. "And that castle... this must be the backyard. We're on Takafushi Island."

  "Right," Raito said, his mind still reeling. "But what is going on here? Why are they partying? And can we leave unnoticed?"

  "I don't know," Yukari admitted, her own voice a low murmur.

  But right on cue, a figure appeared on a high balcony overlooking the courtyard. It was Takayama Godai, a cup of wine in his hand. Min Eun was at his side, her expression as triumphant as his. He raised his cup, and the crowd below fell silent.

  "Men!" Takayama's voice, amplified by the castle's acoustics, boomed across the courtyard. "Tonight, you shall feast! Eat to your hearts' content! Drink until you can't! Enjoy this night with your brethren, for tomorrow, we will take the fight to those filthy Izumi and Imagawa clans!"

  The army roared its approval.

  "I have received an oracle," he continued, his voice ringing with a divine, self-assured authority. "A message in a dream! Tomorrow is the right time to attack! Tomorrow, we shall unite all of Hanyuun! I am the chosen one!"

  The army shouted, their voices a single, unified roar of devotion, pumped up by their lord's charismatic, if slightly unhinged, speech.

  "Okay..." Raito whispered from behind the door. "I see it now. He's crazy."

  "I know, right?" Yukari agreed.

  "Let's go," she whispered, her voice a low, urgent thing. "While they're all preoccupied."

  And with a final, shared nod, the two of them slipped into the courtyard, moving from one shadow to the next, ready to find a way out of the madman's castle.

  They moved in the shadows, hiding from one bush, to a supply cart, to a small tree. Each movement brought them closer to the main gate. Yukari's movements were sharp, precise, and experienced, a silent ghost in the flickering torchlight. Raito, meanwhile, stumbled with every step. He nearly tripped over a discarded wineskin, his foot making a loud thump that should have alerted everyone.

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  Yukari shot him a glare, her hand flying to her face in a silent facepalm. Thankfully, the roar of the party, the clatter of tankards, and the general haze of alcohol were enough to bail out every one of his clumsy mistakes.

  "Okay, we're almost there," Yukari whispered, spotting the main gate.

  "Huft, huft," Raito panted, leaning against a barrel to catch his breath. "How do you do this so flawlessly?"

  "Because I have training and experience," she whispered back, her voice a little sharp. "You should try it sometime. We are so lucky most of them are drunk."

  However, their luck was about to run out.

  The clear, starry sky above them began to change. Dark clouds, like a stain of ink on a canvas, began to crowd the moon. A single drop of water landed on Yukari's cheek. She looked up, and a wave of pure, unadulterated terror washed over her.

  Having rain at this moment was the worst thing that could possibly happen to them.

  The single droplet soon turned into a steady drizzle, then a heavy pour. The rain destroyed the festive atmosphere in an instant. The soldiers, their drunken stupor broken by the sudden downpour, cursed the weather. Chaos erupted as they scrambled to shield the meat pots and alcohol barrels from the rain, the sudden rush of activity sobering them up with a terrifying speed.

  Yukari and Raito exchanged a look. They nodded.

  "Run!" they both said in unison, and dashed towards the main gate, ignoring the now-sobering guards and the uncooperative weather.

  "Hey!" one of the soldiers called out, his voice sharp and clear now that the party was over. He spotted them, two figures in ragged clothes, sprinting for the exit. The alarms were quickly sounded. All the other soldiers turned their heads, their drunken haze replaced by a sudden, sharp focus.

  Min Eun, who was still watching from the balcony, her expression a mask of pure, unadulterated rage. She quickly gestured to her three loyal goons, and they vanished into the shadows, knowing what she wanted from them.

  The two of them were getting closer to the gate, their hearts pounding in their chests. But their path was suddenly blocked. Raito was kicked to the side, and he went tumbling to the ground. Yukari parried a steel claw, the force of the blow sending a shockwave up her arm. She quickly moved back to check on Raito.

  "Are you okay?" she asked, her voice a desperate whisper.

  Raito groaned, clutching his stomach. "I think so..."

  The three masked men were positioned between them and the main gate, their weapons drawn. The sounds of soldiers running, their armor clanking, grew closer and closer behind them.

  Is this the end? Yukari thought, despair starting to fill her mind once more. She looked at the ring on her finger, the small, sakura-shaped diamond glittering in the rain. She shook her head. No. A new, fierce resolve filled her. I'm done giving up.

  "Raito," she called out, her voice now a low, determined growl.

  "Yeah?" he asked, his own voice terrified.

  "I'll try to fight those three," she said, her resolve clear. "Can you... can you try to hold off the soldiers coming towards us?"

  "Did you lose your mind?" he asked, his voice a mix of fear and disbelief.

  "No," she replied, a small, fierce smile on her face. "I'm just very determined for some reason. Once I knock those three out, I'll grab you and we can run away. Trust me."

  Raito looked at her, at the new, unwavering fire in her silver eyes, and he nodded. "I don't know how long I can hold them off," he said, steeling himself. "There are, like, hundreds of them. But I will try."

  "I know," she said. "So... kiss me."

  "Huh?" he asked, confused.

  "For good luck," she said, her voice a little softer now.

  He quickly kissed her, his lips brushing against hers in a brief, desperate moment. "Stay alive," he said, his back now turned to her as he faced the oncoming wave of soldiers.

  "You too," she replied, her own gaze fixed on the three masked goons in front of her.

  The big goon with the massive steel club swung downwards.

  "Now," Yukari thought. As the club cracked the ground, Yukari stepped on top of it, running quickly and balancing herself, and then delivered a quick slash to both of the goon's shoulders, rendering him unable to fight as the club was let go.

  "You're next," Yukari said as she looked at the last one with the steel claw. Even with the mask on, she could see the confusion and fear in him.

  "How are you moving like this?" the last masked man said. "We know what you're capable of, and it's certainly not this."

  "I don't know myself," Yukari stated, throwing her shortsword. The masked man parried it, but his arm blocked his view. Using this chance, Yukari ran and moved below him, then thud, a powerful uppercut knocked him out.

  Huu... Yukari exhaled. I did it. I won.

  "Raito," she thought, ready to save him. But quickly, a whip snared her neck.

  "Must I do everything here?" Min Eun said, no longer purring, just pure anger holding the whip that tightened around Yukari's neck.

  Yukari wrapped her arm around the whip and tried to pull Min Eun to her, the two of them locked in a strength contest.

  "Stand down," Min Eun said.

  "Make me," Yukari rebelled.

  "Suit yourself. Look over there," Min Eun gestured for Yukari to look to the right. She saw Raito, his lips bleeding, being held by the arm by two soldiers, swords around his neck. He had been captured.

  "Sorry," Raito apologized. "I guess I'm not good enough."

  "Raito!" Yukari shouted. "Let him go."

  "Or what? You are outnumbered and carrying a dead weight. I hold all the cards. You are the one who must stand down, Snow Flower," Min Eun said.

  Tch. Yukari loosened her grip and raised her hands in the air, surrendering. So close, I'm sorry, Raito, she thought.

  Min Eun kicked her on the back. Yukari's face hit the puddle below. "Do you know how much trouble you two gave me?" Min Eun shouted angrily.

  "Heh, you finally show your real face. You wear too much makeup," Yukari said.

  "You brat!" Min Eun whipped Yukari's back.

  "Arghh!" Yukari cried in pain, yet her silver eyes didn't lose any light.

  "Stop that!" Raito shouted, blades closing in on his neck.

  "No, boy!, enough is enough. You two gave me too much trouble. You two must die," Min Eun said. "You," she pointed to the short masked man who was starting to come by. "Your sword, give it to me."

  "Yes, ma'am," the goon said, giving Min Eun one of his shortswords.

  "I will personally execute you two, starting with you, Snow Flower," Min Eun said.

  "Do your worst," Yukari said.

  "NO!" Raito struggled.

  "Oh, playing tough, are we?" Min Eun said. "Fine, I will be merciful. You may say one last thing to that boyfriend of yours, then it's bye-bye."

  "I'm not playing tough," Yukari said, a new, unwavering resolve in her voice. "This time, I don't know why, but I don't feel like giving up... In fact, I feel invigorated. For the first time in a long time, I know what I want. I know where my heart, my being, belongs. And it belongs with him. I WILL WEAR THAT WEDDING DRESS, YOU HEAR ME!"

  The caged Snow Flower was finally freed.

  "You have lost your mind," Min Eun pitied and started to bring down the sword to Yukari's head.

  "NO!" Raito screamed.

  Yukari closed her eyes, ready for what comes next. However, the sword just stopped.

  "What? What is going on? I can't move my arm," Min Eun said, confused, trying her best to plunge the sword into Yukari, but she couldn't.

  "Hey, doesn't it feel cold?" one of the soldiers started to shiver.

  "Yeah, why is it so cold?" another said.

  "Hey, guys, look," another shouted.

  Around them, the rain droplets were slowing down, as if time itself was freezing.

  Yukari opened her eyes, slightly confused, but she could feel something. A warmth, a familiar, comforting presence spreading through her very being. She looked around. The raindrops were hanging in the air, glittering like a thousand tiny diamonds in the flickering torchlight. Min Eun was struggling, her arm frozen in place, unable to bring the sword down. The soldiers were shivering, their breath turning to mist, as if they had been caught in a sudden, inexplicable blizzard.

  Then, she looked at Raito.

  Next, she looked down at the ring on her finger. It was glowing, a bright, pure white light that seemed to pulse with a life of its own.

  This feeling... she thought, a wave of dawning, impossible hope washing over her. It's like... Could it be...?

  She pushed her hand forward, her fingers trembling. She focused, and ice, pure and white, began to form around the legs of the two soldiers holding Raito.

  I knew it, she thought, a triumphant, almost hysterical laugh bubbling up in her chest. This feeling... It’s like when I got my core.

  Her eyes turned serious. She stood up, her body no longer feeling the exhaustion, the pain, the despair. All she felt was a new, fierce, unwavering strength.

  "All of you," she declared, her voice ringing with a power that was not her own, yet was entirely hers. "Better stand down. Now. Or you will face my wrath."

  "You... you've gone crazy," Min Eun said, her voice a mixture of confusion and fear as she struggled against the invisible force that held her.

  "No," Yukari replied, a cold, confident smile on her face. "I'm not. And I can and will show it."

  She put her hand, the one with the glowing ring, up in the air. As if commanding the very weather itself, the rain stopped, the droplets turning to delicate, intricate snowflakes that began to fall gently from the sky. The soldiers around them started to panic.

  "All of you," Yukari stated once more, her voice as cold as the snow that now covered the ground. "Better let him and me go."

  Raito could only watch, speechless, in awe, as he lays on the ground.

  "You lot!" Min Eun barked, her voice a raw, desperate cry. "She's alone! Get her!"

  The soldiers, their fear of Min Eun greater than their fear of the strange, impossible girl in front of them, gulped and charged. But they soon stopped, dead in their tracks. Their legs were frozen solid, and the ice was quickly creeping up their bodies, encasing them in solid blocks of ice, leaving only their terrified faces free.

  "I told you to stand down," Yukari said, her voice a low, dangerous whisper.

  "Yukari... what is going on?" Raito asked, his own voice a mixture of awe and confusion.

  "I... I think I got a new Core," she said, a small, triumphant smile on her face as she showed him the ring, its sakura-shaped diamond now glowing with a brilliant, icy light. "Somehow… The ring became a new core."

  "How?" he asked, his mind still reeling.

  "Beats me," she replied with a shrug. "Cores are still mysteries after all. But that's beside the point. Let's go. I might feel sick if I stay here any longer." She held out her hand to him.

  Raito nodded and tried to stand, but his legs were weak. "It seems they got my legs," he said, a grimace of pain on his face. "Again."

  "No problem," Yukari said, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

  "Wait, what are you—don't tell me," he said, his voice a panicked squeak.

  She lifted him up, slinging him over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

  "Not this again," he groaned, his palms over his face in embarrassment.

  "You've gained some weight," she teased. "But you're still light enough."

  "Please just kill me," he said, his voice muffled by her shoulder.

  "You two! Did you forget about me?" Min Eun called out, her voice a raw, desperate cry.

  "Oh, right," Yukari said, snapping her fingers. A block of ice, thicker and colder than the others, encased Min Eun completely, leaving only her furious, terrified eyes visible.

  "You... you will pay for this!" Min Eun's muffled voice came from within the ice. "Lord Takayama will chase you down! He will make sure you pay!"

  "I know," Yukari said, her voice a low, confident growl. "That's why I'm going to him right now."

  Yukari ran, not to the main gate, but back inside the castle. She moved quickly, ascending the stairs, her steps sure and steady, until she came face to face with Takayama Godai in his private chambers.

  "You! What is the meaning of this? Guards!" he called out, his voice a mixture of shock and rage. Yet, no response.

  "Forget it" Yukari said, a cold, confident smile on her face. "I've frozen them all. They'll survive, but they won't be helping you."

  "How dare you! This is treason!" Takayama activated his Flame Core on his belt, launching multiple fireballs at her. But Yukari just nonchalantly froze the fireballs mid-air, the flames turning to a glittering, useless piece of ice that fell to the floor with a soft thud. She then froze his Core itself, the crimson crystal now a dull, milky white.

  "Not treason," she said, her voice quiet but as clear and hard as winter ice. "Treason requires a prior loyalty. I never consented to work for you." She took a slow, deliberate breath. "And from today onwards, we are done. I will be living for myself... and with this idiot here."

  Takayama's arrogant smile faltered, replaced by a flicker of disbelief that quickly hardened into a cold fury. "You dare threaten me?" he growled, standing from his seat, the wine cup held tight in his hand. "The great Takayama Godai? The chosen one destined to rule this land?"

  "Yes," Yukari replied, her confidence absolute. "I am threatening you. And if any of your soldiers, any of your spies, or any of your associates so much as step foot on Biyuu Island again... I will do this."

  She stomped her foot.

  It was not a loud sound, just a single, sharp impact on the tatami mat. But from it, a wave of impossible power erupted. A deep, crystalline frost, glittering with an inner light, spread from her foot in a perfect, silent circle. It raced across the floor, up the ornate walls, encasing the flickering lanterns in sheaths of ice. The very air in the grand chamber grew bitingly cold.

  Takayama stumbled back, his hands clutching at his own arms as he shivered uncontrollably. The arrogant warlord was gone, replaced by a man looking at a force of nature that had just been born in his own throne room, a power he could not comprehend.

  Yukari looked at the terrified tyrant, her expression one of quiet finality. "Goodbye," she said simply. With a small, dismissive wave, she turned her back on him, she began to walk calmly out of the now-frozen chamber.

  As they reached the lower levels of the castle, the warmth of the tropical sunrise welcomed them. Yukari stopped, a small, genuine smile finally reaching her eyes.

  "So..." she asked, looking at Raito, who was still slung over her shoulder, for the entire interaction with takayama, his face more red than the sunrise itself. "Ready to go home?"

  "...Kill me," Raito groaned.

  Yukari laughed. It was not the small, hesitant sound of the girl in the farmhouse, but a full, free, and joyous laugh that echoed in the quiet dawn. It was the sound of a bride-to-be who had just remembered she had a wedding to plan.

  However, a power of that magnitude does not go unnoticed.

  In a hidden realm beyond the sight of mortals, six thrones sat in silent council. A new, brilliant white light suddenly pulsed from the center of their circle, a beacon of immense, unfamiliar energy.

  High in the stormy skies of Hanyuun, a figure clad in a green hood looked down, a rare, knowing smile touching his lips as he felt the shift in the wind.

  And far across the sea, on a lonely cliff in Ruhong, a woman in a red hood turned her gaze eastward. She felt the familiar, yet utterly transformed, power of her disciple bloom across the world. A single, shocked word escaped her lips.

  "...Lin?"