Tomidoru Interlude: Rest and Relaxation

The morning of Friday, September 13th, arrived with a stillness that shifted. 

It was the kind of silence that usually preceded a storm. Two weeks had passed since the disastrous encounter that had nearly claimed their lives, and the Tomidoru estate seemed to hold its breath. Tatsuchi walked down the polished stone hallway. Her shoes clicked in a steady, rhythmic cadence that mirrored her own heartbeat. Beside her, Asumi moved with a new, careful grace. The black leather eyepatch over her left eye served as a stark, permanent reminder of the price they had paid in the show of the forest during their encounter with the asshole known as Brass.

Tatsuchi felt different today. The phantom pains from her internal injuries had finally faded into a dull memory. They were replaced by a dense, coiled strength that sat deep in her marrow. For fourteen days, Signa had been a constant shadow over them. She had pushed them through brutal hand to hand drills and Zyn reinforcement exercises. Signa’s philosophy was simple. If your sword breaks or your technique fails, you are just a person with two fists and a soul. You had better know how to use both. They could no longer afford to rely solely on their swordsmanship or their unique Zyn techniques. They had to be weapons in their own right.

Asumi adjusted the collar of her new uniform. It was the official attire of the 13 Gate Guards. She wore a crisp white hakama shirt tucked into heavy black pants. Over it, she had draped a black kimono patterned with pale pink spider lilies. The flowers looked like neon bloodstains against the dark silk. It was a choice that felt uncharacteristically bold for the normally reserved girl, but it suited the hardness that had settled into her gaze since the injury.

"You look like a captain already," Tatsuchi noted. Her voice echoed down the long hall. The estate was massive. It was a labyrinth of history and power that made Tatsuchi feel small, despite her own noble lineage. "I look like a girl who’s lucky to have one good eye left," Asumi replied. A small, genuine smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. She gestured to the shimmering pale rose earrings dangling from Tatsuchi’s lobes. "Those are new. A bit fancy for a morning training session, aren't they? Or did you find a secret admirer while you were asleep in that medical wing?"

Tatsuchi reached up. Her fingertips brushed the cool, intricate metal. The earrings were shaped like pale roses in full bloom. Every petal was rendered with impossible detail. "Lady Signa gave them to me for my twentieth birthday. I was in a coma for the actual day, so she dropped them off when I finally woke up. She said they were to remind me that life keeps moving even when we’re standing still."

Tatsuchi felt a strange, familiar warmth radiating from the metal. It wasn't the cold bite of steel. It felt alive. She suspected her father, Yuta, had traveled from the capital to help craft them. He was a master of his craft. He was the only person she knew who could make jewelry feel like it had a pulse. Her parents had visited the estate several times during her recovery. 

Their faces were etched with a worry that bordered on desperation. They had begged her to return home to the safety of the capital. They cited her mother’s anxiety, but Tatsuchi was stubborn. She had a mission to finish. Leaving now felt like an admission of defeat she couldn't stomach. She was a Kuroainaru, and they did not retreat when the work was half finished.

"Zhenyu’s still struggling, isn't he?" Asumi asked. Her tone softened as they passed the courtyard. The sounds of heavy breathing and wooden staves hitting sand could be heard in the distance. "His technique is stuck," Tatsuchi sighed. She leaned against a stone pillar for a brief moment to catch her breath. "Signa says he’s capped at an average output because he tried to force too much power through a damaged channel. He has to go back to the absolute basics to rebuild the foundation. It’s eating him alive. You know how he is. He wants to be the shield for everyone, but right now, he can barely hold a candle to his former self."

"Basics," Asumi  scoffed. She shook her head. "We are supposed to be the elite of the 13 Gate Guards. We are the defenders of Avethryn, yet we're being schooled like children who’ve never held a blade. It’s humbling. I hate being humbled."

They turned a corner. The air grew noticeably warmer and more humid as they approached the interior springs. Tatsuchi’s mind drifted to the broader state of the world. Each of the 13 Gate Guards policed one of the 13 main cities of Avethryn. Her own guard watched over Phoenixis. It was a city that housed the Kuroainaru clan. Her mother hated having her only daughter so far from home, especially with the rising tensions in the other territories.

The distribution of the guards was a complex political map. They were stationed based on the strength of the captain and the top officers. The more dangerous the city, the stronger the guard assigned to it had to be. Tatsuchi looked at the stone walls and felt a twinge of restlessness.

"I just wish we were stationed somewhere more dangerous like Harpyra," Tatsuchi said suddenly. "Somewhere where the threat is constant. Viktor Combs is up there right now leading the 10th Guard. He’s ranked second among the captains for a reason. They don't just sit in the capital and wait for the world to rot. They’re out there on the front lines."

Asumi stopped dead in her tracks. She turned her one good eye toward Tatsuchi with a look of utter disbelief. "Are you insane? 

Seriously, Tatsu, check your head. We just got our collective asses handed to us by Brass a few months ago. I lost an eye, you nearly lost your life, and Zhenyu is a walking bruise. Why the hell would we go somewhere more dangerous than the capital right now? I am perfectly fine with acting like a royal for a few more weeks. You’re the only one here with a major clan name. Some of us actually enjoy the luxury of not being stabbed for a change."

It was a fair point. While Tatsuchi was a daughter of the Kuroainaru clan, her friends had much humbler beginnings. Asumi came from a small town in the west. It was located far down southwest of the larger cities in Harpyra, which of the most part was desolate wasteland. Her family was poor. They survived on what they could trade and the meager wages of laborers. She had joined the Guards for the steady paycheck. It was a way to send money back to a family that relied on her for their very survival.

They had met at the Great Tournament four years ago. It was a massive event held by the world government every four years to scout for the next generation of 13 Gate Guards.  The tournament was a three week meat grinder. Only the best of the best were allowed to compete. Corruption ran deep in those events. High ranking officials would often try to rig the matches to win massive bets. They treated the lives of the contenders like pieces on a board.

If all captains agree or if there are less than five active captains, they hold one final battle for the top five contenders. The winner becomes a captain. Asumi had made it to the finals herself but refused the offer to become a captain. She was satisfied with a lower rank that provided enough money for her family without the crushing responsibility of leadership. She had sat in the stands during the final battle to see if they would crown a new captain.

Tatsuchi remembered that final battle with a clarity that bordered on trauma. Most people in the stands expected her to sweep the floor with the competition. She was the noble prodigy. But she had ended up locked in a four day brawl with a kid who had messy dreadlocks, brown skin, and eyes like dark hazel glass. They had beaten each other into the dirt over and over. Their knuckles were raw. Their vision was blurred with blood. It was a tie, over and over again. Everyone thought it would be an easy win for the noble girl, but the boy would not break.

After ninety six hours of intermittent fighting, Tatsuchi had finally come out the winner. That boy was Zhenyu. Despite the intensity of that battle, Zhenyu and Asumi had stuck by her side ever since that day.The two girls entered the changing area of the springs. Tatsuchi shed her new outfit. It was a blue, Geisha inspired kimono patterned with gold lotuses and white Sakura petals. It was a gift from Kiyoko, her mother. It was meant to be a comfort during her recovery. The silk felt like cool water against her skin. It was a rare bit of softness in a life defined by the cold edge of steel.

They rinsed off at the wooden stations and stepped into the steaming water. The Tomidoru springs were legendary across the five lands. They were situated directly above a mountain with a core made of a massive, naturally occurring Asclepius gem. The mineral rich water didn't just wash away dirt. It felt like it was knitting their very souls back together. It pulsed with a faint healing warmth that resonated with their internal Zyn.

"So," Asumi said. She leaned back against the smooth, moss covered stone and closed her eye. "Now that we’re alone and the water is relaxing, do you have a crush on anyone? And don't give me that soldier speech about focus." Tatsuchi blinked. The thick steam stuck to her eyelashes. "What? Are you serious? You want to talk about crushes?""I've seen you talking to Itaka," Asumi teased. A playful grin spread across her face as she splashed a bit of water toward Tatsuchi. "The way you two look at each other when you think no one is watching is obvious. You have that weird, intense energy. Everyone can see it."

Tatsuchi gave her a look that was part genuine confusion and part flat annoyance. "That’s impossible, Asumi. Itaka is a comrade. 

Besides, I’m straight. I think you’ve been spending too much time in the heat. It is scrambling your brain." Asumi opened her eye and laughed. It was a bright sound that cut through the heavy humidity of the room. "Sure, Tatsu. Keep telling yourself that. But the heart usually knows what the head is too stubborn to admit."Before Asumi could press the point any further, the rhythmic, metallic squeak of wheels sounded on the tile outside. The heavy wooden doors slid open. Signa appeared. She was pushing a large mobile chalkboard into the center of the room. 

Behind her walked Itaka. She looked fully healed and as stoic as ever. Her movements were sharp and precise once again. Itaka didn't say a word. She simply tossed two waterproof notepads and two specialized pens to the girls in the water.

"Seriously?" Tatsuchi groaned. She looked at the notepad floating near her knee. "In the bath? Can we not have one hour of peace to just exist?" "It is not my fault you decided to take a dip at the designated time for your academic lesson," Signa said flatly. She didn't look bothered by the heat. She picked up a piece of chalk and tapped it against the board. "The body is healed. Now we address the ignorance of the mind. Let’s start with the basics. What is Zyn?" Asumi raised a hand out of the water. "It’s the user's Soul Energy Output given form. It’s what we use to reinforce our blades and power our techniques."

Signa gave a small, curt thumbs up. "Half correct. You understand the how but not the why. Do any of you actually know where the 10 Fates come from? Or why we worship them at Church?" The girls went silent. In the schools of Avethryn, the 10 Fates are deities. Signa began to scrawl on the board. The chalk screeched in the damp air. She explained a cosmology that made Tatsuchi’s head spin.

The 10 Fates represented the strongest of emotions and intents. Five were positive: Valor, Love, Hope, Wisdom, and Prosperity. Five were negative: Hatred, Fear, Wrath, Greed, and Despair. They were a gift from the Primordial Gods before they left this realm to sleep for a millennium in a place called CHAOS. That realm was located above the mortal world.

"In the realm of the Gods," Signa continued. Her voice echoed off the stone walls. "Their very being condenses into pure Chaos. This substance has been seeping into the mortal realm for thousands of years. It is an invisible, volatile energy that should by all rights kill a human on contact. But because humans are born with a pure soul, that inner light is enough to counter the Chaos. It allows it to coexist within the body without destroying the vessel." Tatsuchi scribbled furiously on her pad. "So Zyn isn't just power we generate?"

"No," Signa said. She turned back to the board. "When the Chaos and the Soul are subjugated at the same output, the Chaos gives the soul a tangible form while the Soul waters down the Chaos and gives it personality. That is how your unique Zyn techniques are born. They are the marriage of your identity and the raw energy of the gods."

Signa paused. She looked genuinely puzzled for a moment. "Why do you all look so shocked? Was none of this taught in your basic training academies?"

"They taught us how to hit things and how to stand in formation," Asumi said dryly. "They didn't mention how to use our techniques or basic Nero. Everything we know currently, with the exception of Tatsuchi and Itaka, are things we had to learn based on instinct and intent." Signa sighed. It was a sound of profound disappointment in the current educational system. "Where did Itaka go?"
A sudden splash answered her. Itaka had finished rinsing off. She had leaped into the large spring and landed squarely on top of Asumi. It was a lack of grace that was rare for her. "Get off, you flat chested nymph!" Asumi yelped. She bobbed up for air and pushed Itaka away.

Itaka clutched a towel to her chest. Her face turned a vivid shade of crimson. "Your whole body is lewd, Asumi! Don't look at me like that! I am not flat. I am aerodynamic! There is a difference between me and your utters, cow!"

"Enough!" Signa barked. There was a hint of a smile at the corner of her eyes. "Stop splashing. We are moving on to the mechanics of output and channeling. This is why Zhenyu is currently useless in a fight."

She wiped a section of the board. She began to draw diagrams of the human circulatory system. She overlaid them with the Zyn pathways. She explained that beyond simple will, there were three specialized ways to manipulate the flow. First was Flow Channeling Constant, known as Ryudo. This was the most common method, where Zyn moves naturally through the pathways to reinforce the body. It provides increased strength and speed.

Second was Burst Channeling, called Bakuhatsu. This involved gathering Zyn into specific points and releasing it in a controlled explosion. It's perfect for powerful strikes or short bursts of speed, though it consumes large amounts of energy.

Third was Resonant Channeling, or Kyomei. This was the ability to resonate with external Zyn sources. This allowed a user to draw power from nature or even allies. "But," Signa warned. "If you connect to a corrupt or unstable source, your soul will be torn apart. It is not for the faint of heart."As the lesson grew more technical, two more figures walked into the room. 

Zhenyu was there. He was looking sheepish and holding a towel. He was followed by a man about twenty three with a remarkably youthful face. "Tatsuchi, right? I don't think we've officially met," the man said. He offered a casual wave. "I'm James Singh. I am the Vice Captain of the 9th Gate Guards. I’ve been helping Lady Signa with the logistics of your recovery." "Why are there men in the women's springs?" Asumi hissed.  She sank deeper into the water until only her eyes and her eyepatch were visible.

"Because they need this lesson as much as you do," Signa said. She did not miss a beat. "And because the Tomidoru estate doesn't have time for your modesty today."

James chuckled. His eyes drifted toward the steam. "Don't worry, Itaka. Your chest is so small I can't even see it through the mist. It’s like looking at a board. And Asumi, well, yours is quite hard to miss, even through the thickest steam." The silence that followed was brief. A hand of solid, manifested shadow rose from the water. It slapped James across the face with a wet, echoing sound. Asumi glared at him through the mist. Her shadow retreated back to her side.
"Knock it off, both of you," Signa sighed. She cleared the board again. Her tone shifted. 

"Next, we cover the history of the 5 Lands."She mapped out the world with a few quick strokes. There's Avethryn, the land of birds. There is Karnathar, the land of giants. There is Cleyleoria, the angel archipelago. There is Makagiri, the land of demons. Finally, there was Kakoya, the land of the skinwalkers. It's the most ruthless nation of all.She spoke of the five major clans that represented each nation. 

For Avethryn, it was the Kuroainaru. In the giant realm of Karnathar, it was the Dyriarches. In the angel archipelago, the Archelion clan held sway. "What about the other two?" Zhenyu asked. His voice echoed in the chamber. "What about Makagiri and Kakoya?" Signa looked at him as if he had just asked about a ghost. Her eyes were hard. "The King of the Skinwalkers hasn't been seen by the outside world in a thousand years. But since their kind can live for up to four millennia, it is widely assumed he is still alive. As for Makagiri… their ruling clan was wiped out."Zhenyu furrowed his brow. "Wiped out? By Kyosu-!!"

Suddenly, Zhenyu’s jaw snapped shut. A shimmering, distorted heat haze surrounded his head. His eyes went wide with panic. Signa didn't even look at him. She just held her hand in a specific gesture. Her technique, Solar Aphasia, had effectively melted his ability to process or produce language.

"Do not speak that name," Signa warned. Her voice was cold enough to cut through the steam. "And do not speculate on things that are buried for a reason."She turned back to the board to finish. She spoke of the Grand Laws of Fate. These were ten absolute decrees enforced by the 10 Fate Vanguard. These laws were the backbone of civilization. They governed everything. "First is the Law of Dominion," she said, circling the word. "Only those chosen by Fate may rule. 

No one, regardless of their power, may claim absolute rulership without the blessing of the Fates or their emissaries. Every King, Queen, and Lord must adhere to the Divine Accord. They govern with justice, or they are removed."

She moved to the next point, her expression hardening. "Then comes the Law of Bloodlines. Any clan or lineage marked as Cursed by Fate must be controlled or, if necessary, eradicated. Corruption cannot be allowed to spread, no matter whose blood it carries. This is followed by the Law of Divine Balance, which dictates that all forbidden arts must be strictly regulated. Power is not a toy, and the world cannot tilt too far in one direction." Asumi and Tatsuchi watched, the warmth of the spring forgotten as the weight of Signa’s words settled over them.
"The Law of War is next," Signa continued. "No nation or army may wage war without a just cause recognized by the Fates. 

Unprovoked campaigns or genocide are met with immediate divine retribution. And closely tied to that is the Law of Souls. Necromancy, soul manipulation, and resurrection rituals are strictly forbidden. No soul may be enslaved or forced to remain in this realm once its time has passed."Signa paused, letting the steam curl around the board. "The Law of the Ten Fates itself ensures that no mortal attempts to rewrite destiny or defy a prophecy. You do not get to change the script. 

This extends to the Law of Forbidden Knowledge. There are texts and relics from the Old World that must never be pursued. Some things were buried for the safety of all, and they must stay that way."

She wrote the eighth law with a sudden, forceful strike of the chalk. "The Law of the Divine Vow. A promise sworn upon the 10 Fates is unbreakable. To break such an oath is to damn your entire bloodline for generations. Following that is the Law of Sacred Blood. Killing those blessed by the Fates, like the Vanguard, the High Clergy, or the royalty of any of the five nations, is an unforgivable crime. Even the strongest warrior cannot slay a chosen one without inviting a curse." Finally, she wrote a large, singular ten at the bottom. "And lastly," she whispered, "the Law of Final Judgment. If an individual, a nation, or an entire bloodline is declared an enemy of Fate, they are to be purged completely. The Vanguard executes this law without question and without mercy."

This is the balance we live under. This is the world that was bought with blood.” Everyone was shocked about how unmerciful the gods were. The laws were strict, governing dominion, bloodlines, war, and souls. There was no trial for those declared an enemy of Fate.

"Everyone thinks the gods are merciful," Signa said quietly. "They are not. They are balanced. Balance often requires the removal of the weight that upsets the scales."

The students sat in the water, stunned. They had spent their lives thinking they were the ultimate authority as Gate Guards. Now they realized they were just small players in a game governed by the world."The world wasn't always this way," Signa continued. Her gaze drifted toward the high ceiling. "A millennium ago, before the Fates and the laws, there was only destruction. Clans fought over every scrap of land until there was nothing left but ash. But one man stepped forward. With the help of the 10 Fates, he declared the Grand Laws and forced the world to stop bleeding.""But not everyone agreed," Tatsuchi whispered. She sensed the weight of the story.

"No," Signa said. "Only five clans stood with him initially. The heads of the five kingdoms who rule over the lands today, including our own royals, the Kusuri. The rest of the world rose up in defiance. They fought for a hundred years. It was a century of slaughter that defined the borders of every nation and broke apart cultures. That war created the world you live in today."

Everyone asked what the name of the war was since they had never heard of it. Signa’s face looked ill and grave. She slowly turned her head and side eyed Tatsuchi.Tatsuchi felt a sudden, sharp chill. She flinched, her balance wavering in the water until she fell back against Asumi’s chest. The rose earrings felt hot against her skin. Signa spoke, her voice echoing with a weight that seemed to vibrate through the stones. “The name of that dishonorable war…” she pauses “The war that would draw the future of the world…”

“The Illustration War…”