Sakamoto's Age: 4.5
Location: Harrow's Reach — Upper Citadel Sector
Mood: Pressure. Secrets. A city too loud to breathe.
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Opening Line:
Sometimes the people who know your name…
Aren't the ones who should remember it.
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The Royal Envoy Appears
The bells stopped ringing.
Moments later, he walked in.
Tall. White hair streaked with red. Robes with golden trim. Eyes like ice cracked in half.
> "Sakamoto Valtaris," he said, without hesitation.
I froze.
> "How do you know that name?"
> "Because I was there when your bloodline died. I wrote the obituary."
His name was Cavell Tirnas.
Royal Envoy. Archive Keeper. And the only man alive who remembered all seven kings before Lucala's fall.
> "What do you want?"
> "Not want. Owe. I'm here to repay a promise."
He dropped a sealed ring onto the table.
The sigil on it?
My face.
Burned into gold.
---
Aelira's Trial
Aelira was summoned to a private testing chamber.
A judge-mage stood over her.
> "We will test your mana channeling. If you are stable, you pass. If not—"
> "Then I burn out?" she asked.
> "Then you become a danger. And we act accordingly."
She stood in the circle.
Let magic flood her.
The glyphs surged — neck, ribs, spine. The judge raised a sword.
But then—
Aelira took a deep breath…
And controlled it.
Barely.
> "You passed," the mage said.
> "How long do I have?"
> "Until your heart fractures. Days, weeks… maybe less."
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Ravian Opens the Letter
That night, Ravian sat alone and opened the crimson-sealed message.
He didn't speak.
He didn't breathe.
But I watched him crush it in his hand, eyes shaking.
> "What was it?" I asked.
> "A name."
> "Whose?"
> "Yours."
> "What does that mean?"
He didn't answer.
But he looked at me like I was already gone.
---
The Girl in Chains Escapes
Deep beneath the city, the girl broke her shackles.
The guards burned.
The sigils on her back lit up — Echoborne markings.
She walked into the night.
And whispered:
> "Sakamoto… your death was my rebirth."
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Final Scene – The Choice
Cavell met me at the high wall.
Behind him, the capital burned in the sky.
> "You have two options," he said.
"Take the ring. Begin your inheritance. Rule… or bleed."
> "And the other?"
> "Walk away. Stay hidden. Let the world rot without you."
> "And if I choose neither?"
He smiled.
> "Then the world will choose for you."
I looked at the ring.
It pulsed with magic I didn't understand.
And in the wind… I thought I heard my name whispered by the forest I'd left behind.