The chamber was dark, lit only by the flickering glow of enchanted torches. Deep violet mist curled along the floor, shifting like something alive, pulsing in rhythm with the slow, deliberate breathing of the woman seated upon the bck stone throne at the far end of the room.

  At first gnce, she could have been mistaken for a statue—motionless, draped in flowing silks of deep purple and obsidian, her form bathed in the dim light.

  But her eyes.

  Her gold-and-violet gaze burned in the shadows, smoldering with a quiet, calcuting hunger.

  A hunger that had only grown stronger since she had st seen him.

  Mayume exhaled slowly, turning her delicate wrist, watching as a small silver dish of blood shifted in her grasp, the dark crimson liquid within reflecting the soft glow of the torches.

  His blood.

  Jin’s blood.

  Even now, she could still feel it—the unnatural energy ced within it, humming with a presence far beyond this world.

  This was what Reika had failed to realize.

  Reika, with all her brute strength, all her godlike arrogance—she had never thought to look beyond the obvious.

  Never thought to see Jin for what he truly was.

  And now, Mayume had found the key.

  A tear between worlds—a door waiting to be opened.

  Her lips curled into a slow, satisfied smile.

  "So fragile," she mused softly, tilting the dish, watching as the blood slid across the silver, forming tiny patterns as it pulsed faintly with residual energy. "And yet, this tiny human may be the most important thing in existence."

  She leaned forward, her long fingers tracing a delicate circle over the rim of the dish.

  "How fascinating."

  The mist at her feet stirred violently, as if sensing her amusement.

  Then—her smile faded.

  "But not yet enough."

  Her eyes darkened.

  Jin’s blood alone wasn’t enough to create a stable tear. She needed more.

  --------------------

  The Queen’s Shadow

  The dreams had started a month ago.

  At first, they had been fleeting whispers, fshes of fire and death in the minds of the Tenshu warriors. A battlefield drenched in blood, the cries of men crushed under a monstrous heel, the scent of burning flesh thick in the air.

  Then, they became more vivid.

  Men woke up screaming in the night, their foreheads damp with sweat, their hands clutching at phantom wounds that were never there. The images of Kaida loomed over them, her leather-cd form towering in the inferno, her golden eyes gleaming with cruel amusement.

  "There is nothing left for you."

  Her voice echoed in their skulls, her ughter ringing even after they awoke.

  The Onmyoji had tried everything—warding rituals, protection spells, spirit banishments—but nothing worked.

  Kaida’s image persisted.

  It was driving Tenshu warriors to madness.

  Lord Tenshu Ichiro had seen it in his own men—the slow unraveling of morale, the hesitation creeping into even his most hardened commanders.

  That was when he knew—something was wrong.

  Something was coming.

  The Queen Arrives

  No one saw when she entered.

  One moment, the war chamber was filled with the murmurs of Tenshu’s highest-ranking generals and Onmyoji. The next—she was simply there.

  A figure of sublime elegance and utter menace, standing at the center of the hall, her flowing silks of deep violet and bck clinging to her figure, the golden embroidery glowing faintly in the dim candlelight.

  She was beautiful, intoxicatingly so—but there was something in the way she moved, in the way she held herself, that made it clear she was not human.

  Mayume smiled, tilting her head slightly, her long, dark fringe framing her luminous violet-gold eyes.

  "You have been expecting me."

  There was a tense silence.

  Then—the reaction came instantly.

  Steel hissed from its scabbard as multiple samurai drew their swords, Onmyoji raised their hands, chanting the beginnings of sealing spells.

  "Demon!" one of them barked. "You dare step into the Tenshu stronghold?!"

  A younger warrior, emboldened by fear, lunged first.

  Mayume didn’t even blink.

  The moment he crossed the threshold of her aura, his entire body seized midair—frozen in pce as if he had been snatched by invisible chains.

  He let out a choked gasp, his limbs convulsing, eyes widening in sheer terror as Mayume slowly turned to face him.

  "Hmm."

  She tilted her head, stepping forward slowly, each movement dripping with casual grace as she reached out—

  And with a single, delicate touch of her fingertip to his chest, his body crumpled like a marionette with its strings cut.

  Not dead.

  Not harmed.

  Simply erased from movement.

  The other warriors hesitated, their knuckles white on their weapons.

  "Is that any way to greet a guest?" she murmured, running a slender finger along the folds of her sleeve.

  Lord Tenshu Ichiro finally stood from his throne, his dark gaze sharp, but composed.

  "Enough," he commanded.

  The remaining warriors lowered their bdes, though their hands still trembled.

  Mayume’s lips curved slightly.

  "Much better."

  The Mind Games Begin

  Ichiro narrowed his eyes, his arms folded behind his back.

  "You didn’t enter through the gates."

  "I had no need to," Mayume replied smoothly. "Your defenses are meaningless to me."

  There was no arrogance in her tone—just fact.

  Ichiro exhaled slowly, his sharp eyes studying her.

  "You are behind the dreams," he said.

  Mayume smiled.

  "I only let you see what was already true."

  A flicker of unease rippled through the assembled commanders.

  Mayume stepped forward, the fabric of her robes trailing like liquid shadows.

  "Kaida will come for you soon," she murmured, running a gentle fingertip along the polished edge of the war table. "And she will not stop until you are nothing but ashes beneath her feet."

  She let the silence hang.

  "You have already seen it, haven’t you?"

  A few of the Onmyoji stiffened—they had seen it.

  They had felt the weight of Kaida’s impending wrath, but none of them had wanted to speak it aloud.

  Mayume turned her gaze back to Ichiro.

  "You can either stand against her and be destroyed… or you can prepare."

  Ichiro’s face remained impassive.

  "And what do you offer?" he asked.

  Mayume slowly lifted her hand—and in her palm, a small, glowing artifact materialized, pulsating with intricate runes.

  "A divine seal," she whispered. "A trap of ancient power, strong enough to bind even Kaida."

  A flicker of interest crossed Ichiro’s gaze, but he remained wary.

  "Why?" he asked. "What do you gain from this?"

  Mayume smiled.

  "Kaida is nothing but a distraction."

  She turned slightly, gncing at the candlelight flickering along the walls, as if speaking to something beyond the room itself.

  "Reika is the true danger."

  The room stilled.

  "Kaida is reckless," she continued, walking around the war table, her presence gliding like silk across stone. "But Reika? She is inevitable."

  Her eyes met Ichiro’s once more.

  "You will not stand a chance against her unless you prepare now."

  The Bargain

  Ichiro exhaled slowly, the weight of the room pressing in around him.

  "And what do you want in return?" he asked.

  Mayume smiled, reaching out and lightly tracing the surface of the war table with a single fingertip.

  "When the time comes, you will help me retrieve something."

  Ichiro’s expression darkened.

  "Jin."

  Mayume’s smile did not fade.

  "He is important to me," she said. "And to this world. But I do not expect you to understand that yet."

  She stepped forward, closing the space between them, her presence wrapping around the room like an intoxicating mist.

  "The choice is yours, Lord Tenshu."

  "Take my offer and survive."

  "Or refuse, and let Kaida burn your cn to the ground."

  Ichiro held her gaze for a long moment.

  Then—slowly, reluctantly—he nodded.

  "We will take the seal."

  Mayume smiled.

  "Good."

  And with that, she turned, vanishing into the mist as if she had never been there.

  But the shadows she left behind?

  They would never leave.

  And for that—she needed time.