The morning began with the scent of steel and the tension of thunderclouds clinging to Valdorne's ramparts. The summit had ended just hours ago, yet the uneasy stillness outside the walls broke like fragile glass beneath the weight of what came next.
Renegade banners crested the hills, bearing the twisted crescent of the Falzath. They moved in silence, clad in obsidian armor that shimmered like oil in the rising sun. From the city walls, Mira stood at the battlements, Tove at her side, both gripping their spears tightly.
"They didn't waste time," Mira muttered. "Cowards strike before dawn."
Within the city, alarms echoed through stone corridors as warriors scrambled to position. Davis Ravencraft barked orders from the upper tower, his voice ringing above the chaos. The rebels formed into phalanxes. The Fourth Talon stood at the ready, battle-hardened and steady.
In the summit chamber, Shin stood before the relic once more, Yoshimatsu resting across his back, the orb in his hand pulsing with rhythm like a second heart. Laverna stood beside him, her tiger eye necklace glowing as if responding to the tension, and her eyes locked onto Shin with an awareness only bonded souls could share.
Tessara was the first to react. Stepping forward, she slid the Kagetsu no Men across her face, the mask sealing in place with a faint hiss of lunar magic. The air shimmered around her as illusions scattered across the entrance to the city. Dozens of false images blinked into existence: phantom warriors with glowing eyes, ready to deceive and disorient.
"They will see ghosts where none stand," she said softly, her voice distant, trance-like.
Maika followed next, unclasping the Taiyo no Men from her hip and fitting it over her face. The sunflare that erupted from her body split the courtyard stones, casting a golden sheen over the rebels. Her body flickered, impossible to track, each step she took blurring into afterimages.
"Time bends for us now," she whispered. "Let them choke on it."
Olga cracked her knuckles beside them, the hammer on her back glinting with anticipation. "I'll handle the ones who get too close."
Outside, the gates shuddered under the pressure of enemy battering rams. The enemy poured into the valley like a black tide. The Renegades descended with inhuman coordination, Falzath magic igniting the tips of their weapons. They weren't here for diplomacy. They were here to erase.
Laverna summoned her jamadhars with a whirl of flame and wind, her crest flashing brilliantly across her lower abdomen. Lightning coiled around her arms as she stepped into the front ranks. Her expression was fury given form.
"Remember what they took from us," she growled, her voice deep with righteous hatred.
At the rear lines, Shin stood between Davis and the rebel commanders. He placed the orb on the pedestal, his palm glowing with the seal of the Master Crest. The orb unraveled into threads of light, and Yoshimatsu lifted into his hand, the blade crackling with crimson lightning.
The sight stirred the defenders. Father Grent dropped to one knee, muttering blessings. Even Mira, staring down from the tower, felt her resolve steel.
"There he is," she said. "The one who broke our chains."
Shin stepped forward, foxfire flickering in his eyes. The shadows of his tails shimmered briefly behind him. His presence silenced even the wind.
"Push forward," he said calmly. "Do not break."
The enemy crashed through the outer gates.
Tessara's illusions diverted their charge, sending waves of confusion into their ranks. They slashed at phantoms, only to find real blades waiting behind false images. Maika danced through them, every strike delayed, every breath stolen by her warping of time. Olga tore into the stunned frontlines with brutal sweeps of her hammer, shaking the earth with every blow.
And at the heart of it all, Shin moved.
He shifted between stances, Yoshimatsu cutting through blacksteel armor as if it were paper. Fire danced in his left hand, and the air cracked under his precision. He covered the blind spots his allies didn't see, his reflexes heightened not just by instinct, but by the bond of the crests. He knew where each of them would be before they even moved.
He summoned additional weapons from his orb—a pair of chained kusarigama, slicing through the legs of charging mounts. A tetsubo followed, smashing through Renegade shields with terrifying weight. His mastery of traditional weapons was almost surreal, an echo of ancient Soma training now perfected through rage and loyalty.
A Renegade captain broke through the defense line, black flames coating his dual sabers. He rushed toward Davis.
Shin turned, stepping into his path. Their blades clashed with a sonic boom, shockwaves throwing dust into the sky.
"You're the fox," the Renegade snarled. "The one who carries the Elders' shame."
"And you're a shadow of something better," Shin said, and struck with a storm of precision cuts. The captain fell, his body splitting apart in flashes of red light.
On the far ridge, a scout screamed, "He carries the relic's will!"
From the summit tower, Queen Mariam's shadow flickered in a crystal mirror, her voice cold and distant in a cultist's ear.
"Fall back. Report what you saw. We may have underestimated the Master of Foxes."
As the enemy faltered, Shin stood atop the crumbled fountain at the courtyard's heart. Laverna, Tessara, Maika, and Olga gathered at his sides, their crests glowing in perfect sync. Thunder cracked in the distance, but within the courtyard, all was still for a breath.
Davis approached, bloodied but breathing, nodding. "The heart of Valdorne holds."
Shin lifted Yoshimatsu. The wind howled with defiance, spiraling around them like a celestial roar.
But high above, beyond sight, Voryn watched through a sliver of void. A faint smile curled beneath his hood.
"So they choose to fight," he murmured. "Good."
The siege had ended. But the war had only just begun.