Prologue

Here in Japan, there is a national secret closely guarded from all but a select few.

Truth be told, five pillars made of crystal have supported the island nation since time immemorial. The destruction of even one of the five would result in calamity.

It is no exaggeration to call the pillars the lifeline of the country, so they have always been strictly protected by five clans of old—Ichinomiya, Nijouin, Sankourou, Yotsukado, and Goyougi—each of which has a long and illustrious history of strong magic practitioners.

The clans wield a mystical power which allows them to weave protective barriers around the pillars. They have been guarding the country from its enemies for eons.

Enemies of the clans come in various forms.

First, other humans sometimes pose a threat. However, human adversaries can be dealt with using non-magical means.

The enemies targeting the crystal pillars that are neither human nor mortal are the most troubling.

Practitioners call them shades.

Shades desire the tremendous power of the pillars—capable of supporting an entire country—so their attacks are never-ending.

The sacred duty of the five clans and their branch families is to maintain the protective barriers around the pillars and fend off those with evil intentions.

Such is the truth behind the country’s best-kept secret.

This is the story of a young woman who was born into one of the five great clans.

Chapter 1

The Ichise family was a branch of the Ichinomiya clan, one of the five great clans charged with protecting the pillars. Only a few privileged members of the family were privy to the significance of the Ichinomiya clan and their responsibility to protect the pillars.

Those few had gathered for a lavish celebration in honor of the fifteenth birthday of the twin sisters Hana and Hazuki.

On that day, destiny would change Hana’s life forever.

Hana and Hazuki were seated next to each other in the seats of honor, but it was clear to Hana, the younger of the two, that her parents and their guests were there to celebrate Hazuki’s birthday.

Their disinterest in Hana was blatant—she, too, was turning fifteen, after all, but over the course of her life, she had grown accustomed to the difference in treatment.

Her heart had become tranquil and placid ever since the day she had finally thrown away all her hopes and expectations for her family.

They despised her for failing to measure up to Hazuki’s talents. Outwardly, she took their insults calmly, but on the inside, she taunted them right back. The expression she wore on her face might have been serene, but her inner self was making a funny face and blowing raspberries.

The last couple of years had twisted her personality, a fact that she knew very well.

Hana and Hazuki hardly ever spoke to each other.

In fact, the birthday party was their first time meeting in several days.

But forget seeing each other—when was the last time they had sat so close to each other? Hana certainly couldn’t remember.

The slight loneliness at the thought and her deeply rooted indifference toward her family were inextricably intertwined within her heart.

Hana looked over at her twin sister, who was the center of attention, as usual. Hazuki was busy dazzling her audience with her radiant, sunny smile. In comparison, Hana, whom everyone dismissed as Hazuki’s scraps, sat quietly sipping her juice. She watched her twin with a cold gaze and detached admiration.

Popular as always, she thought.

Every single person in the room had high expectations for Hazuki. She was lauded as the perfect human being—bright, talented, and affable—the polar opposite of Hana.

Hana used to revere her sister, but she knew better now.

Hazuki’s impeccable demeanor was nothing but a show, a veneer that only Hana could see through.

Hazuki’s every expression was built on lies, starting with her smile, which was tailored to endear her to others.

In what way should she act to earn people’s approval? Which words would make her look like the shining example of the perfect daughter? Everything Hazuki said and did was the result of precise calculations. Her entire existence was a farce.

In the past, her smile had been more genuine…

Hana wasn’t the only one who had changed over the years.

The birthday party was nothing more than a flimsy excuse for everyone to gather and evaluate Hazuki’s current power level. Hana was just starting to wonder when the sham of a party was going to end when it happened.

The guests at the party treated Hana as if she were invisible, and she was more than content to ignore them right back. She had a slice of cake on her plate, but neither the cake nor the day held any trace of the birthday mood.

In fact, she really hadn’t done anything special that day. She might have overindulged a tad on fried chicken, but she was normally hearty and hale. Her health was a point of pride.

So when a burst of heat blazed through her body, it was completely unexpected. It was as if she had suddenly come down with a fever. Hana stiffened and froze under the abrupt assault.

The heat dissipated as fast as it came. The rapid cooling was accompanied by a cracking sensation from deep within her. She felt like something was being peeled open inside her like an egg from its shell…

***

The Ichinomiya clan was one of the five clans of barrier practitioners whose sworn duty was to protect the pillars supporting the nation.

The Ichise family used to be influential among the Ichinomiya branches and had once even been held in high regard by the lord of the Ichinomiya clan. However, the family hadn’t produced many practitioners of real talent in recent memory, and the absence of worthy heirs had led to a decline in the family’s reputation and standing.

Then twin daughters were born to the Ichise family.

From the moment she was born, Hana, the younger of the two, had been compared to her talented elder sister, Hazuki.

As twins, they looked almost identical, but their skill levels as practitioners were as different as night and day. People couldn’t help but measure them against each other.

Hazuki had come into her powers at an early age. Her raw talent rivaled that of the main branch’s practitioners, which garnered interest and attention from the twins’ parents and relatives.

Their father in particular was dissatisfied with their family’s standing and yearned to see their name restored to its former glory.

Because of these aspirations, he had high expectations for Hazuki’s future.

But Hana, whose power had not grown stronger even as she aged, had been subjected to her parents’ sighs of disappointment as a young girl—feeling her chest clench in pain with every sigh.

Hana had held on to the belief that she could be as strong as Hazuki—they were twins, after all—and had poured her heart and soul into her studies. She had undergone intense training in pursuit of becoming a powerful practitioner.

However, reality was cruel. Hana failed to improve. She was dismissed as Hazuki’s tagalong at best and castoff at worst.

Though the twins looked alike, Hazuki’s features were more elegant and beautiful, and she carried herself with maturity and grace even as a young girl. Her smile lit up the room like a flower bud coming into full bloom and drew the eyes of those around her.

With her talents and her bright, outgoing personality, it was only natural that she was loved by everyone. She was always surrounded by people and, inevitably, became the star of the show.

Hana was far from ugly, of course, but compared to her sister, her features seemed just a tad plain and adolescent. She was pretty but not beautiful.

Even their hair was different. Hazuki’s brown hair fell in soft wisps around her face, whereas Hana’s hair was jet-black and pin straight.

Unlike Hazuki, Hana was reserved and disliked drawing attention to herself. She observed Hazuki’s entourage from afar. She found her too blinding and nearly impossible to approach.

Hana was constantly pitted against her sister by those around them. More than that, she, too, couldn’t help but compare herself to Hazuki, which only led to further disappointment.

But she hadn’t thought of their relationship as bad, at least not in the early years of elementary school…

The increase of their parents’ expectations on Hazuki had been accompanied by a decline of their interest in Hana, but Hazuki used to comfort Hana when she was blue.

Hana had been proud to have the kind Hazuki as her older sister.

At that time, the two of them had still spoken frequently, chatting freely about everything from school and friends to their respective sorrows and frustrations.

Hazuki used to confide in Hana that while the expectations placed on her made her happy, they were also a heavy burden to bear.

Hana, whom no one expected anything of, had thought that Hazuki’s problems were practically luxurious.

Hazuki’s favorable treatment could have easily bred the seeds of resentment, but strangely enough, Hana hadn’t felt a shred of jealousy toward her older sister, which allowed the twins to stay on good terms.

But one day, a gap too wide to ignore formed between them.